PrintingNews.com

Once you’ve gotten your Web site up and running, and you’ve implemented some kind of Web-to-print solution, now it’s time to tell people about it. And one of the best ways to do that in today’s world is through social networks.

Social networks come in a variety of flavors, from basic to fairly complex. Here are a few of the tools you should be thinking about using on a regular basis.

Twitter: Originally billed as the network to tell people “What are you doing right now?” Twitter has evolved into a powerful communication tool for businesses. This is a way to talk directly with hundreds, if not thousands, of potential buyers, give them information about your business, and even create a dialog that will make them want to do business with you.

You can use it to answer questions, share links to articles you think others in the industry might find interesting, and establish yourself as a go-to person when someone needs information. Or you could offer special deals only to Twitter followers, to help drum up a specific type of business.

However, you will have to be careful about Twitter spam. Don’t post things you don’t think your clients would want to hear about. If you’re in doubt, start out by following a few people and getting a feel for what works and what doesn’t, and what you’d like your feed, ultimately, to be.

LinkedIn: This particular site is as close to face-to-face business networking online as I’ve been able to find to date. Much as you would exchange business cards with information, you add people to your network on the site, where you can then post questions to them, update them on your status—such as promotions, new machines you’re installing, etc.—and even join discussion groups about topics of interest to you. (Printing News even has one! We’d love to have everyone reading this come join the dialogue!)

One of the nice things about LinkedIn over the traditional method of enhancing business cards is that the information is never out-of-date. If someone leaves a company, gets a promotion, or changes their phone number, they can update it in their profile, and that information is instantly available to you.

And LinkedIn does not—and should not—exist outside of traditional networking methods. Of all the online networking tools, this one works best when used hand-in-hand with good old face-to-face meetings. LinkedIn is just a great way to keep the dialogue open after you’ve met someone, and then expand it to other areas as time goes on.