Today just about everyone has an online personality whether they know it or not. People everywhere are engaged with Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, and the plethora of similar social networking sites. These sites are not limited to young, technologically savvy people anymore. It is now becoming the trend that people of all ages, backgrounds and interests are sharing this online social connection. In addition, organizations and businesses are utilizing the ease of communication to reach their customers and ‘fans’. Here are the top ten reasons why you should embrace the online social networking world, if you haven’t already.
1. Everybody is doing it. As a child, you were probably warned never to take that as a reasonable excuse for trying something. However, over 500 million people are registered on Facebook. There are 50 million users on LinkedIn. The fact of the matter is that these social networks can quickly connect you with your friends and family all around the world. In fact, you may have already been ‘tagged’ on photos and such and not even realize what people are seeing when they ‘Google’ you!
2. A social network is a perfect environment to encourage entrepreneurship within your organization. You will find it is a breeding ground for new ideas.
3. Social networks are scalable. You may choose to be ‘open’ or ‘closed’. You can gain access for free or by invitation. You can find people who share a particular interest or try diversifying your interests and reaching out to others on a more general network.
4. They create dynamism in organizations. Ideas and initiatives are shared and new knowledge is generated, establishing new horizontal relationships between various levels or departments. Synergies are generated in real time and it also encourages participation.
5. They act as a public forum. Some are especially useful, because they allow sharing of all different types of files – especially multimedia files. Such sites like Facebook and Myspace ease picture and video sharing.
6. Social networks allow an organization to become smarter and learn from their users. You can learn from their interactions. Social networking sites allow businesses to study their target demographics to draw conclusions on current trends and mannerisms. For example, on social networking sites, one can create groups, events, and even surveys.
7. You can discover new lines of action. They are a source of inspiration. You may discover interests that lead you to set up activity areas you previously thought had nothing to do with your original purpose. This is primarily accomplished by meeting people with whom you would normally not engage.
8. They give you the chance to become a reference in your area of expertise. It’s like a seed that can grow and become fruitful. They’re great for advertising local events or social and political movements. Basically, you can reach out to millions of people instantly.
9. It can become a very important asset to your organization with economic value or social revitalization. Social networking sites can be seen as a medium through which you can reach your market. For example, the popular site Facebook allows businesses to advertise directly on their site through ads which target users based on their interests.
10. You need to protect your image and online persona. A future employer may find out things about you online you knew nothing about. Just remember, don’t put anything online you would be ashamed to show someone in person. The internet has a very, very long memory!
So, to get started, browse our site. Read reviews on the big networks you know and find some smaller, niche networks you’ve never heard of before. If you find you have too many profiles you can also find software and services to help you manage them. Now go forward, and be social!