Ning is yet another social networking site that has been around since October 2005. While the company was quite popular for a few years, it began to fall off the radar of many using social marketing. Businesses were more concerned with Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. As a business owner, you may be wondering if Ning is something that could help your business or if you should spend your time focusing on other social networking sites. Let’s take a closer look at Ning and whether or not it can help your business.
What Is Ning?
Ning allows the creation of social networks by both people and organizations. This allows users to create a custom network in order to connect with others that have similar interests. You can customize your network with pictures, videos, forums, and more. A benefit to Ning is the ability to create social networks on almost any topic (as long as it’s PG). In June 2011, the company had over 90,000 individual networks. Another benefit is the ability to create networks that are detailed as you like through the use of different plans including Mini, Plus, and Pro. Businesses would be best-suited for the Pro plan because it allows for the most customization and has the most features.
What Are the Stats of the Company?
With over 90,000 individual networks running on the website, Ning has to be doing something right. The website receives over 65 million monthly visitors. Of course, that’s nothing compared to the 160 million US visitors that come to Facebook each month. However, it is a step-up from the 20 million that visit Twitter.
How Can It Help Your Business?
If you’re looking to spread out your social marketing, Ning may be something worth looking into. However, if you’re just getting started in social marketing, it’s plain to see that your time would be much better invested in Facebook. The idea that Ning allows you to create a customized social network for your employees and customers may seem appealing, but many businesses simply don’t have time for this amount of work. In other words, small businesses will find their time better spent at Facebook, while large corporations that already have Facebook and Twitter accounts, may benefit from Ning.
Ning is a website that is unique in that it allows you to build your own social network. However, Ning isn’t a social marketing tool that will propel your numbers forward the way Facebook could. As a small business owner, you need to spend your time wisely, and it only makes sense to spend that time with companies that get the most visitors.
About the Author: Jeffry Tammendorf uses Ning and Twitter to promote his business. He loves to schedule tweets in advance and spends a set amount of time on social networking sites daily.
