Do you hear the rustle in the Social Media Jungle?
If you look closer, you find all kinds of Social Media Pro’s, Entrepreneur’s, new Marketers etc within this Jungle. Social Media is growing and growing over the past years and has created many new job’s, needs, tools and niches.
Do you still think Social Media is a fad?
Now, I won’t be able to count all the social media consultants and agencies but believe me, there thousands of them. You most likely find them on LinkedIn within different groups.
LinkedIn, the real business network, is a brilliant network to connect with like-minded business owners, coworkers, companies etc. It allows you to extend your own professional network and take part in several discussions across different groups.
But now, there is something special in the Jungle, something that attracts everyones attention to get us even more closer. It’s like sitting around the campfire, casual talking about social media.
I’m talking about Social Media Examiner’s Networking Club
You should already know Social Media Examiner so I’m not going to digg any deeper. Michael Stelzner was able to create the above mentioned campfire.
The SME’s Clubs are like groups you already know but without one disturbing thing: Ads!
LinkedIn got many groups which lost their engagement factor and have become a place of pure profiling (self-expression). Sure, it is great to improve the visibility of your brand or to prove you as an expert but it does not feel that comfortable.
Social Media Examiners Networking Clubs are currently a bit different and I hope Michael will do his best to keep it at this level. The clubs and the members are just amazing. If you have a question, just ask and you get a lot of answers and not in any sales way!
Most of them are Social Media Pro’s but no one is going to move your question into a sales pitch. And guess what, Pro’s are asking questions as well!
Let’s sum it up: If you are looking for a place to get connected to some people within the Social Media field, do yourself a favor and join Social Media Examiner’s Networking Club. I really enjoy this place.
Hope to see you there!
Last but not least, I wish everyone a Happy New Year!
What you say about LinkedIn is so true. Sadly I predict SME’s Networking Clubs may go the same way. It’s small right now so it will be easier for the moderators to maintain some order but once it is released to the masses it may prove quite a challenge.
Hi Howie
Let’s hope that Michael is able to get some great moderators on board to watch over it. I really like the quality of a discussion over there.
As Nick said most of the people on SME club are related to social media marketing and this is why It is different to all other networks and great place for any one who is related to Social Media Marketing or want to know more how to use social media to grow their business.
I totally agree with Rana!
Haha your right nick I see lot of pros answering and asking questions which is one of the reasons why I love it..
Hope to see you there.. most of the time I’m hanging out at the small business club.. 🙂
Usually the problem with all these groups is that you join them and then don’t know what to do with them. So far I’ve been enjoying the forums in the Social Media Networking Club. I would like to see more groups than just the three they have now. But I have high hopes for this club.
I see what you mean and I absolutely understand it.
However, I still think this could be different if managed right from the very beginning.
You are right, they got only 3 clubs yet but my hope is that they are going to release more and more clubs over the time. I guess they just need to figure out how the idea is working and if there is a general interest.
Let’s hope the best! 😉
I understand @Jennifer Wagner’s desire to see more clubs added to SME but if it loses it’s tight focus and becomes too big and unwieldy it will be hard to keep track of what’s going on. There’s a balance that needs to be struck
Hi Nick, I am completely delighted by my membership in the SME club so far. Finally, a forum full of people who want to have the same business discussions I do! Yes – there is a chance that it will be a victim of its own success, and yes – I saw that happen to most LinkedIn groups I am in. We started with good shared interest discussion ended with 145 replies whenever anyone asked a question – no one actually answering, just 145 people saying ‘hire me or my buddy’. So it wasn’t the outside ads that did us in, but our own desire to refer or be referred. I’ve been on more than one forum over the years that has been great while it lasted and has eventually dissolved or fragmented. I guess we should make the most of this while it lasts.
Hi Abigail,
great to see you like the clubs as well!
Well, it all depends on our behave 😉 If we are able to keep the discussions flowing with great information and insights then others will follow this way of communication, at least I hope so.
It’s all about us and how we are going to use this new club.
Nick,
Are you crazy? You actually wrote a blog post about the Social Media Examiner networking clubs? Ssssssshhht, we should keep it a secret as long as possible!
😉
No, seriously, you are right about the quality of the discussions, questions and comments being made on the three clubs presently offered: Small Business, Facebook, and Blogging.
I agree with Jennifer that there could be one or two more clubs, say Google+ or Twitter, for folks you wish to speak specifically about these platforms and challenges they present. But as Rory mentions, there is a risk that it might get too busy. Time will tell.
And I do hope, like you say, that moderators will be stringent keeping comments free of sales pitches that have come to pollute Linkedin groups.
Darn, you are right! I should keep some great secrets for myself 😉
But on the other hand, I hope to get some more pro’s to the club through this post. So, spread the word 😉