Out With the Old, In With the App

Do you fancy mobile apps? If YES then you are just one of the millions and millions …

Mobile apps today are what that which make our life a bit easier to lead.

Why mobile apps are used?

Well, who would not like to get installed some apps that can let life go advanced.

Reasons:

There are a plenty of reasons why Iphone users use the Iphone apps.

You want to know how the weather is in your city or any city across the globe - Use a weather app in your hand set

You are travelling and you are lost so you are looking for someone who can show you the way - Use "My Companion" or "My Fellow Traveler-" An app that can show you the way to your destination.

You want to know the identity of the caller who calls you - Use "Caller ID App" in your mobile

Get your voice more polished or neutralized for your listeners - Use "Voice Clarity App" in your hand-set.

You are at the party, you wanted not to come but still you are there sitting in a corner bored - Get Game Apps installed in your mobile and kill the boredom.

The biggest challenge for the mobile app development companies:

Now, Iphone users have become so very obsessed with the apps. Iphone users, from time to time, want newer apps that can be of immense benefit for them. Taking into account the same notion, many of the Iphone apps development companies' research out what is not present or what can be introduced into the market for the users across the globe. They, assign projects to their researchers who carry out a thorough research and come up with something very innovative and very beneficial for the users. Iphone app designers endeavor to give the best possible design for the ideas and the developers incorporate the best quality functions to make it look uniquely different.

Why Mobile Application Design is important?

Design + functionality + user friendliness = Perfect Mobile App

Many of the designers, owing to less knowledge of the app designs, do not fully give the best design for a particular app. This same problem even aggravates, when the authorities focus not more on only on the design rather than…... Sometimes, companies come up with newer apps which have perfect design but when you put to use one of such apps then the percentage of the actual performance or the work of the app will come to naught.

So, always just trust mobile app designers & the developers who are adept in designing and developing an app that which speak for its own self.

How to Create a Group for Your Local Business on Facebook

Facebook offers local businesses many different tools and features that can help them effectively market their businesses. The good thing about these features is that they are currently free, which means it is the best time to take advantage of them in your social networking.

One of the most useful tools available to help businesses build a loyal following is the Facebook “group” feature. Facebook groups are not entirely different from Facebook pages; the only difference is that the group revolves around a particular group of people rather than a brand.

Below are simple steps you can take to create a Facebook group:

1. Sign in to your account and click on the link labeled “Groups” on the left side of the home page.

2. The top bar menu will appear and you should click on “create a new group.”

3. A form will open with fields that you will need to fill. Some of them are mandatory while some are optional. Some of the fields you will need to fill include but not limited to group name, description, is your group public or private, picture upload and many others. To create a group that will not leave any questions, it is important that you fill all the provided fields.

4. After you have successfully created the group, you can now take your time to invite people to the group. You can promote the group through other social networks outside of Facebook, such as inside your business establishment, blogs and other effective social media sites.

It is important to start by inviting people who know you as this will prevent any spamming reports or blocking. Another important thing is to keep your group as active as possible. Active groups are more popular and are more likely to give you results.

Do not overlook the power of Facebook groups in your social networking strategies, as they have proven to be very effective in generating more exposure for small businesses.

How to Be Proactive When Building Online Reviews

Online reviews are a crucial part of any business because they act as a window that shows the public “how good” your business really is.

This means you have to be pay close attention to what is being said about your business from social networks because this will directly impact the number of consumers who will actually choose to do business with you.

If you have several positive reviews posted from satisfied customers, other people will want to experience those benefits for themselves. In fact, the more reviews you have, the better.

As a result, your sales will increase. So it is crucial that you set up, claim, and verify all of your local directory listings to open up social networks for your customers to leave reviews.

This includes Google+ Local, CitySearch, YellowPages, InsiderPages, Yelp, SuperPages, MerchantCircle; among many others.

Once you set up these listings, more people will be able to:
Find your business
Leave reviews for your business
See what others have to say about your business

You may be wondering “how” you should go about getting reviews from your customers… Simply ask them to go online and let others know what they think about your products or services. This should not be a daunting task and many would be happy to do so.

You can effectively ask for reviews through word of mouth, on your receipts, on your website, on your social media sites, and any other feasible method.

While your focus will be placed on getting positive reviews, keep in mind that some of your unhappy customers will also post their opinions about your products or services online; and that’s OK. A few bad online reviews are to be expected, but when they exceed the number of positive reviews, your reputation is at stake.

So it is critical that you stay up-to-date about what is being said about your business online. This way, you will have a chance to respond to any negativity, which will show people that you actually care about your customers.

Following just these few simple tips and the advantages of social networking will help protect your brand, generate fresh leads, and build loyal customers online.

Rethinking Social Networking

Receive Top Level With Social Media + Social Networking = New SEO Google Momentum?

Facebook is among the elite social networks or social media sites YouTube, Twitter, Google Buzz, Friendster, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Digg, Flixster, tasty and have a million registered users. But what the site has to do with search engine ranking, SEO and online visibility?

The importance of social networking sites can not be overlooked, or just leave your competitors wrangle with. It was recently announced that Facebook for registered users has grown rapidly and now more than ½ billion.! Information Week last September shocked many people when he revealed that Americans spent 685,000 hours or 41.1 million minutes on Facebook in August, compared with 39.8 million. Minutes spent on Google, according to comScore Yahoo ranked third place with 37.7 million. Minutes "With the combined global strength of the North 2 billion social networking site users. Ignoring Social Media Today is a big mistake that all companies try to create a successful campaign towards the online presence, SEO and Online Exposure should not exceed at any cost to avoid.

FusionCharts.

Defining social media, social networking and social marketing

Wikipedia describes social media as the media of social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Are you too many are still wondering what is social media site, and why you should attend? I stand before you to assure you that you are not alone. To help explain this relatively new phenomenon in Social Networking / Media site is a site that goes beyond just providing information, it is a Web site or Internet site that contains the user interface. Interaction rate can be as simple as rating something to fill the poll or vote. Successful social networking sites tend to be more complex and multilayered. For example, examination of the very successful Facebook, Facebook users to perform multiple tasks, often within the same login session. Facebook users often recommend something to someone with similar interests, posting links, pictures and videos and enjoy fixing their "voice", including Facebook followers.

Sites that are primarily information portals such as Wikipedia, to serve their customers primarily in a single layer, such as how to answer the question. Although the news site such as The New York Times offers its customers until now, national and international news. It was easy to see that ratcheting "social" aspect of the site and providing a level of interoperability is essential to maintain consumer interest. Less successful (social) websites often offer only a single layer or an primitive "socialness, but what really determines the success exception of Social Media and (or) network of sites is also running in different layers of social interaction in the inclusion of its users. This interaction and the social nature of these sites is what keeps the customers returning again and again.

Internet marketing and SEO campaign is essential to success, but social media has a strong future of Central Play!

Until recently, the Google way to get the best techniques and strategies used by SEO companies. A successful SEO campaign meant adjusting the optimization tactics and techniques, based on what could be slaughtered or constructs of the Google algorithm is tested in conjunction with other SEO techniques. Website SEO campaign traditionally consists of two separate but equally important components, site optimization, the daily off-site optimization.

Optimizing your site often, a new topical and optimized website content, ensuring the proper key, and use keyword density, linking other relevant pages within the site and linking out to sound authoritative and highly rated external sites. External or off site SEO capacity of networking (back links) site of origin from other authoritative high Google page rank of sites, blogs, press releases and more.

Although these two standardized elements of SEO campaign can not be reduced in importance, but the impact of online and SEO, Social Media and Social Networking one-third (new) The importance of the inclusion of the component can not be overlooked. To confirm the Social Media push to add a value, just look at the mainstream media such as TV, magazines, etc. Television advertisements constantly pointed references to Facebook, Twitter, and magazine ads tout Follow us on Twitter or visit our Facebook page " clearly the third component of the Internet impact, because the level of not only become mainstream, but is quickly becoming an important marketing tool.

It seems clear that the roll, it is important that social media and social networking sites taking a mandated approach to the three components of SEO. What is apparent is the extent of participation and level of participation, as well as how to properly use and take advantage of social media and social networks.

Today, social media remains a mystery to most businesses and organizations that are ideal strategy and level of participation in general is scheduled in and knowledge of, and even sometimes some even C-level management understanding. When the organization has left scratching their collective heads, while maintaining an experienced, well-working social media optimization, SEO company can tender an important advantage of the need to triumph over their respective competition. 80's and 90's it was understood that many companies have a higher PR firm. Today, new media or SEO Internet Marketing Company is quickly becoming the de facto standard to reach the masses quickly pay for it in a positive return on investment (ROI).

Back to the future installments of old windows in our series of articles highlighting the SMO / SEO and the importance of social networks. Other article topics include:

First How to leverage social media.
Second What needs to be budgeted toward the CMO / SEO takes time and money?
Third How do I save the best CMO / SEO company for your money.
4th What kind of content and materials should be posting?
5th How to write methodology. Meet your business needs and vertical slot to get from social media and social networks.

These sources provide detailed lists of today's social media and social networking sites.

* Wikipedia. This is a list of major active social networking sites, dating sites and do not.

* SocialMediaWebsites.com. Full of social media and social networking sites.

* Traffikd.com. Updated frequently and breaks down the social media site type, ie food, consumer, fashion, etc.

* InsideCRM.com. 50 social sites to the needs of every business presence.

About the Author

NYC SEO provides attention to clients and deliver measurable success through Online Business Marketing, when providing search engine optimization services.

How Does Google Places Being Replaced By Google+ Local Effect Your Business?

Well the big news overnight is that Google Places as we know it is winding up and being replaced with Google + Local results instead. This comes as no surprise to us here as Google Places has been plagued with a multitude of issues since it was born out of Google Maps back in 2010. The fact that Google Places had extremely limited user interaction was also a major thorn in Google's side, as Facebook Business Pages had market domination for this very reason.

What Has Changed?

There are some notable changes, and these include obviously the new Google + pages now appearing where the Google Places page used to display in organic search results. This has yet to roll out to all countries, although expect it to happen quickly.

In your personal Google + pages there is now an added tab for Google + Local search.

Zagat reviews. Now gone is the 'five gold star' rating system, and replaced with a much more in depth review system, that allows for a better user experience. Reviews are now given out of 30, and there are sub sections of the review process, that includes such things as food, service and even atmosphere for a restaurant review. If you log into your personal Google + account and write a new review, you will now be prompted to import all your previous Google Places reviews into the new format. Your name is now on the line for all to see, and this is a great addition as it will lower the number of fake reviews from your competitors.

The addition of Google + Pages have also extended across to Google Maps. If you have an Android device by default you will also begin to see the inclusion of Google + Pages in organic search results.

All these changes make for a much stronger user experience, and it may prove to be the winning move in Google's long losing streak in the social arena.

What About SEO?

Here is where things get interesting for a business owner. The big news is that Google + Local Pages will now be indexed by Google, as opposed to the Google Places Pages that were not.

So if you like it or not and you have a Google Places Page, it will be automatically converted into a Google + Local Page, and by default you are now in the Social Media Marketing game.

If you are a savvy business owner then see this as massive opportunity, and if you nurture and grow your Google + Local Page then you are going to be rewarded with more traffic to your website, and ultimately more customers.

The SEO benefits of this are a great indication of the way Google is thinking right now, and I really see this as a positive move that will greatly help businesses and the end user.

What Do You Do Now?

If you already have a Google Places Page then expect it to change to a Google + Local page in the coming days. You're going to see an entirely new interface, and if you are not familiar with Google + then it might seem a bit daunting at first. This is not the time to ignore it, as there will be others in your market whom do take advantage and reap the rewards.

The way to build out a Google + Business Page is to do so like you would with anything else Google promote, relevant and valuable. Create content, share content, grow and engage your audience.

There are sure to be more rollouts of changes as Google tweaks and refines their systems and processes, so expect things to bounce around for a while.

Effective Local Business Marketing

Does your business survive on local shoppers? Even though you may draw customers from a limited area, you are not necessarily limited in the ways that you can advertise. Many business owners do not specialize in marketing, and after placing a few ads, getting a company listing in the city yellow page book and networking with people they know, they run out of advertising ideas.

Marketing does take time and money, however using creative strategies that people like will bring attention to your business and is more likely to bring in new customers. Here are three low-cost marketing strategies that you can use.

1. How to Get Free Publicity

Start by announcing your business to your community. Are you holding a grand opening event or open house? Writing a short press release to your local newspaper can result in a story written about your company. There are resources online that help you write a press release, and you can even find free templates. If you do not feel comfortable writing your own release, you can always hire a public relations firm to do the job for you.

One news story can go a long way in bringing you business, but you do not need to stop at one. Any time you have news about your business that would interest the community, you can submit another press release. The same release can be sent to radio and TV stations as well.

2. Get Customers to Love You with Coupons

People love to save money. A coupon ad will tend to bring you more customers than a regular advertisement alone, and you do not have to worry about devising a complicated sales pitch.

You can send out coupons in through social networking sites, or run them in local newspapers if you have money to burn!

3. Get Local Online

The yellow pages used to be a powerful advertising tool, but more and more people are using the internet. Local online directories and social networking sites are quickly becoming a popular resource that customers use to find local businesses. You do not have to pay a lot of money to get listed in these directories, and it is an easy way to get more exposure for your company.

Websites like Facebook and Google Local, are high traffic online locations that can help you promote your business with a little effort. An important part of local business marketing is to advertise your company in multiple locations so you can gain the most exposure. If you are limited in the amount of time you can spend marketing, then hire a professional who is dedicated to finding customers on your behalf. Over time, the quality of your service can bring you repeat business and referrals also, so remember to treat your customers well.

How Your Facebook Timeline Cover Can Give You The Advantage In Your Social Networking

One of the most interesting things about the new Facebook timeline designs is the large picture area at the top of the screen. This is known as the cover, as it acts as a cover page for the story of your life.

When choosing a timeline cover, you want to pick something that reflects you, whether it's a graphic of yourself, your family, or a graphic that showcases a hobby or interest of yours.

What is the Facebook Timeline Cover?

The timeline cover is an 850px by 315px graphic at the top of your timeline (formerly known as your profile). The concept behind the timeline is it gives a more structured view of your life as presented on Facebook. Every time you've added a friend, changed your relationship status or edited your profile text will be placed on the timeline.

The cover acts as the front page to this story of your life. This is what gives you an advantage in social networking and is so important: think of it as your social media first impression. This cover is especially important so everyone can get a good idea of who you are in a glance.

The cover also addresses an issue that many people who crossed over from Myspace to Facebook criticized: lack of customization . Myspace let users to create fully personalized websites, whereas Facebook only let you upload images , not edit the appearance of the profile. The Facebook cover adds a new level of customization to your page.

What should I use for my cover?

• Use a picture of that's already in your albums. If you do this, you'll want to use a big, high quality picture -- no tiny cell phone images ! This is the first thing people will see when they visit your page, and a grainy distorted graphic won't make a great impression.

• Design your own cover. If you have some graphic design chops, you can make your own cover in whatever graphic processing program you have. Use images , drawings and text to create your own work of art at the top of your timeline.

How to change your cover

1. Look at your Facebook timeline by clicking your name at the top of the Facebook page.

2. Click the "Change Cover" link. This gives you a drop-down menu.

3. If you'd like to use your own picture that's already on Facebook, click "Choose from my images ." This will present you with all your Facebook images.

4. Click "Upload a Photo" to choose an graphic on your computer to use as a cover.

5. Once you've picked your cover image , drag the cover around to reposition it if you need to adjust the position of the graphic.

6. Click the "Done".

Why Is Social Networking So Important To Your Local Business?

If you are a local business and you are still pondering if you need to jump on the bandwagon to social networking sites, you need to read this article. The advantages of social networking are so relevant to big and small players alike, so ignoring the benefits is unwise. Most entrepreneurs are taking advantage of social marketing sites such as Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

These businessmen and women are also beginning to ride the power of mobile marketing. If you are still on the fence, then let this information explain why.
Social media is so important right now, especially to the business owners. In fact, the 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report revealed some interesting facts. In the report, it was revealed that 67% of small business owners and self-employed individuals strongly agree that the influence of social media to their businesses is so paramount to their growth. Without a doubt, it is the most effective way to reach and service clients.

Social media platforms that are used in local businesses include Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and blogs.

Mobile marketing is also gaining momentum as one of the breakthrough approaches to reaching customers. With 1 in 2 Americans owning a Smartphone, and a third of all adults in the UK using one, ignore this potential at your peril.

But what are the best advantages of social networking sites?

Low Investment Required

Yes, social networking sites offer the opportunity to provide exposure to your local business without breaking the bank. It is because social media is inexpensive that it allows you to challenge big competitors.

You have the option to use the platforms for free. Alternatively, you also have the option to make use of their paid advertising channels such as Facebook paid advertising for faster, laser targeted results. Nevertheless, most of these paid channels are still cheaper than the traditional TV or print ads. When you find the cost of starting a traditional advertising campaign prohibitive due to the small budget of your business, you need to give social media a try.

“Social Networking Sites - The Only Way to Challenge the Big Boys”

Here is the catch. Yes, you can use these social networking sites for free. However, when you want to challenge your competition, it is best to take your marketing to the next level. When you opt to use social networking sites to promote your business locally, hiring a social media expert is simply one of the smartest moves you can make. For the fraction of the cost you would pay to launch a take out a classified ad, advertise in yellow pages, or to post a billboard etc, social networking experts can reach more clients for every pound or dollar spent.

Global Reach

Indeed, the playing field is already even for everyone. With the advent of social networking sites, local businesses can now compete in reaching more prospective clients from all over the world without the high cost barrier.

“Everyone is basically on Facebook or Twitter!“

With 850 million people on Facebook alone, all within your reach, how can you ignore the power of social media marketing?

But where will you start? This is where a social networking expert can help you.

Conclusion

The influence of social networking today is simply the tip of the iceberg. Aside from the fantastic combination of low investment requirement and global reach, there are still so many more benefits to social media. I have a special affinity to Facebook, Pinterest, and mobile marketing. The potential with these sites are so overwhelming that I strongly advocate every business owner to start exploring these mind-blowing tools.

With the help of strategic marketing plans and appropriate software tools, this is definitely the key to taking your business to a new level.

With the opportunity to outsource these tasks to experts for the fraction of the cost of traditional advertising with none of hassle, what are you waiting for?

Contact me now on Skype for an informal chat, my I.D is deonbryan_otg

Uncover the Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networking Sites – Surviving the Craziness of Google

SEO is truly crazy nowadays with recent updates of the Google algorithm. If you have observed the massive deindexing and the drop in the rankings of many websites, you need to pay attention. Today, social media is the flavor of Google and you need to know the advantages and disadvantages of social networking sites if you truly want to survive online.

Yes, I experienced the switch from heavy backlinking to the rise of social networking sites. Without a doubt, social media is truly important regardless of the size of your business. Particularly for the small business owners, social networking is so vital that it might be the answer to taking your online presence to the next level. Let us go through a few of the advantages and disadvantages of social networking sites.

Before anything else, what are these social networking sites? These are web technologies that are used for interactive communication, primarily employed to interact between individuals, groups, communities, and businesses. If you are familiar with Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, then you know what I am talking about.

People realize the need to connect with a celebrity, a business, or an important cause. In short, consumers wanted to have an interactive platform where they can voice out their sentiments and feelings. They might crave for this new dish from a restaurant or cheer for a celebrity. Social networking sites are the perfect venues to do anything interactive. As a business owner, there is a ton of benefits that you can take advantage with these technologies.

Building Traffic

It can be a headache to build traffic with the frequent updates in search engines right now. For online business owners, building traffic is the key to success and this is where social networking sites can be of great help. Through social networking sites, you can have your own site and let your customers see more about your products and services. You even allow them to comment or tell you their concerns. When you cater to your customers this way, the traffic will surely come through referrals and word-of-mouth marketing. In addition, as per the recent updates with Google, your site will be heavily favored by the search engines too.

Interaction with Customers

When you attempt to engage your customers online, you form this bond with them. In return, loyalty is fostered and you satisfy them at the same time. So, go on and try to post the updates with your latest promotions and videos about your business. Your customers will feel as if they are part of your business. Customer interaction, when properly handled, translates not only to more traffic but to increased sales too.

Cheap Form of Marketing

In this time of financial crisis, social networking sites offer a cheap way to advertise your business. The tools are mostly free. With a few minutes on these tools each day, you can reap the benefits with consistent effort. Moreover, you can do these online promotions yourself and you do not need to pay for professionals, unlike the other forms of traditional marketing.

The Disadvantages

Yes, there are a few disadvantages to the use of social networking sites. One of these problems is that it can be time consuming, especially for those entrepreneurs who are still learning these technologies. Nevertheless, this is compensated with its low price to execute an online marketing campaign.

Summary

These advantages and disadvantages of social networking sites are concepts you need to be familiar with. These concepts are important for your online business to survive down the road.

Get your 4 free ebooks in the side panel to learn more.

Taking Advantage of Social Networking With Your Online Business

Social networking sites can provide many advantages to building an online network marketing business (or any online business) if used properly; and if you have a website and you're not getting involved in these networks, you're leaving a lot of money and potential leads on the table. Here are 4 advantages of tapping into this internet phenomena:

FREE ADVERTISING

The internet is huge, with hundreds of millions of people online at any one time. Social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook alone have over twenty million users each; so you are doing some major leverage of your time and reaching millions of people all over the globe.Unlike television commercials, which can cost thousands of dollars for thirty seconds, there is no cost to use MySpace or FaceBook. Furthermore, the benefits of online social networking can usually be seen quickly, making it a good investment of time and effort.

BUILDING A CUSTOMER BASE

A drawback to the vast number of people online is that it's easy to drown in anonymity. How do you get those millions to notice you? How do you know which people to target? Social networking can help on both counts. Build your friends list, join personal development and business building groups and make friends within those circles. You can then network to their online friends to reach larger numbers of people with similar interests. Suddenly, you have a targeted set of potential customers.

BRANDING

Most people would rather do business with someone they know and trust than a complete stranger. Interacting with potential customers online gives you the chance to establish a personal relationship. From these relationships, you can get feedback from your prospects about their likes and dislikes, the challenges they face and their suggestions to improve your business. By being responsive to this feedback, you can establish an online reputation as a dynamic name that values its customers and provides great service. Keep in mind that participating in social networking is for providing valuable information and service to your potential customers, not completing a saleleave that to your company website and other forms of marketing. In this circle, it's all about establishing yourself as an expert in your industry and providing valuable information to others that will help them be successful.

INDUSTRY CONTACTS

Finally, social networking sites can be used to reach more than just potential customers. You can befriend and build relationships with other people in your line of business. You can use them as a resource to learn more about your industry and customer base, to make contacts with reliable suppliers and distributors, and keep current on the latest trends in the industry.

Spread your networking out between a variety of social sites, get out there and make friends, and raise the level of discussions by actively participating in groups and forums, and you'll begin to establish yourself as a leader in your industry.

Get you for 4 free ebooks in the side panel to learn how to monetise social networking.

Social Networking Sites for Adults

With the growing popularity of the internet more and more individuals are beginning to reap the benefits of social networking websites, primarily adults. With the implementation of these websites the options are relatively endless considering that they provide an ample amount of communication opportunities between friends, family, and even potential employers and employees. With social networking websites you are able to converse with a wide variety of different individuals from all over the world.


As previously mentioned, social networking sites provide adults with the opportunity to communicate with a vast audience of individuals. This provides an ample amount of business opportunities and personal opportunities that can be taken advantage of. With the ability to contact the hiring official of your desired career company you will undoubtably be able to provide a lasting impression that will enable you to apply for any positions within the company.


Alongside business opportunities, social networking sites also allow individuals to expand their networking knowledge with past and current friends. Generally after high school ends and after people move on from past jobs, keeping in touch with those that they conversed with while spending time in that institution can prove to be extremely difficult. Luckily, social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter enable the individual to keep up with past acquaintances.


One of the largest advantages of using a social media website is that they are convenient and free to use. Rather than having to worry about acquiring an acquaintance’s phone number you can easily search them on the social media website and add them as a friend.


This will allow you to continue your conversation within a more neutral area and to further your friendship/relationship with that individual. Many individuals are finding that they are expanding their friend base overseas or in different countries which can prove to bring forth a numerous amount of advantages to home and cell phone bills on a daily basis. With the use of these social media websites you will be able to communicate with individuals on the other side of the world for free and without having to worry about excess long distance charges.

Taking Advantage of Social Networking With Your Online Business

Social networking sites can provide many advantages to building an online network marketing business (or any online business) if used properly; and if you have a website and you're not getting involved in these networks, you're leaving a lot of money and potential leads on the table. Here are 4 advantages of tapping into this internet phenomena:

FREE ADVERTISING

The internet is huge, with hundreds of millions of people online at any one time. Social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook alone have over twenty million users each; so you are doing some major leverage of your time and reaching millions of people all over the globe.
Unlike television commercials, which can cost thousands of dollars for thirty seconds, there is no cost to use MySpace or FaceBook. Furthermore, the benefits of online social networking can usually be seen quickly, making it a good investment of time and effort.

BUILDING A CUSTOMER BASE

A drawback to the vast number of people online is that it's easy to drown in anonymity. How do you get those millions to notice you? How do you know which people to target? Social networking can help on both counts. Build your friends list, join personal development and business building groups and make friends within those circles. You can then network to their online friends to reach larger numbers of people with similar interests. Suddenly, you have a targeted set of potential customers.

BRANDING

Most people would rather do business with someone they know and trust than a complete stranger. Interacting with potential customers online gives you the chance to establish a personal relationship. From these relationships, you can get feedback from your prospects about their likes and dislikes, the challenges they face and their suggestions to improve your business. By being responsive to this feedback, you can establish an online reputation as a dynamic name that values it�s customers and provides great service. Keep in mind that participating in social networking is for providing valuable information and service to your potential customers, not completing a sale�leave that to your company website and other forms of marketing. In this circle, it's all about establishing yourself as an expert in your industry and providing valuable information to others that will help them be successful.

INDUSTRY CONTACTS

Finally, social networking sites can be used to reach more than just potential customers. You can befriend and build relationships with other people in your line of business. You can use them as a resource to learn more about your industry and customer base, to make contacts with reliable suppliers and distributors, and keep current on the latest trends in the industry.

There are several different social networking sites besides the two mentioned here that can offer even more! Take ZENZUU for example: they're changing the way of wealth distribution throughout the world and even offering what they call "green pages" for online advertising in addition to many extra advantages for their active members who join for free.

Spread your networking out between a variety of social sites, get out there and make friends, and raise the level of discussions by actively participating in groups and forums, and you'll begin to establish yourself as a leader in your industry.