Comments on: 21 Considerations Before Your Business Starts A Social Network

By: Small Business Marketing Strategy: Is Social Media Marketing Viable? | OnlineMarketerBlog.com

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:05:53 +0000

[...] are often highly personalized to your business (read: one size does not fit all). I have a history of warning marketers before they dive right [...]

By: The New Secrets Of Blogging - Pragmatic Or Cynical? | OnlineMarketerBlog.com

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[...] waste of your time. There are a lot of considerations to consider before starting a blog (here are 21 to start with), but the most common mistake is not considering this: does your product suck? If so, reinvest that [...]

By: Valdis

Valdis — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:07:41 +0000

The only one that matters is #19, with 16-18 in a strong supporting role.

And actually “social networks” do run themselves… the organic ones do, the best ones do… they self-organize with key members “weaving” the network [connecting others, bring new people in, and connecting them].

For a different opinion…
http://www.orgnet.com/community.html

By: OnlineMarketerBlog.com

OnlineMarketerBlog.com — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:29:32 +0000

Thanks for the great comments!

I like effectizes’ comment and I recommend the July 24 article “Should you start a social community – selling to small businesses” (there’s a pingback listed in the comments section). Both are very good additions to this meme.

Gautam – I have to disagree. While you’re right that the cost of the actual network is virtually nil (maybe some developer time to customize), the topics in #1-7 are about things other than the tech. It’s an underlying theme of the post – that social networks don’t just run themselves.

You need to make sure that the network fits your business objectives, that you have the right people tasked on it, that you can provide the content and oversight necessary, etc.

While the tech is free, it’s a common mistake to think that a community will spring up organically.

By: Gautam Banerjee

Gautam Banerjee — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:16:40 +0000

Reasons 1 to 7 are essentially moot because of Ning.com. Social networks are fully customizable and brandable for businesses, and the cost is very low.