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How Small Business Owners Can Recession Proof Their Business Through Online Social Media

14 Dec, 2008  Home Business, Internet Marketing, Small Business, Startups, Work From Home, branding, entrepreneur, outsourcing, social media, social networking, solopreneur, virtual assistant

“In a mere 15 years, the Web has connected nearly a billion people.  Since its inception, The Web has evolved into a global electronic publishing medium and increasingly, a medium for conducting electronic commerce.” – From Learn the Net, http://www.learnthenet.com

Most companies and individuals do not use the web to its full, cost-effective, image building best.  A regrettable fact, considering it is an excellent platform to keep costs down and customer satisfaction high. By encouraging your customer to peruse your information at their leisure, regardless of time of day, or geographic location, you have opened your doors to an audience not available fifteen years ago.  Maximize the use of this tool and you can grow your business to withstand any challenge.

There is a multitude of excellent and useful information on the internet, but the information is occasionally hard to find.  By increasing your comfort level with online resources, you will discover endless possibilities. Infinite amounts of research are available to you as well as sophisticated social networks.  Social networks, developed to assist you both personally and professionally, have created a rolodex of contacts from a variety of companies and locations thereby increasing your visibility and reach.

MySpace, YouTube, FaceBook, and Wikipedia are just among the many social media sites available on the Internet today.  The use of sites like Vestopia, Meetup and Stockpickr can heighten your sales output by enabling you to create models and portfolios for submissions to like-minded social media network members. Through LinkedIn you are able to confer with colleagues to tackle challenges or brainstorm ideas.  Blogging can demonstrate your value to clients and potential clients through a sharing of knowledge on the forums and blogs.  These connections are driving business without any financial investment, a key component during these difficult economic times. Appropriately leveraging these tools and the concepts behind them will assist you in your sales and marketing process.

A strong professional network is further established by “linking” with other business owners that compliment your values and your business.  A “link” connects your site to your associate’s site via reciprocal hyperlinks.  Smart and well-planned links will help you to cultivate your network and business’ credibility.  Every step you take in growing your network as well as your connections will supplementary strengthen your visibility thereby enhancing your potential for greater economic stability.

To help you achieve success and become recession proof, here are a few tips to get you started:

Choose your network – Evaluate what you need and what you want out of a network before you join any of them. Choose the network that works best for you and your business. Fellow members will be looking to you for answers, advice and recommendations. Be aware of the amount of members and membership quality.

Complete and Update your profile – Update your profile immediately. Your profile is your online identity, so update it often. Be certain to list your web site and post a link.

Search for connections – Perform a search for people and businesses you know. Profitable social networking is achieved by creating strong connections. The more people you connect with, the bigger and stronger your network.

Ask for and give referrals/recommendations – Beneficial social networking provides the opportunity to get referrals from other members. You will ask for and get referrals because of your value addition and your relation (past and present) with other members.

Respect other members – Respect other members and value their contributions. Always be friendly, respectful and polite with others. In return, you will receive the same. Gainful social networking is based on respect and consideration.

Provide value - Providing useful information, questions or answers validates you and makes you a valuable part of the network. People will come to know about you and will contact you making you an influential member of the network.

Utilizing this information will assist you in building a reliable social media network, grow potential income through added connections, and increase your economic stability.  It will also enhance your professionalism and credibility in the business world.

If you would like to start your own Blog, but are not certain how to get started, try experimenting with setting up a free blog at Blogger.com or WordPress.com.

Here is a complete overview of options to assist you in your social media networks efforts: Online Marketing ROI Chart

Virtually yours,
Linda Belan
Your Outsource Solutions, LLC

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