Using Social Networking to build your Business

Social Networking is, without a doubt, one of the greatest methods you can use to promote any product or business opportunity. With thousands of people jumping on the Internet and joining social networking sites such as Facebook, Internet Marketers realize there is a great opportunity to build their business and their income by using them.

If you have ever used sites like Facebook and MySpace then you will know that these sites allow you to meet up and connect with other people. You know that these sites also allow you to send messages to your contacts and share pictures with them. It is also easy enough to post a URL to them so they can visit other sites.

There is great potential for making money with these sites as long as you follow correct methods. In this article I aim to show you the correct things to do and what to avoid. Used properly you can quickly build a list of targeted prospects who are interested in your product or service.

STEP 01 ? Set up a Profile page

Any professional marketer will tell you that ?branding yourself? is an important part of any business. This involves people getting to know and trust you. Setting up a profile page is the first most important step you should take so you can introduce yourself to your contacts and show them who you are and what you can offer them.

With so many scams on the Internet, people are not so keen in buying from just anybody. Therefore it is important to convince these people that you are a genuine person who they can learn to trust. A profile page help you to do this by allowing you to display some personal details such as your name, a picture and a general introduction.

Your profile page should not be a sales pitch. You should not fill it with ads and give people the impression that you only want to sell to them. Instead you should focus on branding yourself by putting as much general information about yourself as possible. Your main objective here is to build relationships with your contacts. This is what social networking is all about.

Your profile should cover information such as hobbies, your job and your family. Mention the books you like to read, movies you like to watch, music you like to listen to. Pictures of yourself and your family on holiday. Your goals and dreams. And finally ? information about what you are offering people with a link to the site with the offer.

You should also offer a way people can contact you. Either by a phone number, email address or by an instant messenger such as Skype. One to one contact goes a long way in building business relationships.

STEP 02 ? Building Your Contact List

When you start looking for people to connect with ? don?t just add any person to build a huge contact list in a short time. Remember that you are looking for targeted prospects who will be interested in what you have to offer. So only connect with people with certain interests.

For example ? supposing I want people to join my Home Business opportunity, I will be targeting people who are interested in making money working from home. I send them a mail to introduce myself and point them towards my profile. No need to mention my business at this stage.

You may find most people are already promoting a business opportunity or some other money making program. It is worth connecting with them as many people are open to the opportunity of joining another business, either as a replacement business or as a second one.

Look for things on their profile you can chat about. Maybe they have hobbies similar to yours, maybe even come from the same country you live. Remember ? you are not aiming to sell at this stage. You are aiming to build friendships and business relationships. Do not start promoting your business in your introduction otherwise most people will just delete your mail and maybe even block you from contacting them again.

STEP 03 ? Posting Messages

This is where many people (myself included) have made one major mistake when it comes to posting messages on a social networking site. They have made all their messages promotional ones.

When people check their email they quickly scan through them looking for ones they want to read and delete the rest. The same applies when people are reading messages sent to them by their contacts. If they see a load of messages promoting some program from someone they don?t really know then they are not likely to read your message.

For this reason you need to promote yourself and not your product. Get to know your contacts and they are most likely to read your mails. Here is an example of a welcome mail to send your contacts.

Hi NAME,

My name is (your name). I?ve just been looking at your profile and it seems we share the same interests in making money online. I would like you to read my profile and get to know a little about me. I also look forward to keeping in contact with you and hopefully sharing some interesting information with you.

(Your Name)

Once you?ve shared a few mails then you can stand promoting your products or business. But don?t use sales talk, use normal conversation. Remember that you are talking to your contact as a friend. Here is an example of a message promoting a product using normal conversation.

Hi NAME,

Hope you are well. I am fine, just been busy with the children and some tasks around the house.

I?ve been looking at this website which looks quite promising. It seems you can get your own domain for $10 a month which includes a site builder and a great compensation plan. I don?t know if you?ve heard of it but it?s called GDI. I?ve just joined it today and I?ve included the URL for you just in case you want to check it out.

So what have you been up to lately?

(Your Name)

Notice that this message is not using sales talk to create a presentation. It is simply one friend sharing something with another. By posting messages like this you are more likely to get your URL seen.

Notice the line that asks the contact what they have been up to? This encourages them to reply to your message because you have asked them a question. As part of their reply they will probably tell you that they have looked at the site you sent them or will at least promise to look later. Meaning there is a good chance they will sign up as they trust your recommendation as a friend.

Finally, make sure you send your contacts some useful and free information from time to time. This could be a link to a great article you?ve read or some free giveaway software. This helps to build your business relationship with them so they don?t think of you as someone who just wants their money.

I personally use a great site called Swom. It?s free to join and hundreds of people are joining it daily. It is the easiest site to get started with that I have ever seen so even a complete newbie will have no problems. You can learn more about Swom and other popular business type social networking sites by clicking here.

I have also written a guide to Swom which you can view here.

Conclusion

Social Networking will help you build up a list of quality prospects who you can sell to again and again. Most of them are free to join so you don?t have to worry about your marketing budget.

Many of them allow you to start a group where you can have discussions on different subjects. So starting a group based around your product can help gain you a few sales. For example ? if you sold herbal products you could start a discussion about various products and start recommending the ones you sell.

Most important, social networking is fun and you can meet a lot of good friends through it. More and more people are joining these sites which means thousands of potential customers in the future. So get yourself signed up for at least one site and good luck.

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