Hubpages: Social Networks for Business People

January 7, 11:33 PMSF Marketing & P.R. ExaminerSusan Harrow

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There are lots of choices out there for participating in social media. But what if you don't have the dozens of hours to create profiles, answer questions, upload photos, figure out what your favorite food is, become friends with people you don't know and may never wish to know, but still stay connected to the audience that's interested in your professional products, where you don't need to talk about your pets or your pet peeves?

One of the most professional is: www.hubpages.com. It's one of the places that gets high marks for helping your Google and SEO ranking. Here's how you do it.

1. Post an original article.

Each "hub" is an article that has not yet been posted anywhere els—including on your site. You can rewrite your current articles, but beware, they must not use the same exact language or you'll be dinged. Read the latest article I've re-written and updated on how to get featured in O, The Oprah Magazine here: Pitch Oprah Magazine Get Featured in O Magazine—Skyrocket Your Sales

If you like, you can become my fan, rate the article or make a comment. You are also welcome to send this link on to others you think would like to know this information. At the moment, hubpages is emerging as one of the best kept secrets of social networking. NOTE: Mac users must use Firefox to create your hubs. Even viewing the site is problematic in Safari.

2. Upload your photo.

For professional pages I suggest using a professional photo. There are lots of hubs for various interests that have family, funky and fun photos. But remember that the image represents you and your business. Whatever you make public, the media can use at their discretion. If you don't have one that represents you well, you can get one fast here: www.lookbetteronline.com. While it's ostensibly for dating, it's an inexpensive way to replace any last minute or "home made" photos.

3. Include links below your article.

Links are not included in the article itself. The links, which reside in a separate "capsule," (the boxes that comprise the different sections of the hub page) are to send your readers to other websites so they can enrich their learning about your topic.

They can be links to everything from Wikipedia, blogs, newsletters, magazine or newspaper articles, or podcasts. You can also include links to your site or blog that has relevant content, but nothing that can be perceived as an attempt to sell.

You need to link to a page with relevant content that enhances your hub, NOT a sales page. Interspersing links to your material with links to other sites is advisable, so long as you don't "overdo" the self-promotion. If you choose to send people to your "competition" they should NOT be affiliate links, so choose wisely.

I suggest that you read the Hub Pages rules and guidelines. Peruse also http://hubpages.com/faq, for rules as well as suggestions/help. Should you make a mistake, you'll receive an e-mail warning—just make sure you don't repeat the mistake!

Jeanne Hurlbert, founder of http://www.optinetresources.com, a site that helps business people develop social networks, thought up a brilliant strategy to gain PR credibility: Link to articles that have run in the major print media where you've been featured, quoted or sited as an expert. You can see one of her hub pages where she has done this effectively here: Learning to Look for Social Network Resources

The beauty of creating these links is that neither the search engines nor the hub pages people will flag you for flagrant promotion, which is a danger on hubpages.com, and you increase your credibility while keeping your honor. This is another way to stretch people's ideas about who you are and what you think. As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions."

4. Add video or music.

You can link to your videos on YouTube or other sites. As with linking, though, you need to limit self-promotion and ensure that you also link to videos that are not your own. They can be on YouTube.com or videos of other people, or TV shows that help illustrate your points or serve to expand a person's understanding of your subject. Also, they can inject some fun and liveliness. Business doesn't have to be all serious. As Johann Sebastian Bach says, "Music washes away from the soul the dust of every day life." May your words and music do the same. 

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