11 Real-World Ways Social Networks Can Build Your Biz

Everyone pays a lot of lip service to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social-media networks, saying how invaluable they can be for building your business, but few people talk about the nuts and bolts. How can you make practical, specific, real-world use of these services?

Web Worker Daily's Aliza Sherman explains how in 11 Practical Uses for LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. For example:

1. Get answers. LinkedIn offers an integrated feature on its network, LinkedIn Answers, to help you ask questions of up to 200 of your immediate contacts. You get up to a seven days to gather answers to your question, then you rate the answers you've received.

2. Showcase your knowledge. The flipside of LinkedIn Answers is that you can respond to other people's questions and get rated for the value of your answers. It's good way to network with others while showing what you know.

Of course, here at Business Hacks, we're all about specifics. Check out some of our previous social-networking posts:

• Track Your Social-Network Impact with BackType
• Create Custom Coupons for Your Facebook and Twitter Followers
• A Facebook Success Story: 'Social Media Got Me the Gig'
• Dump Useless Twitter Followers with ManageFlitter