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Facebook: This was originally a closed site aimed at students in high school or college. But in recent years it was opened up to everyone, and seemed to explode overnight.

It has become a great way for people to stay in touch with each other, and have more casual conversations than the ones in LinkedIn, but longer than what’s possible in Twitter.

“Facebook was the only way for Keiger Direct to have a Web presence and promote our business in the beginning,” noted Berry. “We announced the unveiling of our page on Keiger Printing’s Web site and sent out a news blast letting everyone know about the page. We also have the constant push from our e-mail footers. We aren’t really tracking sales off of our Facebook pages, but our IT administrator set it up so we can track how many people go to our Facebook pages from our Web site, as well as from our e-mail signatures. The links are also trackable from the backs of our business cards. We can’t tell who the people are that are hitting the page but we can at least gauge traffic and see the source of their visit.”

In addition to simply posting updates about what the company is doing, those who are brave—or who have a tech person on staff—can set up RSS Feeds to go directly to the page, allowing fans to be up to date with all the latest company news. It’s also a place where, like on Twitter, you can create specific promotions, or share information and links to sites so people will come to you first as the expert in your given field.

“When it comes to social media, we currently have two Facebook pages: one for Keiger Printing and one for Keiger Direct,” said Berry. “This has caused many of our employees to discover Facebook. I think this has created a closer bond between employees because we communicate with each other outside of work. We have also delved into the LinkedIn world and have company profiles for both Keiger Printing and Keiger Direct. Our Keiger Direct contact us page even links to our individual profiles. We’ve also noticed that a lot of our vendors have LinkedIn accounts.”

There are as many social networking sites online now as there are raindrops, and more are always coming. These are only the three biggest, and at the moment most popular, of what’s out there, but don’t be afraid to poke around the Internet, and join the networks that appeal to you. At the end of the day, getting your business’ name out, and interacting with more people is the best way to grow your business.
“The Internet is here to stay and electronic media is part of marketing’s multi-channel communications,” said Foley. “Ignore it and you have immediately minimized your chances for survival.”