Gone are the days when people used social networking primarily to communicate with friends, family and business associates.
There is a new buzz taking over these websites that includes companies and individuals using them as a means of advertising and promotion to propel the continuous flow of individuals to other websites.
Musicians have found this option as a useful tool in promoting themselves and increasing their popularity on the popular social networking site MySpace, where they often feature pre-releases of songs and albums as well as ticket giveaways for concerts.
So how can you use these networks to promote your site? Begin by specifically targeting the right people whom you know will benefit from visiting your online corner of the Web.
In addition to creating a profile on sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Twitter and Bebo, you can also create a business group or page for your company offering links to your sites.
Even well-known online clothing stores are utilizing this method, including Forever21 and Wet Seal, which use their pages on Facebook to display new styles and clothing for buyers and thereby target individuals within that age group who would find that type of clothing appealing.
Hence, right away a target group is set so that when these individuals visit these sites, they will have already have an interest in the products for sale.
Ideally, this is what you want to happen with your online page as well.
In addition, as these sites are indeed social networks, they can be a great ways to communicate and build relationships with potential users and customers if you can convince them of why they should not only visit your page but also utilize its products and services.
If possible, advertise sales, discounts and deals on such networks, giving the target group even more incentive to visit your website! Moreover, with the option of creating groups on these networks, people who join such groups will receive notifications each time you make updates.
Last but not least is the fact that these social networks also give you the option of advertising on their sites.
Whenever a user is online, at the sides of the current page they are visiting there will be ads for your website that will pique their interest.
This is where the excellent marketing strategy of yours will come into play by using the right tactics to reel them in! These tools provide the option of them not only joining your groups, but also direct that specific traffic you need to your online page rather than trying to attract the general traffic of people who are Web surfing.
Remember, the goal is to target those individuals who will bring income and success to your site.