Tags: social media, social media marketing, social networking, targeted networking, The Modern Connection[ × ]

You’ve heard the adage, “there’s plenty of fish in the sea,” right? While it mostly applies to dating, the same concept is true for social networking. More specifically, finding the right social networking tools for you.

We’re all aware of the “big boys” of social networking: Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. However, you might be surprised to know there are many, many more sites that allow people to network to smaller, targeted, niche groups.

We found a pretty amazing list that gives you an idea of just how many social sites exist.

So, why should the existence of these tools matter to you?  Let’s stick with the dating metaphor to explain. Say you have a crush on the super popular football quarterback. That’s great except almost everyone has a crush on the super popular football quarterback. We’re not saying you shouldn’t have a crush on him; you’ll just be putting yourself in a much more competitive pool where you’ll need to dedicate a lot of time to help beat out all of the other “noise” in the field.

Now, let’s say you meet the cute captain of the school drama club. Maybe he’s not as popular, but you have the same interests in music and movies and even share a love for the same local coffee shop that you thought was your secret spot. While you’ll probably always have a crush on the popular quarterback, your relationship with the drama guy is based on mutual passions and you won’t have to share his attention with so many people.

Now apply what you just read to your business and communicating with your target audience.  Want to reach people who love to knit? Ravelry might be a social site you should consider partnering or advertising with. How about book lovers? Try Shelfari, weRead or Goodreads.

While people with these interests can definitely be found on Facebook and Twitter (and we definitely encourage an active presence on these sites), your updates will be competing for their attention with all of the other pages that they have liked – from TV shows to restaurants, etc. The super targeted social communities offer you the opportunity to reach consumers who have declared a very specific interest in whatever the site focuses on. It just makes sense to use these sites to help round out your social presence.

Have any of you targeted a niche social site to reach your audience? What were your results?

As a social media specialist for The Modern Connection, Jessica provides innovative and strategic solutions that help businesses connect with their customers.