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How Can Social Networking Help Your Business Succeed?
-by Christi Lundquist
Social networking isn't just for making online friends anymore, but has become a powerful business tool. It is still gaining popularity as a way to share pictures, videos, audio and music, and for some people - simple fooling around with online games, chatting, jokes and cute buttons to push. But social networking has begun to change and evolve into a business marketing tool.
What used to be little more than an online social gathering of bored youngsters creating profiles, inviting friends, and accepting invitations, is now being used as a resource for establishing and developing business contacts, searching for potential clients, and developing inside connections in your field. One recent example is the growing number of musicians using Myspace to connect with entertainment groups, recording studios, record labels, and developing a fan base.

Professional business owners are now starting to see the potential for social networking sites, and how it can help build connections with others who are in the same or similar professions. LinkedIn is a powerful business network, with over 9 million users, including all five hundred of the Fortune 500 companies. It is build upon trusted connections and relationships, giving members access to people, jobs, resumes, and opportunities they would otherwise not have access to. While harnessing the power of the social networking structure, users are connected to business prospects, clients, and contacts with industry leaders in technology, financial services, media, entertainment, fashion, goods and services within 130 business industries. Members are able to provide professional advice and answers to business-related questions and able present themselves as trusted experts in their field, displaying their "expertise credentials" in their profiles, which are given out as rewards for high-quality answers provided to information seekers.

How Social Networking Can Work For You
So now you're a little more familiar with what a social networking site is, but a little business planning can help you get started in the right direction. By signing up for a social networking site, you are given the opportunity, just like the friend seekers, to set up your profile, invite others to join your contacts list, and join the "friend base" of others. This is a great starting point, but what next? Well, if you can avoid the distraction of listening to great indy music and the plethora of strangers begging for a date, you're well ahead of hundreds of others vying for online success, but lost in a sea of distractions.
Once a member of a social networking site, you are able to search the database of members for others in similar industries. Adding and inviting others to join your social circle, often times referred to as "friends," can help you to establish a contacts list of other respected business professionals. For some professionals, this may mean developing relations with job seekers, industry experts, or potential clients who you wish to be aware of your presence, and receive your newsletters. Some social networking sites allow you to post bulletins, which are like newsletters that are sent to all of the "friends" or members in your contacts list. Once you have established your online profile and begun to build your list of contacts, take a little while to visit the profiles of others who are in your industry, and see what they are doing. Since users of social networking sites are generally more inclined to interact, you will likely get more response to your profile than from a traditional website. This can be a huge advantage, and the interaction can be used to your advantage, as you send visitors to your website for additional information about your business purpose. Use your own creative style, and business know-how to set yourself apart from the others, and create a plan for establishing yourself as an industry expert.