Networking, article and listing sites
Networking is an important, if not vital method of developing a client and contact base. Here are a selection of business listing and networking sites. Many are free, although some charge a subscription to access advanced features. For a small fixed fee, we can setup logins for any and all sites for you. We also have details of many networking meeting and events that we can share with you. Please scroll down, we are currently building this list and there will be over over twenty sites or organisations listed here, and more will be added regularly. Please email us to have your site listed, or if you know of any more - please email contact@grahamphelps.com. For useful tips about online networking click here.
Ever thought of going freelance:
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/become-a-business-owner/
Some of my recent finds and regular hits:
http://uk.freeads.net Free Ads is, as it's name suggests, a free place to list details of your products and services. Once listed, their directory is Googleable, so links from it count towards your popularity.
http://www.training-classes.com/ Listing of training courses and providers.
http://www.businessjunction.co.uk Business Junction helps you to put your company on the map, both in your local area and across London. Runs networking events.
www.linkedin.com A classic networking site geared towards executives and larger businesses. Has been described as Facebook for corporate types.
www.ecademy.com Another large and well populated site. Favourite with SME's and entrepreneurs. Highly addictive.
http://www.hertsconnections.co.uk/ A local networking that also organises many excellent events.
http://www.freeindex.co.uk/signup.htm A business listing site with multiple categories. Even though thousands of entries, has a large number of visitors.
http://www.environmental-population.com A site specialising in individuals and businesses interested in green business practices, social responsibilty and the like. Charges small subscription.www.bttradespace.co.uk A business listing site supported and managed by BT. Easy to use and can create an informative entry. Useful for finding suppliers and contacts.
http://www.peopleperhour.com/ A site for freelancers and the people that use the them. Once listed you can bid for projects and work requirements.
http://www.business-scene.com/index.php A popular networking site that you join according to your area. Also organises many excellent events. Good source for articles and information.
www.citylocal.co.uk A regional based business listing and information site. Free to list but payment required for advanced features.
http://www.workology.com/ Workology is a selected online community of SMEs, organisations and individuals, which enables members to build their own professional MiniSites to promote their business services.
http://www.ryze.com/ Large career and job based networking. Clean and highly functioinal, good for international career networking.
http://www.vendora.com/ Vendora.com - free to submit your listing.
www.myspace.com Started as social networking site, now essential for creative and media types, bands, artists, film makers and the like. Very high participation rate and highly addictive.
http://www.uksmallbusinessdirectory.co.uk/ Just what it says. Free to list your business.
www.applegate.com Huge business listing site, with bias towards industrial and large organisations, but not exclusively. Free to list but charge for extra features.
https://www.touchtarget.com Basic listing is free.
http://www.thebestof.co.uk Another excellent local listing site. Choose your area and list your business.
http://www.businessmix.co.uk/ Businessmix.co.uk is an online forum for small businesses looking to network without the cost or the politics associated with other networking events.
www.aboutmyarea.co.uk A content-rich network of local business sites.
www.facebook.com The famous one. Great way of finding and keeping in contact friends and work colleagues, old and new. Easy to use, but many rather bizarre add-ons (pokes, etc). Some people should get out more!
www.hotfroguk.co.uk HotFrog is one of the UK's largest online business directories and is growing by the day.
http://www.salesandmarketingforums.co.uk/ Specialising in all aspects of sales and marketing.
Article and similar sites
www.Reddit.com At reddit.com you can upload stories and articles on reddit to drive traffic to your site or blog.
www.Digg.com Digg.com has a huge following online because of its optimum usability. You can submit and browse articles.
http://delicious.com/ delicious.com invites users to organize and publicise interesting items through tagging and networking.
www.StumbleUpon.com As they say: "connect with friends and share your discoveries," as well as "meet people that have similar interests."
Helps you increase your blog's readership with a network of blogs and writers that lists top stories in categories like Business, Entertainment and Technology.
www.Ning.com Ning lets users design free social networks that they can share with anyone.
www.Squidoo.com According to Squidoo, "everyone's an expert on something. Share your knowledge!" Share your industry's secrets by answering questions and designing a profile page to help other members.
www.Furl.com Allows you bookmark great sites and sharing them with other users by recommending links, commenting on articles and utilizing other features.
www.tubearoo.com This video network works like other social-bookmarking sites, except that it focuses on uploaded videos. Businesses can create and upload tutorials, commentaries and interviews with industry insiders to promote their own services.
www.wikiHow.com Create a how-to guide or tutorial on wikiHow.com to share your company's services with the public for free.
www.youtube.com It seems everyone has a video floating around on YouTube. Shoot a behind-the-scenes video from your company's latest commercial or event to give customers and clients an idea of what you do each day.
Other professional networking sites
www.yorz.com This networking site doubles as a job site. Members can post openings for free to attract quality candidates.
www.xing.com Use the professional contact manager to organize your new friends and colleagues, and take advantage of the Business Accelerator application to "find experts at the click of a button and market.
www.care2.com It's labelled as "the global network for organizations and people who Care2 make a difference." If your business is making efforts to go green, let others know by becoming a presence on this site.www.gather.com This networking community is made up of members who think. Browse categories concerning books, health, money, news and more to ignite discussions on politics, business and entertainment. This will help your company tap into its target audience and find out what they want.
www.meetinorg.com Once you've acquired a group of contacts in your city by networking on the site,organize an event so that you can meet face-to-face.
www.ziggs.com Zigg claim to promote "organizing and connecting people in a professional way." Join groups and make contacts through your Ziggs account to increase your company's presence online and further your own personal career.
www.plaxo.com Plaxo to organize your contacts and stay updated with feeds from Digg, Amazon.com and more.
www.seotagg.com Helps you stay on top of news from the Web marketing and SEO (search-engine optimization) industries by becoming an active member of this online community.
General sites
The following social-media sites provide excellent opportunities for businesses to advertise; promote specials, events or services; and feature published, knowledgeable employees.
www.seotagg.com Helps you stay on top of news from the Web marketing and SEO (search-engine optimization) industries by becoming an active member of this online community.
www.wikipedia.com Besides creating your own business reference page on Wikipedia, you can connect with other users on Wikipedia's community.
www.newsvine.com Feature top employees by uploading their articles, studies or other news-related items to this site. A free account will also get you your own column and access to the Newsvine community.
www.43things.com This site bills itself as "the world's most popular online goal setting community." By publicizing your company's goals and ambitions, you'll gain a following of customers, investors and promoters who cheer you on as you achieve success.
www.wetpaint.com If you're tired of blogs and generic Web sites, create your own wiki with Wetpaint to reach your audience and increase your company's presence online. You can easily organize articles, contact information, photos and other information to promote your business.
www.frappr.com Embed a Frappr map and guestbook into your company's Web page so that you can pinpoint exactly how users find your site, discover in real-time what they have to say about your company profile and services, and create an "interactive, fun and engaging" spot for visitors.
Job sites and freelance listings
http://www.sologig.com/ Freelance listing site covering wide range of business skills.
http://www.freelanceuk.com/ Large source of information, news, articles and listings.
http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/ Specialising in training and related fields.
www.allfreelance.com This site "offers self-employed small business owners links to freelance & work at home job boards, self-promotion tips" and more.
www.gofreelance.com Employers looking to boost their vendor base should check GoFreelance for professionals in the writing, design, editing and Web industries.
http://www.freelancers.net/ Freelancers.net is UK focused and lists many jobs and projects open to UK freelancers, however clients from across the globe use Freelancers.net regularly to source freelancers outside of the UK. www.guru.com Build your company's repertoire with top freelancing professionals by advertising projects on this site, otherwise known as "the world's largest online service marketplace."If you know of any more - please email contact@grahamphelps.com