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SmallBizResource Blog -- Marketing


Online Networking Can Be Done Easily, Cheaply – and it Works

Posted by Naomi Grossman Tuesday, Oct 30, 2007, 11:05 AM ET

A Discover small business survey yields results that aren't very surprising, but are nonetheless disappointing. Only six percent of small business respondents cite online sites for networking opportunities.

Not surprisingly, a whopping 72 percent of small business owners in the survey say "online networking has yet to have any impact on their bottom lines." You can't make money off it if you don't use it.

According to the survey, most small business owners are still using offline methods to generate business -- trade shows, local in-person groups or chambers of commerce. But the New York Times recently highlighted some ambitious dentists who have used YouTube to bring in patients.

Bensalem, Pennsylvania-based dentist, Dr. Jerry Gordon, directed and starred in this video, which the New York Times said cost him $2,000 to make. It's been viewed over 15,000 times.

Another Laguna Niguel, California-based dentist in the New York Times article opened a Web site this past February. "It showed results immediately," the article quotes the dentist. The article continues: "People who typed “Laguna Niguel Dentist” into search engines seeking local dentists found her Web site, and some of them later went to her office."

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