While many social networking sites will talk about why you should use Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, I wanted to draw your attention to some lesser niche sites that are specifically geared towards businesses and their owners.
The first is Merchant Circle; a site that I find very promising. While its user base recently surpassed the one million member mark, it offers businesses a place to connect with other local businesses in their area. More than this, however, it gives you the opportunity to connect with customers in your neighborhoods and allows for questions and answers from those looking to learn more about your business. A great social media tool that really helps to qualify your followers instead of just hoping that the exposure you have is actually interested in you.
Another one you may already be familiar with is Plaxo. While my personal preference is LinkedIn as I think it offers more tools and definitely has a larger user base to connect with, a lot of people enjoy Plaxo as it offers the same professional network but with a smaller group of people. It’s definitely easier to get noticed here for those just starting out in the world of social media.
Another site similar to LinkedIn is Fast Pitch! Networking, which focuses more on user profiles that promote your business than just their experience in certain areas. Because of this, the site includes a host of built-in marketing tools for its users to use, including press release pages, classifieds, events, and videos for your profile. I really think this site has a lot to offer and I’d keep an eye on it, even if you’re not quite ready to join yet.
paid services
I’m a big fan of free resources and believe there is a lot you can do with available online resources that don’t come with price tags. However, if your budget has room, the following two sites may be something worth looking into.
The first is QAlias, which allows you to create an online profile for your company, yourself, and your employees. While this alone doesn’t justify the $9.95 per month charge, what they also include are Google ads for your profiles. This can help whether you’re already running a Google AdWords campaign or don’t have time to set one up on your own.
The next site is BizNik, which is strictly for business-to-business networking. While they offer a basic membership that’s free to create your profile and connect with other businesses, you’ll find that you won’t be able to really connect with anyone until you pay for their “Pro” or “ProVIP” services which start at $10 a month.