The Power of Social Networking
The Power of Social Networking
I know I used to do this. With traditional networking, you stand in a room full of complete strangers pretending to have a good time. You go to events, either listen to a speaker, hand out business cards, grab a coffee, or wine (depending on the time of the day!!) and walk around and introduce yourself, all in the hope that you will connect with the right people.
Yes, networking can be a nightmare. It can also be a great thing if you get the right environment for you. Networking is all about building relationships and now-a-days I use both online and offline networking, but I get the greatest benefit from online social networking as I can connect with more people in less time. So what is it and how can it benefit you?
The concept has been around for a few years, with MySpace being one of the first non-business sites to be completely set up for social networking. Gradually, businesses began to infiltrate through this and then other sites were born purely for business owners. You can now speak to someone over the internet, or leave messages for someone all from sitting at home. You can get to ‘know’ a person by looking at their profile, what their interests are, and who they align themselves with. All of this information is available for you to read, rather than physically getting out there and asking.
Where are these social networking sites? As mentioned above, there are a few major players in the field, all specializing in their own areas. MySpace was launched aimed at teens putting details, videos and photos of themselves up so they can chat and play games with their friends. Facebook was then introduced later, aimed at the older generations, hooking up with friends from school, adding photos of family and videos and chatting.
People started realizing that with the amount of traffic coming to these sites they could try and use them for business. But then business related sites like LinkedIn, twitter and niche market sites like Business Women Unite started popping up which are purely aimed at the professions, so people started viewing social networking in a totally difference light. They could start building relationships with many thousands of people without leaving their office.
But what are the benefits of joining these networking sites?
They all offer different things but by using these sites you can promote your business to thousands of visitors that these sites get every week which helps generate traffic to your business. You can expand your business by connecting and doing business with people from all over the world.
Sites like LinkedIn are based on the concept that someone knows someone who knows someone who knows someone else…and on it goes. They have applied this to business but you can also connect with lost school friends and work colleagues.
Whereas Twitter is different again and you communicate with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? It takes a bit of getting used to but it’s worth it.
On the Business Women Unite site there are more business related tools such as a discussion forum that you can use to ask questions, share resources and get tested business tips plus experts who can give you advice on how to increase your sales and profits, how to drive more traffic to your website and how to have a better lifestyle plus much more.
If you have the right strategy and the right approach you can turn a few minutes a day into thousands of extra dollars. Isn’t that worth the bother!
The Power of Social Networking - To learn more about this author, visit Alison Basson's Website.
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You’ve all heard of networking right? Most business women don’t ever use it to its full potential. One of the most common reasons is that it’s just one more thing you have to do in your busy day so it goes into the too hard basket, right!
I know I used to do this. With traditional networking, you stand in a room full of complete strangers pretending to have a good time. You go to events, either listen to a speaker, hand out business cards, grab a coffee, or wine (depending on the time of the day!!) and walk around and introduce yourself, all in the hope that you will connect with the right people.
Yes, networking can be a nightmare. It can also be a great thing if you get the right environment for you. Networking is all about building relationships and now-a-days I use both online and offline networking, but I get the greatest benefit from online social networking as I can connect with more people in less time. So what is it and how can it benefit you?
The concept has been around for a few years, with MySpace being one of the first non-business sites to be completely set up for social networking. Gradually, businesses began to infiltrate through this and then other sites were born purely for business owners. You can now speak to someone over the internet, or leave messages for someone all from sitting at home. You can get to ‘know’ a person by looking at their profile, what their interests are, and who they align themselves with. All of this information is available for you to read, rather than physically getting out there and asking.
Where are these social networking sites? As mentioned above, there are a few major players in the field, all specializing in their own areas. MySpace was launched aimed at teens putting details, videos and photos of themselves up so they can chat and play games with their friends. Facebook was then introduced later, aimed at the older generations, hooking up with friends from school, adding photos of family and videos and chatting.
People started realizing that with the amount of traffic coming to these sites they could try and use them for business. But then business related sites like LinkedIn, twitter and niche market sites like Business Women Unite started popping up which are purely aimed at the professions, so people started viewing social networking in a totally difference light. They could start building relationships with many thousands of people without leaving their office.
But what are the benefits of joining these networking sites?
They all offer different things but by using these sites you can promote your business to thousands of visitors that these sites get every week which helps generate traffic to your business. You can expand your business by connecting and doing business with people from all over the world.
Sites like LinkedIn are based on the concept that someone knows someone who knows someone who knows someone else…and on it goes. They have applied this to business but you can also connect with lost school friends and work colleagues.
Whereas Twitter is different again and you communicate with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? It takes a bit of getting used to but it’s worth it.
On the Business Women Unite site there are more business related tools such as a discussion forum that you can use to ask questions, share resources and get tested business tips plus experts who can give you advice on how to increase your sales and profits, how to drive more traffic to your website and how to have a better lifestyle plus much more.
If you have the right strategy and the right approach you can turn a few minutes a day into thousands of extra dollars. Isn’t that worth the bother!
The Power of Social Networking - To learn more about this author, visit Alison Basson's Website.
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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