Online social networking gaining over the business social and card swap

Before the invention of online social networking, the most common form of business networking took place at luncheons hosted by local chambers of commerce and industry trade events where those eager to connect with other professionals would engage in friendly exchange and the usual business card trade.

As the popularity of social networking websites grows, business social networking websites like LinkedIn and Naymz continue to grow, but Facebook continues to be the major driving force behind business social networking.   Many businesses are finding success on Facebook.   It has become the de facto source of networking not only for business, but also politics.   Many of America’s top business leaders and politicians successfully use Facebook to promote their brands or image.    Companies use Facebook to promote upcoming events, new products and to start viral marketing campaigns.    Politicians use Facebook to garner support and to express their opinions to the masses.  It has become a very important marketing tool for both sectors.

Likewise, many business professionals take advantage of the power of online social networking because of it’s inherent advantages over attending trade shows and business card luncheons.    Most importantly, you can network with fellow professionals without leaving your office, reducing travel overhead and the inevitable wasted day when attending a poorly planned business social.      By joining online social networking groups and participating in online industry communities and message boards, you can accomplish more in a few minutes at your desk than you can with the hours it takes to travel to, participate and return from a business card social, not to mention the related expenses of fuel, food and the admission to the meeting.

Many forward thinking chambers of commerce have already switched from the in person socials to creating a Facebook group for their chamber members to join.   Members can join the group and add other business owners as friends and engage with each other at their own leisure.    You can learn more about a potential partner or customer from an online profile than they would be willing to disclose to you in person.

Online business social networking also comes with some pitfalls as well.   It is best to create a social networking profile for your business persona and keep it separate from your personal online persona.   Start off by creating a company profile as a group or individual and begin adding your business friends and associates, expand it to your loyal customers and treat it almost as it’s a fan group or a newsletter type service.     Next, you can have your business persona join related trade groups and connect instantly with thousands of people who either share in interest in your products or industry, sell or provide services, manufacturers and wholesalers.      In a matter of minutes, you can expand your online business network coast to coast and even internationally as the Internet has no borders.

For many businesses struggling for customers in a down economy, turning to online social networking is low cost and relatively low overhead aside from time investment.   If done properly, you can branch out into many other areas of your industry you may have never thought possible and meet people you would have never met at the local business social luncheon.

Written by Phil Stilton.   Phil is an IT management and Internet Marketing professional who has been delivering technology based business solutions since 1994.    Business Growth Through Social Networking is just one of Phil’s 100 Online Marketing Strategies of the New Millennium.   To learn more about how to effectively market your brand on the Internet through non-conventional methods such as Social Networking, you can contact Phil at 732-833-2364 or via email at  pstilton@stiltonco.com, or visit his website www.stiltonco.com.