Networking is nothing new. The idea of networking is to meet others for the purpose of gaining referrals new clients, and to forge new friendship and business relationships. The connections in social media networking is done over the internet instead of in person

Social media networking is an interactive way to communicate with friends, current clients and potential new clients. You  directly connect with your audience on a greater platform and it gives your followers the feeling that they are part of your online community. This is important because people only do business with people they know, like and trust.

Social media networking has its advantages and disadvantages –

Advantages:

• Social networking is free
• Reach new customers and prospects
• Stay in touch and update existing customers
• Create strategic partnerships
• Create new friendships and business relationships
• Create a global presence on the internet

Disadvantages:

• Too many social media choices
• SPAM
• Excessive emails
• Overwhelming
• Potential negative press

Grasping social media will not be an overnight process. There are several sites to get you started on your journey to social media networking. Listed are a few choices, statistics and a brief overview of each one.

Facebook – Find this site at www.facebook.com

• More than 500 million active users
• 50% of active users log on to Facebook on any given day
• Average user has 130 friends
• More than 70 translations available on site
• About  70% of Facebbok users are outside the United States
• People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users

Twitter – Find this site at www.twitter.com

Many different types of people use Twitter – speakers, celebrities, corporations, executives, students, radio personalities, realtors and many more.

You share what you are doing in 140 characters or less. Here like other social sites you can share motivation, inspiration, information, tricks and tips.

Statistics:

• Average of 55 million tweets are sent daily
• Twitter has 105,779,710 registered users
• New user sign up rate per day – 300,000
• 180 million unique visitors come to the site every month

LinkedIn – Find this site at www.linkedin.com

LinkedIn is a business oriented social networking site. This is a great place for business professionals and entrepreneurs to connect. LinkedIn is popular with Fortune 5oo executives, CEOs, CFOs and business professionals.

Statistics:

• Largest professional network on the internet with more than 100 million members in over 200 countries and territories
• More than half of members are currently outside of the United States
• Nearly two billion people searches were conducted in 2010
• Average income – $109,000
• Age range – 41 to 49

There are many more social media sites. This is a great starting point. Set up profiles at all three site. Since each site has its own language and cultural, I suggest you dig into the particulars of each site one by one.

Social media networking can be a wonderful addition to the way you market your business. Happy Networking.

Till the next time…Live on Purpose & Make it Happen

Be genuine. Bring value and people will partner with you. No pitching or shoving your business down people’s throat.

Six Ways to Brand You on Online:

1.    Set up a public profile on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace. Make sure you have a nice profile picture. This picture should not include animals or logos. People want to identify and get to know you.

2.    Create a blog.  Blog about a wide range of things that relate to your industry. Think about any information relating to your industry niche which your blog visitors will be interested in seeing on your blog. Identify the sub-niches in your industry and write about those as well. You should never run out of ideas on what to blog about.

3.    Participate in forums and comment on other people’s blogs. No pitching but offer meaningful comments and show a voice of authority about your industry.

4.     Article Marketing. People will mention quality articles pieces on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites. This will give you a buzz in viral marketing.

5.    Create an effective e-mail signature. Your signature should include your full name, what you do, how to reach you, and a link to your website at the end of every email. Check out www.mylivesignature.com for a beautiful signature to add to your e-mails or blogs.  See my signature at the end of this article.

6.    Create a catchy tagline or slogan like Nike – Just Do It. My tagline is Live on Purpose and Make it Happen.

Lastly, remember not all brands are for everybody.  Don’t take it personal. Continue to offer value and the right people will come to you.

Till the next time…..

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