Smaller businesses usually face the difficulty of having their voices heard in the market today. While traditional marketing and advertising methods cost a lot more than many of these firms can afford, an effective alternative has arisen that is both efficient and cost-effective: marketing through social networking. One of the most difficult challenges smaller businesses face is having a bigger presence in the market. While many of these companies offer good, quality services at much more affordable rates, they are many times overshadowed by larger firms that have bigger budgets to spend on marketing, advertising, and the like. Things have changed, though, with the advent of social networking. What was once a simple, social, get-to-know-each-other tool between people on the internet has now evolved into a tool that small businesses can take advantage of in order to get their voices heard. The gist of social networking for business is the simple concept of reaching potentially millions of people at a mere fraction of what is normally spent on advertising and traditional marketing. The wide reach of social media allows businesses to find their voices and showcase what they can do. The playing field then moves from an unfair balance of advertising budgets to a battle of service quality and value for money, as it should be – and many smaller firms can compete effectively in this arena. There are many ways to tap into the social networking phenomenon to boost your online presence and aid in your marketing. If you are interested in knowing more about this, please contact us and we’ll be glad to assist you in developing strategies that fit your specific requirements and needs.

As the social networking phenomenon continues to grow, not only for personal use but for business purposes as well, business email staple MS Outlook now allows for integration with popular social networking websites. Outlook has long been the staple in many business communications – it is truly one of Microsoft’s feats of genius given how prevalent it is in professional correspondence between businesses and organizations today. In order for the platform to conform and adjust to current norms, the people behind MS Outlook have now integrated social networking into the entire system through what they call the Outlook Social Connector (OSC). What the Outlook Social Connector basically does is enable the user to connect his or her email account with his or her LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, and Windows Live accounts. You’ll be able to receive updates from these social networking websites through MS Outlook. Outlook Social Connector is compatible with versions of MS Outlook beginning with 2003 and up, and boasts features such as adding friends into social networking websites through the new Outlook People Pane, as well as receiving updates from friends and contacts whose email address is also listed in their social network account. Also, like a social network, the OSC allows you to set privacy settings and select the kind of information you want made public.

Internal social networks help when you need to cascade and disseminate information within the company, but you also need the right policies and management to use these networks right. One of these purposes is the creation of internal social networks which, in a nutshell, improve communication and information sharing within the organization. While some may worry about how employees will behave when such a mechanism is put in place, the results have generally been positive – employees view internal social networks as an extension of the workplace, and as such are usually at their best (albeit informal) behaviour. Still, it is wise to have a policy in place that governs the use of your internal social network. Experts suggest drawing from existing IT / email / external social networking rules that are already in place, and simply extending and adjusting the policy to include points specific to the use of the internal social network. Also, it’s a good idea to consult a lawyer to avoid any legal obstacles or problems in the future. Experts also recommend that department heads be given administrative duties in the social network, since smaller companies can ill afford to hire a person to manage it full time. So in the same way that a marketing manager, for example, handles the marketing department, he/she can also moderate discussions and topics within the social network that pertain to marketing and related issues. Overall, internal social networks provide many benefits to companies that use them, but proper management and handling is needed. Always remember that unlike external social media platforms, internal ones are directly under your control and are a part of your organization – use them well in order to better and more efficiently achieve the goals you’ve set for them.