Social Media: Business Connections

Employing social media to list your business and establish an online presence is an obvious step towards growth and (hopefully) improvement.  Exposure traditionally leads to more customers, and that is even truer today: the demographic of people who won't know about your business unless they can find it (easily) online is rapidly expanding: being online is critical to a business's success, let alone progress.

Listing your business isn't enough anymore, though.  As helpful as it is for breaking into the online world so that your business has an e-reputation to grow in the first place, every business is going viral.  Obviously, standing out has been the main focus for business owners when it comes to engaging social media, and there are plenty of Internet Start-ups to facilitate effective social media engagement.

On a not-so-intuitive note, networking with other business owners can actually better your own business.  Endorsing another business owner's profile on AmericanTowns can boost their ranking, and it can also increase the number of places links to your business' website appears online (which thereby increases the chances of your business being picked up by a search engine).  Networking with other business owners is far more than clicking and posting, though.

OPENForum.com is an online site designed just for business owners.  If LinkedIn is like Facebook for professionals, OPENForum is in its own category altogether.  Similar to other sites, businesses create profiles to be listed on OPENForum, but that is just the beginning of opportunities for real (and real life) connections for business owners.  From a news feed you can filter according to your interest or preference to an interior message capability that professionalizes correspondence from one business owner to another, OPENForum provides what most other social media sites provide.  The difference is that it is geared towards business owners.

Another difference is the way OPENForum utilizes key words.  Business owners input key words about what they do (web design, marketing, sales, etc.) and what they might need.  OPENForum's Connectodex searches OPENForum's site for potential contacts and presents them to you, the business owner.  Profiles in the Connectodex are intentionally designed to highlight what businesses have in common with each other, making networking and connecting easier than ever.  These contacts can be businesses that provide what you need, businesses that are in the same location as you, businesses that provide similar services, or any other type of connection your custom settings indicate.  Connectodex does most of the social networking for you; all you have to do then is make contact.

OPENForum's search engine also allows for instant searches.  If you are looking for a service right away, entering it into the search bar will bring up a list of businesses that provide that service in your area.  You can also search for businesses that may need your services or products.  OPENForum, a social media outlet tailored specifically toward businesses, is just one example of the benefits of social media for business.

Photo Credit: Eric Sneider