Facebook, Linkedin and Business

Have you heard the buzz about social networking? Feeling confused? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Social networking is now used to gain exposure for business that may lead to new clients or projects. Many are already doing business online. It is their way to maximize their earnings. Im sure you have heard your friends talk about Facebook and Business or Linkedin and Business. You are not alone!

Unlike with putting a stall at the mall, doing business online saves you from paying the rent. Plus doing business online will have your products shown worldwide. This leads to a higher chance of having your products being sold. Social Media like Facebook and linkedin help you to network and re-connect with business contacts you’ve lost touch with.

Some of the known social networking sites are Facebook and Linkedin I would class them as the top when it came to Social Media and Business. At first, facebook started as more of a personal networking site. To keep in touch with your old and new friends and relatives. Facebook then started adding some features that make it great for business. You can be yourself and share your interests while doing your business at the same time.

On the other hand, Linkedin is the leading professional networking site, and is a great tool for business people. The average age of someone on Linkedin is 40 which says alot for the business asspects of Linkedin and business.

In contrast to Facebook, LinkedIn disallowed opportunities to post photo albums or to converse freely with the contacts. You can only invite people you know.  According to Wikipedia, Facebook has 400 million members while linkedin has 19 million members and growing. It is hard though to track down exact numbers as each grow by thousands a day.

With Linkedin the sometimes favourite among business networking websites, you can only share your profile picture and can join groups within the network that interest you. In 2007, many business leaders started moving onto Facebook. More and more each day, it is becoming known partly due to the publicity about Facebook and word of mouth, but the ease of use and ability to customize your profile has been another driver.

When you want to know where an old colleague is working now, you use LinkedIn. When you want to find out if that same colleague is married and if they have kids, you use Facebook. Another reason Linkedin seems to have taken the front foot with business networking is that facebook has 70% of its users under 35. This means it bodes great things for the future as this group ages.  If it ever hits the share market I would say buy up large.

I personally use Facebook and Linkedin but would say Facebook is my business application of choice. As with Business Fan Pages and Facebook Ads now becoming more popular it is a great way of driving traffic to your website when used correctly.

Simply knowing what, where, and how your target market communicates will give you insight on whether you will focus on a more professional network like LinkedIn or a more friends and family network like Facebook. The first step you need to consider before you begin to truly use social media is you must know your target market.

So who is your Target Market?