Do you believe that social networking is beneficial to your business or is it a waste of time?

I personally use social networking, and it has helped my business tremendously. We have got many business contacts & new customers using social networking. You have to balance it with other forms of networking and learn what works for you. In the end, it depends on how you feel about it and whether it is something you want to pursue. I believe it depends on the individual. Some people do better in a live setting, others do better online.

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Answered by The Rose Basket 811 Mulberry Street, Loudon, TN, 37774, 865-657-3266 (Novice with 2 pts.)

Answered 13 years ago.

Unfortunately, much of the effort is wasted time. If you have an existing communication platform with your clients and prospects- you'll likely find that much of the social network marketing is simply redundant.. The big concern I have is that excessive marketing through social networks will numb my clients to future offers.. Too much of a good thing can easily become a nuisance!

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Answered by Vacation-Times.org 4537 Plymouth Sorrento Road, Apopka, FL, 32712, 407-310-7144 (Novice with 19 pts.)

Answered 14 years ago.

I feel that social networking has help my business tremendously. The process of getting your name out there online is just as important as in person. Now days it works hand in hand and in some cases speeds up the process. Most people are still stuck in the outdated concepts.It does take time and energy to reach them. "Think outside the box"! Best Wishes to those whom have benefited and those whom are still working on it. It's all about reinventing, being creative in your business.

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Answered by AVON Extraordinaire Buy/Sell & Fundraisers Serving Titusville and Avon Estore, Titusville, FL, 32781, 321-264-0141 (Novice with 35 pts.)

Answered 14 years ago.

Depends on the type of business you have. If you have lots of return customers then Social networks are good - you can announce promotions, new products and such. If you are a service type company that people only hire once - home repairs - then focus on your website

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Answered by Madden Tree 20 Woodman Cir, South Weymouth, MA, 02190, 781-858-5719 (Novice with 14 pts.)

Answered 14 years ago.

Definitely beneficial! I do social media marketing for the self storage company I work for and we have gotten tenants that have found us off of facebook, craigslist, merchant circle, and yelp to name a few. These days more and more people are going online to find what they need so yes, very beneficial and the awesome part is most of it is free!!

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Answered by Rancho San Diego Self Storage 10499 Austin Drive, Spring Valley, CA, 91978, 619-670-9765 (Novice with 7 pts.)

Answered 14 years ago.

f you have been one of the nay-sayers about Social Networking sites like FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, Friendster, and YouTube you may want to rethink this belief. If you have been saying, “I just don’t get it.” It’s time to “get it” especially if you want to exploit this for the good of your online business.

First, you need to know that Google is now indexing Social Networking content including video, images and blogs right alongside with webpages. What this means for you is this. If you don’t use these sites to promote your business you are missing out on a lot of free promotion for your business and opportunity to get better indexed at search engines. The more content you have online about your business, products and services, the better indexed your site will be. This means your customers and prospects will be more easily able to find what you have to offer at your site. The more links TO your site (called backlinks), the more popular your site is viewed by search engines, especially if those links come from what are deemed as high-profile (authority ) sites.

Here is what you need to know to capitalize on all this free promotion for your business (essentially this is Search Engine Optimization Strategy whether you know it or not).

Getting good returns from Social Search Results means:

1. If you don’t have a Google account get one. Make sure you have all of your important links on your Google Profile. 2. Do make as many connections as possible on the most popular social networking sites especially the ones that attract your market. 3. Encourage customers to follow you via social networks. Include your Twitter address, FaceBook address etc on your site and your marketing materials. 4. Participate in social media so people will engage with you. This starts with getting a free account for your business on the popular social sites. 5. Encourage sharing of content (there are plenty available social media buttons) Example: Flicker, Digg, etc, 6. Always include social network information on business cards, signs and so forth. Get the word out in as many places as you can. 7. Be sure to include as much social network information as you can in your online promotions 8. Everywhere you network include a link BACK to your website – this is CRITICAL.

Remember when doing searches, social results will always be clearly marked as such on Google’s SERPs (Search Engine Results Page). The returns will be accompanied by a heading “Results from your social circle”. For traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it is just one more thing to compete with as far as website property. That’s why social networking is a much more of an important part of search than ever. Get on board now, Google will be announcing more changes to their new indexing system, so make the most of this information now.

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Answered by PC Doctor's Design & Wireless 2419 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60647, 773-234-9728 (Novice with 2 pts.)

Answered 14 years ago.

It depends on type of business. I run a courier service in Boston,MA. In my business we interested in local clients. I had none from any of social networks. Only one I've got from merchantcircle.com. I think social networks work better for consulting or marketing types of business.

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Answered by A&J Business Service Inc. 20 Blueview Rd., Boston, MA, 02132, 617-469-2819 (Novice with 5 pts.)

Answered 14 years ago.

Since people do business with those they know, like, and trust, social networking is a great way to build a fan base, stay in front of people and build relationships and trust with them. It is great for announcements, specials, updates, contests, etc.
Social networking will work better for some businesses than others, and it takes time and dedication. You need to have a clear goal of what your target market wants, and also what you're expecting from it (drive traffic to a website, build brand exposure) in order for it to be most effective. Planning posts and setting a time schedule will help keep it from becoming too time consuming and wasting time.
One more benefit of social networking has to do with the search engines. First of all, social sites provide backlinks to your website. Plus, some sites like Facebook pages can rank quite well in searches. Social interaction has now become a strong factor in search engine ranking for a page, so the more likes, tweets, +1's a page or post gets, the better. Search engines are all about providing a good user experience, encouraging webmasters to create content that is engaging to the reader, they take social proof seriously.
Most business owners I know are way too busy running their business to learn how to optimize their online marketing campaigns, I strongly suggest working with a consultant for maximum effectiveness and best use of time, but if you're going to do it yourself at least taking the time to learn the basics so it doesn't become a waste of time.
You can find helpful tips on the new Facebook timeline here: Under "Resources" you'll find free help with LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube in the sidebar here,
Links: www.facebook.com, businesswebmarketingservices.com.

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Answered by Business Web Marketing Services 1106 Jefferson Avenue, Yakima, WA, 98902, 509-895-2466 (Novice with 5 pts.)

Answered 14 years ago.

Social Networking is a wonderful tool for Advertising and "Getting Your Business Noticed."
Having your own Webmercial and utilizing your website and/or Social Media whenever and however you choose affords you the ability to present your business and/or products and not be over-shadowed by the larger companies due to budgetary constraints.
Have you noticed that a lot of big media companies are adding "Webmercials" to their websites and the internet in general?
These Webmercials are in addition to the millions they have spent to promote their products and services during major sporting events (Super Bowl, Final Four etc...) and other high interest television events (Oscars, Grammy's etc...). Marketing Managers for these companies have come to the realization that people are spending more time in front of their computer screen rather than their television screen. These large companies have blitzed the television airways with promotions to set in the minds of potential customers "Remember us when purchasing a particular good or service." And now they are focusing their attention on the World Wide Web. They recognize that the viewing potential of the internet is far greater than what could be reached by any given television event. (Facebook alone has 200 million users). Fortunately for smaller businesses, having your own Webmercial, Social Networking and/or having your own website significantly reduces the advantage previously held by these larger companies. You can promote you business much more effectively and set in the mind of potential customers to "Remember us Too when purchasing a particular good or service." May I suggest you read my Blog which contains additional information on this subject. Gator
Links: gator-factsaboutwebmercials.blogspot.com

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Answered by Gator Media Productions Harvey, LA, 70058, 504-400-8566 (Novice with 3 pts.)

Answered 14 years ago.

I find if very valuable to our industry. It gives a way to connect with the community and show that we are about what is happening in the area along with sharing deals, homes for sale and much more. I also feel it's a great way to market, as 85% of people go to the internet for home searches and for SEO, the more you do...the more you come up. It's also a great marketing tool for potential sellers to let them know that we are in the business of marketing their home and not just our company. Hope this helps....Jeff
Links: www.facebook.com

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Answered by Jeff Brand RE/MAX DFW Associates 2900 Long Prairie Road, Flower Mound, TX, 75022, 972-539-6555 (Novice with 6 pts.)