Can Social Networking Replace Your Email List?

It has become apparent in recent years that the power of one's internet business is in the List. But is it possible that List building could become an outdated concept?nnEnter...Social NetworkingnnAll you have to do is ask die-hard fans of Twitter and Facebook to see the possibilities. In the last few years these social networking tools (along with a few others) have taken the internet by storm and are making quite a few believers in the idea that even the leverage of one to many communication with your List might become antiquated.nnHow Social Media Communication Beats Traditional Emailn1. When you communicate with your list in today's environment, you are taking a chance that your viewer may not see your email...or that it comes to them at a time when they are bombarded by other requests or deadlines.nn2. In a traditional list, your prospect may be sending all your emails to a Swipe File email address, meaning they never see your message. Often, they joined simply to get a free report, with a good intention of returning at a later date.nn3. With social networking sites, on the other hand, you are actually building a relationship with your friends or followers. The more you participate, the more your community gets to know who you are...as a real person with interests separate from the marketing machine you display in emails.nn4. Now, here's the best part. With social media, you have the ability to turn 1 to many communication into viral communication. Let's say you post information of real perceived value. Your friends then forward it on to their friends (many of whom are not on your list) and it has the potential to go viral.nnPutting Social Networking into PracticennWith Facebook, you have the opportunity to create a Group around your business area of expertise. Then, you build the membership in this group through direct promotion or via people finding you from a topic search. So, let's say you have 2,000 people in your group and you want to let them know about an upcoming teleseminar you are conducting on the specific focus topic of the group.nnYou simply send the event invitation to the entire Group. Because the invitation will stay in their Events folder until group members take specific action, more people will actually see your marketing event. Further, the very nature of Facebook encourages those in your Group to forward the Event to others within their network, if they find the topic appealing. Now that's leverage!