Why Facebook and Social Networking are Good for Business

By Nass Martino

You may or may not have heard, but the latest online buzz is social networking.

What is Social Networking?
According to Wikipedia: "A social network service focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services. Social networking has encouraged new ways to communicate and share information. Social networking websites are being used regularly by millions of people."

The great news is that it isn't as complicated or time consuming as it may seem. Plus, it's more than just social; it's good for your business to get involved.

The list of social networking sites is long and growing. The main one include facebook.com, twitter.com, myspace.com and linkedin.com.

I don't want to overwhelm you so I'm only going to focus facebook.com.

So why should you care? What's the big deal? Well, here are just a few reasons to enter the social networking realm:

• Gain exposure for your business that may lead to new clients or projects
• Increase the credibility of your business (post messages on friends pages on Facebook)
• Re-connect with business contacts you've lost touch with (sometimes they find you, sometime you discover them)
• Meet new people and expand your business network (meet your friends of friends that you otherwise wouldn't meet)

Founded in February 2004, Facebook is a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and co-workers. The company develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of information through the social graph, the digital mapping of people's real-world social connections. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment.

Here is a quick overview of Facebook:

• More than 200 million active users
• More than 100 million users log on to Facebook at least once each day
• Average user has 120 friends on the site
• More than 3.5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide)
• More than 20 million users update their statuses at least once each day
• More than 4 million users become fans of Pages each day
• The fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older
• Anyone can "friends"
• It is possible to share photos, videos, and add applications
• You can join groups within the network that interest you (or make your own group)
• Become fans of celebrities, bands, sports people and BUSINESSES!

When joining, you can be yourself and share your interests...so just go ahead and get started. And as you meet new people you can ask them to join you on your groups and pages, advise them of other friends they may know and vice versa. Networking, off-line or on-line, is about building relationships over time. So give first when possible, be yourself, and have fun with it.

The benefits of social networking for business owners are clear. You will be able to meet new people, build relationships with your network, improve visibility for and promote your company, and discover new opportunities for more business. But that's not all, it can be a lot of fun too. So why not get started and join the world of social networking today.

Remember to become my friend and a fan of Yehget Multymedia's page!!