Social Ning Networks Still work for Small Businesses

Remember when Ning was the trend for connecting and making new friends. Well, don’t kick the Ning networks to the curb just yet. They are still great places to promote your business for free. Your goal as a business owner is to sell your products and receive financial rewards for your work. Even though bombarding a social networking group with your business offers is not the way to go, showcasing your products is an important part of getting your message across.

To sell your wares you need to show what you have, right? A customer cannot buy anything from you if they don’t know about it. So the way to go is to be subtle and patient. I know you can’t wait but if you have a potential customer interested the last thing you want to do is scare them off. Remember on social networks you can choose who to be friends with and who to UNfriend and an UNfriend is no longer a potential customer.

How to use Ning Networks Effectively

If you want to stick to business-oriented networks, then you will find many social Ning sites that are designed for small business owners. These websites will not only allow you to share your business information, but it will also allow you to develop close relationships with those that share an interest that is like yours. Essentially, this means that you could not only learn valuable business information, but you could also walk away with a new business partner or several new loyal customers. Doesn’t that sound awesome?

Due to the well-established profile system used by these Ning sites, you can learn quite a bit about a prospect before you ever make contact with them. If somebody looks like a good fit for your business, you can simply invite them to be on your friend. It’s that simple and when you make that contact, of course, they are going to check out your profile and even follow links back to your website or blog.

Using Ning networks that are not related to your business niche can also be a promotion opportunity for your business. In my experience, I have had some great blessings for my business through networks that are not business oriented.

Ning networks are great for promoting your Biz but is your Biz Ready for it!  ~ http://clicktotweet.com/3a8bT

Be ready to promote, get your business information in Order 1st

When promoting with Ning sites or any other social networking sites having your business information ready, is the only way to go. You never know when it will be used; you might even use it yourself on your website or blog that’s what I did on one of my business sites. Be prepared for anything. Don’t just assume that you will be only getting new potential customers. You could have a friendly chat with an editor of a newspaper or magazine or a director of a gift store franchise. Or even he or she has a friend in the industry you want to get into.

Get your business information prepared and ready from the start, don’t be thinking “Oh I’ll write it when the need arises” because you don’t know the other person’s timescale. If they need something in a day’s time, you will be rushing to put it together, missing out information, or not expressing your business the way you would really like too.

What do you do now!

1. Join some good social sites with large or targeted memberships
2. Set up your profile to let people know exactly who you are and what you’re about
3. Begin to make contacts by joining groups, inviting friends, making posts on the message boards, sending private messages, etc. Get involved and start meeting people who might have an interest in what you have to offer!
4. Build keyword anchored links from these social sites back to your business or blogs. This is an awesome free way to add punch to your SEO campaigns.