The internet is filled with thousands of pages. There is so much to see and learn. Yet, it is often the case, that we don’t have time to stop and look at everything. That is where social bookmarking sites come into play.
Social bookmarking is simply “bookmarking” a page online. Just like how you bookmark a page so you can go back to it. It’s just that. Social bookmarking sites allows its users to tag or save the link of a website so you could share or go back to it later.
Social bookmarking sites allow you to browse through different websites, come across different content from across the globe and share them with interested people. You can also post your own stories, images, videos and share them with others to increase lead generation. Specifically for businesses, it is a great platform to display your product and generate interest among interested users.
1. Pinterest
Pinterest, one of the most popular sites in the world, is one of the top contenders among social bookmarking sites. It is a great site for those who are looking to boost their conversions and increase their leads and traffic from visitors. If your business page is optimized correctly, you will be able to increase your user base in no time.
Pinterest lets you upload images and share them with people from across the globe. Pinterest specifically allows businesses to create pages that would help them promote their business on the web. Users on Pinterest can browse through your pinboards and discover new things. Surely, this will help your business as interested people would come across your service and perhaps, follow up on it.
Some of the factors you could keep in mind while creating your business page include the following:
- Personalize your photo or company logo
- Use SEO keywords, while describing your business in the “About” Section
- Manage and keep track of your board placement so that it attracts visitors
- Customize your page according to the season (display of a Christmas tree in December will help generate traffic)
- Focused boards with themes enhances search ability
The Downside:
You can only share images or photos.
2. StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon is one of the more interesting social booking sites online. Its randomness makes it so popular and distinguishes it from the rest. As the name suggests, you stumble upon web pages, videos, and photos which you can rate and recommend. Obviously you can search for something specific but the feeling of coming across something unexpected is what makes the site tick.
For startups , it can come in as a handy tool:
- Since the idea is to come across random content, your business webpage could unexpectedly appear on an interested user’s page
- It helps to generate more traffic, especially if the content is interesting.
You can browse the web and store bookmarks as you go along. The social bookmarking site also has certain features that are exclusive to this site only.
The Downside:
The site does not permit page caching and thumbnails.
3. Delicious
Delicious paved the way for everyone. It was one of the first sites to start social bookmarking. Being one of the pioneers and having over 3 million users, Delicious still remains one of the top social bookmarking sites. The site is most well-known for it sharing and search features.
Some of the key features are:
- Delicious comes with tagging features, Firefox plug-ins and browser toolbars that come in handy.
- With a wide range of add-ons and a huge number of users, this site is appealing for all kinds of services.
- The software is completely free and the downloadable toolbar makes bookmarking and tagging very simple and smooth.
The Downside:
It has no embedded tutorial service. There are no sorting mechanisms or folders available. With no cache features, the bookmark loses its value if the page is removed.
4. Digg
Digg is one of those social bookmarking sites that have an interesting concept. It is a completely user driven site where users can share (submit) their content and “Digg” what they like. The content with the most number of “Diggs” gets a place on the front page. So the concept is simple, yet challenging. If you provide content that users like, you automatically get recognition for it.
The story submission and voting system was later adapted by several other social profiles due to its popularity and interactive feature. With over 300 million monthly visits, this social bookmarking website is a top competition in the field.
If you are looking to promote your business, Digg is the right platform. It is one of the most user-friends social news websites available that lets you publish content and gather votes, which used in the right manner, will benefit your company.
You can:
- Submit interesting concepts or stories
- Engage leads through the voting functionality
- Provide content that users would be interested in
The Downside:
Digg has been criticized for depending on flocking behaviour.
5. Diigo
One of the main reasons that makes “Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other Stuff” (Diigo) stand out is its sticky notes feature. Nearly all social bookmarking sites allow their users to share content, but in Diigo, you can tag and bookmark webpages.
In Diigo, you have features that no other social bookmarking site has. Businesses could take advantage of these features:
- It has a free service.
- You highlight and attach sticky notes to interesting bits or specific areas that you want other users to see.
- You could share content privately or to a specific group.
The Downside:
Although, users can use it for free, they do not have access to all features. Those with premium accounts can opt to omit tags to be bookmarked that already appear on the page. This is applicable to text content and not image based content.
6. Squidoo
To put it simply, Squidoo is a platform for those wanting to promote their business with a community sharing the same interest. Users can create pages (called lenses) for product promotion or if they just want to share interesting content with other users.
Some things you should remember while promoting your business on Squidoo:
- Users do not need any technical know-how to create webpages.
- The website is easy to use and very user-friendly.
- The lenses are rich in content that reflect on the creator’s views and opinions.
- All kinds of pages are created, from places to products, ideas to ideologies; you are free to create lenses about anything you want.
The content on Squidoo is usually used for recommendations and sharing purposes. Tools online are used to provide feeds, abstracts, links, and lists to other users who may be interested in the same topic.
The Downside:
Squidoo is not as well-known are some of the other social bookmarking sites. Therefore, in comparison, the visitor traffic would be less. However, it is on the rise and will perhaps be a competitor to the other big names, very soon.
