Social Networking - The Basics
mkLINK Internet Marketing Tips(03 July 2007)
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"Maximise Your Website Conversion Rate with MKLINK"

What is Social Networking?
According to Wikipedia(A social networking type of site in itself) :

"A social network service focuses on the building and verifying of
online social networks for communities of people who share interests
and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and
activities of others, and which necessitates the use of software.

Most social network services are primarily web based and provide a
collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chat,
messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging,
discussion groups, and so on."

What does that mean?
It means that in the 'old' days you pretty much just had noticeboards and chatrooms.
In these days of so-called Web 2.0(i.e. post 9/11) there are a multitude of ways people can interact with each other - outside their own email and websites. Some you'll have heard of - some you won't - I've listed some examples below.
Note - I've covered the basics of blogs in another article here : http://mklink.com/newsletters_14_12_06.html

How do they work?
For the most part - these(typically zero-cost) sites allow their users to create a profile for themselves. They can then upload details and pictures of themselves. Youtube.com for example is famous for uploading video files - often a source of both amusement and litigation!

A paid example of social networking would be friendsreunited.com - where you can join for nothing or pay to upgrade(it was a fiver a year last time I looked) and find and contact people you liked or hated at school! Other examples are dating, file sharing, community interests - there's almost certainly one available for a niche community and if not - start one!

Some famous website examples that allow you to upload your profile & pics etc:
(I'm excluding MSN Messenger & things like that for now)

www.MySpace.com The Big daddy. Adopted primarily by people 35+.
www.Youtube.com Huge .Allows you to upload & share videos. Owned by Google.
www.Facebook.com Worldwide, although well adopted in the UK.
www.bebo.com Aimed at younger people(70% are between 18-34)
www.orkut.com Google's offering - setup in 2004.
www.digg.com - good for feedback rating or digg points
www.flickr.com - Biased towards uploading & sharing photos
del.icio.us - Share your bookmarks with the world!

Can they help my business?

Well, just like blogging can bring in loads of traffic, so can social networking.
Just think of the opportunities :

Inbound links to your website, Visitor feedback, referrals, increased exposure. (Just think how many people YOU send a good email joke to!).

Essentially, if you want to viral market something - these channels are perfect.

Usually - as in blogging, word of mouth referral to your website - or article - or blog - or whatever linkbait you're using - add useful, relevent content that people actually want!

Hope this has given you something to think about...

'till next time,

Mike Knight. http://www.mklink.com

For more details or to speak about your website,
simply call me on 01454 852414, reply to this email
or visit mklink.com/contact2.php?source=newsletter