If you haven’t caught on by now, executives from companies all over the world, spanning just about every conceivable market sector are turning to online social networking sites as a way to raise their company profiles and generate new business.

So, if you’re number one goal this year, for example, is to ramp up your IT sales leads and IT contacts social networking sites such as Linkedin and Ryze, are among leading business social networking sites being used by these companies and their top executives.   By joining these online social networking sites you not only increase visibility for your own company, you also become part of an online “network” of potential future clients, with whom you can make connections, in most cases, for free.

But beyond connecting, these online social networking sites showcase the fine details of  many top companies and their management team, often featuring excellent lead sourcing information, including valuable company profiles, e-mail, phone, and address contact information.

These online social networking sites truly are about relationships, and, while MySpace and Facebook may have their origins in online dating or socializing for the younger set, company executives at many of the leading IT firms across the globe have caught on, too, and are devoting teams to do nothing but capitalize on their business potential.

Linkedin is considered to be among the strongest of these social networking sites when it comes to quality free profiles for upper-management. Lnkedin search features allow you to narrow your lead search down to industry, location, and other custom criteria. Other popular sites devoted to the business sector are Hoover’s Connect and Spoke, where, in addition to corporate profiles of prospects, you can also obtain financial data, sales, stock and performance data, as well as data about that company’s industry.