Don't become a social networking snob!

“What is your favorite social networking group to use and why?”

I posted this question to my network on LinkedIn. To say I was somewhat shocked at the responses is an understatement. Although many people offered incredibly valuable information, many of the responders seemed a bit LinkedIn snobbish saying that things like Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media are not for true professionals.

I completely disagree as do many of my colleagues who are masterfully utilizing their social media efforts.

The fact is, more and more people are using various online social networks and forms of social media such as blogging, social media news releases, video trailers, and podcasts to gain market reach, visibility and increase revenues. 

Granted, social networking is not for everyone. However, by not exploring what social media and social networking have to offer, you could get left behind.

The fact is, no matter what industry you are in, if you’re not exploring the potential for social media you may literally get left in the dust.

In Newt Barrett's recent article he outlines the 5 Reasons You Must Start Using Social Media Now! You may be very surprised at what you read.

Don't get left behind. You may not catch up.

On July 1, 2008, The Blog Squad and The Street Smarts Marketer are having the 1st of four sessions on how to build your business by way of the Internet. One session deals with various aspects of social media and social networking. We are near capacity for this course so click here right away to get full details.

Comments

[Sophie Hovdekorp]

Dear Kathleen.
I am not surprized hearing this result. I to get a lot of this "You have to be on LinkedIn if you want to be taken serious".

As you I totally disagree. Rather I think that the snobbishnes about LinkedIn is coming from "old way thinking" regarding marketing your products and services. It is still a kind of waiting for others to find you instead of being very proactive using all the new qualitis of the internet.

Thank you for all your inspiration.

Love
Sophie

[Kathleen Gage]

Hi Sophie,

Thanks for your input. What I teach my clients is "know your market." For some people (myself included) LinkedIn has great benefit as does Facebook and Twitter.

For others it might be Ryze, Ning, StartupBiz or any number of other locations.

The thing I caution people against is not to be so set in our ways that we are not open to possibility.

Just this week I received an email from a colleague who is using Facebook. A gentleman contacted her about her services and said he made the decision to contact her due to one person in particular she had in her Facebook network.

Is Facebook for everyone? Absolutely not. However, to shut out possibility without exploring potential is not necessary the best choice in today's world of marketing.

As a matter of fact, myself and my colleagues, The Blog Squad are offering a 4 week mentoring course where we go into great detail in one module on how to optimize your social networking time and how to best identify what will be the most effective ones to be involved with based on your needs.

www.actandattract.com

Thank you for your input and being a reader.

Kathleen Gage