It is hard to miss the buzz these days about social networking.  People are talking about FaceBook, Digg and Twitter everywhere you turn.  If you spend much time on the internet, there are classes and reports on how to use social networking effectively.  Many people report social networking sites as important elements in their marketing plans.  So I finally decided to jump in.

My first step was to try and sort through all the different possibilities and decide which sites would be best for my marketing.   There are sites specific to many demographic and special interest groups.  One danger that I did not want to fall into is trying to do too much in too many places.  It is possible for a social networking site to take up vast chunks of your time and as an entrepreneur, you just can’t let this happen.  I have two niches and so I settled on two places to promote them – FaceBook and LinkedIn.

Once you have decided where you want to be – just jump in.  There is much to learn in the world of social networking, but you will learn best by doing.  Your first step is to develop a profile that includes info about who you are, what you do, keywords that will help people find you and a good picture of yourself.  Social network sites are going to help you with the part of marketing where people get to know and like you so think of it as developing losts of virtual relationships.

Next you will want to make connections with others and expand your network.  Then use the format of your particular site to gently promote what you do.  On LinkedIn, you can showcase expertise by asking and answering questions.  On FaceBook, you can update your activites, join and participate in groups and add links to your own websites and blogs.

There is still a great deal I haven’t yet discovered about social networking.  I am taking a few teleseminars in the upcoming days to increase my understanding of marketing in this way.  I’ll be sure to keep you posted.   In the mean time, why don’t you join me on FaceBook or LinkedIn.

If you are a member, you can join my online network.  Just go to LinkedIn or Facebook and invite me to join your network.  You can find me here -

Facebook -   click here.

LinkedIn - click here.