Social Bookmarking: Does it
Actually Work?
If you are ready to bring your business
to the world then there are some things
and issues about advertising that you
must think about. First of all, there
have been plenty of social bookmarking
sites to come along through the past
couple years that have given businesses
a chance to increase their exposure
through the whole of the internet.
Additionally, that exposure comes also
at fast pace by making the information
available at lightning speed. In fact,
as soon as a business owner posts
something on the 'net for everyone to
see it is readily available as soon as
they hit that "submit" button. That's
the way it works on these social
bookmarking websites, but do they really
give businesses the cream of the crop
when it comes to business advertising?
Even though many people have found
social bookmarking websites, such as
Digg.com, del.icou.us, and Linkroll to
be effective for their business that
they are trying to promote, let's
consider the alternatives to social
bookmarking first and compare them.
1. Social bookmarking bookmarks
are short-lived. In the offline world if
you want to advertise your business in a
big way then there are several things
available for you to do. For example,
you can take out an ad in a newsletter
or a newspaper or you can put up a
billboard so that everyone can see it.
Billboards, especially, are a very good
form of business marketing because your
ad there is for as long as you pay the
rent or dues on the bulletin board.
Newspapers are also a good form of
offline business marketing because the
many people who read newspapers
throughout the world are able to see
your business ad.
However, social bookmaking sites are
quite different from the offline world.
For example, with Digg.com you are only
able to get to the 'featured' page of
Digg if you have over 50 Diggs in a
twenty-four hours time span. If you
don't meet that requirement then what
happens? What happens is that your Digg,
article, video, or other content that
you've bookmarked essentially becomes
moot because hardly anyone will look at
it. Even if your Digg does get to the
featured page, there is no telling how
long it will stay there. Chances are
that it'll only be there for a day or
two before it eventually gets replaced
with a newer, fresher video. Social
networking websites are short-lived for
business advertising purposes. One needs
a longer time for business advertising
if results are what is desired.
2. Social Bookmarking for
business marketing versus placing ads
online. As mentioned above, social
networking websites can be quite
short-lived since there are hundreds of
new videos, articles, contents, and
bookmarks coming in through these sites
each hour. As the saying goes, "You get
what you pay for," many people may not
even be paying for these free forms of
advertising, but they may not even help.
Compared with placing internet ads
online, placing your business website or
video in a bookmark on one of these
social bookmarking websites is not as
profitable. You are not spending money,
however, so it's not going to hurt you.
In the end, though, you may have just
wasted more time than was necessary!
Depends on the Business
When considering whether social
bookmarking websites actually work or
not, it is crucial to actually consider
the business or genre that you may have
placed your bookmark in. What category
works for one person may not work for
another person or business.
Additionally, the type of business that
you are promoting depends on whether or
not consumers will truly be interested.
Many people are turned off by MLM
programs, so you may not be too
receptive if you write an article on
joining your specific MLM program. All
things considered, it is truly dependent
on the situation of the business and
what services they are offering to be
profitable for the business or not.
All in all, social bookmarking websites
can be a good free tool to use if you
are having a hard time getting your
business launched into the World Wide
Web. They offer unique tools to help
business owners get started with their
marketing, however, there are also some
other things that need to be thought
about, including other traditional forms
of offline and online marketing.
Nevertheless, social bookmarking
websites are not only here to stay for
consumers and business owners, but each
person should try them out for him or
herself to really evaluate the system
properly.
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