Top 10 Social Networking Sites For Business

Here are my top 10 social networking sites for business. These social networking sites for business are the ones that people can do business on, and also drive their customers to for additional business.

10.Ning- This is not so much a social network, as it is millions of independent social networks that act independently on the same platform. The great thing is that you can actually search for different networks to join on Ning for free. My one big drawback to Ning is that if I have to pay to set up a basic social network, I would prefer to do it through Buddypress. The WordPress addict in me longs to have complete control.

9.Meetup-Ever wonder how to take those connections offline? Then you go to MeetUp. The hallowed place where business professionals have gone to for years to connect with others offline. The word “Meet-up” is almost synonymous with networking event.

8.MLMSocial- I truly believe that network marketing is the wave of the future. That is why I use MLMSocial to connect with other network marketing professionals. Everyone here is here to do business, and there have some great connections made through this great network. Update 9-12-12 This site is not that active.

7.Myspace- It might not be the powerhouse that it once was in social networking, but 130 Million people still use Myspace for their social networking. The predominant people on Myspace are entertainers and bands, so be conscious of not selling annuities, life insurance, and accounting services there. Update 9-12-12 Most businesses can now officially avoid Myspace.  Update 9-14-12 after pondering this for hours I realized that Myspace needs to be replaced. What better replacement than a site that barely existed at the beginning of 2011: Pinterest. Please do not use Myspace, use Pinterest. Two completely separate networks, but a lot cooler interface.

6.Foursquare- Where are you now? Make sure that your network knows. Better yet for a retail establishment, have your clients tell their network about your business. Get a Foursquare sticker, and make sure that people are checking in. Who’s your mayor? Do you not know? Go to the site, and find out, so you can reward your most loyal of customers.

5.Youtube- Need to explain a concept, have an entertaining method of attracting business? Then Youtube can definitely help you achieve the success you want. You need to make sure that you consistently post videos to the site.

4.Wordpress-Yes this is a blog, but the entire idea is to create a community. I tell my customers that your WordPress blog can be the hub of your social networking efforts when done properly.  Also, this is my resource center for clients. When they ask me about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, and WordPress I can direct them to the 300 plus posts written on this site.

3.Facebook- How do I put this gently. Oh, I know. Facebook is great because there are 600 million people there. They have some nice features, and the company has definitely made some great strides in recent years to improve on their

2. LinkedIn- This is the site for professional business social networking.

1. Twitter- Shocker! I chose Twitter. Twitter delivers tons of traffic to my blog, which as you know from #4 above is the hub of your social networking business, plus it provides a great place to connect with massive amounts of people.

Which of these top 10 social networking sites for business do you use to build your business?

Tags: retail establishment, social networking sites for business