Social Networking is all the rage now. You have your Facebook, Twitter, Digg, You Tube and several others that are appearing it seems weekly. Every time you turn around it seems there is a new one. I used to think social networking was something that was for teens. An example is My Space. I would think “Oh, that’s just for kids that like to talk to their friends and just goof off. but, I was so wrong!

I started to notice that the people that are successful Internet Marketers were on Facebook, My Space and Twitter and I thought why not try it. I have to say, that it has made a huge difference in my Internet Marketing business! I now understand a little more about networking with like minded people. Sure, I have had to weed out a few people that wanted to be my friend on some of these sites, but for the most part these have been legitimate business people. People who are like minded and are serious about their businesses.

I have also met people who can help me and people that I can help which is really gratifing! The people I have met are web designers, SEO Specialists, Business Consultants, Branding Specialists and so many other business professionals, and you know what I have made a few real friends. Kind of ironic isn’t it? I was the one that said it was for teens to talk to their friends.

So, you ask is Social Networking worth it for your business? You bet it is!

It’s no secret that Social Networking is huge. It’s also obvious that it is continuously changing. Friendster gave way to MySpace, which is fighting to retain users that are quickly immigrating to Facebook, all the while; many of us have snuck off to Twitted and FriendFeed. If these are the only sites you know, you only know about 1/10000th of what makes up the social network universe. Don’t feel bad, few can wrap their head around the breadth and depth of SoNets, and no one is omniscient enough to have even heard of most of them.
 
SoNets are a fact of life and business. If you’re reading this, you’re on Talent Zoo, which means you’re looking for a job or an employee. Businesses can feel free to hire me to consult with them about SoNets and Social Media (SoMe), this one is for the job hunters.
 
So you’ve got your resume perfect, it gives a brilliant overview of your skills, talent, and experience. You’re already a step ahead of me! You’ve briefed your references so they talk about your strengths and not what you did at the last company outing. If you’re a creative, you’ve got your portfolio book, site, or iPod full of your best work. That should do it right? Not exactly. What happens when your future employer’s HR staff Googles you? They’ll get to know you really well or not. They may find nothing, not a big deal; unless you’re a creative, marketer, advertiser, programmer, you get it. If you’re in the business you’d better be online. ‘Why’ should be obvious, we’ll get to ‘where’ later. Let’s talk about ‘how’.
 
How you present yourself online, in SoNets or otherwise is as important as how you present yourself in person. Even more so since this may be your first impression to potential employers, and you know what they say about first impressions. This goes not just for job hunters involved in advertising or interactive, but for everyone. Most savvy employers won’t hold your MySpace pictures against you, some may. The Internet is public domain. Everyone can see anything you’ve posted online. So those party pictures, blogs about Star Trek and forum rants are just a click away for anyone who wants them. If you want be treated as a professional, take care to establish a professional persona online. Keep your comments, blogs, etc. professional. This isn’t to say you can’t be yourself online. On the contrary, be as personal and wacky as you want. Just do it with a non- related screen name that you only share with friends. Speaking of which, if you’re on Facebook, get two accounts. One for friends that’s private and one for professionals. Don’t let friends or non-business contacts friend you. You’d be surprised how inappropriate your college buddies or that girl you just met might be on your Wall!

For those thinking, ‘this is such a pain, why bother’, remember that first impression I mentioned? By presenting a skilled and experienced face on social networks, you can get a jump on the competition. By getting involved in professional forums you can position yourself as an eager learner, a helpful pro, even as an expert in your field.

The possibilities seem endless when moving to a new city, but so are the questions: where will you work, where will you live, and most of all – how do you start to create a new social network?  Moving can be a complex and lonely experience as people try to manage the logistics, orient themselves with the layout of their new city, negotiate employment landmines and adjust to a new social reality.

As an ‘outsider’ it can be difficult to know how to begin to make friends.  The office is an excellent starting point, but not everyone is fortunate enough to have a job offer immediately when they arrive in a new city.

Paramount Properties brings you some social networking suggestions to ease your transition to a new city.

Join a Gym

Good for the head, heart, body and soul, the gym also provides an easy environment in which to meet others.  The camaraderie that comes from collectively punishing yourselves in an aerobic or weight-lifting class is unbeatable.  Strike up a conversation with the person on the treadmill next you.  See where it takes you.

Prominent Canadian gyms include Goodlife, YMCA, Florida Fitness, Gym Max and Curves.

Running Clubs

Although some runners prefer to conserve their air and don’t make great conversationalists, members of running clubs are usually very social when the run is done.  Swap stories while basking your tired legs in an endorphin high.  Running is also a great way to cover a lot of ground and explore a new city.

Book Clubs

If you’re a fan of literature, a book club is the perfect place to meet others who also like to lose themselves in a good novel. Take time out from your busy life as you momentarily escape from the “real world,” and then discuss the book and its themes with other people in the club. It doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree with the others about the true motives of the protagonist – the main thing is that you’re striking up conversations with new and interesting people. Another perk about book clubs is that you can sometimes get the chance to hear an author speak about his or her book. This can be very insightful and will give you and your new colleagues more to talk about.

Join a Sports Club

Hockey, basketball, softball, soccer, tennis, golf and ultimate frisbee leagues offer excellent opportunities to meet people, get fit, have a great time and even get out of town if your team participates in inter-city tournaments.  Find a sport you’ve always wanted to play and get involved.

Theatre Clubs

Assuming another identity and putting yourself on stage in front of the whole world may seem risky, but the benefits you reap will be even greater.  Theatre is a promising way to meet outgoing people.  Also, once you have mastered performing to a crowd, social introductions or job interviews will be a breeze!

However, if stepping into the spotlight is the last thing you would ever do, you can still enjoy the theatre experience as a member of the audience. Theatre/social clubs often have access to discounted tickets, and members will usually meet up after the show for food, drinks and a hearty discussion about what you just saw.

Volunteer for Charity

Help others and help yourself at the same time.  United Way and Red Cross are two large and deserving causes.  Local food banks are another place where you can see up front how your contribution makes a difference to the lives of struggling families.

Connect with Cultural and Religious Organizations

Most Canadian cities have strong Chinese, Greek, Jewish, Muslim, Italian, German, Hindu and ex-pat communities that host special festivals and events.  Familiarity breeds comfortability, so seek out those common ties and make yourself known.

Coffee Shops and Pubs

You never know who you’ll meet during Happy Hour or at your local Starbucks, Bridgehead or Second Cup … give it a try and see what happens!

Good friendships take time, but the more you get involved in your community, the more at home you’ll feel and the more stories you’ll have to share.  By the time you’ve made your way through this list, you’ll be a professional ice breaker.  Good luck!

www.Rankmybar.com was designed to help users who are in need of some new and exciting bar experiences, or for the common business person who is not familiar with an area and would like to find a bar in the area. www.rankmybar.com connects users from all around the world to share some of their favorite experiences at these bars or clubs for others to view and get a sense of what the bar environment is all about.

Of course you can go to any site and find a bar, and even a rating on that bar. But nobody really knows what the dress code is, or how great of service the bar is, or even your chance of getting in. What www.rankmybar.com has developed is an easy ranking system that all types of users can view the ranking categories of the bar they are searching for before they actually go to the bar. On the bar page users can post their favorite pictures, write a review, and rank the bar. This insight will give users a better idea of what they are getting into before they go, so they can be fully prepared for their new experience. After visiting the bar, the user now has the power to go back to the bar page and rank it based on their experiences, and now add the bar to their bar list.

The social networking side of rankmybar.com encompasses a friendly social environment where users can add current friends, meet new friends, or reconnect to recently met bar goers. If you fail to get that persons number, just hope they are on rankmybar.com, go to the bar where you met, and write a comment and sooner rather than later you will be able to reconnect with that special someone.

http://www.Rankmybar.com offers two bar pages for users to view. If you are browsing for a bar and you do not see it on the list, simply go to your bars tab in Myaccount, and click add bar. Now you have the access to upload a new bar and have others rank it and share their experiences with you. The bar owner has the ability to sign up for a membership and take over their regular page and make it a premium page where they can add valuable information about their bar that is not visible on a regular bar add. The most important feature here is the discount coupon information. Bar owners can post any discount they would like to promote their bar with, whether it is a free cover, free drink, free game, or buy on get one free, the bar owner can post these valuable coupons at any time(so constantly check the bar page for discounts!).

www.unlimitedincomecreater.com

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Using online social networks for marketing is different from traditional marketing tactics. It’s not just a matter of getting your message out to as many people as possible. This is akin to spamming. The main distinction between traditional online marketing and marketing on online social networks is that effective online network marketing involves relationships. It is not just a matter of pushing your message; it’s a matter of having a conversation or relationship with your audience.

Having said that, you may wonder who is your audience. Is it anybody and everybody who will listen? Not exactly. Although you should strive to increase the size of your network, you must keep in mind that you must target influencers within your market. Those people who blog or write, content producers, frequently are more likely to generate buzz about your organization than those who are content consumers. The content producers are the leaders of online networks. You want the leaders on your side.

In short, don’t turn down somebody who friends you on an online network like Facebook or MySpace, the two largest network communities. Go ahead and add people who want to be your friends, if they take up too much time and don’t provide any value for you, you can unfriend them later. Keep in mind that amongst those friends you add, there may be an influencer or two who will recommend your product or service to others. If you have a system that targets influencers, then you will have used an online network to its fullest potential.

Having said all that, it is vital that your interactions with your online friends are genuine. As soon as you come across as fake or not genuine, whatever goodwill you may have generated will flip into an equal amount of ill-will. Keep it personal and keep it real.

You can find me at  www.unlimitedincomecreater.com , youtube: Search – RobertSB22  category – videos

Social networking is the up and coming way to grow your business. It’s a way to meet knew people, communicate with people you already know, learn from others, and share your business. There are rules that go with networking that will make or break your success.

There are three websites that are very popular with the business crowd right now. We will talk about these sites and how to network to your success.

* Twitter

Twitter is a live site where you can communicate with others. Its like instant messaging in that the messages come through right away. Its different in that you receive messages that are not directed to you, but sent by people that are listed as your followers.

One way to be successful with Twitter is to help others when they ask for advice. If one of your followers asks a question, answer it if you can. If they ask for comments on a blog post or change to a website, make a comment. If you know of a person that needs something that one of your followers offers, send them to that person. Make sure you tell the follower what you are doing so they know. That will build trust with them and they will do the same to you.

One way to have poor success with Twitter is to talk about your business all the time. Advertise your business all the time, talk about how you can help others with your business, don’t talk to others, don’t help others, etc. You lose followers like hot cakes when you do this. People don’t want to hear about your business all the time.

* Facebook

Facebook gives you the ability to communicate with others through groups and guest books. You can find friends, coworkers, clients, customers, and others on Facebook. There are groups you can join or you can create your own. With these groups you can network and learn from the people that are a part of these groups.

Just like Twitter, you don’t want to over do it with your business talk. The best thing to do is talk to people, get to know them, share exciting things that are happening, and so on. It’s ok to talk about your business, just don’t do it the entire time while you are online.

* LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the way networking was supposed to be. When you set up a LinkedIn account, you add your experience, past positions held, education, recommendations, and websites. It’s a way of building trust so people will be able to feel comfortable working with you.

LinkedIn also has groups that you can join. These groups are a way to network with others that are in the same type of business as you or groups that are full of your target market. You can share valuable information with the participants of the group and you can also learn from these people.

Networking is vital for business owners. If it’s done the correct way, you will be successful in business. When it’s done incorrectly, people won’t want to do business with you. Heres to your networking success! 

There is a lot of talk around these days about social networking.  Sites are popping up all over:  MySpace is the granddaddy, but there is also FaceBook, Twitter, Squidoo, YouTube and many others.  These sites were designed around the idea that people could meet and interact on the Internet.  But savvy marketers have also figured out that they are an amazing source of never-ending leads for their businesses.

How can that be?  Isn’t MySpace for my teenage daughter?  And YouTube is full of crazy funny animal videos, right?  How does that factor into my business?

All of these sites can factor in to your business very importantly.  Think of the “old-school” networking you know about.  You join Kiwanis, Rotary Club, Soroptimist and you pass around your business cards and make friends.  The clubs are designed to do good works in the community but they are used very effectively to promote business among their members.

Social networking sites are similar.  You sign on, set up a page and begin to invite friends over for a chat.  Then you expand and invite other people you haven’t met yet — new friends.  You find things you have in common and build relationships.  You get to know each other.  As you build relationships, you will attract people who are like you.  They have similar interests or they can relate to your “story.”

Once your new friends come to know, like and trust you, they will be open to hearing about what you are doing in your life.  They learn a little about your business and, because they’ve come to respect you, they want to learn more and — bingo — they click on your link and opt-in.

Social networking, when done right, is highly respectful and is not a hard sell.  You attract people, draw them in based on who you honestly are.  And because like attracts like, the people who seek you out will be folks you will enjoy working with.  It is an ingenious process and yet it is highly individual as well.

So, tell your teenage daughter to move on over.  It’s your turn to get a MySpace account and start looking for friends.

Social networking is one of the many ways through Web 2.0 to make your business go viral. It includes sites like Facebook and MySpace, as well as tons of niche sites devoted to specific topics. What all of these sites have in common is that they are in some way interactive.

At the same time, social networking does overlap with certain elements of Web 2.0. Sites like YouTube, a video sharing site, allows you to build a profile, post comments on videos, upload your own videos, and even allow others to subscribe to your channel.

When planning to make your business go viral using social networking, you first need a plan. Choose which social networking sites you want to market on.

I recommend not signing up for more than three to five. If you want to get the best results, you will need to focus your efforts on only a few sites. This will help you get the best results.

One thing to remember is not to limit yourself to sites like Facebook and MySpace. YouTube is an excellent site to join, especially if you like video. There are others like Hi5 and Friendster that are similar to Facebook and MySpace. Because they attract different demographic groups, you have an opportunity to extend your reach online for free.

Once you have chosen the sites you want to market on, sign up for your account. Most of these sites are free. Complete your profile. Add as much information about yourself and your business as you can. Privacy is an important issue, and you want to protect your privacy.

If you intend to make money on the internet though, you will have to sacrifice some of your privacy for the sake of credibility. This doesn’t mean to tell everyone everything about yourself. Just provide enough information to show that you are a real person.

The next step is to get out and “make friends.” When making friends on any of these sites, the most important thing you want to remember is to choose people who share common interests, as well as business interests. You don’t want to waste your time connecting with those who aren’t interested in the products or services you sell.

The third step to marketing on these sites is to get out there and participate. Just putting up a profile simply isn’t enough. You need to get involved. Look at ways to go viral on the site. Depending on the type of sites you have chosen, all it may take is a video, the right free report, or an application.

It’s very easy for you to go viral on these sites simply because there are so many ways to do it. How you choose to do it is up to you.