No Time For Networking? Think Again.

No Time For Networking? Think Again.

The Internet is a wonderland of opportunity for finding new business and prospects to drive to your webpages and sales letters. But the biggest complaint I hear is that "I don't have the time." The time to network with others on the web is now and it's never been easier. This is an important marketing strategy that you need to make a priority.

Imagine opening up a retail store. Customers come in periodically to make a purchase. There are thousands of others who know your store is there, but have yet to stop in. Would you cut off the marketing to these people just because they haven't purchased yet? Would you take down your billboards, newspaper ads, neon signs and special 50% off posters just because it's not worth the effort? And would you move your store to a location that couldn't be seen from every angle in the parking lot? I think not.

If you are ignoring your blogging, videos, social networks and social bookmarking, your doing essentially just that...in an online sense. Making a huge Internet presence, networking and building relationships is how you will attract the undecideds that haven't bought anything yet and turn them into customers. And attracting prospects with these strategies is far cheaper than billboards and print ads.

Your website cannot just be a static page floating somewhere out in cyberspace. There are now over a trillion webpages published on the Internet. How are you going to stand out? It is going to take some time, some effort and good old fashioned virtual hand shaking to see the results you want. And lucky for you, the time has never been better to take advantage of these cheap, powerful and easy to use resources. Find any way you can to keep your brand fresh and in the forefront of your prospects minds. Consider a few of these tools:


* Use a service like FriendFeed. Everytime you update any of 56 social sites, your FriendFeed will tell all of your friends about it.


* Use a blog scheduling service like PostLater.com so you can write posts ahead of time and send them out when you want.


* Leave a lot of comments on Facebook groups, blog sites and YouTube videos to encourage conversation.


* Connect your ezinearticles, Facebook updates and Squidoo lenses to your Twitter so a tweet will go out everytime you update one of these services.


* Create "Join Me" buttons for your websites and blog posts to encourage making friends. (These can be found in the "Tools/Widgets" section of your social networking sites)


* Find a virtual assistant or high school kid to do the work for you.

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