Web Wealth: Using social media as networks
If you want to use Facebook and Twitter as networks of people and businesses that can guide you to good deals and money-saving - or moneymaking - opportunities, then check out these helpful sites.
If you want to use Facebook and Twitter as networks of people and businesses that can guide you to good deals and money-saving - or moneymaking - opportunities, then check out these helpful sites.
For yourself. Social media have many uses beyond commenting on Justin Bieber and the weather, so be on the lookout. The same channels you use to announce your arrival at a party are also exceptionally handy places to find and relay tips on shopping deals, generate and save money, find a job, barter, or recycle. That's the point of this post at Investopedia.
For your business. On the theory that small-business success is all about building relationships, and that's what social media are about, Investopedia has another post telling small-business owners how to utilize Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and such sites to create an audience and, with luck, generate goodwill, if not huge sales. There's also a warning that spending too much time on Twitter can come at the expense of more productive activities. Don't tweet yourself out of business.
Borrow, drive. Examples of money-saving social-media activities pointed out in this item at bankrate.com include peer-to-peer lending - where you either make or take a loan, depending on your need - as well as car shopping on a social site such as cargurus.com, and trading your skills for someone else's via friendlyfavor.com.
Coupon tweets. For some specific ways to use Twitter to save money, we found this post at sexysocialmedia.com. It says there may be immediate financial rewards in finding and following personal-finance writers and companies whose products you use and like. That's because the writers, along with the companies, pass on coupon codes for discounts and freebies.
And more coupon tweets. Here's a full guide to Twitter couponing, including links to sites that any business, large or small, can use to create coupons for distribution on Twitter.