Inc. Magazine has launched the beta site of IncBizNet.com, which Ad Age described as "a user-driven directory and forum for describing and connecting small busineses." The site is already stocked with profiles of the Inc. 5,000, but any private company can join for free and access the following features:
- Networking: Contact other businesses for one-on-one conversations. Compare notes on vendors. Form partnerships. Find customers.
- Company Profiles: Create a comprehensive profile to serve as your public face on the network and to the B2B world.
- Communities: Participate in regional and industry communities to find like-minded professionals and companies.
- Press Releases: Upload company press releases to be distributed free of charge on our wire feed, which goes to the network, to other media outlets, and is also displayed on the Inc.com home page.
- Blogs: Blog for your company (or import an existing blog) that will be distributed on the network and also on the Inc.com home page.
- Discussion Topics: Ask questions, get answers and communicate with your peers in real time.
- Event Calendar: Suggest or join events specifically for your private company colleagues.
- Multimedia: Upload marketing materials including PDFs, video, images, and audio that will be available to the public.
I give a lot of credit to Mansueto Ventures, the owners of Inc. and Fast company, which committed $10 million for digital initiatives such as this back in March. It's never going to be as huge a community as Facebook or MySpace (the goal is to get to 1 million company profiles), but if they can get busy business owners to participate on the site and interact with each other, and keep it from turning into just another stagnant company list directory, it can become a vibrant place for entrepreneurs.
Not much happening on the communities or events pages yet, but once you set up your profile, you can create a blog that can help your company get noticed, as well as write press relesease for distribution across the network. These can be very powerful marketing tools. So get your full profile up and participate!
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