Social Media ~ Please Help Me Help My Client!

[LilBlackDress]

I am doing some freelance work for a client. Recently they told me they were temporarily blocked from FaceBook for to much wall writing. I looked at their interaction, it was very genuine, unique to each person etc. And not excessive.

So this leads me to feel they need to move their interaction to their own site and use FB sparingly. And I also think they need to add another social site.

A few questions;

~ Can you think of any businesses that have a lot of FB type interaction at their own site and if so what type of theme are they using?

~ Are businesses allowed to run promotions/contests on Facebook w/o special permission?

~ What are some other good social sites for businesses aside from Myspace and Twitter?

Any other ideas appreciated.

[MarkR]

~ What are some other good social sites for businesses aside from Myspace and Twitter?

You didn't mention it, but a self-hosted Blog is the first place to start. You have total control, it's a search engine magnet, nobody bans you, it's easy, and, oh ya, free!

Putting a forum on the client's site is an easy, low-cost way to go to. It depends on what kind of business they are in.

Ning would be my next choice. Easy, cheap, and can be awesome.

Mark

[LilBlackDress]

Hi Mark,
Yes I meant a self hosted blog for moving their interaction to their own site. They have a well developed site already. I am wondering if there is a particular blog you can think of that is high interactive that may be the type of style they want to emulate.

As far as Ning goes...how awesome can that be? How controlling is Ning? And how do people find you on Ning?

Would that be good in addition to the blog or better to just focus on the blog?

[MarkR]

Ning can be awesome. Especially if you want to create your own little group/community/following. Check out the Nascar driver's Ning site (forgot his name). There's lot of examples.

You'd drive traffic to it like any other site - forum posting, Blog posting, articles, PPC, PR's, etc. I haven't seen many SERP listing for Ning pages, so I don't think that's an option for traffic.

There's lots of options for free Nings (with adverts), or pay to create a more professional Ning with no ads, your own URL, etc. Ning "control" depends on what level of service you sign up for.

I'd focus on promoting the Blog first. That will be your best bet. Once you get good at promoting that, and have a nice following, you can then promote the Ning site.

Mark

[LilBlackDress]

I think someone else mentioned that Ning is not good for backlinks. So it looks like all the traffic would have to be driven there. In which case the blog would be a much better option. Is there any reason to have both? Seems like the self hosted blog would be best?
or does Ning offers something I am missing.

Thanks !

[MarkR]

Ning offers way more visitor interaction (IM, photo sharing, video sharing, etc.) than a traditionally designed Blog. But I would still focus on making a successful Blog as a first step, before venturing into Ning.

There are also Warrior-designed Web 2.0/social scripts available to create your own hosted Ning-like site with some of the same features. That may be an option to.

Mark

[LilBlackDress]

I like that idea of the social scripts...any in particular you would recommend?
I would like to see the site be more interactive than a traditional blog.

Thanks!