Ways to Use Social Media and Bookmarking Sites to Promote Your Business
by Veronica Stone on November 5th, 2007
Social bookmarking and media sites have become very popular over the last year, and this is something that a lot of businesses are taking advantage of because they can be used to reach large groups of people with various interests for little or no cost. We’re going to talk about the difference between social media and social bookmarking sites, list a few of the more popular ones, and give you some tips on how to use them to promote your business.
Social Bookmarking Sites
Social bookmarking sites basically allow you to store and share your bookmarks online. This enables you to access your bookmarks from any computer at any time. They’re used for promoting as well, because there are a ton of people who are interested in what your favorite sites are. Some of the most popular are Digg, Stumbleupon, and Del.icio.us.
Because of the fact that you can share your bookmarks with others with the same interests (hence why it’s called "social"), social bookmarking can be an excellent marketing strategy. When you bookmark a site, like your business site, you are able to describe it with a "tag". A tag is a keyword that is used to find bookmarks on a site. By associating the right tags with each of your bookmarks, you can get a steady stream of interested visitors to your site.
There are even topic-specific social bookmarking sites that can be used to promote your business to a more targeted audience. SmallBusinessBrief.com, for example, is a site with (you guessed it) small business-related bookmarks. You can write an "article" type story that promotes your company without sounding too promotional. Then, potential customers are able to read your article and click through to your website.
Social Media Sites
Social media sites are a lot like social bookmarking sites, except you can post and share media like videos and podcasts. With social media sites, such as Myspace and Youtube, there are countless ways to promote your business as well. Here are a few examples:
Myspace allows you to create your own profile page, post interests, videos, and a wealth of other things to it, and then share it with other Myspace users. You add friends to your network, and you can use bulletins and blogs to post different things about your business. You can post discounts, sales, or even featured products and include the links to your pages. Easy, right? You can devote your entire Myspace page to your company, and include pictures and slideshows of products, or whatever you want.
Youtube is a great place to promote as well. By making a short video explaining to customers what your business is about, you can get some serious exposure. You simply submit the video to the proper category, add some keyword tags, and that’s it. With Youtube, you know that the people viewing your video are already halfway to becoming a customer because they are looking for things relevant to your company before they find your video.
With any of these places, there is a basic rule to follow. If you put a lot of hype and sales-type writing in to your articles or media, you’re likely to get shot down before you ever get started. Instead, try to convey the benefits of what your products or services do, and bookmark or post links or media that will be of genuine interest to others. It’s also important to mix in personal bookmarks with those from your own site. Don’t be deceitful and hide your identity, but blend in and be a part of the community. By showing a genuine care for your potential customers, social bookmarking and media sites can be a real goldmine for your business!
