Trust is the KEY! When building and growing a reputable business, no other marketing strategy is as powerful as a good referral. Apart from good old fashioned Customer Service, gaining credibility through building trust in relationships is the greatest vehicle we have for developing new business and those "word-of-mouth" referrals. Social Networking is crucial in today's global marketplace. Most entrepreneurs and business professionals recognize the value of building relationships through networking and are engaged in its practice on some level most of the time.

There are many local networking opportunities available for us to take advantage of, such as chamber of commerce meetings, special events, meetup groups, civic club meetings, etc.  Now, web 2.0 and social media make it possible to build a network on a global level.  Even though social networking may not be a new thing, the opportunity to build a global network on a laptop while sipping coffee at Starbucks "IS" a relatively new thing. Launched in August 2003, MySpace took the web by storm, registering its 100 millionth account on August 6, 2006, after only 3 years. In April of 2008, MySpace was overtaken by its chief competitor, Facebook.

While MySpace remains very popular among the younger crowd and pop culture, Facebook tends to attract a more professional genre in its membership. As a matter of fact, Facebook is sending more traffic than Google to some sites. Another favorite among business professionals is LinkedIn. Over 35 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities. And now, Twitter has literally exploded on the scene with its short and sweet "tweets". There are hundreds of social networking sites catering to almost every area of interest. You can even create your own. They're simple to join, and provide an opportunity for internet users to meet and make new friends who hold similar interests as themselves. And although social networking sites are a great way to gain traffic to our site and grow our business, remember that trust really is the key for building strong business relationships. Building trust should be our primary motive when building our online network.

Contact us for a free assessment and consultation.