Create a Social Networking Site and Monetize it

Google Alerts (www.rsitez.com)

If you have an online business it’s CRITICAL that you know what is being posted about you online as soon as the information is posted.  This includes info posted on blogs, News articles, forums and even social networking sites. 

You want to know if someone posted something positive about you so that you can respond in like to start creating a relationship with the individual or organization that made the post.  These relationships can yield great results as you continue to build your brand.

Likewise, if there was a negative post about you online, you should know about it and respond appropriately to minimize the impact. 

You should also track what your competitors are saying and what is being said about them so that you can react as needed to this type of competative news.

The process of monitoring, tracking, and responding to information that affects your brand is called Brand Management or sometimes Reputation Management.

You can use Google Alert (http://www.google.com/alerts) to monitor and track your online brand. It takes only a minute to configure this and it’s free. 

You can enter any search keywords that affects your business and ask google to monitor it.  This could include your business name, competitors business names, search keywords or other items of interest.  Google will monitor these keywords in news, blogs, videos and discussions and send you an email each time it finds newly posted content regarding this. 

Example: If the Washington Post include your business name in a new article online, Google would send you an email with the link of the article without you having to search for it.  You will be able to click on the article, read it, and post relevant comments.  This enhances your online presence, creates backlinks for Search Engine Optimization, and helps with your ongoing effort to create a solid online brand.

You can configure these email notifications to be received as the news happens, daily, or weekly – depending on your preference.

Once you have turned this feature on you will be able to keep track on your online reputation for your business and continue to build a lasting and powerful online brand.

About the author

Rohan Hall is the Founder/CEO of rSitez, Inc. (www.rsitez.com), a technology firm that helps entrepreneurs create custom, revenue-based social networking sites.  He is the author of Stop Working, a book that teaches entrepreneurs how to use technology, globalization, and networks to build a global business.  He has developed technologies for a wide range of entrepreneurs and Fortune500 clients including HP, Corning, Oracle, Honda and various others.

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Today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social networking website now has 500 million users on the site.  That’s half a BILLION users.  Last year they announced 250 million users.  So regardless of the negative press they have had during the last year, they doubled their membership in 1 year.  That’s amazing!!!

What’s even more amazing is when you actually put this in perspective.  Facebook now has more users than the amount of people living in every country in the world except China and India.  Yes – more people than the United States, more people than the entire European Union, more people than Russia.  If Facebook were a country, they would be the 3rd largest country in the world.

If you still doubt the impact of Social Media, think of the influence that the USA currently has with a population of 309 million people.  The USA is actually the 3rd largest country in the world based on population.  Imagine the influence and impact that Facebook has and will have in the future as it continues with this growth.  How long will it take them to reach 1 BILLION users?  How will they impact your future?

Largest Countries in the World by Population

 About the author

Rohan Hall is the Founder/CEO of rSitez, Inc. (www.rsitez.com), a technology firm that helps entrepreneurs create custom, revenue-based social networking sites.  He is the author of Stop Working, a book that teaches entrepreneurs how to use technology, globalization, and networks to build a global business.  He has developed technologies for a wide range of entrepreneurs and Fortune500 clients including HP, Corning, Oracle, Honda and various others.

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I had coffee with a couple friends this morning on the beach in Barcelona.  I live only 2 minutes walk from the beach and these guys are my neighbors.  They have an idea for an online business and wanted to get my opinion regarding how to pursue the idea and if the idea was a good business idea.  This is the summary of my response to this question.

I don’t really believe in the concept of a good business idea or a bad business idea.  Every entrepreneur has his own vision of their idea and why the idea would be successful.  I have see what I thought was a good business idea surrounded with great technology fail miserably.  And equally I have seen far fetched ideas become a success.  The main factor in either case has been the founders of the business themselves.

When I think of business ideas, what is really important is how committed and available the founders are to making the idea a success.  In many cases Plan A will fail, simply because it’s often hard to tell how cold the water is until you jump into the lake … so to speak.  At that point it’s really how well can you swim.  Can you come up with a Plan B or even a Plan C if needed?

Entrepreneurs ability to be creative in making their business a success in a difficult time was tested severely in the last 3 years.  Many businesses that seem to be stable fell apart and other businesses flourished.  Last year during the middle of the crisis our business more than doubled revenue and profitability.  I think we were able to do this because we were able to implement Plan B and even Plan C when the getting got rough, and we created opportunity out of chaos. We’re doing the same again this year.

So is this business idea a good idea or a bad idea?  In the end, it really has to do with you the entrepreneur.  Do you have what it takes to make your vision a success?

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Techcrunch announced that Ning has layed of 40% of their staff and will be discontinuing their free services.  All Ning network owners will need to pay for Premium services to continue using their Ning network or they will need to migrate their network to another platform.

The news was released in an email from  Jason Rosenthal who took over Ning CEO Gina Bianchini position about a month ago.  The email from Rosenthal stated:

“My main conclusion is that we need to double down on our premium services business. Our Premium Ning Networks like Friends or Enemies, Linkin Park, Shred or Die, Pickens Plan, and tens of thousands of others both drive 75% of our monthly US traffic, and those Network Creators need and will pay for many more services and features from us.”

At the end of the day the lesson learned by Ning is that “FREE” is not a business model.  Even with over $120 million in investor funding, Ning still needs to generate revenue to pay its bills and to grow its business.  At some point, investors need to start seeing a return on their investment as well.

At rSitez, we understand this very basic business fact and provide a variety of payment plans for everyones budget.  Our plans include more features than Ning and we provide the opportunity to fully customize your social networking sites.  We will literally develop any feature you would like to make your site unique and competative and are loved by entrepreneurs for this reason.  Additionally, network owners own all the content in their network and take it anytime they like.

rSitez continues to grow every year and more than doubled revenue last year.  We’re a financially and technically strong company and do understand the reality of having a solid and reliable business model.

We wish the best of success to all the Ning network owners and welcome this opportunity for them to compare our offering and prices at www.rsitez.com with offering provided by Ning or any other network provider.

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Funny stuff coming from the kings of social networking, according to the Washington Post article “Hiring Of New MySpace CEO Settles Many Old Scores”

<<MySpace parent company News Corp. continues to leak, off record, that  Owen Van Nattais in the final stages of becoming the new CEO of MySpace. Van Natta certainly has the experience on paper to run the company – he was a business development executive at Amazon, the chief revenue officer at Facebook and most recently the CEO of music startup Playlist.com. If the leaks are correct, he’s in the final stages of contract negotiation and his hiring will be announced shortly.

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It has been a long time without posting here. At rSitez, we have used this time to cotinue improving our product (the more flexible and robust out there) and developing all the custom applications that our customers have been demanding…. busy and fun times!

It seems as if everyone is talking about social networking these days, whether it’s using Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, just to name a few.

These networking sites are answering a need that people have to connect with others and share news and information.

Although many individuals have taken advantage of social media, companies are also finding that social media can provide efficient ways to target and build a relationship with their customers.

While most companies have websites, particularly large and medium sized companies, the information on websites is often static. It doesn’t change often, and it doesn’t offer an opportunity for interaction.  Some companies have added blogs, which can increase readership.  But even blogs don’t always encourage a robust two or multi-way conversation between interested parties. 

Businesses are also putting up Fan Pages on social networking sites like Facebook, which does allow for more of a free-for-all conversation, but doesn’t allow a company to really target and market to a specific group.

One new type of program that has a leading edge is what www.rsitez.com  is offering.

By combining the attributes of a traditional website and the fluidity of a social site, rSitez lets businesses build a community of interested consumers.  The consumers can then talk with each other (and company members), share events, blog, participate in forums and in general, form a group of members that build an interest in your product.

 Another benefit rSitez offers is the ability to monetize the site.  Businesses can get paid for using ad words.  They can make money also by charging fees for membership, for special reports, or for products.  Nonprofit organizations can set up their site to accept donations.

 For a growing young business, rSitez provides a way to start a viral marketing program that involves your customers and creates a strong following; all while helping your business make money.

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By now, most people have heard of Twitter, which is a microblogging tool that allows people to broadcast short updates of 140 characters.  It’s used by celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, who challenged CNN to see who would be the first to get 1 million followers.  (Kutcher won.)

It’s been banned by the NFL for use by players during the game.

It’s being used by every Tom, Dick and Harry with a (little) something to say.

But is it useful for small businesses?

Think about this:  according to the New York Times, more Twitter accounts belong to small businesses than to large companies.  And it makes sense, really.  So much of a small business’ success rests on word of mouth marketing.  And that’s what Twitter helps provide.

But here’s another reason to enter the world of tweeting:  Twitter also lets you as a small business owner or entrepreneur tap into a wealth of resources.

When you look at some of the active tweeters out there, you’ve got a real-time encyclopedia at your fingertips.  Social media experts like Chris Brogan, entrepreneurial advocates like Guy Kawasaki.  Experts from businesses that work with small businesses like Business Week’s Entrepreneur or Dell Small Business.  It wouldn’t be a bad idea to see what some of these folks are thinking, would it?

When you first log onto Twitter, one of the biggest stumbling blocks is figuring out how to find the people you want to get tweets from, or follow.  An extremely useful application that can help is Tweetdeck, which can be downloaded for free.  With Tweetdeck you can categorize your list of people to follow.  Whenever someone from your list sends a tweet, you can see it on your deck.

Check out Small Business Trend’s Ultimate Small Business Twitter list for an excellent start.

You can also set up a search for a phrase, such as “social media for small businesses” or “independent grocery stores” or even your name or the name of your business. Whenever someone makes a comment, positive or negative, discusses a trend or proposes a problem, you’ll be in the know.

Look for people in your industry or community as well to create a network of information that benefits you both.

Keep in mind that, despite the PR, Twitter is just one tool in your arsenal for communicating with your audience.  There are still plenty of others.

Small businesses can find success connecting with customers by setting up their own social networking sites, like those offered by rSitez.com.  There, businesses can create a community that encompasses a specific audience with similar interests.  Members can communicate through blogs, forums, articles, videos, photos, and chats about important issues.

So don’t think of Twitter as being an all or nothing proposition.  Instead of feeling the pressure of creating brilliant 140 character posts, think of how to funnel the up to the minute information on Twitter in a way that is convenient and useful for you.  And consider it one more tool to help your business grow.

Eventually, the rest will come.

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That’s the question Citibank asked in a recent survey and the answer it got?  No.  Many small business leaders said that they did not see results from their efforts on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Over 60% of the 500 respondents said that social networks did not help generate leads.  Only 12% found social networks somewhat or very helpful, and 13% said they were not very helpful.

Why does it seem to be all the rage for larger organizations, but not so much for smaller ones?  Here are some of the stumbling blocks that small businesses may have when it comes to social media.

1. It takes time to get results.  The whole aspect of social media is about building relationships, and that can’t be done over night.  If a small business starts a Facebook Fan page or a blog and hopes for immediate results, she will be disappointed.

2. It takes up time.  Small business owners have a lot to do just in running their business.  Building and maintaining online social networks takes time and consistency.  And, unlike larger organizations with more staff members to delegate to, in a small business, it’s hard to let someone else convey the corporate message.

3. It takes resources. Not only do small businesses need manpower to handle the online communication, they also need sources of information and research in order to establish that role of a “thought leader.”  Large companies can do surveys and hire researchers to write innovative white papers, but with their limited budgets and staff, it’s more difficult for small businesses to offer new and fresh information.

4. Some businesses may make a half-hearted entry.  For the businesses that are doing social media because they are “supposed” to, it won’t take much to convince them it won’t work.  The company president may have a LinkedIn.com account, but has few connections and doesn’t strengthen those or build more.

5. Lack of hard results.  It’s true.  Most of the stories of success using social media are anecdotal.  Factual, but not always in hard numbers.  So it’s difficult sometimes to show the actual benefits of using it.  How do you know, for example, that a potential customer decided to call you because he saw you on Facebook?  Can you measure the amount of people who developed a favorable impression of you after reading your blog?

Despite the negatives from this survey, social media experts are sure that small businesses can benefit from this form of marketing.

Mashable, a website specializing in social media, countered with several examples of small businesses that have seen sales growth and increased brand recognition through their social media efforts.

Other examples abound throughout the Web, from the success of Chicago’s Sprinkles Cupcakes on its Facebook fan page to the non-profit organization Epic Change and how it effectively used social media for fundraising.

But maybe there’s another option.  Maybe small businesses could use a different type of social networking system that’s more tailored to their size and need for flexibility.  rSitez, a software development company, helps entrepreneurs and small businesses create their own social networking sites by taking the best attributes of the popular sites and blogs and tailoring it to the individual company’s needs.  In effect, they create a community for each company, making it much simpler for businesses to reach their target audience.

Where are you on the social media spectrum?  Have you been using it for years?  Thinking about testing the waters, or somewhere in between?  What results have you seen?

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When we start marketing and networking on social media sources like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, we sometimes forget some of the simple rules of engagement.

In his book, “Everything I Needed to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten,” author Robert Fulghum reminded us of the basics of getting along with others. Although it was originally published in 1989, his observations are timeless.

Even in our high tech world, we can look back at some of the lessons we learned in elementary school, and see that it applies to establishing successful relationships online.

1. Don’t be bossy. If you are a small business owner or entrepreneur, chances are you are bursting with excitement about your product or service. You want to shout its praises from the rooftops. But when you are building tenuous relationships with others, especially across the Internet, you need to take a more subtle approach.

Instead of delivering a heavy handed sales pitch, focus on your customers and what they need. What problems are stumping them? What is costing them time, energy and efficiency? Then, let them know how your products or services can help.

2. Don’t say anything you don’t want your mother to hear. Although social networking has a casual element, keep in mind that you are building a reputation online for your business. Be careful before disclosing too much personal information or getting caught up in controversial discussions. If someone posts a negative comment on your blog, don’t immediately shoot back a flaming response. Mom wouldn’t like that.

3. Listen to others. The whole purpose of social media is to get others to interact with you. That means you have to create an environment where people want to respond. If you have your own blog, you can do this by asking questions. You can visit other blogs and find out what others are thinking and join that discussion.

If you have your own social networking site, like ones offered at rSitez, you can start a community discussion through blogs, forums, and chats. Once you’ve gotten your readers talking, listen to them and let them know you appreciate their interests.

It sounds simple, but how many times have you clicked on a website looking for information and been inundated with heavy sales copy? Or read a blog where the author dismisses comments that contrast his? Or see where someone says something completely inappropriate on Facebook that diminishes your view of him?

By remembering the basic social rules that you would use in establishing face-to-face relations, you’ll have success in creating relationships online.

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When the competition comes out with a new product or service, it’s easy to feel a little defensive.  Will our customers be so impressed with the idea of a new, updated version that they’ll dump us like the proverbial hot potato?

One company in that situation recently took a different approach.

When Microsoft released Windows 7, rival computer maker Apple decided to be aggressive with a new commercial.  In it, a woman is deciding whether to stay with her current PC and upgrade to Windows 7 or switch over to a Mac.  Her dilemma?  While Windows promised wonderful new abilities, the last upgrade, Windows Vista, had provided PC users with more headaches than solutions.  In contrast, Mac had a proven reputation for reliability and simplicity.  In the end, the woman decides to go with a Mac, despite the newness of Windows 7.

What lesson can small business owners and entrepreneurs take from this? If your product or service is good enough, you can go toe to toe with any new competition.  Don’t allow your competition’s positive publicity be the only thing your current and prospective customers hear.  Know what your value proposition is, and make sure your customers do too,

Since most of us don’t have Apple’s advertising budget, we may not be able to put ads on TV, but we can get our message across by marketing through social media.

Use Facebook fan pages to talk about your product and services.  Make sure your website has clear, updated information. In each case, make sure you tell your readers how your product or service can solve their problem.

With Facebook fan pages, however, you are competing with all of the other companies on the site.  You can differentiate yourself by developing your own social networking site, like the ones offered by rSitez. It’s a way to stay ahead of the competition, reach your audience directly, and not get lost in the fan page crowd.

Be sure you don’t neglect your current customers in your quest to attract new ones.  If you already have a community of customers, fans or followers built up, remind them of how you can help them do business more efficiently. If you have established customers on your own social networking site, like rSitez, it is easy to develop blogs and forums that are tailored to their needs and that encourage their interaction.

Remember, though, that establishing relationships through social networking takes time.  It is not something that can be done as a quick fix.  But the benefits of making connections with your customers are also long lasting.

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