Introduction to Social Networks
The Social Networks have become the way our world communicates, on both the personal and professional level.
Social networks are websites that are a major part of social media marketing. Some features that distinguish social networks are the ability to create a profile or presence on the site; the ability to connect and interact with other members; and the ability to publish, share and comment on content.
People use social networks to personally connect with others and exchange information. As a business owner, you can build a branded presence on these social networks and potentially connect with customers and prospects in online forums where they spend their time and focus their attention. Establishing a business presence in popular social networks can also help improve how you show up in search engines.
Each social network offers varying degrees of customization for your presence on their site. Facebook and LinkedIn limit your ability to design your Pages much beyond a “Cover Image” - a large graphic at the top of your Page. Twitter lets you to upload a custom background in addition to a header image.
The main features of social networks may vary in name as each social network uses their own custom terminology. You can expect to at least have the following when you sign up for a social network:
Profile – As a member of a social network, you - or your company - can create a profile when you set up an account on the service. On Facebook and Twitter, you as an individual can have a profile, and businesses and organizations are directed to creating Pages. On Twitter, you or your company can have a profile on your Twitter page. Profiles include an image – also known as an “avatar” or “icon” that can be a photo of yourself, your company logo or some other image representative of you or your business.
Bio - Profiles usually include space to publish biographical information, location, age (if relevant) and other background information. Social networks often use bio information to help connect you to others with similar backgrounds or interests.
Connections – The crux of all social networks are the connections you can make and the ability to interact and communicate with your connections. On Facebook you have “Friends” through your personal profile but on your company Page, they are “Likes” or “Fans”. On Twitter, you have “Followers” if someone chooses to follow your account. If you follow them back, you are now considered “Friends” on Twitter and are able to private message or “Direct Message” (DM) one another. On LinkedIn, you have Connections. Regardless of the term, the connections to the individuals that make up your network make social networks powerful communications platforms.
Some of the most popular social networks include:
Facebook is considered the largest social network in the U.S., and the best way to use Facebook as a business is to create a Facebook Page. The challenge of communicating through a Facebook Page is that Facebook as a company controls how your content is seen by others and pushes paid advertising on their site to increase your visibility. Facebook gives you broad reach with the ability to target through ads.
Building a following on Twitter is harder than on Facebook because it is less “contained” and interconnected. The stream of messages - or tweets - moves quickly and requires more frequent posting than Facebook. Twitter has somewhat of a learning curve to understand the particular way to communicate on the service starting with posts that are no more than 140 characters long. Twitter also offers advertising options to promote accounts and individual tweets.
If you’re looking to reach business professionals, LinkedIn lets you post your resume as an individual then create a company Page to showcase your business. You can post content similar to the way you do on Facebook to both your individual profile and company Page.
A fast growing social network, Pitnerest emphasizes images and videos as links to content on the web. Those visuals are called “Pins” and they are “pinned” to “Boards” that are theme-based repositories for the bookmarked content. Pinterest is known for driving traffic to websites and helping to drive online sales better than most other social networks.
Owned now by Facebook, Instagram is an online community and social network that revolves around people sharing photographs and video - usually of moments of their life. Businesses use Instagram for behind-the-scenes visuals as well as documenting events.
There are many niche social networks that could also be useful to your business where you can build a presence for your company and interact with your target market. SlideShare is a social network based around slideshow presentations. Foursquare is a location-based social network where people can check in and announce where they are at any given time so this could be useful to businesses with physical locations.
Choose social networks based on who you are trying to reach and what you want them to do. Don’t set up more social network accounts than you are willing and able to maintain. Understanding what each social network offers is key to picking the right ones for your business.