Social Networking Websites
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Social Networking websites such as Facebook, Friendster, Hi5, and MySpace may be nothing more than just virtual “lonely hearts’ clubs,” an easy way to link up with friends, former classmates, or meet prospective dates. Some would even credit these social networking sites for serving as cupid between them and their future mates.

More than just linking lonely hearts, however, social networking websites are proving to be very useful to various companies seeking to increase traffic to their own websites. These social networking sites provide excellent exposure needed to drum up sales opportunities for  industries. In fact, in 2005, it was reported that MySpace scored more page views than Google.

Social Networking Websites Grow Like Mushrooms 

What is Social Networking, and how did it become sooo popular?

Over the years, these numerous social sites have sprung up, capitalizing on the power of the internet to transcend distance, race, and language at low cost.  Wikipedia estimates that there are now over 200 social networking websites which count millions of members. Friendster alone, open to people 16 and older, boasts a membership of 80,000,000.
 
Of all social networking websites, MySpace and Facebook are the most widely used in North America and Europe. Canadians are mostly Nexopia users, while Bebo, Hi5, Tagged and Skyrock are very popular in Europe. People in South and Central America prefer Orkut and Hi5, while those in Asia and the Pacific Islands are mostly loyal to Friendster, Xiaonei, Cyworld, and Orkut.

While some of the earlier prototypes of social sites such as Classmates.com (1995) focused on tracing the whereabouts of former classmates as its main niche, modern social sites now provide users with more control over content and connectivity. These social sites are continually revolutionizing the concept of being seen, read, and heard by offering state-of-the-art options like slide shows and videos, and blogs.

New social networking sites still offer the usual directory services to link up with former classmates, a means to connect with friends, as well as recommender systems. The users of these social networking sites can create their profile, upload photos, and invite other users to be “friends.” The option to select who can view their profile, or contact them is just a click of a mouse away through the privacy control feature. To find out the latest and greatest go to the Free Social Networking Sites page.


Structure of Social Networking Websites

The services offered by social networking sites may be divided into two main categories. On the one hand we have the exclusive, private community of a group of people within a company, organization, or education provider called internal social networking (ISN); while on the other, the open or public communities called the external networking (ESN) sites. Regular social sites such as Orkut, Bebo, MySpace, and Facebook fall under the last category.

The largest and fastest growing social networking site in the world is Facebook which is open to people 13 and above. Formerly restricted to US college students, this social networking site which started in 2004, opened its doors in 2006 to communities outside of the US. It attracted a lot of users with its externally-developed add-on applications.


Social Networking Websites Combine Business with Pleasure

Social networking sites allow business professionals to share similar experiences as well as trade goods and services in an online environment. Growing strong with 124,000,000 members, Facebook enhances its money-making potential by creating an online marketplace.

LinkedIn, used for business linkages, selling professional information and social connections to businesses, is considered by many as the best site for networking and manpower sourcing  purposes. The site requires the creation of a resume which will then be linked to that of other individuals who share similar interests. LinkedIn reportedly has more than 20 million registered users from 150 different countries.
To reach out to larger audiences, industry leaders recommend Facebook as it allows entrepreneurs to join a network of businesses that are similar in nature to their own. This makes it easier to establish a niche as it keeps linkages narrowed down on the specific category.

Social Networking Websites as Effective Advertising Medium

These networking websites benefit entrepreneurs and small businesses by boosting their contact base. These social networking websites provide companies an effective means to advertise various products and services, and reach out to a wider audience in the form of banners and text ads. Dax, a marketing agent for a global multi-level marketing company, uses Friendster mainly to increase his customer base. He regularly posts announcements about forthcoming company meetings and seminars and special product discounts.

The beauty of these websites is that membership is free. Some of these sites such as MySpace and Facebook sell online advertising on their site; hence, large-scale memberships are encouraged. Asking members to sign up for a fee is believed to be counterproductive to this purpose.
   
Networking websites are also increasingly being utilized by the medical community not only as a platform for disseminating knowledge among medical practitioners but also as a means to draw attention to individual physicians and institutions.   Pharmaceutical companies  in particular are especially benefited from this type of linkage.


Social Networking Websites as Profit Generators

In the Asian markets, several these networking sites are now enjoying a high level of popularity as well as profitability as compared to their western counterparts. Good examples of these social sites include QQ (China), Mixi (Japan), Cyworld (Korea), and the mobile-focused service Mobile Game Town by the company DeNA in Japan. These social networking websites offer digital goods (personalization, avatars, background music, skins, gifts, etc.), and connection with casual games.

These sites typically draw their revenue from advertisements as well as subscriptions. QQ scored revenues amounting to US$523 million in 2007.

Still don't know the answer to 'What is Social Networking?"

Tapping into the trend of networking websites as a form of viral marketing can garner a lot of attention quickly and drive good traffic to your business.

You must not rely on these interactive medium to do everything for you, though. To be truly effective in increasing your online presence, social networking websites must go hand in hand with your traditional online marketing tools.  

Find out who made the Top 10 Social Networking Sites list. Just follow this link.

Learn how you can make passive income by participating in Free Social Networking Sites.

Mobile Social Networking. What is it? Find out here.

To learn more how to make your online business more visible visit the Increase Online Traffic page.

And for some not-so-well-known-tips for being seen go to the Affordable Online Marketing Page.

Discover a gem of a way to make money. Find out more on the Multi Level Marketing Companies page.

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