Startup Businesses - January 03, 2012

When starting a business or a franchise, it can be difficult to build a network that you can rely on when you need a little help maintaining your bottom line. However, one way that you can keep in touch with clients and industry experts alike is through social networking. You might not be the most internet-savvy business owner, but making an effort to utilize social networking profiles can help you establish strong, helpful connections.

Facebook and Twitter are two of the most popular websites for businesses to date. These sites allow business owners to showcase their goods and services for free, making it a viable form of marketing. However, Entrepreneur magazine reports that there is more to benefiting from these sites than just making a couple of posts.

In order to gain an edge on the competition, your profile updates need to be worthwhile to your readers. This means doing more than just posting information about your latest sale. Instead, think about offering discounts to those who are willing to follow your social networking profiles and stay in the loop. This will keep people around and give them a reason to keep an eye on your business.

While social networking can be used to attract potential customers, it can also be utilized to help you grow your business or franchise in other ways. For instance, your Facebook page can be the perfect place to look for applicants for a new, open position at your company, according to CBS News. Jason Throckmorton, a public relations firm founder and industry expert, told the news source that he has found success through this method.

"If we were going to attract the candidates with the skill sets we wanted, they had to be active within social media before they even came on," Throckmorton told the news source. "We began looking for people who were commenting on our client companies or things related to public relations."

Using social networking websites can make things a little easier for you when starting a business in a number of ways. However, it may require a bit of effort to take full advantage of these sites. If you can't handle regularly updating your pages, consider hiring a social marketing expert who can help you out along the way.