Social networking sites aimed at adults, once thought of as the online equivalent of happy hour or ladies night, are now becoming hotspots for business owners seeking business leads and career professionals seeking job leads. None of the social networking sites is set up for open solicitations, but most are actively marketing the possibility of building a professional/business network that translates to business and career opportunities.
Here are a few you might consider:
LinkedIn - With 10 million members, it’s the social networking site for grownups, especially those looking for job candidates and business connections in the technology sector. Profiles, job listings, service provider recommendations, search for people within companies/industries.
Jumpup - Small business owners’ networking site sponsored by Intuit (makers of Quicken, TurboTax, QuickBooks). Features articles on business startup basics–business plans, marketing, calculators, software recommendations (of course). Very small audience thus far.
Ryze - Small business owners’ networking site for entrepreneurs is certain industries. Features hundreds of networking groups, classified ads and event listings.
Go Big Network - Networking site for investors and people looking for business funding (heavy on the latter). You may set a fee for use of your money.
Ikarma - A networking site that allows business owners to build their reputations online via customer comments, testimonials and word of mouth. The goal is to create a place where potential customers can check your reputation before doing business.
Facebook.com - A social networking site originally targeting college students and alumni, now open to everyone. Not quite ready for business networking, but you can work through your old college contacts to find job referrals and spread the word about your new venture.
ZoomInfo.com - A business information search engine and networking site designed to help you manage your “personal brand” online. Zoominfo allows users to search for information on people and companies, mostly for recruiting or job search purposes.
Small World Labs - Build your own MySpace with Small World’s social networking software company that builds, hosts and manages a branded social networking site for your company.
MySpace Jobs - Social networking site for Gen-Yers now featuring job listings, sponsored channels, ads from businesses. Youth-oriented companies post video job listings and invite MySpace users to apply via video or the old fashioned way.
Meetup.com - A professional networking site that allows users to set up and market professional and social networking groups for a fee.
YouTube - While it’s not exactly a social networking site, it does allow you to build personal and business profiles, brand channels and post quirky video ads that can help attract potential customers to your business.
Stuff You Might Also Like
If you liked my post, feel free to subscribe to my rss feeds
Loading ...
