You’re already on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Is there a place for other social media and networking type sites?
Check out these three links to feed your brain with more ways to get out there and be noticed, and consider whether those other networks just might be worth your time.
The Marketer’s Guide to Quora: Wondering how you can use Quora to promote your business and market yourself? This article from Kristi Hines and KISS Metrics has the answers.
How Pinterest is Becoming the Next Big Thing in Social Media: What is Pinterest? How can you use it for your business?
The Next Social Networks: Are only the “big” networks worth being part of? Rethink that and consider…
What do you think?
Are you busy enough with the networks you’re already on?
Or are you watching niche networks and up and comers to connect more with your tribe?
Image Credit: soleilc/stockfresh
Hi Michelle
At the moment I have Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn and find that is enough for me right now, to be honest I don’t have the time to learn about new social networks but will check them out at a later date. Maybe I will be missing out by not getting involved in the newer ones but I need to focus on other projects first (like your 30 day blog challenge lol)
Have a great day
Pauline
LOL I can understand that feeling, Pauline. :)
I’m most active on Twitter and Facebook. I occassionally visit LInkedIn and Google+. But I’ve found myself venturing into Pinterest quite a bit lately and it’s driving a nice amount of traffic to my site, so it’s been worth the time for me.
facebook, twitter, blogging keeps me busy
linkedin and xing have the pleasure holding acounts of me, as well as pinterest and google +
but i am a bit lost with the later 4, so i stick to the other ones.
social media is nice … but you have to keep a balance between the marketing and the working.
too many social media cooks might destroy the working bread …
That’s the challenge isn’t it? Figuring out where our time is best spent so we can keep that balance of connecting with people AND getting our work done! :)
I like Pinterest, and it has been driving people to my site, but I’m not sure what the ROI is from it. I wish HootSuite would integrate Pinterest, too. That would make things easier.
Anyway, I’ve been sneaking over to Gentlemint and even signed up. When I need a break from clothes and kittehs, I head over there.
A break from clothes and kittehs? Can’t be! You can never get too much of lolcats. :)
I’d love to see HootSuite integrate it, too. That would be awesome.
For me, Pinterest has been driving traffic and it’s converting well into subscribers (higher rate than some of my other traffic streams).
The time problem is a hard line to draw. Being a blogger then trying to market on all these different venues is very time consuming. The only way to cover all of them would be to have multiple people working for you. If it gets to that point you are probably in good standing already.
It can be very time consuming. I’ve found using a tool like HootSuite really helps since I can manage Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn from one place.
Hiring a team or VA for social media management can be wonderful when your business hits that point. :)
I am doing mostly with Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Linkedin. But my favorites are Twitter and Pinterest.
Twitter is my personal favorite, I just love the interaction and simplicity there. But Facebook and Pinterst are sending more traffic my way lately. It’s awesome to have all the choices of how/where to connect.
I’m with @Pauline, there are way too many for be to participate in all of them. My main ones are Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and now Pinterest.
I do participate in niche social media for crochet – one in particular called Hookey which is run by Laura Wheeler of the Crochet Liberation Front.
Hey Sara, sounds like you’ve got a very smart plan in place. :)
Niche networks/forums can be fantastic. You know I got my start in business at one of them. ;) So I’m a big fan of finding your crowd there.
I’m on the Three big one’s FB, Twitter & Linkedin…………I’m just a little scared of Pinterest because I KNOW i could just spend oodles of time there if I’m not careful! And, am watching some of the other’s to see which may be most suitable to network on.
Definitely. I set a timer before I go near Pinterest. ;)
I think I’ll stay with the big one’s until the other’s catch on. However, I am loving Pintrest and finding so good personal and business information there.
Pinterest is great. :)
I found Brogan’s article really interesting in looking at “big” vs “niche” and very focused… I’ve had success with smaller forums and networks but it really depends on a lot of factors.
I really love Google Plus. I have thousands of followers. I get great interaction on it. I have my Facebook. It’s just to scan my family and friends but it’s a horrible place for good deep discussion. I use Twitter to vent and just check up on news. I check chime.in to just see if there is something that no one is talking about on FB, Twitter, or G+. I really hate Pinterest. It’s just a bookmarking site in my opinion.
I haven’t been using G+ to it’s full potential, I need to focus more there. Any tips on building that interaction on the network?
Hi Michelle. Great links to share. I am going to look into Quora. I had never heard of it till reading your post. I LOVE Pinterest. I started using it to find out what other people were reading and then it took over. I was hooked from the first time I got on there. I do have my portfolio on there and am adding to it as much as I can. I also use Facebook a tone and have that linked to Twitter. My blog is also linked to facebook, linkedin and twitter. I love social media. Where would we be with out it.
I have several of mine linked together as well, I think it’s a smart approach. :) Quora I’ve just started to explore and setup a profile so I’m curious what I can do with that one.
I love social media too. We’ve got so many options for connecting with people. :)
Hi Michelle
I’m on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+, and even these can be too much with everything else that needs doing to run a business online.
However, the idea of niche networks is rather appealing, so hopefully one day I can find the time to seek some out!
I definitely think we need to really be sure to spend time in the right places, understand where our efforts should be placed depending on our areas of expertise.
I’m still trying to figure out how Pinterest fits in with my strategy and have attended a few webinars to learn how others are using it. I’m using it a bit more now but am still not in 100% :-)
It’s also good to look at Google Analytics after spending time on all of these networks and see if traffic comes from them (if that’s the purpose). I remember back when StumbleUpon was the new hotness, I started using it and got a lot of traffic from it (still do). So I’m sure once I find my rhythm, it’ll work out for me. :-)
~Kesha
If a new site is attracting your target market, you would be doing yourself a HUGE disservice not to join. If, for example, you have anything to do with crafts, school, or anything related to the mom to young children, YOU BETTER be on Pinterest. However, if you are a car mechanic, Pinterest probably won’t be of much use to you.
I agree with Nicole – you need to go where you market is.
Twitter and Facebook are sort of universal for the most part, but the others – Pinterest and Polyvore for example – are great for fashion markets.
I found Quora a little too … expert. It makes for interesting reading and always has some fresh angle, but not sure if I want to add it to my social media mix.
Dee
Thanks for this information about niche social networks, and for generating a nice conversation in the comments. Personally, I got involved in social media to market my band and to meet interesting people. Especially for the former, I think it’s a numbers game, so my time follows the traffic. It ebbs and flows, but the people I serve seem to be more on Facebook than on the others. And that’s likely to change as the platforms come and go and my market develops. Whatever happens keeps life interesting.
I love Pinterest — though I have not been spending as much time there as when I first signed up. I do pin alot though. I have several boards that I post to regulary — favorite artisans, favorite bloggers, and also one all about ME .. well I have several LOL but I do pin my own posts too ;) I spend the most time on Facebook and I am slowly integrating Twitter — though I do share a lot to twitter. I’m slowly getting into Google+ too but sadly just when I am sharing when I comment on others’ blogs and such.
I am in a few “niche” circles but I have found that my “tribe” is more focused on those that I support actively, not so much in a niche. And it is those peole that I find support me more than the niches … that is actually kind of sad to me now that I have typed that.
I love this post, it is brief and straight to the point. Talking of social networking, every internet user must be a social net worker, getting yourself out there to be notice in whatever you do is very vital to the success of your career.
Hi Michelle,
I am currently working on Facebook,Twitter and Linkedin accounts and from last week I am exploring new plateform that is Pinterest but I would like to ask you that how many social networking sites you are working on and how you manage your time because social media takes alot of time and it is sometimes difficult for me to manage time..
Hi Michelle,
I am using couple of social media networks and it really consumes my time. What do you think about hootsuites because I only heard about it and have not try it yet.Do you know about any other link or tool that could help us in managing our time?
Hi Michelle,
I currently have Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I love using them and I’m on it everyday, well not for LinkeIn. Anyway, I’ve been hearing a lot about Pinterest and I think I’m gonna give it a try when I’m not too busy with work. I just hope i get to interact with people as much using it just like in Facebook.
– Cristina
I am currently doing the big 3 – FB, Twitter and LinkedIn. I signed up with Pinterest and I have 81 followers and no boards. If someone has a team at his/her disposal then marketing on other platforms besides FB, twitter and LinkedIn is the smart thing to do. However, most beginning internet marketers, are probably doing everything themselves and better results will be achieved going deep instead of wide with the Social Media platforms … until one day, ta-dah! You have enough income to build and grow your own virtual team.
Awesome!!
Like most people commented, Michelle, it can be challenging to go beyond the big three or four, when you include YouTube. I’ve had to ignore invitations to Pinterest, etc. but recognizing the value to my business, I recently purchased a course on Pinterest for eCommerce and it’s pretty interesting. This means that I’ll have to expand my interest (as I gain more knowledge) and test it for myself before I can recommend it to my Social Media clients.
Thanks for sharing those articles.