I hear so much about social networking. How do I know if social networking will benefit my business and if so where do I start?
- property tax specialist

Social networking is receiving a lot of buzz these days.  The reason?  Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter allow users to connect with each other to pass information and build relationships.  When things are clicking on all cylinders these sites allow you to develop your brand with a loyal group of followers.

It’s incredibly easy to get started, requiring very little time and zero money.  But there’s no point in investing even a little time if there isn’t some reason to expect a positive payoff.  So here are a few ways social networking can be used to benefit a business.  Do any of these sound like a fit for you?

1.) Position yourself as an expert.  You can make announcements about breaking news in your industry.  Share valuable tips.  You don’t always have to be generating your own content (although that’s a good idea).  You can share links to relevant articles, pictures, and videos that you find on the web.

2.) Broadcast your message.  Most news sites now post their top headlines on Twitter.  Far more quickly than you could visit the site, you can scan the headlines in Twitter to identify any stories that capture your interest.  You can do the same thing with your message.  Put out announcements on social networking sites when you launch a new product, sponsor a community event, or receive special recognition.

3.) Expand your network.  In face-to-face networking, you’re limited to building relationships with the people who are near you geographically.  The online nature of social networking let’s you connect with people who share your business interests regardless of where they are.

Even if one of these strategies appeals to you, that doesn’t automatically mean social networking is automatically a perfect fit.  You also need to weigh if you have the time to commit.  Ideally you should budget a little bit of time to spend on social networking every day, although you may still see benefits if you can only commit to an hour or two once or twice a week.

Perhaps the most important question to ask: are the people you want to connect with using social networking?  Think about your current customers, potential customers, vendors, and referral sources.  If they are into social networking, then it might be a very good way to stay in contact with them.