Easy Guide To Social Media

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Overview Guide to Social Media

As some of the main players in the social media have different personas and attibutes, it is good to have an outline of what these are before embarking upon putting your company out there.

My Space has about 189 million users and a page rank of 8 but due to its vulnerability to attack many of its`users are departing to the likes of Facebook and Bebo. Unfortunately it has long been a haven of hackers so the reality of it is that users are seeing security issues and errors. But on a more positive note My Space has endless groups that you can join and then has the facility to send them out bulletins which is an effective way of marketing to the potentially right people.

Also on My Space Forums discussions between people who are not acquainted often take place, again making for a good opportunity. However you need to be aware that there is plenty of rubbish there also! Creating your business profile on My Space is worthwhile and there are a section of My Space users who take this seriously and professionally. When it is approached this way and then gradually through groups and forums you can add friends; people with whom who have got to know there.

Facebook has a page rank of 8 and about 30 million users but it is invisible to the search engines. What is fantastic about the Facebook crowd is their profile, they are fanatical about the Facebook features and will react either one way or the other depending. Of all the social media sites it has to be said that Facebook commands a lot of respect. The Facebook community takes integrity and a lack of spam seriously.

Within Facebook, although it is invisible to the search engines, it is a good idea to build a brand gradually. Do this properly before trying to look for a following on Facebook. When you wish to build a following there are Facebook polls which are paid but inexpensive, but a good way to test the waters. Facebook groups are more advanced than other group applications, and to start off you could search for people who may have a common interest in your area of expertise, service or product range. When doing this search you must realise that the limits are bound by your networks.
There are also paid options on Facebook which can be explored if budget allows.

Digg has a page rank of 8 and 1.2 million users and is best known to the marketing and technical crowds. Be aware before becoming involved with Digg that the types of comments here can be especially frustrating however the potential results can make it worthwhile. The idea with Digg is to get Dugg. This is done by submitting appealing content which could be amusing and weird, such as funny pictures, articles about how bad government related bodies or presidents are or something to do with sex. Or going for the more techie approach which can includes stuff about iPhones or boring news (but exciting) about video games. If a Digg submission has an impact you can then experience the "Digg effect" which is the phenomenon when Digg sends too much traffic to a website for the server to handle!

It is however difficult to figure out the patterns of what will be dugg, which is not helped by the fact that stories are buried for no apparent reason. It is worth perservering for the potential outcome and stories that receive 1000 diggs will increase sign ups, visitors and exposure.

Twitter has a page rank of 9 and is one of the fastest growing web applications, with users probably around 5 million but increasing quickly. Some would say that the format of Twitter where you "tweet" resembles that of a dinner party, where there are lots of little conversations and you can join which one you like. It is like an official eavesdropping environment and for a small business who needs a quicker, easier solution Twitter is a good choice. However it is much better if this can be at least paired with one other social media site.

The comments you can make on Twitter need to be 140 characters or less, it is great for promoting blogs or kind of like a micro-blogging space. Twitter was originally designed with mobile phones in mind. It is a social media where with least effort you have the chance of achieving more, but be warned many people are addicted.

LinkedIn is the professional social networking site with a page rank of 8 with about 10 millions users. It is especially good for creating links as you can select your own anchor text, although these links don`t pass page rank. Here you can network with potential contacts, existing business contacts, friends and classmates. Some people refer to LinkedIn as the Facebook for professionals.

When you set up your profile remember that this can rank very high on the search engines as it is a customised URL. In the case of my profile currently it ranks number two as someone else who has the same name is above me in position one. Your profile on LinkedIn is very important and serves as a business image for you, so it is really important to take the time to fill this out as extensively as possible.

The search capabilities of LinkedIn is its`strength and when you type in someone`s name you will very likely find them. You will then be able to see how they are connected with you and how many degrees they are away from you. LinkedIn Answers Service is a good platform to answer questions in your area of expertise which is important to raising your professional image over time. There are also Groups and Employment/Hiring Opportunities. Remember to link any blogs you have as well as your websites to your profile.