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Chapter Two: Develop profiles in key social networking and identity sites

Develop profiles in key social networking and identity sites

There are literally hundreds of sites that have a social networking component. Again, the overall strategy is to build “robust” profiles on several key sites – Anchor sites – and slim Outpost sites on others that link back to the Anchor sites. Then, to wire your content (blogs, videos, newsletters, etc) into these sites so [...]

Ning

Ning.com offers a unique opportunity for you to create your own branded social network without having the need for extensive knowledge in web programming. Over 50 distinct and unique themes are available to choose from. Ning also offers a series of membership administration controls to make your social network public or private for members only. [...]

SocialGo

www.SocialGo.com contains very similar functionality, and has similar pros and cons as Ning, but at a slightly higher price point. Setting up the site can be done simply by following the home page instructions to Create a Network. SocialGo has migration tools available to assist in the process of migrating away from Ning. Interesting side [...]

Google FriendConnect

Google FriendConnect is another of Google’s “Big” ideas. It is a series of widgets (Google calls them Gadgets) that can be added to your site to give it Social Networking capabilities. Essentially, once users “log in” to your site, they are listed as members, and can take advantage of whatever Gadgets you have chosen to [...]

YouTube

The goal with YouTube is to create your own channel, with you shown having a “Guru” status. YouTube itself is important for so many reasons: You can add your Demo video, to let prospective clients see you in action. If you serve people whose language isn’t English, or who have difficulty reading, YouTube video provides [...]

LinkedIn has blossomed from an online resume, to a key mechanism for you to both do outbound marketing, and for others to connect to you. It is also the first Anchor Site that you should build out. Here are the key things that you need to do: 1) Sign up for the service. Go to [...]

Facebook

Facebook is primarily a way for others to connect with you on the personal dimension. It does, however, present several business-related opportunities, depending on your area of expertise and your market. The general strategy for Facebook is to allow people who are “checking you out” to see you in a clean, managed manner. The primary [...]

Plaxo

Plaxo began as an annoying site that “managed” your contact list by automatically sending out emails to all of your contacts from time to time, asking them to update their contact information. Thankfully, this practice has stopped, and Plaxo is almost identical to LinkedIn, but perhaps far less used. That being said, the platform is [...]

MySpace

MySpace is very much like Facebook, in the same way that LinkedIn is like Plaxo. Less popular, and not growing like FaceBook, but again, important enough not to be ignored. MySpace has onefeature that makes it interesting for musicians:if you wish, your music can automatically play when a user lands on your page. As a [...]

Amazon.com

This section is only of interest to you if you have a book that is sold on Amazon.com. (This functionality is not currently available on Amazon.ca.) Your Amazon strategy has three parts: (1) Get readers to write positive reviews, (2) Create an author page, and (3) Link your blog to your author page. If your [...]

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a user-written and user-edited online encyclopedia. If you are in it, then you can be found if someone searches for you – or for your area of expertise. The Wikipedia strategy involves three activities: Adding to existing articles (includingadding your books as references, if appropriate), writing reference articles in your area of expertise, [...]

Squidoo

Squidoo is an interesting site, in that it allows you to create special-interest pages (called Lenses) that highlight particular topics. We recommend that you create one for each sub-area of your expertise. Not only will the cross-links help your search engine ranking, but these pages serve as additional Outposts for you. Go to http://www.squidoo.com to [...]

Naymz

www.Naymz.com is a service that tries to numerically attach a “reputation score” (RepScore) to you, based on the amount of information that you add to their service, and the number of references and endorsements that you develop. It is unclear whether this service will survive, but still, it shows up in Google search results, and [...]

Yahoo Answers, Askville, and other How-to sites

You can spend hours, every day, trying to answer the flood of questions on these How-to sites. As an expert, it is an important strategic question as to how much time you spend asking questions and making yourself “known”. My recommendation is to spend time answering questions only if your target market “hangs out” there. [...]

Xing

Xing works very similar to Plaxo, and should be handled as an Outpost site. This social network might gain importance in the future, as they are forming alliances with other sites, to allow you to connect and share.

Google Profile and Google Local

Google has a number of free applications, including Gmail (email services), AdWords (advertising), Analytics (web site usage tracking), and many, many more. Chances are that you use at least one of these services – if you do, then you have a Google account. If not, then you can sign up for free, by clicking the [...]

Yahoo

Yahoo Profiles: Using a process similar to Google’s, we recommend that you create a Yahoo Profile with your basic contact information. In addition, Yahoo is hoping to develop a Social Networking component, with “connections”. We recommend that your Yahoo profile (like your Google profile) be handled as an Outpost site. This means accepting anyone who [...]

eBay

Remember that your clients (and others) may look for you just about anywhere, including on eBay. First, click through to your My eBay page from the top left links. Then click your name, to display your Feedback Profile (or using their new terminology, your Myworld Profile). From this page, you can add/change your picture, add [...]

Staking your territory

Depending on your industry or specialization, you may need to set up profile pages on various other social media sites too. Before you spend too much time, though, consider whether you should set up an Anchor site – like LinkedIn or Facebook – or whether you should set up an Outpost – like Plaxo or [...]

Facebook Fan Page

While many people have individual Facebook pages, you may wish to separate your personal and professional life. The Facebook “Fan Page” is the mechanism to do this. When your fans interact with your Facebook Fan Page, stories linking to your Fan Page can go to their friends via the News Feed (or in Facebook parlance, [...]