Social Networking - it really works.

Do you remember that commercial for Faberge Organic Shampoo? - "I told two friends about Faberge Organic Wheat Germ Oil Shampoo and they told two friends and they told two friends, and so on and so on." During the commercial, which featured Heather Locklear BTW, the screen keeps dividing and adding more faces - 2, then 4, then 8, then 16 - you get the picture.

That's what Social Networking, like Facebook, is all about - it's you telling your friends and their friends seeing the information posted. For example, if I have 50 friends on my Facebook page and I post something - all of my 50 friends have that information posted on their pages. If they have 50 friends - well, you get the picture.

A client who owns a large veterinary hospital in Washington D.C. told me about an experience he had using social networking. Their local Humane Society found a puppy that had been severely abused and literally thrown away in the garbage. They took the puppy in and performed all of the needed surgeries to save it's life. They blogged and Facebooked about the experience and the puppy. Then, because of the interest, they decided to do a fundraising drive for the Humane Society and to help defer some of the costs of the puppy's care. He told me that the information went viral and within a week they had raised over $10,000 for that puppy.

So - here's another commercial that I want you to think about. You know the Mastercard commercial where they have the value of several items, but the last item is "priceless?" Well, that kind of publicity and the goodwill generated by that post was priceless public relations/marketing for that veterinary hospital. All of those thousands of people who read that Facebook information know that this veterinary hospital really cares about treating animals.

Social Networking ...priceless!