Standing Out

Yikes! I recently stumbled upon someone’s social network profile creation & management services through a Google Alert that was in my inbox this morning. I was so intrigued by what I was reading that I had to post on this blog twice today (sorry).

While the setup/management packages were relatively inexpensive, I believe they were a little over-the-top.

I’d rather educate my prospective clients and then hope they see the value in my services than to add a bunch of hype that isn’t true.

First of all, there’s no such thing as the “top” 50 or even “top” 25 social networks. Most people who are involved in social networking are not using 25. They’re probably using closer to 2 or 3, really. They’re definitely using MySpace or Facebook (or both) and they may also be using LinkedIn, Biznik, StartupNation, Twitter, Yahoo! 360, Plaxo, Bebo, Friendster, or Windows Live Spaces.

Some people, like me, are using upwards of 12-13 networks but I’m not really “using” them all. Some are set it and forget it types and some I just don’t have the time to actively maintain at the moment.

So, if someone is trying to sell you a service in which they set you up on the “top” 50 social networks, that’s insane! Not only is that completely unnecessary, but it’s also unmanageable (nevermind that there really aren’t 50 “top” networks).

It will be so difficult for you to really maintain 50 social networks that you will probably become jaded and forget the whole thing. Or, your profiles on some networks will become so stagnant that they reek of abandon - and that is about as bad for your business as stale advertising.

Really, set in mind a goal of 10 or fewer networks you think you want to participate in (and then go sign up for my e-course so you don’t go crazy thinking about how you’ll ever find the time) and try not to have social network fever and sign up for every one that you come across.

And remember - spice it up with other social media as well. Social networking doesn’t work as well if you’re not interesting.

• Create an account on YouTube and link to videos you like every now and then.
• Create an account on Snapfish or another picture-sharing account and post pictures when you go on vacation or to a business networking event or conference.
• Start a blog - a real blog, not just one on MySpace or Bebo. You can get them at wordpress.com OR better, download Wordpress and install it (or have it installed) on your business’s website.

But just trust me on this, you DO NOT need 50 or even 25 social networks. Pick a handful you will be active with and then trust in viral or buzz or word of mouth marketing to do the rest.

So I discovered yet another social network - this time things are a little different. It’s a website that sort of takes things like MySpace Groups & Facebook Groups and pimps it out majorly. It’s called Ning.com and the premise is built around the notion of creating “your own” social network.

You’re really creating your own “group” but I’ll play along with calling it a “social network” because I suppose it can be classified that way as well.

Either way, I took the bait. I created my own. Self Employed Mamas Rock. That’s my new social network. I’m looking for members so if you’re a rockin self employed mama, you need to be there!

But really, is there such a thing as social network addiction? Can you really have too many social networks? Here’s my list so far. I think it’s getting ridiculous. How about you?

• Facebook (friends & biz)
• Biznik (biz)
• LinkedIn (biz)
• MySpace (friends)
• Bebo (who knows; I created it ages ago)
• Plaxo (friends & biz)
• StartupNation (biz)
• Active Rain (biz)
• Multiply (friends & fam but I haven’t even set up my profile yet)
• Twitter (biz)
• Squidoo (biz)
• Ning (who knows? I’m just breaking the ice with what it can do)
• Friendster (friends but it’s been ages)
• Indiepublic (just joined about twenty minutes before I joined ning.com)

I don’t want to be a victim of social network addiction! Then I’ll need to start an entirely new group called Social Network Addicts Anonymous…

Social networking (Facebook, Biznik, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) for business is all the rage right now, and while “trendy” things are usually frowned upon, you need to be where your target market is, trendy or not. Social networking will not only increase awareness of your product or service, it could lead to sales and to those priceless business connections we all need.

But do you know where to start? You don’t want to end up spending hours and hours maintaining your social networks because you didn’t have a solid social network marketing plan from the beginning.

Introducing a free, 4-day e-course that will help you get started on a social networking plan.

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• which social networking sites are right for your personality type & internet exposure desires
• how much time it takes to maintain each social network optimally
• what you can do with your social networks to bring in business and make solid connections

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