Social networking is powerful because it allows you to target specific groups of people at their level. Instead of creating a site and distancing yourself from the public, you’re interacting with them on a new level.

This level of interaction is more personal and therefore puts you and your message in a different perspective. People don’t want to be “sold to” – period. But they love to get advice, take recommendations, and follow the crowd.

Social networking allows you to interact with your target market on a friendly, more casual level. This lowers their resistance to your marketing message since it isn’t presented as a sales pitch. What you’re offering is perceived as friendly advice or a recommendation.

For example, imagine the difference in acceptance between a direct mail postcard advertising a new model cell phone and a friend telling about their new cell phone and why they like it better than their previous phone. You’ll trust and respond better to your friend’s information and testimonial because you have a relationship with them.

When you present yourself as a reliable and trustworthy dispenser of accurate and valuable information, not only will you receive more traffic toyour sites, but it will be targeted and receptive traffic. Your audience will be ready to interact with your site or buy, depending on the type of site you have. They are interested in your niche topic, and they’ve made a connection with you somehow by interacting with you on the social networking site.

The other big benefit of using social networking is that it allows you tap into small niche markets with very little effort. These platforms can help you brand yourself and distribute information that relates to your business.

The best part is that once you get your platforms established (like your blog, your favorites list, or your profile) other people will start doing promotion for you, boosting your popularity. The audiences on Web 2.0 sites are very eager to interact and share. If you just concentrate on making your content interesting and buzz-worthy, then you’ll have no problem getting attention.

There are lots and lots of social networking sites, so many that you’d make yourself crazy if you tried to develop a presence on them all. To review some of your options, visit www.go2web20.net. This site catalogs lots of different Web 2.0 sites and allows you to search them by their purpose and function.

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