Pin it! Tweet it! Share it! With so many options, what's a gal to do? Confused by all the ways people are sending and receiving information over the web these days? Well, here's the nitty-gritty on four of the top social media networks that are being used right now.
Facebook This is Mark Zuckerberg's brain child.
It was launched in 2004.
You need to register and create a profile to sign up, and after that you can go find people and businesses you want to be connected to and "friend" or "like" them.
You can really get into creating your profile including political views, interests and religious preferences, if you want to go there.
If you own a business, you can create a page for your business for free, and there are built in tools to track your visits, up your audience and get known.
It's fantastic for posting blog posts from your website, keeping your contacts updated on the who's and what's of your life and business, and to see what others are up to.
Twitter Think of this as "online" texting.
Originally started in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, tweeting has become one of the most popular ways to share information.
You create a profile, but it is less descriptive than Facebook and there is a max on how many characters get displayed when you send it.
The good news is, Twitter will create a short link when you post your "tweet" where users can click to go and read more.
It is quickly becoming the way to really build a viewership, especially for professionals who write meaningful content and share it here.
Pinterest This is HOT right now for a variety of reasons.
It really speaks to people who are visual, AND you do not have to write any content to make it happen.
On this social media network you create boards and then go "pin" your favorite things on them from the web.
But there is a catch, it has to have an image associated with the link you pin, otherwise there is no image to post.
There are never-ending pages of photograph after photograph of everything from biz services, food, technology, fashion, sports, hobbies, DIY, design, outdoor interests, etc.
The list goes on and on.
Happy pinning, as they say! LinkedIn Perhaps the most conservative and professional of the four I discuss here.
This network is based on your occupation.
It allows you to invite other professionals to be a part of your network, and gives them the freedom to connect with you.
You can share updates on this profile, just like you can do with Facebook and Twitter, but they tend to be about job related topics.
People aren't talking about what they had for lunch or did the night before.
It also has a higher success rate of converting leads to actual clients than Facebook or Twitter.