When I ask my clients about social networking, they often dismiss the idea with comments like, "My customers don't use Facebook."

Maybe not, but there's much more to social networking than 
Facebook. Industry influencers and your customers are Tweeting and liking and sharing all over the Internet, and you should be part of the conversation.

There are many reasons to embrace social networking, but the biggest is, it brings traffic to your website. What's more, it's totally free.

 

There are many benefits to social networking, but the one big bottom line benefit is, it generates leads. 

 

Here's how: Every time someone references your company on the web, it creates a link to your website. The more links to your website, the higher your company ranks with search engines. The results? Higher rankings bring more prospects to your website, generating leads and sales.

 

The best part of social networking is the cost. It's completely free, but it does take time. You'll have to do a little research and soul searching to come up with a social networking strategy that works for your company, but you'll find it's well worth the effort.

 

Most of us don't have a lot of time for social networking, so it doesn't make sense to try and be everywhere and not have a presence anywhere. Better to pick one or two vehicles that you can easily manage, and focus your efforts on those.

 

To develop a strategy, think about your company and what you have to offer. Do you have any marketing materials or content that you can promote? What social media vehicles are most likely to engage your customers?

 

Here are some examples of ways to use existing content to create visibility and links to your site:

• Take some company videos, add some client videos and create a YouTube Channel.
• Post PowerPoint presentations on Slideshare, tweet about them and share them on LinkedIn and Facebook.
• Share articles, application notes, email newsletters, press releases, white papers and more.