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MostHeather
08-20-2012, 06:00 PM
I was just wondering how many people here use Social Networking websites to help promote their businesses, and if so which one is your favorite and why.

Disclaimer: This is not a scientific study. I'm just curious about what people like using the most. :)

cheryl
08-20-2012, 06:06 PM
I only use Twitter for my business, so far. I don't feel I'd be able to reach clients with Facebook. I think services struggle on there, whilst products thrive. On Twitter not only am I able to find people I think I could promote my services to, I'm able to connect with other business owners and network effectively. I take part in Twitter-based local networking events, and get to connect with other businesses in my community.

MostHeather
08-20-2012, 06:22 PM
Thanks for your response Cheryl! There are so many different social networks out there it - it's enough to make your head spin! I'm happy to hear that you've had success on Twitter and you've gotten involved in Tweet-Ups.. Very cool! Do you by chance use MeetUp as well?

ace0689
08-20-2012, 08:01 PM
I would definitely say facebook. There is just such a wide range of stuff you can do on there that really can engage the consumers (post videos, comments, pictures, likes, etc. etc.) It builds a community in which there is a continues conversation between the business and the client. But hey, that is just my opinion!

cheryl
08-21-2012, 02:59 AM
Do you by chance use MeetUp as well?

I never have before, I'll be honest. I had a look, but saw it as very US-centric. I've just had a look around in more detail and I see that there's much more to it. I do need to find time to browse through in more detail, though - it doesn't appear to be the easiest site to navigate and unless I'm missing something obvious it seems I can't filter by 'type' in any way.

KristineS
08-21-2012, 11:59 AM
Facebook has been our most successful social media tool. I spend a lot of time there, but it's a great way to grow relationships.

Pinterest would probably be second. I love Pinterest for our industry, which is garment decoration, but the problem is breaking through the clutter. We've had some success driving traffic with Pinterest, so I think it can be a useful tool for some businesses.

Twitter has definitely become third on the list for me. It was really useful for a while, but I don't spend much time there anymore.

cheryl
08-21-2012, 03:26 PM
Thank you for suggesting Meetup, Heather. I took some time to look at it today, and I've joined a group and plan to attend monthly networking get-togethers only an hour from my home. Fantastic!

MostHeather
08-27-2012, 07:48 AM
My pleasure Cheryl! I hope that you're able to make some meaningful connections and have a little fun in the process, too!

KristineS
08-27-2012, 10:53 AM
Sometimes I wish I lived in a bigger area. There aren't a lot of Meet Up activities near me, although I keep looking. I suppose it will grow over time.

Harold Mansfield
08-27-2012, 11:09 AM
Hands down Facebook is the most interactive and you have the satisfaction of knowing who you are talking to. Besides the obvious reason that it has the most users and is heavily active 24/7, the fact that you can see a real person's name and image, and check out a full profile, whether that be a business page or personal profile, and not screen names is what makes spending time on Facebook so satisfying.

Add to that, you can share media instantly and add copy to it, to me makes it a marketing dream.

billbenson
08-28-2012, 12:52 AM
Hands down Facebook is the most interactive and you have the satisfaction of knowing who you are talking to. Besides the obvious reason that it has the most users and is heavily active 24/7, the fact that you can see a real person's name and image, and check out a full profile, whether that be a business page or personal profile, and not screen names is what makes spending time on Facebook so satisfying.

Add to that, you can share media instantly and add copy to it, to me makes it a marketing dream.

I have a facebook account that I must have set up at some point in my life under an aka. Within the last few months I keep getting requests from people to friend me. I doubt I put any relevant information about me in there. Who are all these people that want to friend me???

Pack-Secure
08-28-2012, 04:49 AM
My favorite is Pinterest. Feel free to follow me at https://pinterest.com/packsecure

Harold Mansfield
08-28-2012, 10:01 AM
I have a facebook account that I must have set up at some point in my life under an aka. Within the last few months I keep getting requests from people to friend me. I doubt I put any relevant information about me in there. Who are all these people that want to friend me???

When I first started my Facebook account, I had no intention of actually connecting with people that I knew either currently or from my past. Then I started getting friendship requests from aquaintences out of the blue. People I had forgetten about going back as far as high school and basic training.

Granted, there are some spammers of Facebook too. Not as much as Twitter, but I see a lot of "models" friending everyone they can.

So your freindship request my be a combinaton of both, or people trying to see if you are the Bill Benson that they know.

Pack-Secure
08-28-2012, 09:00 PM
Most likely spam frienders, there is quite a lot of that on Facebook.

Elabusiness
08-29-2012, 02:25 PM
I was just wondering how many people here use Social Networking websites to help promote their businesses, and if so which one is your favorite and why.

Disclaimer: This is not a scientific study. I'm just curious about what people like using the most. :)

Well, I would say facebook if it was 4 years ago but now I am not a big fan of fb anymore. Twitter is good and now I just came across on Path. It seems like it is nice.

Harold Mansfield
08-29-2012, 04:33 PM
Well, I would say facebook if it was 4 years ago but now I am not a big fan of fb anymore. Twitter is good and now I just came across on Path. It seems like it is nice.
I always hear people saying that these days, but when you have hundreds of millions of DAILY users, more than any other website, service or network on the planet, I'd say there is still plenty of value there.

What I don't like about Twitter is that it is pretty anonymous. The social connection aspect of Facebook, means that people generally use thier real identities. I can't say that about most other networks, past or present.

Angelina86
09-01-2012, 06:17 AM
I use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogging...I think that's it...The most traffic on my website comes from Facebook!

I think no matter what anyone says...if they think they can't benefit by having a page for their business on facebook they're wrong...One thing you do have to do though is keep it active or else it wont help

MostHeather
10-05-2012, 03:14 PM
Sounds as if Facebook is the front runner!
Funny enough, I just noticed on Alexa they are now the #1 for worldwide traffic. #2 for US based traffic. This has got to have Google shaking in their boots a little bit..

KristineS
10-05-2012, 04:39 PM
I have to say, even though I enjoy Facebook, I'm really finding Pinterest fun. I figured I wouldn't be too excited by it because I tend to be more about words than pictures, but it's a great way to curate and organize topics. I haven't started a personal Pinterest yet, but I'm close to doing so.

MostHeather
10-05-2012, 06:07 PM
Pinterest makes me want to eat really decadent desserts..

dereksbicycles
12-12-2012, 06:06 PM
Facebook. I don't even have a Twitter or Linkedin yet. I wonder if I should start.

Wozcreative
12-12-2012, 06:54 PM
I often use Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook. My most favourite is Facebook as it is a socializing avenue for someone like myself whom works at home all day. Twitter is great to be in contact with the brands that I work with and be updated on upcoming events and deals. I use linkedin to connect with existing clients and occasionally post updates that they would enjoy or find amusing.

JulieS
12-14-2012, 10:29 AM
I tend to agree with you Woz, but Facebook for myself is strickly friends and family. We have one at work but not e designated person to update it, so it's not yet been really helpful.
Twitter I have an account for work but I don't seem to find it pretty usufull maybe I don't fully give it a chance!
I prefer Linkedin right now, but then again I don't really have time to follow it as much as I should.
I find those network taking me times if not at work that I really don't have time, at home I rarely take the time, I'd ratter just enjoy more time for myself, you learn that when you get older. :))) makes days a lot more interesting !!!

billbenson
12-18-2012, 03:33 AM
To me Linkedin is a resume site. I've found a few old business friends there.

KristineS
12-18-2012, 12:13 PM
Pinterest makes me want to eat really decadent desserts..

The recipes on Pinterest are dangerous. Although I've found a lot of good information about healthy eating on there too.

Marcomguy
01-06-2013, 03:28 PM
I use LinkedIn primarily, and Twitter to a smaller extent. And I know I need to get busier on Facebook.

When I need to make a status update, I do it via HootSuite.

KristineS
01-07-2013, 01:10 PM
I use LinkedIn primarily, and Twitter to a smaller extent. And I know I need to get busier on Facebook.

When I need to make a status update, I do it via HootSuite.

Do you like HootSuite? I've been using TweetDeck for Twitter but it's been starting to annoy me. I know many people use HootSuite, but I've never tried it. Would love some information on how well it works.

Marcomguy
01-07-2013, 10:56 PM
Hootsuite has been working very well for me. I use it to post to LinkedIn, Twitter and FB. A few months ago they introduced a neat feature called "Auto-Schedule," where they schedule your post so it goes out when it will get the most visibility. Oh, it also sends you a weekly email showing analytics for all the links you posted.

I had used TweetDeck for about a year, but like you, got annoyed with it. Something or the other kept breaking down - I forget what it was. I'm glad I switched to HS. Recommend it.

KristineS
01-08-2013, 01:23 PM
Hootsuite has been working very well for me. I use it to post to LinkedIn, Twitter and FB. A few months ago they introduced a neat feature called "Auto-Schedule," where they schedule your post so it goes out when it will get the most visibility. Oh, it also sends you a weekly email showing analytics for all the links you posted.

I had used TweetDeck for about a year, but like you, got annoyed with it. Something or the other kept breaking down - I forget what it was. I'm glad I switched to HS. Recommend it.

Thanks for the info. I'm seriously thinking about switching. TweetDeck works all right, but it's getting more and more annoying.

Marcomguy
01-14-2013, 07:32 PM
Here's a news item that might provide an incentive to ditch TweetDeck:
#fail! Twitter-owned TweetDeck at risk of being struck off | News | LondonlovesBusiness.com (http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/business-news/tech/fail-twitter-owned-tweetdeck-at-risk-of-being-struck-off/4427.article)

Studio_Jubilee
01-15-2013, 03:00 PM
We find Twitter is the most useful social networking site at the moment. It allows us to keep up to date with our friends, other designers in our industry and clients.

It's so quick, easy and instant – when used properly, Twitter can help your business communicate transparently and help show your character. Although of course Twitter is great for in-the-moment information, reaction and comment, you can also schedule tweets using 3rd party services like HootSuite. It's free, easy to use, and comes in handy when you're busy!

We run a blog on Tumblr, which is really easy to use and can look really good too. Facebook isn't right for what we do professionally, so we tend to keep that purely personal.

As in all social media sites and apps, having a well designed avatar is really important. It allows your brand to remain consistent, clear, and eye catching.

Hope that helps you :)

KristineS
01-16-2013, 01:29 PM
Tumblr is something I haven't delved into much yet. I know some businesses have been very successful with it. Flickr as well.

Business magnate
01-24-2013, 08:46 PM
I had some good results with StumbleUpon... StumbleUpon is great if you need to make your website brand stand out of the usual and common crowd....

Twitter works well if you already have (a lot of) people who know who you are... I use it, but I keep that in mind...

KristineS
01-28-2013, 11:50 AM
I had some good results with StumbleUpon... StumbleUpon is great if you need to make your website brand stand out of the usual and common crowd....



Interesting, StumbleUpon still works for people? I know it was pretty big five years ago or so, but I don't hear of a lot of people using it anymore. I'm curious, how does it help you? Do you get more visitors because of it? Do you feel it raises your visibility?

Business magnate
01-28-2013, 01:30 PM
Well, it was about a year ago, maybe even longer... (I forgot to mention that. I stopped working on sites for a while.) I didn't know that Stumble don't give results anymore.

Back then I created new website and I had one article that was pretty good. Some friendly users shared my article, and I got about 600-1200 uniques a day from stumble, it was pretty good for a month old website...

Sorry, I'm out of the game Kristine, and trends are changing fast on the internet... :) What about Delicious and Reddit? I will start with websites and use social media soon... it's impossible that only Facebook, YouTube and Twitter can give results... Isn't it? :confused:

KristineS
01-28-2013, 05:56 PM
Delicious isn't really generating much of a buzz anymore, so far as I'm aware. I don't know of anyone using it, although I'm sure people are. Reddit has been getting some buzz. President Obama did an AMA there and that made some noise. I don't have stats on how many people are using it on a daily basis though and how useful it would be from a business standpoint.

For the businesses I market, I use Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and Pinterest. I work primarily with garment decoration supplies, so it's a visual industry, which means Pinterest works well. There are also a lot of small businesses using Facebook, which means we do well there.

As always, the medium depends on the target market. If your target market isn't there it doesn't matter how hot the site is, it won't work for you.

Business magnate
01-28-2013, 07:07 PM
Well, it's not new… The vast majority of social websites are no longer active, and most of active ones are waste of time, they are loaded with spam...

You made a good choice for your market... yes, especially Pinterest, it's highly visual, your target market is there and it's hot... my wife is addicted to it :)

I agree on the last sentence, I think that person should study the site carefully before any activity. Not all social websites are worth of our time, as you said if target market isn't there it doesn't matter how hot the site is. Only after we are certain that our target market is there, we shold focus our time (or money) there.

KristineS
01-29-2013, 11:27 AM
I agree on the last sentence, I think that person should study the site carefully before any activity. Not all social websites are worth of our time, as you said if target market isn't there it doesn't matter how hot the site is. Only after we are certain that our target market is there, we shold focus our time (or money) there.

That's a tough thing for a lot of small business owners to learn. There are many "experts" out there who tout social media as the silver bullet no matter what your business, which I think is irresponsible. I write a blog and a column for a magazine in my industry and this is a point I hammer home as often as I possibly can. The first thing you need to do in any marketing situation is know your target audience. If you don't have that knowledge, who your target market is and where they are online and off, you're wasting your marketing dollars.