Partner Article

Social networking sites good for small business

Self-employed workers should not neglect the business opportunities that social networking sites offer, according to Working for Yourself, a Which? guide, published today. Despite many work places banning the use of sites such as Facebook and MySpace, online networking sites offer opportunities to interact with other businesses and customers without the constraints of cost or location.

Sites such as www.linkedin.com and www.konnects.com offer online networking specifically for the professional and commercial sectors and can sometimes be more effective than traditional methods of networking such as trade shows, business clubs and breakfast meetings.

Social networking allows users to talk directly to new contacts and send people straight to their website. On some sites businesses can make money through selling subscriptions to their networks.

Mike Pywell, co-author of Working for Yourself, said: “Networking is vital for small businesses to thrive, so self-employed people should definitely take advantage of the popularity of social networking sites. They provide a great opportunity to link up with other people in the same industry and to reach new customers, regardless of location. “If you run a specialist business of some type, it’s well worth the time to set up and maintain a network on one of these sites.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .