Social Networking: Why not create your own social network?

You read that right. It’s no secret that it goes a long way toward building and maintaining traffic or that customers love the interaction involved. Creating your own in addition to (or in lieu of) MySpace, Facebook or Twitter can help establish you as an expert in your field and increase conversions.

The good news is that hiring a developer and spending lots of time or money isn’t as necessary as you may think. There are plenty of sites that offer the ability to make your own social network, often for free, with many that include hosting, linking to and matching with your existing site. Some of the most popular are Ning, Wackwall, SocialGo and GroupSite, all of which allow for your own domain and other goodies, though not always for free.

With these ‘go-out-of-the-box-or-custom’ solutions, it’s easier than ever to set up your own networking site in short time. The hardest part may be deciding which site offers the features you’re looking for in a social network.