Do you know what Social Networking sites are? Did you know that they aren’t just for entertainment and are now considered an essential online marketing tool by a lot of Internet marketing experts (just like good ecommerce statistics). And just like with a store, a healthy “client base” is also pivotal in social networking.

The Lowdown On Social Networking

Social networking websites are consists of online communities of Internet users. These users are brought together by common interests - religion, sports, products, hobbies, etc. - and form groups to cover these common interests. Some of these sites have become so intensely big that Internet marketers have grown to understand the prospective of social networking as a marketing tool.

In mid-June 2009, computer maker Dell declared that it earned $3 million in revenue from using Twitter, a well-demanded micro-blogging facility. It took 18 months to make the first million but only six to earn the rest.

It Takes Time, Not Money

The importance of social networking sites is evident in survey results presented by Ad-ology Research. The ecommerce shopping cart systems indicate that 25% of the small businesses surveyed would boost marketing investing on social networking sites. But the beauty of social networking is that you do not need lots of money to get the results you desire. You just need some time to build a community following or a fan base.

So How Do I Use It?

Social networking sites can drive traffic to your store as well as boost sales. The thing is, it takes a bit of time to gather a sizable following (more than a year) but as Dell found out, it can be worth the wait. A large number of companies use Twitter, Facebook and even Flicker in tandem to successfully promote their products.

Twitter is a micro-blogging site that only enables a limited number of characters (140) in its update box. A large number of companies utilize this facility to post the sale of a particular item to utmost effect. Emails, messages and calls come in almost on the spot after an update is made. A direct link to the product page is usually placed at the end of the message.

Tip: You may want to use a URL shortener like bit.ly or tinyurl to help suit your URL into the update box.

Facebook would need no further introduction. You can link your Twitter account to your Facebook account and have your Facebook status automatically update when you update your Twitter status. You can put product details (videos as well as photos) on Facebook and link them back to your store or product pages.

You can also consists of discount codes on both Twitter and Facebook for your “followers”. If you are the owner of a web store selling health or sports products, you could consist of useful bait links such as those that lead to BMI calculators, calorie estimators or running speed calculators - all of which should be discovered at your site.

Flicker is an online photo management and sharing application. You can upload your product photos to Flicker and don’t forget to make full use of the description, title, and tag boxes. You can even place invitations in the photos themselves to assist drive traffic to your site.

Once you’ve got your online shopping carts setup the way you want it and you’ve accomplished your SEO groundwork, get started off on this method. It does take a little while for a respectable following to snowball but if you are in it for the long term, then it is truly worth it. The ecommerce shopping cart system don’t lie.