Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Oh My!

Twitter, Facebook and Linked In, Oh My”, “Twitter, Facebook and Linked In, Oh My”.
These days, I imagine if Dorothy was lost in the internet jungle that is what she would be saying
as she skipped down the yellow brick road trying to figure out social networking sites.

Similar to a cocktail party or event, social networking is the act of meeting and engaging with people with one slight difference, it is in a virtual environment. Websites such as Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Friend Finder, You Tube and much, much more, exist to create an environment for individuals who share a common interest to meet and discuss those interests. It also provides an environment to share information, photos and news as it is happening. From a business perspective, it provides a new media to engage customers, monitor customer feedback and provide a centralized online meeting area to engage and market too all at once. Social media and networking sites are not a fad and will eventually be a integral part of business, customer service, marketing and sales and if you are not involved in it now, you need to get started right away! Here are some tips to getting started with social networking.

1. Get Started: The best way to get started is to simply sign up and follow along.

a. If you are joining Twitter – select a few people to follow and watch what is being said, who is following who and when you are comfortable, join in the conversation. To help you get started, follow me www.twitter.com/keldandrea.

b. For Facebook, sign up and look for “friends”. Chances are there are tons of people you know and Facebook will help you find them and begin making connections on your behalf. The great thing is, you get the option to accept a friend invitation or you can just ignore it and nobody will know. To help get you started on Facebook, send me a friend request www.facebook.com/kellie.dandrea.

c. For Linked In, sign up and “connect” with business associates, family and friends by sending an invitation to connect. Since this is a professional networking site, you will keep your tone and your messages professional. Search for business associates and send them an invitation to connect. Connect with me www.linkedin.com/in/kdandrea.


2. Write a great profile and include a picture: Social networking is about connecting and networking. Make sure you include you picture and write a powerful profile. Each social networking site has its own requirement for how much you can write, so write as much as you can and make it interesting. Include items that people can relate to and so that people can engage with you in conversation, but be cautious. Same rules apply when meeting strangers, don’t disclose too much personal information and always use your common sense.

3. Get involved. If you sit in the corner at a party and do not speak to anyone, you’re not networking. Most of these sites center around one theme “What are you doing now” and depending upon the site, you have limited number of characters to include in a text message to answer that question. Comment on other people’s thoughts, messages and ideas. Ask a question and see what answers you get back. Look at the photos, the web links and the blog posts that people are pointing too and provide your feedback. Join groups and participate in Q & A forums.

4. Make the Time Commitment. Networking and relationships are built over time, so you will need to make a commitment to invest in growing your network. This is not something you can do seldom and requires a level of commitment to truly maximize the results, but beware, social media is addictive and can take all your time if you let it. Schedule a few hours a day in intervals to participate.

5. Post Often and Frequently. How often should I post? This is a question that I get asked often and my answer is, all depends. On Twitter, it is expected that you send short messages about what you are doing a few times a day, but that is not the same expectation for Facebook and LinkedIn. I usually post a few times a week on Facebook and on Linked In. I post to Question & Answer forums frequently and I always supply comments and feedback to people I am connected with on all sites.


©Kellie D’Andrea & Associates

Want to use this article in your newsletter or web site?You can, just include this complete blurb with it: Kellie D'Andrea is the creator of the BLAST system and publishes "The Marketing Edge" a FREE award winning ezine for small business owners who want to gain the competitive edge with strategic marketing and branding techniques that actually work. Find out the 23 Common Mistakes Most Entrepreneurs make with a FREE report offered at www.kelliedandrea.com.

Are You Leveraging the Power of LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is an online social network of experienced professionals from around the world with over 37 million members in over 200 countries. Executives from all the Fortune 500 companies and well know experts, authors and leaders are all LinkedIn members, so the question is, are you?

Do you remember the old saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”? Your professional network is one of the most valuable assets you own that will yield you a return. It is your personal network that you turn to for job inquiries, introductions to new business opportunities, collaboration on joint ventures, research on new people you meet or new companies you want to engage in business.

In the past you relied on human to human networking where you would speak to friends, family and colleagues, stating your purpose and hoping they could either assist with another introduction or at least point you in a direction towards an introduction. Your goal to find someone who may know someone who can help you make a connection typically took going through many individuals on a one to one basis and was inefficient and took valuable time.
In today’s environment of real time access to information, social media and limited personal time, LinkedIn provides you a way to find, be introduced to and collaborate with qualified professionals that you need to reach out to in mass therefore saving your most precious resource – your time.

If you are looking for new business, new partners, new referrals, to stay in touch, to research candidates or partners, recruit new employees, or find a new job, than you need to be leveraging the power of LinkedIn. So what can LinkedIn do for you:

• Direct Recruiting – You can find people who are potential candidates for hire, or at least find someone who knows someone who is looking.

• Lead Generation – With a growing network of qualified links, you have a direct audience to use LinkedIn tools to keep them informed of what you are working on, blast emails to your network and presentations tools to generate interest.

• Expert Positioning – LinkedIn provides you the ability to join groups or mini communities of like minded individuals where you can not only ask questions to collaborate with peers, but can answer questions as well. In addition, obtaining recommendations from business partners, employees and peers will provide you with a foundation to build credibility and establish yourself as an expert in your field.

• Research – In LinkedIn, there is an open source to search a company’s name, location and individuals associated with this company. It is a great resource for tracking down previous employment information, other partners and who people are networked with.

• Google Search – When you make your profile public in LinkedIn, search engines such as Google picks up your profile and makes it easier for people to find you. If you are in business and trying to establish a presence or build credibility, enhancing your page ranking in Google is always a good way.

• Job Search – When you get the itch to start looking for a new position, people always turn to their network first. Here your network is expanded. Since you are connected to your connections and your connections have connections and so on. This provides you with the opportunity to cast out inquiries to a larger net.

LinkedIn is rapidly becoming the largest business-oriented online social network and since it is a professional audience, the focus is on business. It is about making the necessary connections to boost your business and build referrals well beyond any network you can develop using human to human networking. The time is now for you to join LinkedIn and harness the power of business connection that is easy, real time and the next wave in business networking.

Stay tuned for next month where we will share with you Tips of How to Leverage the Power of LinkedIn.

Join me on LinkedIn. And Twitter.

©Kellie D’Andrea & Associates
Want to use this article in your newsletter or web site?You can, just include this complete blurb with it: Kellie D'Andrea is the creator of the BLAST system and publishes "The Marketing Edge" a FREE award winning ezine for small business owners who want to gain the competitive edge with strategic marketing and branding techniques that actually work. Find out the 23 Common Mistakes Most Entrepreneurs make with a FREE report offered at http://www.kelliedandrea.com/.