“Everybody’s doing it.”

Growing up in Rhode Island, I remember my mother saying “if everyone was jumping off the Jamestown Bridge, would you jump too?”  I find her wisdom applies to this most recent craze of “social networking”.

The term SOCIAL right away does not make you think “good for my business”; however for some industries, networks like Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In and others could very well be an excellent complimentary marketing strategy for increased exposure.

For example, if your target customers are teens or women ages 30-50, than an inviting FaceBook page could be a no-brainer for starting a conversation with your customers.  Or if you are a business or organization with a loyal fan base, time-sensitive TWEETS are a great way to create buzz while reaching large groups fast.

How do you know what “network” is right for you?

• Start by asking your top customers what networks they frequent, and why?
• Consider what your competition is doing. (or not doing)
• Evaluate your marketing goals: Are you looking to have a stronger web-presence, grow your customer database or drive traffic to your website? Maybe you’re looking to distribute messages quickly and cost effectively?
• Don’t forget to ask yourself if you actually have time to commit to these strategies.  The more sites you join, the more updates you need to add to your to-do list.

Regardless of which network you choose, the same marketing etiquette applies.

• GET PERMISSION – only communicate with those who have signed up, joined or requested this information from you.

• DO NOT TWEET WOLF – only communicate when you have information that is of value to your customers.

• BE APPROPRIATE – although these are social networking sites, the messages about your business must remain professional.

• BE CONSISTENT – like all marketing strategies, consistency WORKS. If you join these sites, you are making a commitment to refresh information often.

Do you have a social networking site success story?  Please share it.