Social networking sites also keep business clued in

Social Networking, online websites that allow fast interaction between members and viewers, is rapidly gaining in popularity with business people as another set of tools to help market products and services.

If you don’t know what a wall is and haven’t “friended” someone recently you haven’t been to Facebook. If you don’t know a “tweet” from a toot then you need to visit Twitter. Online social networking sites have their own lingo and while confusing at first , they may be able to help your business.

According to Pew Internet research, Facebook, a leading site, reached 200 million active users in April. More than 100 million users log on to Facebook every day, while more than 20 million users update their status at least once each day.

MySpace has 130 million members; LinkedIn has over 40 million members, and Twitter over 30 million members. Further, the research notes, the share of adult US Internet users who have a profile on a social networking site has more than quadrupled in the past four years – from 8 percent in 2005 to 35 percent today. For adults aged 18-24, it’s 75 percent.

The wall in social networking terms refers to the area of Facebook where posts are made. One “friends” someone on Facebook to connect to them. A “tweet” is a message sent from Twitter.

Vermont marketers and business people say these social networking sites can be powerful tools in their business arsenal. From book publishing to cooking meals in an inn, from making soap to selling toilet paper, social networking, these local business people say, can be a boost to the bottom line.

Erik Filkorn a media, community and government relations person in Richmond says social networking, an activity that is only about five years old “has caught on the past two years and started to ramp up. It’s exploding right now.”

The sites include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Flikr, MySpace and Plaxo among the biggest.

LinkedIn is, in Filkorn’s estimation, the most professional of the sites. Here one posts a resume, history, and professional credentials. This site has affinity groups where people post to the group, and one can gather answers from members. Recently members have used this site to find employment and some have.

MySpace, he says “is a lot like Facebook, structurally but it’s more teen oriented and for musicians. It’s easy to set up music files.”

Best for business are Facebook and increasingly Twitter. Facebook, says Filkorn, is a hybrid, being used by business for advertising. Here, one can post personal information, or in the case of a business sales information and photos to show a product or promote an event.

On Facebook one develops groups of fans and builds a network with a base of addresses. Like any good marketing tool, he said, “You build groups by area, interest, age, and can build a target market.” Special applications, called “apps” similar those used on the I Phone, are being written. They help those using Facebook target market based on responses to quizzes, contests, games, or any other information people post.

On this site you can link to online articles about products, to videos, or any content on the Internet can be referred to. “It’s a tool and it’s all about how you use it.”

Twitter, notes Filkorn, is “the lead horse right now.” This site is based on theory of brevity, as one can only type 140 characters per posting. He calls this “real quick communication bursts.” The characters can be links to web sites or other online material.

Some companies now have a Twitter address and this is where an ombudsman would watch and answer customers’ queries or calls for help.

News reporters now use Twitter to keep readers up to date. “It’s a crawl and the new wire,” explains Filkorn.

Using Twitter a company can announce a product, or warn of a flaw.

Liz Schlegel at Foundline Marketing and Web Design in Burlington is a strong social networking booster for business.

“It’s mostly free,” she explained. However, she cautions, “It costs time.” Of course, all marketing activities cost time but with these sites, “you are directly involved with people and thus building a community.”

Schlegel says being involved in a site like Facebook helps build loyalty between a company and its customers because customers or fans – as they are known in Facebooking terms – can get involved in decision-making.

The concept of social networking, explains Schlegel is that “it’s about making friends and friends help friends out.” One example is of customers posting to Facebook how the products are being shelved in a retail store by posting pictures. What makes Facebook so useful, she notes, is how easy it is to make a connection with a company a consumer is interested in.

Twitter, which she calls “micro blogging” because of its 140-character limit, “makes you more direct.” Business uses Twitter by writing “here’s what’s happening right now,” says Schlegel

Why use social networking?

“The business rational for using these tools is, if your customers are there you should be there,” explains Schlegel.

While Facebooking or tweeting takes time, according to Schlegel, “if you have a web presence you should pay attention to what is happening on the web.” She thinks it can be fun to have direct conversations with people and hear what they say, if you have a point of view to present.

“You can post tips on Twitter or a link to something else like a blog, news story etc. You present yourself as someone with authority or expertise in your field.”

Social networking remains an emerging marketing tool.

“It has come really fast in maturity, but nobody is an expert. It’s so new and everybody is out there discovering what works for them,” notes Schlegel.

If there are any negatives to adding social networking to your business, she says, it is in the time it takes and “it takes attention to what you and others write. You are exposing yourself in a way that might be uncomfortable. This would not be a good fit for companies that do not like direct feedback.”

She thinks there is “a very low cost of entry, but a relatively high commitment. It’s more time than money.”

“From a business standpoint,” says Filkorn, “you don’t have to buy a Yellow Page ad but you would be a fool not to. Social Networking is an advertising medium and the only cost is time.”

Art Edelstein is a freelance writer from East Calais.