The act of social bookmarking is becoming something more than a potential tool for online marketing. Many entrepreneurs are finding social media sites to place business information in an informal setting. Once you finish developing your social media site the marketing potential is just beginning. Obviously you hold out hope that visitors will drop by your online presence, but you may want to go fishing for friends. In some social media environments you are allowed to make a ‘friend’ request while other sites invite you to bookmark sites of interest. But what does it all mean?

If you wonder why you should care about making or accepting a friend request or participate in bookmarking let me attempt to explain the process. When you initiate a friend request to an individual or business you are familiar with it is possible that your social media page will be listed on this secondary site. In essence when someone visits this site they also have a compelling link to your site.

On sites where bookmarking is allowed this feature is often divided a second time. In this kind of site environment visitors can see who you have bookmarked or selected as friends, but they can also see how many others have chosen to bookmark your site. Some social media sites provide their own inner site rankings based on the popularity of a site. If your site ranks well that also provides the opportunity to have your site publicized even more. Social bookmarking is the process of establishing a network among peers, friends, family and interested guests.

This is an important component when it comes to the already established benefits of owning a social media site. In this environment you can invite guest comments, you can receive private inner site emails from those who may have questions and you can participate in blogging. In some cases you may even be allowed to post pictures, video or audio to enhance the experience of your site and promote your online business.

The reason so many online business owners are adopting the use of social networking sites is because they can be obtained at no cost in most cases. Each of these sites can be designed to point back to your primary website. In that way they are extremely useful in the promotion and marketing of your main business site. For every backlink to your primary website the greater trust most search engines place in your site.

In a practical sense social bookmarking provides a trail back to your social networking site. That process opens the map so the visitor can find their way directly to your business site. The process acts as spokes in a wheel. Social media sites are the spokes that, through backlinks, lead to your hub of business, which is where you want them to end up in the first place.

"Social Bookmarking for Business" - Scott Lindsay