Since its great expansion in the mid-1990s, the Internet has surely had a hectic, rollercoaster-like existence. From Y2K doomsday predictions to dot-com bursts, from the flood of websites created from GeoCities to the rise of Napster and rampant music download piracy, and then, of course, the formidable quartet of Google, Wikipedia, Facebook and YouTube that dominate our Internet space. many trends have risen, fallen, or held true with a real grip on the virtual terrain of the Internet.

Today, much of the buzz on the web is on social media. Facebook is on track to overtake Google as the most visited site on the Internet. And everyone else is taking to Twitter for the latest scoop on their favorite celebs’ breakfast clothes. For many, this development is inevitable given the interconnected structure of the Internet. Because the web, at its core, emphasizes connection, it also provides people with a natural platform for their social connections.

Therefore, Internet users are transferring much of their lives and social habits to the Internet, and information marketers would do well to take note. While building your own website to promote your information products is still the best practice, having it on Facebook and Twitter can generate huge benefits and, not to mention, returns.

What Facebook and other social networking sites offer that you might not easily get from your own website is a ready-made network of colleagues and connections. They don’t have to search for your website on Google or remember what its URL is. All they have to do is log into their Facebook account like they always do and they will be able to see instant updates from your social network that you and your product can belong to.

You also have a captive audience that you can easily engage with and who are also willing and eager to respond precisely because you are in the socially interactive space of Facebook and the rest of social media.

Social networks are therefore a completely different creature from other websites, as they allow Internet users to enter a very social sphere of the Internet. On Facebook and Twitter, Internet users are predisposed to be more social, interactive, and trusting (who else can be trusted more than their own social network?) and that’s something information marketers would want for their products.

Social media is undoubtedly an invaluable promotional vehicle for information marketers. Jumping on the Facebook or Twitter bandwagon can lead you into their chaotic social world. But out of that chaos, you may only get the profits.