If you spend any time on the Internet, you more than likely know about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr and countless other social media tools. So what exactly is social media and social networking and how are they impacting business on the Internet? Social media refers to the use of web-based applications (specifically, conversational media) - like those mentioned above, that allow people to gather within online communities to share knowledge, information and opinions. Social networking is the actual process of applying these tools to engage your audience by communicating, collaborating, educating and entertaining.

More and more companies are using these tools to increase exposure for their businesses. Engaging customers by giving them the ability to interact with company representatives can draw clients in, making them feel more connected and involved.  This can enhance customer loyalty and also keep clients and prospective clients returning to your site to continue utilizing your services or purchasing your products.

There are literally hundreds of social media tools on the Internet - tools for photo sharing, social networking, blogging, RSS feeds and others. Determining which tool(s) would be the best fit for your website depends on a myriad of factors: your audience, your type of business and how you wish to engage your clients or prospective clients. We can work with you to plan a social media strategy that will increase traffic to your site and continue to grow and strengthen your web presence.

Some of the Tools and How They Work

RSS or Rich Simple Syndication

Allows web content that is frequently updated (ex. blogs entries, headlines) to be published to subscribers. If you have a blog for your business, you can create a feed for your blog.  When someone subscribes to your RSS feed, they will receive a feed from your blog whenever an entry is made. This can be helpful for a business to continuously provide relevant information to its subscribers and to become contributors and experts within the online industry. This is helpful for your clients because they are able to receive continuous information from a company that they respect and can learn from.

YouTube

Most people know about YouTube as a way of uploading videos or watching clips from TV shows - basically being entertained. But did you know that companies also post training videos on YouTube or that you can search for tutorials that will help you learn various software applications? YouTube as become a way to inform, educate and share your knowledge and expertise via video format.