Top Social Networks for Entrepreneurs

BY Ben Lang Dec. 15, 2009 41 Comments

Tweet

There are hundreds of social networks out there. You can’t be everywhere and we all need to focus our efforts and time on the most effective social networking sites. Which social networks are best for entrepreneurs? Here are the social networks I would recommend for entrepreneurs.

Social Networks for Entrepreneurs:

Linkedin – Over 50 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities.

Pro: Largest business network on the web.
Con: Some features require payment.

entrepreneur connect

Entrepreneur Connect – Start networking with entrepreneurs just like you.

Pro: Free membership.
Con: Self promotion is not encouraged.

PartnerUp – Network with other small business owners just like you.

Pro: Free membership.
Con: Very wide range of topics.

StartupNation – Source for Small Business Advice and Entrepreneur Forum.

Pro: Many resources available and advice.
Con: Limited networking capabilities.

Biznik – Business Networking.

Pro: Free membership.
Con: Small network.

Perfect Business – Powerful Business Planning Software , Find Startup Funding.

Pro: Resources and networking.
Con: Very small network.

Young Entrepreneur – Small Business & Entrepreneur Community.

Pro: Very active community.
Con: Forum is a bit difficult to use.

Ryze – Business Networking.

Pro: Very easy to use.
Con: Design is poor.

xing

Xing – Social Network for Business Professionals.

Pro: Second largest business network.
Con: LinkedIn is better to use for mass networking.

Classic must haves:

Facebook – Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them.
Twitter – Twitter is without a doubt the best way to share and discover what is happening right now.
Flickr – Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world.

If you know of other good social networks for entrepreneurs leave them below.

Entrepreneurship, Social Media

entrepreneur, Social Media

http://copy-blogger.com Copy-Blogger

Ben,this is another useful post from you.Most of the networks I see for the first time,how do you find such information? I am sure you will be one of the most successful bloggers.I recently joined Young Entrepreneur Forum,I looked through the posts there,but seems there are a lot of useless posts,i think mods dont control the forum.
.-= Copy-Blogger´s last blog post: Interview with Blogger,Lax,the Owner of TechZoomIn =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Thanks, I’m pleased to share this information with you. I do research when writing a post like this. Believe Young Entrepreneur is great for posting your own stuff, lets say you have a question, want free website feedback, that’s the place to go.

Alex Ainsberg

It is nice to learn of these different social networks which for the most part I have never heard of. Perhaps next time some more pros/cons? Nice post, Ben.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Your welcome, next time I’ll definitely work on more pros and cons + content. School is taking away all of my time Thanks!

http://www.donpower.me @donpower

Hey Ben!

Some great recommendations there.

I’d like to recommend a new social network I came across recently. I refer to it as the Twitter for entrepreneurs: Sprouter – http://www.sprouter.com

Its interface is almost identical to twitter – a good move on Sprouter’s behalf. Navigating your way around – even from scratch is very easy if you are already familiar with Twitter (and who isn’t these days?)

Also, the focus is on entrepreneurs so people aren’t talking about what they had for breakfast – they’re talking about ideas and information around growing your business.

And finally, one of the REALLY great things about Sprouter – right now at least – is that the spammers haven’t figured out it’s there yet. So you can have some really great conversations (they’re called ‘sprouts’) without having to worry about being sold the latest and greatest “how to get zillion followers” BS.

So, I’d encourage you and your readers to check it out, get an account and feel free to add me as a connection – @donpower on Sprouter

@donpower on TWITTER
.-= @donpower´s last blog post: What a Blogger Can Learn From a Drowning Man [VIDEO - click post title or image] =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Hi Don,
Great recommendation, I am definitely going to check it out. Sounds very interesting that its in the same interface as Twitter. No spammers?! Thats amazing, I dont know if you remember but I wrote a post on how much I hate spammers on Facebook on Twitter: http://ben-lang.com/top-10-most-annoying-facebookers-and-twitterers/

Thanks so much for sharing,
Ben

Pingback: Tweets that mention Top Social Networks for Entrepreneurs | Ben-Lang.com -- Topsy.com
http://shirleyszone.com Shirley

Great list, Ben. I know of 5 of the social networks for entrepreneurs that you listed but hadn’t heard of the others.

I’m going to check those I don’t know out and see what they are up to and what they have in-store for me .

Nice post as always .
.-= Shirley´s last blog post: 12 Reasons Why Contests/Promos Are Necessary For Your Blog Or Business =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Thanks Shirley, I am happy that you are learned a lot from this post

http://shirleyszone.com Shirley

You’re welcome, Ben .
.-= Shirley´s last blog post: 12 Reasons Why Contests/Promos Are Necessary For Your Blog Or Business =-.

http://moralde.com/ James Moralde

Yeah, how in the world do you get access to this new information? All of the above mentioned social networks are new to me except for the ‘Classic Must Haves’. LOL. Thanks for this information. I’m definitely checking each one out.
.-= James Moralde´s last blog post: Help Save MySQL =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Haha, so you’re also wondering how I got this information. Here’s my secret: research. I look for similar information, posts etc. and thats how I write my posts. No problem, enjoy James!

http://www.creditrich.net Marc Augustine

Interesting. I knew about a few of them. And the thing is, I hardly used linkedin, just my preference. I have never heard of the one by entrepreneur.com. Have you checked out retireat21.com? they seem to have an ok forum. But most of those guys are in Europe, if I remember correctly.
.-= Marc Augustine´s last blog post: Another Net 30 for the new business credit ebook =-.
Pingback: uberVU - social comments
http://www.freemanlegacyllc.com Ms. Freeman

Super list, but for now I think I am going to stick with the networks I have, until I figured out a way to manufacture more hours in a day…LOL:)
.-= Ms. Freeman´s last blog post: Unemployment Can Be the Entrepreneurial Spark Needed =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Thanks, lol these are just suggestions, nothing you have to do Whenever you succeed in manufacturing those hours feel free to check them out.

http://kikolani.com/ Kikolani

One additional Pro for Biznik – if you are looking to get your name indexed quickly in Google, this is the site to go for. My account and my husbands were indexed within hours of creating profiles and generally stay higher in SERPs than our LinkedIn profiles. Plus I have received several freelance inquiries since joining Biznik. The additional con is that some features do require a paid subscription.

~ Kristi
.-= Kikolani´s last blog post: Ultimate Freelance Resources – 100+ Links to Freelance Jobs, Blogs, Podcasts, Guides & More =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Wow, nice to know, I didnt know that Biznik was good at that, I’m very impressed that you also got freelance inquiries. Thanks for commenting!

Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com

Hey this is cool – I didn’t know half of these.

Being an aspiring entrepreneur myself these networks will be great to be apart of and hopefully a great chance to meet some like minded people.

Cheers for the research and sharing with us, Ben. Bookmarked!

Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com
.-= Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com´s last blog post: Guest Post Interview: Derek Jensen =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

I’m glad you think so Yup, that’s exactly how these networks will benefit you. Regards Sarge.

http://internetjobscams.blogspot.com chandan

Ben thank you for this post. I only know about twitter, facebook and linkedin social networking sites. But I did not know about the other social networking sites that you mentioned here. So are they also helpful for promotion?
.-= chandan´s last blog post: Update from google work at home affiliate network-December 11, 2009 =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Hi Chandan. I guess you learned about a lot of new networks in this post. Most of them are good for promotion, but the best ones for promotion are those that you already use: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

http://internetjobscams.blogspot.com chandan

Thank you Ben, I will try those sites. My most favorite social netwroking site is twitter.

http://thestartupist.com Ethan

You may consider adding http://sprouter.com as well to your otherwise excellent list!

Well put together Ben!
.-= Ethan´s last blog post: HOW TO: Make People Care About your Startup =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Hi Ethan, funny you should mention that because Don Power also suggested that I add it. Thanks!

http://www.directsaleswebmarketing.com/send-me-your-best-articles-ill-send-you-my-best-traffic/ Dennis Edell

Great job Ben, as long as I’ve been online, I haven’t heard of several of these.

I just saw your post on famous bloggers and figured I’d jump over and take a look; I’ll subscribe and see what ya got .

Please install a subscribe to comments plugin ASAP.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog post: Pick My New Domain Names With A chance To Win $10! =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Hi Dennis,
Thanks for visiting my blog. Well I have “ReplyMe” installed which sends you an email automatically with the new comment, do you think a subscribe to comments plugin would be better? Cheers!

http://www.directsaleswebmarketing.com/send-me-your-best-articles-ill-send-you-my-best-traffic/ Dennis Edell

I use both. The “reply me” only sends replies that specifically use that link; direct replies.

The plugins send every comment, whether it’s directly addressed to you or not.

Shonika Proctor

And here’s my 2 cents

Linked in is an awesome resource RE: the Answers section….when you have a question and have no idea where to begin to figure out the answer, go to the Answers tab and ask the question to your community. Also, a great resource to use if you think to yourself, how would I get in contact with someone from…..XYZ major company or type of company. Search the company name or person you would like to reach in your network and see who in your network is connected with them.

I am #1 ranked question answerer in Ask an Expert section on PerfectBusiness.com
I have been using it for about a year. Dan, the founder is cool and always on the community. Good for asking question but I think you have to pay the premium price to get the real benefits of using the site, ie. seeking investors and pitching your business plan.

I was on Ryze a few years ago but found it to MLM’ish and Network Marketing centric which was driving me crazy with all the friend invites and requests to sell the blahdie blah exotic island health and wellness special fountain of youth juice extract, lol. One thing I like on that site is you can get nice digital photos (professionally taken by local photographer) for under $150 for 12 poses.

Start Up Nation- start a business course is good and they have a great and responsive community/forum

Entrepreneur Connect is a good concept but I haven’t found a lot of real substance there or involvement from administrators.

Partner Up (never heard of it, but looks interesting)

Young Entrepreneur looks great since they re designed their site. And Adam Toren (co-founder) as you know…is a really nice and responsive guy.

One place that I think is also good that you didn’t mention is Jennifer Kushnell’s Young and Succesful network. I use it via bookmarking but it is something like ysn.com I am not sure. But they have a pretty good community as well.

Another great post, Ben. Thanks so much.
.-= Shonika Proctor´s last blog post: 7 Gift Ideas for Teen Entrepreneurs (Under $100) =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Wow, you really know your social networks Thanks so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it and I learned a lot…

Ruben | OurBlogLog

I can’t believe I have never heard of 8 out of 9 blogs for entrepreneurs , thanks for the post

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Well now you do! I hope that you take advantage of them, and join them.

Pingback: Best Resources For Entrepreneurs And Small Businesses | Nuwav Publishing
http://jreandino.blogspot.com/ Jeremiah Reandino

Hi Ben! I got one more social networking site you can add to this list! It’s sprouter.com!
.-= Jeremiah Reandino´s last blog post: Internet is a treasure hunt =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Hi,
Yeah many people have mentioned that, looks great!

http://earningdiary.com Lakhyajyoti

Another great post Ben.Most of them I have never heard.Now I will check each one.Thanks.
.-= Lakhyajyoti´s last blog post: High Time To Save Our Tigers =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

I appreciate your feedback. Check them out!

http://imonli.com/ Imonli

waooo that a lot social network
but i still use linked
thank you my friend i will try one by one this social network
.-= Imonli´s last blog post: How to Increase Credit Card Limit =-.

http://ben-lang.com Ben Lang

Yeah they’re all so great.

Pingback: Sprouter.com invitation may cause your twitter account be suspended
Clinton Skakun

These look like some great networks. I don’t make it a habit to spend a lot of time on a bunch of different networking sites, but they’re great possible networking opportunities for people who share the same interests.

BTW, I didn’t know entrepreneur.com had a networking site.