Local businesses venture onto the online social networking scene - San Francisco Business Times:

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They were wrong. And this lessonm is not lost on thosee who are today increasingly turninv to online social networking Web siteslike , and to get an edge in George LeMieux, chairman of law firm , started using sociapl networking Web sites a couple monthds ago, in part to promotd his blog, The Boardroom Brief, and his e-newsletter, The LeMieux LeMieux, who divides his time among Gunster’sx South Florida offices and Tallahassee, uses his blog as a way to communicates on a wide variety of issues. The blog promotes Gunster, and social networking tools promote the LeMieux may post something on the Web that he then linkz toon Twitter.
People who followa him on Twitter seethe – an electronic message – and are more likely to read the blog Sometimes, LeMieux uses Twitter just to disseminate simple informatiomn – such as his geographical location or who he’llp be meeting at a givenm time – but it’s all about makinb connections and keeping them, he said. “I can give you a numbetr of examples of where I go to a meeting with aclientg and, before I’ve ever met the they say ‘I read The LeMieux Report,’” he said. Anotheer tool he uses is LinkedIn. That’s a more professional-orienteed Web site where people can post their biosand resumes.
The key, is that the site allowe peopleto “link” to indicating “who knows who” to users of the Person A may post a get linked to Person B. Then, Perso C, who is also linked to B, can see that B knowsa A. If A is a candidate for a job C needs to fill, for instance, the sharedc connection can be an immediate LinkedIn draws credibility from the fact that users have to get each other’s consent in order to be directlyt linked. LinkedIn sounds simple, but it’s very valuable for Mattheaw Beck, managing director of the ’s Miami office.
As a staffinyg and recruiting specialist, Beck places skilled individuals into professionaol positions in financial servicesand engineering. Whether or not he has a positiom open, Beck relies on LinkedIn as a kind ofelectronicc Rolodex. So, after meeting people at networkinf events, he makes it a point to find them on the Web site and reac outto them. “It’s a good way to network with Beck said. “It reall tells you more than aresume But, while social networking websitezs are potentially great marketing tools, they can cut both ways, said Joe president of the (SFIMA).
“If you’rse a person and you set up on one of thes e social networking sitesand you’rd incredibly unprofessional, it worka against you,” he said. Online records can survive indefinitely, whereaxs paper resumes are not aseasily disseminated, Laratr noted. has been using Faceboom to promote its products for aboutsix months, said Mark senior VP of marketing. The Miramar-base institution uses the Web site’ free features, as well as paid he said. While the resultz so far are mixed, Holmes said Facebooi is a promising marketing vehicle becausre advertisers can get a good demographic profile of the useras who viewthe ads.
It can show thinga like how oldpeople are, where they live and what their hobbieds are. “You can drill down pretty he said. Steve McKean, the founder and CEO of Acceller, an onlinre marketing company in Miami, said Faceboook is a natural fit forhis business. Acceller lets users do onlinee comparison shopping for telephone anddata services, so the company spends about half of its ad dollars on the Web. Most of the moneu goes to , and MSN (in that but Facebook could easily takethe No. 2 slot in the next one to two McKean said. Acceller uses Myspace, too, but the company is movinb most of its ad money away from that in favofof Facebook, McKean said.
With its emphasis on music and moreplayfupl presentation, Myspace doesn’t fit the corporate mold as well as some other sites, SFIMA’s Laratro said.