Top 26 Social Media Sites

Demographic Information

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Over 40% of the US population has a profile on Facebook. It is the most powerful and far reaching out of all of the social networks. It's massive reach and diversified user base makes it the most intriguing forum to connect with current and future customers. Implementing diversified content will help you stand out and get noticed.

Twitter is one of the more exciting prospects for online business marketing. Within this network a multi faceted marketing strategy can be executed. By listening to the online conversation we can make direct contact with those who mention your products. Sharing content will drive users to your site and compelling content has strong potential to go viral with an appropriate networking strategy. It can become its own traffic source.

LinkedIn in can be used in a multitude of ways by businesses of all types. Utilizing previous contacts will build your base, expansion can come by joining in the conversation and communicating with thousands through asking and answering questions as well as communicating in groups. For business to business products and services promotions, LinkedIn should be near the top of the list.

Though largely ignored by social media marketing circles, MySpace boast a tremendous user base. It remains one of the easiest places to find highly targeted contacts. Unlike Facebook there are not limits to the number of connections you can have, groups and advanced search features can be used to build a large relevant network of user to consume your content.

Ning is a platform in which anyone can create their own social network. Whenever someone creates a profile on your social network they will have a customizable profile available immediately. Beginning in July Ning will no longer offer free services but plans start at just $2.95 per month.

Tagged is a social network similar to Facebook and Myspace. People log on to share videos, pictures, photos and play games. The amount of unique visitors to this site has been consistent over the past year. They are also well known for having paid a $900,000 fine for spam, the biggest spam fine in history.

Classmates is a social network in which users connect with their high schools classmates. Most traffic to this site is from US users. Classmates.com is a division of United Online, owners of NetZero and Juno.

Though hi5.com is founded and based in the US, it is more popular in Latin American countries. User share their interest, location and can share different forms of media.

From wikipedia:

myYearbook differentiates itself from other sites by enabling its members to meet new people. Members do this by creating profiles, interacting through Chatter, a real-time stream, sending virtual gifts, and playing games. Since its launch myYearbook has grown to be one of the top Teen Sites and one of the 25 most trafficked sites in the US

Meetup.com is a forum where users can form groups of all different sorts of interest to meet in person. Groups formed are social, business or networking related. Businesses can utilize it to form groups of specific niches in order to spread the word about their business.

BEBO is an acronym for “blog early, blog often”. This social network was acquired by AOL for $850 Million dollars in 2008. We would recommend against any sort of network building activities on BEBO because AOL is reportedly ready to shut down this social network due to lack of performance.

From Wikipedia:

The service allows users to contact other members, maintain those contacts, and share online content and media with those contacts. The website is also used for dating and discovering new events, bands, and hobbies. Users may share videos, photos, messages and comments with other members via their profile and their network

Wikipedia is a content powerhouse which is tightly regulated against self promotional content. If an angle can be found to get an article published and accepted in can be a great source of traffic to your site.

If some form of your content where to appear on the first page of Digg you would see an immediate spike in web traffic. Having bookmarks from Digg will also assist in your Search Engine Optimization efforts. typically, web traffic driven by Digg is considered to convert at a low percentage with many users consuming content and immediately exiting the site.

A popular bookmark on StumbleUpon will assist in SEO efforts while driving consistent traffic to your site. The effectiveness for marketing efforts has come into question but the low effort level required makes it worth the time invested.

A great deal of traffic can be generated from having content become popular on Reddit. It faces some of the challenges of other Social Bookmarking sites but should be used consistently to diversify incoming traffic.

Any local business can be promoted thorough Yelp. In depth profiles with pictures are allowed and validation can come from 3rd party reviews. Restaurants will receive additional benefit because it is a popular review site for local eateries.

Young, technologically oriented people frequent this social bookmarking service. It can be great traffic acquisition for businesses that serve them. SEO benefit makes the effort worthwhile for any business.

For artists, photographers, or videographers, Deviant Art is a great place to create a profile, submit content, and increase exposure.

With a strong network of friends, articles about popular topics with interesting titles can receive lots of traffic when promoted on Yahoo Buzz. For maximum effectiveness it is important to participate in buzz activity and proactively develop your network. Active members with large networks will yield the best results on Yahoo Buzz.

Newsvine is a site with traditional and user generated stories. They require high quality photographs when submitting but it can be an excellent place to show off expertise on a particular topic.

Given their high traffic volumes, Technorati is a viable option for online marketers looking to expand their RSS syndication.

Scribd is an excellent place to share documents presentations and eBooks. They give you the opportunity to monetize your creation by charging people for what you have written or you can share free of charge. With close to 10 million monthly visitors it is an excellent place to gain additional exposure for your business.

SlideShare is another great option for sharing documents and presentations. With appropriately tagged and titled presentationscan be a great first contact with future clients. They also have a low cost lead generation service which would get your content to the top of search results and you would only pay for those who contact you.

Kaboodle, allows you to create shopping list and share them within the community. Anything can be added to a shopping list clothes, electronics or special offers from around the web.

Epinions is a consumer review site. Positive reviews of your establishment can lead to more people visiting your location. It is also a great place to manage your reputation, a bad review should be seen as an opportunity to show off your costumer service skills.