The amazing rise of social media sites across the Web can be little short of mind-blowing from an online business point of view. As entrepreneurs, we are told that we should be involved in these sites and that to ignore their existence could have negative consequences for our businesses down the road. The crux of the matter is that we barely have enough time to designate to our other obligations as it is, let alone the incredible volume of time which would be required to become active members in these social media networks.

For entrepreneurs who are always on the go and looking for some inside information, we can highly recommend these five “must see” social media sites:

1. LinkedIn.

This is one of the most useful professional networking sites out there. Their current slogan is “relationship matters”, and this site certainly has what it takes to really last, being one of the original social media enterprises. Whether you’re looking for a job, trying to link up with peers or building your company, there are a host of resources available. If you’ve got the time, it’s certainly best to interact on a daily basis, and to check out the group feature of LinkedIn as well. You must list your keywords accurately and clearly establish your brand so that you’re exposed to – and aware of, the best match of potential partners, business opportunities and service providers.

If you are able to interact you will get more out of your membership and establish yourself as an expert, for example by answering questions in LinkedIn Answers. The more you interact with others, the more your marketing message may be perceived as desirable and trusted, in qualitative terms.

2. Entrepreneur Connect.

Most people will be at least somewhat familiar with the widely renowned magazine Entrepreneur. This site is an extension of their talents, and it’s also a reasonably new social media network created specifically for entrepreneurs. The idea here – is just that, to share ideas. The magazine’s format celebrates interaction and percolation, and the network itself follows suit.

Once you’ve set up your profile and started to engage with the community, you can move on to interacting with professional groups according to your area of expertise, or even make a new group if you’d like. Work toward establishing yourself as an expert and a provider of top notch content, rather than the usual self-promoting spammer. The scope of the benefits you’ll derive will come from the degree of your attentive participation.

3. Biznik.

Some entrepreneurs believe that a network that charges for membership will usually be made up of individuals who are quite a bit more serious, and much more likely to be active members too. Biznik is quite serious about its position and brands itself as the network that “actually cares about the entrepreneur.”

There are three levels of membership available here; two of which are paid, up to $24 a month for the “pro” level. Their approach – go it alone, together, and it requires you to use real data in a system which utilises a human review procedure to ensure that everyone is keeping it real. This site can be a shoulder to cry on, or a source of inspiration, but once again its benefits will come from an active involvement on your part.

4. StartupNation.

This option is rather different. It is a site created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, but it is chock full of content and advice. You’ll find innumerable articles on almost every business idea that you could envisage as well as active forums. In some respects it is also like a giant “super blog” where you can pick up so much information in one place without the feeling that you are being drawn to so many different sites during your research.

The instigators of the site, Rich and Jeff Sloan, are nationally acclaimed entrepreneurs, publishers, celebrities and award winners, and the composition of this site reflects this in its details.

5. Ecademy.

Ecademy is one of the leading social networking sites in the UK. You can create your own profile and have a certain degree of flexibility in design. This allows some individuality, the lack of which is a criticism often leveled at other networking sites. A variety of membership levels are available – up to $100 a month, although certain elements of the site are available free.

Ecademy has a more open environment than structured sites such as LinkedIn, and you will need to be proactively involved in the search for potential partners, connections or other associations. As such, the site has an active classified section and good forum potential. It seems that Ecademy is becoming more involved with Business Networking International, which could further extend the reach of the website development and the networking potential for the ongoing members.

Michelle Dale is The Managing Director of Virtual Miss Friday, a highly qualified Executive Virtual Assistant Service which helps businesses and individuals accomplish every detail of their professional aspirations. Want to discover more about these insightful online business building success strategies? Contact VMF Today!