Top 5 Social Networks To Consider for Your Business
Most industries get the gist when it comes to their social media marketing strategy and the incorporation of the head honchos Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
These aren't the only social networks to think about though.
There is an enormous amount of industry specific, niche social networks out there that could give you valuable insight into the way your target market are thinking and interacting online.
Here we will look at the pros and con's of what the web has to offer your business.
YouGoSocial The concept behind this 'supersocialgroup' is ideal for businesses who want to expose the maximum amount of media to the most united audience online in one foul swoop.
YouGoSocial has integrated the sharing possibilities of all the most successful social networks to date and amalgamated them into one extremely diverse social network.
All the users favourite attributes of Flicka, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, LastFM and Craigslist can be shared on YouGoSocial.
It pulls audiences together and promises a very public outreach with extreme exposure possibilities for businesses to access through this social network.
Google+ This is the new social network that is hot on every social media blog and tech lover's mind right now.
Created by Google with the mind to cull the 'random' public engagement and superfluous social sharing, it seems to be a social experiment that could do very well for those looking to keep their privacy in check.
They encourage social sharing between people who actually know each other in real life situations and want to have a more natural identity online in their social capacity without the stage fright of millions of unknowns seeing into their profiles and engagements.
It's a new endeavour for Google to gauge how their audience reacts to this concept of a more private social media and is by invitation only.
Attributes include Circles, Huddles (groups where you can control who you interact with) as well as usability for the individual such at the +Upload option where you can upload visuals directly from your phone.
However, this doesn't seem to be the place for businesses who want to command an audience or find a following due to the exclusive group divisions.
It is too early to say for this one though so explore the possibilities none the less A Small World.
com This site is incredibly exclusive and can be very positive in terms of networking with the most elite of your industry.
It captures an international network of people who are connected by three degrees of separation and is invitation only.
Members are only allowed to invite a certain number of people and are encouraged to keep the invites to a minimum and only invite those who can be of substantial benefit to the network as a whole.
The exclusivity of this social network means your connections will be authentic and your response rate should be high in terms of networking and learning from your peers.
This is one for those who want to engage on the most sincere level of authenticity for their business strategy.
ZiiTrend This social network is an amazing resource if you need some ideas from the market themselves and a way to predict the future of trends.
Inspired by the concept of Prediction Market and The Wisdom of Crowds, this social network is all about asking questions and getting answers back; great for market research and crowdsourcing at its best.
Said by users to be incredibly accurate considering the diversity of the audience, ZiiTrend is where you should go for your own businesses inspiration or if you need a little direction and some reassurance and advice from those who count.
Stardoll.
com It could be a lot of fun incorporating this social network into your social media plan.
It isn't for everyone though.
It does however tap into the massive demographic of fashion loving teenage girls which is something to really start taking seriously if you are in the fashion industry.
An example is Tavi Gevinson's fashion blog, Considered one of the most influential fashion blogs ever and all coordinated by a girl who began it in her pre-teens; these girls are the leaders amongst your target market.
This social network encourages the user to shop and dress her online doll, much like paper cut out dolls.
However, this site has a shop, a blog and features actual brands like Versus and Miss Sixty and many other major designers.
These aren't the only social networks to think about though.
There is an enormous amount of industry specific, niche social networks out there that could give you valuable insight into the way your target market are thinking and interacting online.
Here we will look at the pros and con's of what the web has to offer your business.
YouGoSocial The concept behind this 'supersocialgroup' is ideal for businesses who want to expose the maximum amount of media to the most united audience online in one foul swoop.
YouGoSocial has integrated the sharing possibilities of all the most successful social networks to date and amalgamated them into one extremely diverse social network.
All the users favourite attributes of Flicka, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, LastFM and Craigslist can be shared on YouGoSocial.
It pulls audiences together and promises a very public outreach with extreme exposure possibilities for businesses to access through this social network.
Google+ This is the new social network that is hot on every social media blog and tech lover's mind right now.
Created by Google with the mind to cull the 'random' public engagement and superfluous social sharing, it seems to be a social experiment that could do very well for those looking to keep their privacy in check.
They encourage social sharing between people who actually know each other in real life situations and want to have a more natural identity online in their social capacity without the stage fright of millions of unknowns seeing into their profiles and engagements.
It's a new endeavour for Google to gauge how their audience reacts to this concept of a more private social media and is by invitation only.
Attributes include Circles, Huddles (groups where you can control who you interact with) as well as usability for the individual such at the +Upload option where you can upload visuals directly from your phone.
However, this doesn't seem to be the place for businesses who want to command an audience or find a following due to the exclusive group divisions.
It is too early to say for this one though so explore the possibilities none the less A Small World.
com This site is incredibly exclusive and can be very positive in terms of networking with the most elite of your industry.
It captures an international network of people who are connected by three degrees of separation and is invitation only.
Members are only allowed to invite a certain number of people and are encouraged to keep the invites to a minimum and only invite those who can be of substantial benefit to the network as a whole.
The exclusivity of this social network means your connections will be authentic and your response rate should be high in terms of networking and learning from your peers.
This is one for those who want to engage on the most sincere level of authenticity for their business strategy.
ZiiTrend This social network is an amazing resource if you need some ideas from the market themselves and a way to predict the future of trends.
Inspired by the concept of Prediction Market and The Wisdom of Crowds, this social network is all about asking questions and getting answers back; great for market research and crowdsourcing at its best.
Said by users to be incredibly accurate considering the diversity of the audience, ZiiTrend is where you should go for your own businesses inspiration or if you need a little direction and some reassurance and advice from those who count.
Stardoll.
com It could be a lot of fun incorporating this social network into your social media plan.
It isn't for everyone though.
It does however tap into the massive demographic of fashion loving teenage girls which is something to really start taking seriously if you are in the fashion industry.
An example is Tavi Gevinson's fashion blog, Considered one of the most influential fashion blogs ever and all coordinated by a girl who began it in her pre-teens; these girls are the leaders amongst your target market.
This social network encourages the user to shop and dress her online doll, much like paper cut out dolls.
However, this site has a shop, a blog and features actual brands like Versus and Miss Sixty and many other major designers.