Social Media Web Sites
Posted on March 5, 2010 by Phil Bowyer
What is a Social Media website? Easy, a site that lets you interact with the people who matter to you. It could be customers, friends, colleagues, competition, sports teams, celebrities- most often it’s all of the above. In this installment of the “Brand Yourself” series, I’ll explore the different social media sites and even how you can use some of them.
So, if you’re ready – let’s begin…….
1. Phibble
I didn’t list our site first because I want the limelight, rather I think we’ve built something better than the ones that follow. We’ve built a community that lets you
build relationships, build your brand, learn, and even relax a bit with some quality entertainment. Some of the things you can do on Phibble include:
- Build a profile with an avatar, music, video, photos, links to your outposts, and more (Here’s mine)
- Post comments on Blogs, Forums and Pages
- Participate in groups
- Create Blogs, Forums & Groups
- Post on any Blog that you are a member of
- Create / Post your own Radio and/or TV show
- Communicate with other members through email, chat and groups
- Search for members (likes, location, profession, name)
- Enhance your knowledge through Phibble uLearn
- Sell your wares in the Phibble Store
- Upload media (audio, photos, video) to your profile
The biggest thing that sets us apart, is that we care. You always get a personal response (sometimes within minutes) from someone who can help you. We really want to
help you succeed, and we work really hard to help you reach your goals. Customer service is #1.
2. Twitter (http://www.twitter.com)
They hype has died down a bit, but there for a while, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about “Twitter”. If you aren’t familiar with it, Twitter is a place where you
post blurbs on whatever interests you. Like-minded people will “follow” you- creating an enviroment for discussion and relationship building.
Many people don’t understand Twitter, or use it wrong. While some people like Guy Kawasaki have been successful “broadcasting” on Twitter, it’s usually the wrong way to go.
Just like you wouldn’t walk into a cocktail party yelling “Hey, buy my stuff”, you shouldn’t do that on Twitter (or anywhere really). You have to earn that right, which is only after
that relationship is built.
For more about Twitter, check out my “Twitter 101” post on the Technology Page.
3. Facebook (http://www.facebook.com)
The Facebook phenomenon is something I’ve struggled to understand. It’s great for connecting with old friends, but how does one go about using it for business? Things like fan
pages are great, but how do people find it? That’s what I hate about Facebook – it’s not easy to find who you’re looking for, and it’s impossible to “discover” people and
brands on Facebook.
There are techniques that you can combat the shortcomings of the service – the key is to create a strategy that gets your message into your “fans’” stream. Combining that with
a well crafted fan page, will help you reach your audience.
4. LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com)
LinkedIn is a great site for business networking. Much like the other social sites, you can create a profile that is focused on business, and your achievements. You can
demonstrate your knowledge and expertise on forums and groups. LinkedIn is also tied into Twitter, so you can cross post, although you should make sure that’s right for
you before you add that functionality to your account.
5. MySpace (http://www.myspace.com)
MySpace has gone through a lot over the last couple of years. Execs have come and gone, and some people have gone as far as saying that the site is dead. MySpace still gets
millions of hits, mostly to it’s music property. I personally find the site frustrating to use as it constantly errors out and the music players always have some problem that
prevents me from experiencing the music. If you’re not in music, I would think seriously about creating a presence there (if it’s worth the time and sweat). Right now the only value seems to be music, and with the money the are shelling out in royalty payments – I don’t see them lasting much longer unless they really turn things around.
6. The Many “Others”
There are many other sites out there that could be considered “social”, but aren’t social web sites per se, but are sites that have social tools built into them to enhance
thier offering. I list them here because these are targeted to a certain audience that won’t pertain to all personalities like the others.
7. Niche and Hidden Communities
Items one through five are the “biggies”, but there are thousands of sites and communities out there that you can find an audience. Start looking at niche sites that pertain
to your expertise that you can target. Also look at smaller communities that still have an audience that can be tapped.
What sites have you had success on ? What did you do that others aren’t? Let us know in the comments.
