Networking Insight

How to Network Without Being Face-to-Face by Emily Green

In today's fast-paced and technology-driven world, your options for staying in touch with your friends, family, and business contacts are nearly endless. Whether you are traveling for business, running errands, or enjoying a vacation away from home, you can use multiple apps from your smartphone to communicate and network with others while on the go.

Smartphones have definitely evolved into powerhouses these past few years. Moreover, it seems as though everyone, young and old, have adapted to a life complete with a technologically-advanced smartphone. Even top CEOs have implemented smartphone technology into their daily schedules, from mobile payroll to standard communication. It is amazing that this technology still even functions as a phone; they are essentially small-scale computers.

In addition to popular social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, there are numerous other mobile apps that contain unique features you can download.

Most social networking apps are available for smartphones with iOS (iPhone) or Android operating systmes, the latter of which is available across most wireless providers. GSM wireless provide T-Mobile even supports Internet connectivity for the App Market on the iPhone, given that the iPhone is unlocked and you have a T-Mobile SIM card.

The Best Business Social Networking Apps

1. Aloqa

The Aloqa app is ideal if you travel constantly for business or for pleasure. Aloqa helps you find local places and people of interest at your current location. Using your smartphone's GPS feature, Aloqa can direct you to the nearest eatery, or to the nearest venue where you're unsure to find others who share common interests.

2. MeetMe

MeetMe is ideal for entrepreneurs or business professionals who often meet potential clients or business contacts at public venues. When meeting contacts from neighboring towns or cities, MeetMe suggests meeting places that are halfway between you and your contact's location. MeetMe then emails each party with the appropriate directions to the meeting spot. MeetMe is only available on the iPhone, but users from other GSM carriers such as T-Mobile can insert their T-Mobile SIM card into any unlocked iPhone to take advantage of this app.

Other mobile social networking business apps to check out are LinkeIn, Phonebook, Hashable, and Hurricane Party.

The Best Personal Social Networking Apps

1. Banjo

The Banjo app consolidates all your social networking accounts to prevent you from cluttering your smartphone with multiple apps. In addition to combining social networking accounts such as Twitter and Facebook, Banjo even has the ability to alert you when your contacts are within proximity.

2. Milna

Milna uses your smartphone's GPS feature to communicate with other Milna users in your local area within a 5-mile radius. For example, if you want to meet new people in your area, you could host a barbecue at a nearby park and invite other Milna users. You can also update other users about traffic accidents or other major events that happen near your location.

By staying on top of the latest and best social networking apps such as those mentoned in this article, you will never have to worry about losing touch with friends, family, and other contacts ever again.

What are your favorite social networking apps? Did we exclude any social networking apps you love to use? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section provided below.

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3 Ways to Find Potential Customers via LinkedIn by Jan Vermeiren

LinkedIn is a very powerful tool which doesn’t only help us to quickly find potential customers, but also the people we have in common with them. In other words: it is a magnificent help to get more referrals.

These are 3 (out of the 10) ways to find potential customers ànd the people who can refer you to them:

1. Use the Advanced Search option with parameters you have used to define your target group. Take into account there are several synonyms for the same function. For example: Marketing Director, Marcom Director, Marketing Manager,… Then look who you know in common and ask your contact to connect you with the prospect.

2. Browse through the Connections of your own contacts. Start with your current customers. Then do the same for your referral partners (sales people who sell another product or service than yours, but who have the same target group as you). If you have found a prospect, ask your contact to connect the two of you. 

3. Create “Alerts”. Alerts are searches you save and which are automatically run by LinkedIn. In this way you are automatically alerted when potential customers have become member of LinkedIn or who, after changing positions in their company, suddenly became member of your target group. In other words: transform LinkedIn into a lead generator!

1 Million Free Copies of “How to REALLY use LinkedIn”

More than 130 million people have a LinkedIn Profile. Most of them don't know what to do with it although it is a fantastic tool to find for example new customers, employees, partners, experts or a new job.

To help them Jan Vermeiren and Bert Verdonck are giving away 1 million copies of the second edition of their international bestseller "How to REALLY use LinkedIn".

You can download your copy at http://www.how-to-really-use-linkedin.com They are also raising 1 million dollar for charity. Look at their website for more details.

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Why You Should Pay Attention to Your LinkedIn Profile

Your online brand is extremely important. One of the first places people go to find out more about you is LinkedIn.  So, pay attention to your profile and how you utilize this extremely important business tool.

Your profile should match your brand in the offline world. Be consistent in how you portray yourself across all mediums both online and offline. Without consistency, you will confuse people and potentially damage your brand.

Your profile should not be an online version of your resume. Rather than just bullet pointing your experience like your resume, summarize your experience for each role.  In addition, add some client or success stories.

Craft a good upfront summary of your background.  The summary section, is a key component of your profile. In this section, you should craft a compelling overall summary of your background and specialties. In essence, this is your personal elevator pitch so make it compelling enough so people want to read more.

Create a compelling professional headline.  One of the first items that people see about you is the professional headline underneath your name.  These keywords are how you will initially position or brand yourself on LinkedIn. So, make sure that you accurately portray yourself.

Frequently update your status. Let your network know what you have been doing professionally. So, a couple times a week, update your status to reflect your activities or thoughts. Make sure to only include items that are consistent with your brand.

What other features of LinkedIn are important for your personal brand?

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Reid Hoffman: Social Networking in Business

Facebook Vs. Twitter

Is Your Grandparent Using Online Social Networks?

According Research Group, "a full 26% of Internet users over the age of 65 are now visiting social networking sites such as Facebook." The study discovered that the growth rate of this category is roughly the same as 18-29 year old two years ago. These sites are a good place for grandparents to connect with their grandchildren through photos, videos, and updates. In addition, these sites are used to connect with people in their past and to find support groups for sicknesses.

It is hard to ignore the 65 and older generation because they are surrounded by the digital age. Expect this demographic to continue to grow.

For more information, go to Grandparents signing up for social networking in droves.

What do you think?

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Social Network Ad spending to Top Over $1 Billion in 2010

According to research released by eMarketer, "U.S. advertisers will spend an estimated $1.7 billion in ads on social networks in 2010, accounting for 6.7 percent of all online ad spending." Spending has grown by 20% this year and is expected to grow by 24% next year. 

Facebook accounts for more than half of this spending, which is quite amazing and it shows just how big Facebook really is with social networking. 

Do you think that Twitter's upcoming suite of advertising products will make a dent in the ad spending? Where else do you see spending taking place in the near future?

To read more, go to Social network ad spending to hit $1.7 billion in 2010.

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5 Easy Ways to Build Your Digital Reputation By Fauzia Burke

Social media has given us great ways to protect and build our digital reputations. Today we have the ease of searching conversations, the ability to set alerts to help us monitor our names, the constant availability of learning opportunities and more ways to communicate and interact with others. All of these tools, which were not available just a few years ago, now make it possible for us to be proactive in maintaining, building and protecting our good name. Here are five easy ways to do just that:

#1 Set Goals

I am sure you have done this already, but just in case, first do a search on Google for your name in quotation marks. It is important to see what comes up on the first page. The first page of a google search result is precious real-estate. Then set up a simple spreadsheet so you can keep track of your digital footprint. Do a little research and spend some time collecting numbers. How many Facebook followers do you have? What kind of traffic do you get on your site? Once you have the numbers you can then decide on your goals.

Are you interested in growing the numbers of links/connections/followers or do you want more one-on-one engagement? Or are you more interested in getting retweets on Twitter (which, as Guy Kawasaki said recently is "now the sincerest form of flattery"). Once the goals are in place, track the results in the spreadsheet and adjust as needed.

#2 Learn

To accomplish any of these goals, you are going to need to learn. The new world of communication is moving quickly, which naturally lends itself to a couple of advantages. First, there is a lot of room for experimentation, so use your talents and skills to communicate in your own unique way. Second, this experimentation has led to collaboration, and smart people are sharing information all the time. Make sure you make time every day for "learning." Look over sites and information to keep up with the developments in social media. Currently I am taking part in an online conference, called Social Media Success Summit 2010 and am learning a lot. And among the many sites I visit, one of my daily stops is: PR Daily News: Public Relations news and marketing in the age of social media.

#3 Develop Content

To communicate 24/7, which is now the expectation and the norm, you need to develop different types of content. Blogging is a great way to share your knowledge and collaborate with others. However, blogging can be a big undertaking. Blogging expert Denise Wakeman recommends that you blog 3 times a week. If that is a daunting task for you, try guest blogging on an established site or blog in your industry. Another way some of my clients have developed content is through books, ebooks, whitepapers, audio recordings, slide presentations and videos.

#4 Build Relationships

Building and maintaining relationships has never been easier. Those of us in sales and marketing have always known the value of relationship building, but now everyone needs to make it a priority. Make sure you have profiles on LinkedIn, and Facebook. Twitter is a fantastic source of information, and an excellent place to learn. People on Twitter are eager and happy to help each other. To get tips on effective communication on these sites, I look to Cindy Ratzlaff who has a daily video tip along with regular blog posts on her site. Social media is an excellent way to build relationships, but don't forget the value of face to face meetings, phone calls, hand written notes, and emails. It's good to focus on important clients and influencers, but leave room for the "accidental" connections. Social media networking can be serendipitous, you never know which person may lead you to a new connection or client.

#5 Monitor

Social media alerts (Google or Social Mention) are a great way to monitor your name and/or industry. If something important happens in your industry you'll know about it and can comment. If someone says something positive, a thank you goes a long way. If there is negative chatter starting up around your name or company, alerts keep you on top of it and you can jump in and take care of things quickly. I also use Addictomatic which is a great site for big picture monitoring.

There are many tools and resources now that can help us to become better communicators and better guardians of our reputations. I know it is a big undertaking, but the question to ask yourself is: If you are not investing in yourself, why should anyone else?

Author Bio

Fauzia Burke is the Founder and President of FSB Associates, a web publicity and social media firm specializing in creating awareness for books and authors. Founded in 1995, FSB's mission is to give authors an opportunity to promote their work to an eager, targeted audience online. FSB is based in the NYC area.  For web publicity and social media news, follow Fauzia on a new Twitter feed: @WebSnapshot, Facebook and The Huffington Post.

For more information please visit fsbassociates.com.

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How Does Facebook Help Divorce Attorneys?

According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, "81% of its members have been involved with cases using social networking evidence." Apparently, divorce attorneys are finding good evidence on Facebook such as suggestive pictures. Not that cheating on your spouse is the right thing to do but why post pictures and other information that will get you caught? 

A good rule of thumb is to never post anything on these sites that you don't want others to see. Unfortunately, many people don't follow this guideline. What do you think?

To read more, go to Facebooking your way to Divorce!

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Do You Agree with the Social Networking Bill of Rights?

Recently, attendees of the annual Computers, Freedom, and Privacy (CFP) conference created a Users' Bill of Rights that is now available for public consumption, feedback, and approval. The bill was created as a result of the recent personal data breaches by firms such as Google, Facebook, and AT&T. The 14 point bill is available for feedback on Facebook and Twitter.  Below are the 14 points:

1. Honesty: Honor your privacy policy and terms of service.

2. Clarity: Make sure that policies, terms of service, and settings are easy to find and understand. 

3. Freedom of speech: Do not delete or modify my data without a clear policy and justification. 

4. Empowerment: Support assistive technologies and universal accessibility. 

5. Self-protection: Support privacy-enhancing technologies. 

6. Data minimization: Minimize the information I am required to provide and share with others. 

7. Control: Let me control my data, and don't facilitate sharing it unless I agree first. 

8. Predictability: Obtain my prior consent before significantly changing who can see my data. 

9. Data portability: Make it easy for me to obtain a copy of my data. 

10. Protection: Treat my data as securely as your own confidential data unless I choose to share it, and notify me if it is compromised. 

11. Right to know: Show me how you are using my data and allow me to see who and what has access to it. 

12. Right to self-define: Let me create more than one identity and use pseudonyms. Do not link them without my permission. 

13. Right to appeal: Allow me to appeal punitive actions. 

14. Right to withdraw: Allow me to delete my account, and remove my data.

What do you think? Does this seem self-explanatory? Is this really necessary?

To read more, go to Social Networking Bill Of Rights Released.

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