It’s no secret, I have a Facebook account, but I have no earthly idea what to do with it.  I have a MySpace account as well, and I have no problem navigating that.

And I hear all about how MySpace is “stealing” Facebook’s applications, but the reality is still that I know how to use them on MySpace and not on Facebook.

Social networking isn’t just MySpace and Facebook anymore.  With new sites popping up all over such as Joe Popular, Shoutlife,  and Twitter, how can you keep up?

What happens when clients are on one networking site and you’re not?  When does joining all of these groups become detrimental to your business because it’s sucking up all your time?  Are these sites really adding to the value of your business?   Do you NEED an account everywhere?

Here’s the problem that I see; the trap that I fall into.

Someone tells me of a new site and I just HAVE to check it out.  I like new.  I like innovative.  I like to be the first to try something.  So I sign up.  I fiddle with the site.  Two hours later when I’ve done everything that I can within the new site, I do one of two things… I either decide that it’s a waste of time or I tell all my friends and colleagues about it so that they can go and waste two hours of their time setting it up, if they listen to me about another site.. again.

And then what normally happens?  Within two months, I can’t even remember my username and password for the site, let alone that that site exists or how to get there.

So how do you determine which sites are beneficial for your business?

First, I would see where the majority of your client base is.  If it’s a new site, traffic is low and chances are, you’ll be doing the marketing for your circle… scrap it.  Wait it out and see if it takes off.

Secondly, evaluate the sites that you currently belong to.  How many of them can you attribute business success to?  Have you been contacted through them, made sales through them, received new subscribers through them?  If the answer is no for all of the above, place that site on the backburner and focus your attention on the sites that have proven successful for you.

I can’t tell you which sites these are.  Some have phenominal success with Facebook but none with MySpace.  Others see success with LinkedIn but not with the aforementioned.

Finally, set goals for your social and online networking efforts.  What do you want to see happen through your networking time?  Is it more clients?  Is it recognition?  Is it sales?  Only you can answer that question, but once you do, set goals to go with it and then strive to achieve that goal.

Online networking is a very powerful and effective venture for most virtual assistants, but it can be a huge time waster as well.

Happy Networking.

Until next time…

Heather