MediaVision Blog : Search Engine Marketing

Social networks are very much like conventions or social mixers, where different tables have signs inviting people to sit and join others that have similar interests.

I have mentioned “social networking” several times in previous posts but, I feel it’s important to address the difference between corporate use of social networks and casual use. Therefore, I have delved into these two strategies with a few examples.

As we already know, social networks allow members to organise and interact around a person’s relationships or interests, rather than just focus on topic. People that know each other (or want to meet each other) will connect via a variety of common interests. These are great tools to get people of like interest to connect to each other and share information.

MediaVision has a group on Facebook, and we are in the process of expanding across a variety of social platforms. This is useful in two ways: a) it’s a way to share MediaVision-related photos, information and happenings with our fellow colleagues in other offices and b) to increase brand awareness by posting knowledge that people interested in Search Engine Marketing will find interesting.

The maintenance is ongoing and it’s important to keep the information fresh to encourage people to join and keep coming back for more. That’s where the challenge comes in; it’s finding the time to update and interact with our audience and keep them interested with valuable insights and opinions.

Social networking is blooming in the business world, thanks to these social networks; professionals and executives are in a position to interact with each other and rub virtual elbows with colleagues.

Thousands of professionals are turning to networking sites like LinkedIn to swap job details and contact information; this is often used for recruiting purposes as well as networking. Companies are turning to online forums and message boards to discuss and share information related to their industries

There is an indubitable increase in industries wanting to promote a more personal type of business network and are thus starting their own social networks. Doctors have Sermo.com that has features such as profile pages showing professional information; personal blogs functioning like an online diary; as well as all the basic functions like messaging etc. These are niche social networks that target members in specific industries.

Barry Schuler, managing director of Draper Fisher, is pretty fed up with the amount of social networks that are entering the market; he reckons that some audience’s, re: cat lovers; don’t need their own social networks.

Despite his opinion, social networks keep on coming and the market is getting rather saturated. Regardless, one cannot deny that there are many uses for these networks, especially for business. If used correctly, it is an invaluable tool that provides excellent opportunities for businesses to advertise, promote specials, events or services. It also offers an opportunity for them to feature their employees and use their interaction with the public to gain insight on target markets and carefully screened peers.

In my personal life, apart from the general buddy-buddy interaction, I use social networks to keep in touch with my friends dispersed across the world. I find social networks like Facebook very useful to promote a music event production company that I have started with a few friends of mine.

There are, of course, thousands of sites now offering free listing services for all styles of acts, bands and musicians. Last.fm, MySpace and Facebook are pretty well organised and provide all the promotional tools that I require to get the info out there and communicate with my audience.

The services differ on all these sites but most give you the opportunity to advertise online by adding your website, music demos, event info, as well as facilities to upload bios and pictures.

MySpace or YouTube give new and unsigned acts/bands the opportunity to sell their music online, have their tracks voted on by the users and keep their profits. Of course there are pros and cons to uploading your music to these sites.

As far as event organising goes, social networking is fabulous. You are able to communicate directly with the people that are interested in your music or artists, regardless of whether they are your friends or not. It’s instant interaction and you can see who is attending and not attending your event.

I agree that more and more social networks are popping up all over the show, but if you are in a niche sector and want your own social network, whether it’s corporate or personal, it’s a useful and beneficial tool to have. I don’t see why not, as there are enough people in this universe that do have the same interests as you and will be happy to join your niche site.

It’s all about your service offering and the satisfaction of your audience. Use the tools properly and it’s a win-win situation all round. Over time the weeds will die off and the really good social networks will remain standing. One thing that I’m quite certain of, is that social networking is not going anywhere anytime soon, so if you can’t beat them join them.