Using Social Networking Sites To Promote Your Biz

Social Networking is one of those things that people really, really like or really, really hate.  And the thing is, a person doesn’t even need to be using social networking to form their opinion. They may just be sick of hearing celebrities talk about Twitter and decide that it’s not for them.

Well, I’m here to tell you that social networking is an awesome way to promote your business! If you’re not using it, sign up today and get it going! My biggest sources of web traffic are Facebook, Twitter, and Google. That’s all FREE traffic, I might add!

Here’s how to get started:

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com

Start by creating an account, if you haven’t done so already. I suggest you create a personal account for yourself, and then create a fan page for your business.  A fan page looks exactly like a regular profile, and it allows other Facebook users to become fans of your business. There’s no right way or wrong way to do things, but this is how I promote my business on Facebook:

• Update my status with business news on occasion
• Add links to my wall of blog posts, articles, etc
• I do have a fan page and I send an update to my fans every other week or so
• I have a link on my website that goes directly to my Fan page
• I use Twitter to get the word out about , my fan page, as well as including a link in some of my  email newsletters

Twitter – http://www.twitter.com

Again, start by creating an account. You will need to choose a username, which will act as your Twitter Handle or nickname. For example, I chose IndieBizChicks, so if you look at my Twitter page, http://www.twitter.com/indiebizchicks you will see that it displays my username on the right, and that it is also becomes part of your Twitter URL. Here’s how I use Twitter:

• I tweet the links to my latest blog posts and articles (tweet means to post something on Twitter)
• I tweet about specials, sales, new products, etc
• I tweet about industry news and provide links that I think my readers would find helpful.
• I’ve met some great people through Twitter – including some that I have partnered with on projects
• I also tweet about random stuff from my life, as it helps to build relationships with my customers and collaborators

Twitter also offers this Twitter 101 Guide to help people just starting out on the site