Article Contributed by Suzen Pettit

Not sure what I was thinking when I agreed to join a BNI (Business Networking International) group in my neighborhood, other than the idea of a networking group based solely on the idea of giving and receiving referrals, with none of the froo- froo attached to it, none of the dancing around….seemed so appealing. If you read my last post about my networking group challenges you’ll get what I’m talking about. So when my “Computer Troubleshooter” Rick Van Akin suggested that if I wanted to grow my business I should come to his BNI meeting just to “check it out” I thought, why not?

Little did I know at the time, or perhaps I just wasn’t listening, that the meetings began at 7 AM. AM? I thought he’d said PM. AM??? AM it was, and when I emailed the president to see just how formally attired I needed to be at 7 AM I was bummed out to hear that yoga pants were really not an option, unless of course I was a yoga instructor. I briefly considered switching careers. So I’d be lying if I said that I was ecstatic about attending my first meeting. Grumbling under my breath, I made it to the first meeting with seconds to spare, leaving my daughter to figure out how to get herself dressed, fed and to the school  bus on her own. Third graders can do that in this country, can’t they? Kidding, she’s 11.  Kidding again- she’s a teenager. Much more dangerous than a third grader.

That being said, and much to my surprise, I was blown away by the meeting. Seriously. I filled out an application and interviewed for the group, after my second visit.  You’re only allowed 2 visits before having to decide, and even then there’s an application process.

Here’s my top 6 reasons why I joined the Super 7 BNI and you should join one too:

1. They mean business. And I mean business. They aren’t kidding about giving and receiving referrals. At the end of each meeting members are expected to go around the tables and with everyone witnessing, either offer a testimonial, a referral or a thank you to at least 1 person in the group. No slouchers allowed. Our eyes are all upon you.
2. You are held accountable- In a good way! Members are expected to make it to most of the weekly meetings- only 3 absences are allowed within a 6 month period without obtaining a substitute. It’s a structured group (although we do manage to have fun…). Commitment is expected of the group, and it pays off. If you are perceived as being serious about giving and receiving business referrals, and about satisfying customers that have been referred to you, business leads follow. Performing quality work is an expectation. After all, you need to look at these people in the eye at 7 AM each and every week. Therefore the weeding is taken care of, and a good group will end up with quality professionals who they can feel confident referring to their network. And parents.
3. The motto, originated by BNI founder Ivan Misner is that “Givers Gain”. Who doesn’t love that? Instead of the typical networking and “salesy” philosophy of  “what can you do for me today”, in BNI we switch things up to a much more Buddhist way of thinking, in that if you are always thinking of ways, and of people to “give” business to,  eventually it will come around. And 9 out of 10 times it does. Truly. Try doing it in your own life outside of a BNI and you will prove this to yourself. Give selflessly. It’s Karma, baby.
4. We get to hone our presentation skills: At every meeting folks get an opportunity to give a 60 second elevator speech (hate that term) about what a good lead would be for them that day, and at each meeting the members rotate an opportunity to give a “marketing minute” and a 10 minute presentation where they really get to present their “thang”. Why should someone hire this person? You’ll find out at the 10 minute presentation, and you’ll have a chance to really hone your delivery. Great presentation skill building. Who needs Toastmasters?
5. Only one professional of each profession allowed per group. If you’re admitted into the group, you are the sole financial advisor, life insurance agent, realtor, etc., which obviously encourages referrals.  It’s easy to form strategic alliances and spheres of influences this way. Again, accountability is key however. We’re all counting on quality work being performed as it reflects back on us.
6. We’re out by 8:30 AM with the day in front of us. The funny thing is, most of us have a lot to talk about after the meeting and don’t want to go. If you’re lucky you’ll get into a great group like ours, who really enjoy one another’s company and use the power of BNI to grow our businesses both on site and off.

I’m really happy this great group of professionals allowed me to grace them with my presence. I’ve never looked back,  gladly pay the dues, and in the one short year that I’ve been a member it has helped grow my business exponentially. Who couldn’t use that?

About the Author

Suzen Pettit blogs at http://omaginarium.com/blog/, a site that guides small businesses through the maze of technology to help them grow their online presence with successful SEO.

Article Contributed by Danielle

Traveling to a conference isn’t as easy as paying the registration fee, buying plane tickets and showing up. There are many things you’ll need to consider to ensure that your whole group has a good time at the conference and comes back feeling like the time spent there was worthwhile and productive. Consider each of these aspects when planning for a successful first conference. 

Make Necessary Reservations

You can’t just show up expecting to get access to all of the amenities you need, so make your hotel and rental car reservations ahead of time. Many websites help you find the best rates online and book them together to save even more money. Look for a hotel that’s relatively close to the conference location so you won’t get stuck in traffic heading there every morning, and make sure your mode of transportation has enough room for your team and all of their luggage. 

Get Travel Insurance

Unexpected things happen on a trip, and purchasing corporate travel insurance can protect your company from losses due to problems employees may have while at the conference. This is especially important when you travel internationally, but even for a conference at a domestic location, many of your team members may be out of the network for their health insurance and need additional coverage. Additionally, policies designed for business travel also include perks like assistance with rebooking if you experience delays in travel. 

Register for Sessions

In addition to the main conference sessions, you’ll likely have many smaller workshops and lectures to choose from. Pre-registering for these ensures that your team members get into the sessions they want before they fill up. You can also strategize who will go to each session so you cover all the bases and get the most you can out of the conference. 

Arrange Meet-Ups

Conferences are the perfect place to do some serious networking with industry contacts. All of the big players will be there, and there may also be others startups like yours that will have a lot to offer you as well. Do your research ahead of time and find out who else will be attending the conference. Contact people in advance to plan to have a meal together or get drinks after one of the conference sessions. 

Schedule Meetings with Prospective Clients

In addition to general networking, also consider whether there will be any prospective clients at the conference or in the area. You may as well make as many connections as you can while you’re there. If you schedule a meeting ahead of time, you can also plan what you’ll need to bring along to show those prospective clients.

Traveling to your first conference is a big step for your startup, and planning ahead will ensure that you can make the most of your time while you’re there. For many of the people you meet, this will be their first contact with your business, so you want to have all of the details taken care of so you can focus on what’s important during the conference.

If you’re going to be entrepreneur, you’re better off preparing yourself for the new frontiers of online innovation. The best way to approach this is to think of the Internet as just the first phase in a telecommunication revolution that will change human interaction as we know it. The successful entrepreneur of tomorrow will be not only well versed in the innovations of today, but the innovations of tomorrow and the next. This involves preparing for the next phase of the Internet—the Web 3.0, which will include real time communications embedded in every nook and cranny of society, virtual reality interfaces taking over the workplace, and location-based messaging taking over the commercial landscape. This sea change will affect a wide variety of industries and professions, from healthcare contract management to online marketing.

Real time communication. It’s not just social media, chatting or texting. It’s all of these combined and layered on top of powerful new networks. Skype and Voip services are just the beginning. In the coming decade, we will be embedding real time communication applications in the simplest of every appliances, making ubiquitous real time video an everyday staple. Feel free to talk to your boss through a window on your microwave while you’re making toast. If you think this is overblown simply look at the rise of cloud services as a significant profitable and trusted industry, adopted by tech startups and Fortune 500 companies alike. Real time communication is just hitting its stride, but you can expect to see its muscle truly flexed during the upcoming Olympics.

Virtual reality communities. The future is going to see an exponential rise in virtual reality communities that will assist in everything from remotely held boardroom meetings to literal online dating, as in dating via avatars. Expect the trend toward virtual reality communities to mix business and pleasure and become the next great battleground for marketers and advertisers. It’s going to be Second City, except streamlined for everyday use. While it will be a while until we’re talking about the real Avatar, as in actually inhabiting someone else’s body, virtual reality will grow by bursts and fits in the coming decade and will slowly become as widely used as social media is now. The next big virtual reality communities will be like Second City, except streamlined for everyday use.

Location-based messaging. This trend is already in full motion but will become even more prevalent with the rise of the previous two trends. Place-based messaging services like Foursquare, Gowalla, and Facebook will grow to involve more real time video chatting. Expect to also begin seeing location-based messaging being used for ‘online’ places, like virtual reality communities. Services like Loopt are already pushing the envelope with ping-enabled “location-based text messaging”. Expect further experimentation in this industry, as demonstrated by ChatSq, a Foursquare extension that involves creating chatrooms that are attached to locations. Each venue will have the potential to become its own mobile social network. Marketers take note!

All three of these technologies already exist and have been widely adopted. But they are set to evolve qualitatively and quantitatively in the coming years. A wide variety of small business opportunies and venture capital streams are primed to result from these innovations. Entrepreneurs looking for leverage should be familiarizing themselves with these trends and the industries related to them. Don’t get left in the e-dust.

This Guest Post is written by Samantha Peters, an active blogger who enjoys writing about anything of interest to entrepreneurs and business start-ups.

Social media is the buzz word these days. Everyone seems to be talking about Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs these days. The migration of customers to online and social media platforms has also attracted the attention of business, both big and small. The smaller, start-up ventures seem to be benefiting most from social media channels as they do not have the big budget required for traditional, outbound marketing.

If you do not maintain a virtual presence, you do not exist for the customers. However, many start-ups join the bandwagon of social media advertising, without a well-thought-out plan. In doing so, they make several mistakes, which could spell death for their business. Let’s have a look at some mistakes that entrepreneurs and start-ups must avoid to ensure marketing success.

1. Bombarding customers with information without a marketing plan

Some entrepreneurs believe that developing a Facebook page and signing up on Twitter is central to their social media campaign. This may not be the best approach. You need to have a well-thought and coherent social media strategy. Your social media operations need a strategic plan that clearly identifies the social media campaign goals, target audience, ways to reach that audience and measures by which a campaign’s success would be judged. Simply blasting customers with information could prove to be detrimental and annoy them.

2. Being clueless about the social media audience

A traditional marketing plan also requires adequate research on the target market. Businesses cannot afford to throw darts in the dark. You need to do some research on who they should connect with, who they want to speak to directly and who they think will be reading their posts. You should regularly engage with top influencers in the industry well ahead of the competition. Marketing initiatives, which do not target the audience, may well in fact be a waste of time.

3. Forgetting social media etiquette

You might be well aware of email etiquette, such as greeting people properly, using correct grammar and providing a signature at the bottom. However, you also need to be mindful of social media etiquette. Social media etiquette involves asking potential customers thought-provoking questions, promoting other people as well as your own brand, and not always sounding like an advertisement without caring to establish a strong bond with the people. People would appreciate you if you are mindful of these basic etiquettes.

4. Measuring success

All marketing efforts need to have some measure through which success of the campaign may be judged. You may use several tools to help measure the success rate of customer engagement sessions. These tools should take into account your total online community size, the number of mentions you’ve received, how many people have commented on your Facebook page, and traffic referred to your business site from social media outlets. One such tool, Facebook Insights, is built in a Facebook page to track the progress of your marketing efforts.

5. Do not spam, time your posts

Small businesses may also make the mistake of spamming people with automatic direct messages after they follow you. You should get rid of all spam accounts from your social media pages. You should be creative and develop new content to circulate your product or service. As social media acts in real time, you should time your posts and updates well to increase your following. By being unique and creative, you can win new customers.

About the Author:

Martin Vance is a marketing and brand enthusiast, and regularly contributes articles related to marketing strategies for Degree Jungle.

During a presentation that I was giving at a small business owner’s boot camp, I was asked a very interesting question by one of the attendees:

“I am a real estate agent and I am not sure how LinkedIn can help me since it is a business to business platform and I am targeting consumers and homeowners. Should I be focusing just on Facebook which is more consumer oriented? And, if I should be on LinkedIn, how can I best utilize it to help me obtain more business and clients?”

My Answer to How Business to Consumer (B2C) Companies Can Use LinkedIn Marketing

One of the biggest advantages of using LinkedIn if you are a B2B business is being able to access targeted prospects. Now, it’s quite difficult to do that if you are a B2C company as business professionals are there for these purposes:

•    Build and cultivate profitable relationships
•    Get the information they need to develop.

However, that doesn’t mean you should not be using LinkedIn marketing and just stick to Facebook and Twitter. Use Facebook and Twitter to build your community of prospects – but use LinkedIn marketing to attract these three audiences that can double your sales guaranteed:

1.    Media Professionals – A recent study showed that 92% of all journalists are on LinkedIn which is more than any other social networking site.  This means that you have more access to individuals who are looking to quote experts like you or publish articles regarding your industry and how you can help your prospective clients.  By reaching out to these journalists you can develop meaningful and valuable relationships as they will come to think of you as the expert in your field and ask for your information when they are putting together their next piece. This extra publicity will give you more exposure to even more prospects and enhance your credibility so prospects will want to buy from you.

2.    Referral Sources – Through LinkedIn you can build and enhance relationships with key influencers who can provide you with access to prospects you would otherwise not have known, met or done business with.  A referral source is a valuable tool because it is a third party endorsement and they can act as your sales agent as they want to give their customers and clients more value.

3.    Larger companies that offer products or services that are supplementary to yours – Smart companies are always looking to increase their revenues by giving their clients and customers more value. Think of the different companies and organizations that can add your products or services to their own at a premium price – and use LinkedIn to build relationships with the different company’s executives.

Your Next Steps…

1.    Figure out who would be the best referral sources, key influences, types of media and companies for you to connect with. For example, one of my newest LinkedIn Profile Makeover clients is a real estate agent who is an expert on short sells, foreclosures and troubled properties. Before we completed her profile, we had her brainstorm who would be the best referral sources which include:

•    Divorce attorneys – In a divorce couples often have a house to sell. Couples also have other traditional real estate assets that often have to be sold in a divorce. Plus, at least one of the parties in a divorce will need to relocate – meaning they’ll need to buy a new house.
•    Local bankruptcy attorneys who have clients who have no other choice
but to either short sell or go into foreclosure
•    Florida attorneys that represent HOA’s s so my client can help them with the rental of the property, property managementt and eventual short sell
•    Accountants who can refer clients to sell their residential or commercial properties to avoid further liability and eventual foreclosure
•    Financial planners, estate attorneys and probate attorneys who want to give homeowners relief from their unexpected financial burdens
•    Banks who want to sell their foreclosed properties in the shortest amount of time with the highest net to them

2.    Create a LinkedIn profile that is written for the referral sources and media you want to attract starting with your headline. In the headline, identify the audiences you want to connect with – and why they should want to connect with you. In your summary, explain to referral sources how you can be of value to their clients and customers and how your relationship will help them. Also, if you are trying to attract publicity, show the media that you are an expert. Use any media mentions to your advantage in your summary sections as well as having a complete media kit on your profile using the Box.net, Slideshare and Google Presentations applications. To help you create the copy you need for your LinkedIn profile, check out my Instant LinkedIn Marketing Templates at http://www.InstantLinkedInMarketingTemplates.com

3.    Stay on top of your referral sources’ and media professionals’ minds – Once you figure out who your best key influencers, referral sources and media types, start doing your research on LinkedIn and make connections. When you make a new connection, invite the referral source or media professional to your LinkedIn group where you provide tips, tools and articles. Every time you are published, featured or quoted in the media you should be announcing it to your connections and group members.  This will show them that you are a valuable resource and keep you on top of their minds.  So when a referral source has a client needing your expertise, they’ll think of you. And, when the media needs an expert to quote- they’ll come to you.

So create a strong LinkedIn profile using my Instant LinkedIn Marketing Templates, figure out who would be the best referral sources and media types and start making connections that can double your sales guaranteed.

About the Author:

LinkedIn Expert Kristina Jaramillo creates online marketplace opportunities for B2C companies and marketing executives that want to get more publicity, build relationships with key influencers and double their website traffic and sales. Now, with her free special report, you can uncover easy ways to gain more connections fast by avoiding the top 14 mistakes. Get this information for free at: http://www.Free14LinkedInMistakes.com   

A popular resolution for many in the New Year is to find a job that’s the perfect fit; if you are one of them, creating a flawless employment profile has become even more crucial in 2012. Resumes and interview skills are always of critical importance, but making an investment in your job references is paramount in creating the “perfect employment candidate” impression that employers are looking for today.

The response a potential employer gets from a reference can make the difference between an applicant getting a job….or losing it. Professional reference checking company Allison & Taylor says that individuals looking for employment need to be aware of the following employment trends to succeed in their quest for that new, perfect job:

1. Your references will become even more valuable
Although the job market is poised to grow, hiring managers want to know how well you performed and only your references will be able to give the inside story. Make sure that your references are an asset, not a hindrance.

2. What your peers & subordinates have to say about you counts
You may have been able to hide your lack of production from your boss, but seldom are you able to hide it from those that report to you and your colleagues. Your coworkers can be, and often are, brutally honest. The simplest solution? Do your best work, every day, and let those around you know they’re appreciated.

3. Your reference list needs to match your resume
Often treated as an afterthought, references are a key element in closing the deal on that new job. It has become critically important that your reference list is well thought out, with full contact information, and presented as a matching and professional addendum to your resume.

4. Workplace bullies are still out there, even with all of the publicity about them
Even with all the negative press about bad bosses (or coworkers), bullies still continue wreak havoc, giving bad reports (sometimes completely fabricated) that can affect current and future employment. Find out what to do if you are, or have been, the victim of workplace bullying.

5. Technology offers a great way to stay in touch
Social networking provides a great way to easily communicate with that former boss and keep them updated as your career swings to new levels, so take advantage! Get your information up on sites like LinkedIn, Ryze and Twitter.

6. Employers will do even more background research, and look at your personal social media sites
Birds of a feather stick together, so be cautious who your friends are. Also, be sure there are no off -color comments, and keep certain things private- that way there’s no a chance for a potential employer to see something offensive.

7. Technology will play a large role in giving references
Trends show that employers are moving toward electronic reference systems, which rank an employee’s performance on a scale. This movement has pros and cons- it’s very comprehensive, and factual, and can neutralize negative commentary, but it will also limit the opportunity employers have to sing your praises. Make sure that you give yourself the best possible chance for a positive reference by establishing strong working relationships and negotiating the terms of your reference upon departure from the company.

It’s a new year, a great time for a fresh start! Make sure your resume and references are in order; to find out more about the professional employment services that can help in your job search, please visit Allison and Taylor.

About the Author:

Allison & Taylor and its principals have been in the business of checking references for corporations and individuals since 1984. Allison & Taylor is headquartered in Rochester, Mich. For further details on services and procedures please visit http://www.allisontaylor.com/.

1) The press release generated publicity can provide you with instant credibility with your LinkedIn profile visitors.

For example my client Sara LaForest’s headline reads like this: “Top Management Consultant Featured in Business Week, Fast Company & WomenEntrepreneur.com – Connect and Find Out Why”. This shows readers immediately why they should trust her and why they should trust what she has to say.

Here are some of the other ways you can highlight your publicity on your LinkedIn profile:

Create a quoted media positions
Showcase your media mentions within your summary
Add the publications section to your LinkedIn profile
Create a media kit on your LinkedIn profile using Box.net

2) Showcasing your press release generated publicity will prove to journalists that you are media worthy.

On LinkedIn you should be looking to connect with journalists, editors, online radio show hosts and other media professionals.  Now for those media professionals to accept your invitation, you have to prove you are credible and newsworthy.  When your press release is published by a top publication, you have completed half the battle because you have given yourself expert status. Now, you just have to build a relationship with the media professionals you connect with and show them that your information is relevant to their audience.

3) Use press releases to promote your LinkedIn group and community.

We recently created and distributed a press release that promoted Skip Weisman’s Workplace Communication Strategies group – and it was published on CNBC.com. This helped him:

Increase his LinkedIn group membership by making more people aware of his group.

Give him a reason to re-announce his group again to his email list as well as any LinkedIn connection that were not already members of his group. Any time you have a success, you should be letting your connections know.

Give new connections a reason to join his LinkedIn group when we sent out group invites.

4) Your press release placements can position you as a thought leader in your LinkedIn group – and those other groups you belong to.

I like to create discussions around a topic and link the discussion to a press release or article I’ve written that gives more information on the topic and is featured on a top website. This automatically gives me a third party endorsement which offers more credibility than if the information was just placed on my own website or blog.

5) Use your press release placement as a springboard for discussions.

For example, I distributed a press release titled “More Journalist on LinkedIn Than Any Other Social Network, Study Shows”. I then created this discussion within LinkedIn group:  “How are you using LinkedIn to get you more publicity?

In the LinkedIn discussion summary I put “In the press release below, I reveal that 82% of journalist are on LinkedIn and that is more than any other social network.  So now I am asking you, how are using LinkedIn to build and maintain relationships with media professionals to get you more publicity?”

I then linked the discussion to my press release on Yahoo News.

This helped me:

Get more exposure for my press release

Create a discussion among publicity professionals as they provided their insights. I then responded to their feedback with other ideas and explained to them how I can help them with their LinkedIn publicity efforts

Start a discussion among small business owners and other business professionals who wanted to learn how to get more publicity by using LinkedIn

6) Getting published or featured all over the Web on top websites and blogs will give you access to more people who will want to connect with you on LinkedIn.

You will have people coming to you seeking your advice.  They will see your press release and then look you up on LinkedIn wanting to connect with you.  For example, as I was writing this article, I received an invitation to connect that said, “Hi Kristina, I just read your tips in Canadian Advisor’s Edge Magazine – I’d like to connect with you and learn more.”

Your Next Steps

Now that I have shown you how online press release distribution can help you with your LinkedIn marketing efforts, it’s time you take action and start writing your press releases. If you need help, check our my Instant Press Release Templates at http://www.40InstantPressReleaseTemplates.com

About the Author:

LinkedIn marketing expert Kristina Jaramillo helps small businesses and organizations get more publicity, prospects and profits using effective LinkedIn. Now, at http://www.HowtoGetMorePublicitywithLinkedIn.com, you can gain full access to her FREE 14-Day LinkedIn Publicity E-course that shows you how to create an expert LinkedIn profile the media will love, how to build relationships with the media plus sneaky ways to get more PR using LinkedIn.

If kids, soon-to-be-adults and millions of not-so-young adults are your future audience, then you need to have a Facebook Business Page as you need to be where your audience is. And, today, our children, teens, young adults and even older adults like my former room mates and my ex (who deny they are addicted to Facebook) can be found updating their profile, commenting and changing their status updates regularly.

The New York Times even wrote an article recently that showed kids are finding crafty ways to get around the increasing number of Facebook bans their schools are implementing. One eighth grader, who preferred not to be named, said he coached a school administrator on avoiding the ban last year. “She hated not being able to get on Facebook at work and asked for my help one day in the office,” the boy explained, more than a little sympathetic to her plight. “What could I do?”

It came as no surprise to me, and it’s speaking volumes of the need for small businesses, as much as they want to continue down that stream of FB Denial, to get on board and create a Facebook business page. It is time
for them to put themselves in front of this next generation of Facebook addicts.

Need more proof?

5 Reasons Why You Must Setup a Facebook Fan Page Fast!

1)  Kids, soon adults, and millions of young and not-so-young adults are your future audience and they are all there, “friending” Justin Bieber under their covers (like my daughter last night) when they should be asleep.

2)  With over 600 million users and almost 50% of them on Facebook daily…. stop…. think about it….., AND over 40% of existing businesses already up and running on it, you want your business to be where your customers and potential customers are going, right? If you knew that your customers were passing by one of the huge billboards in Times
Square every day and those billboards didn’t cost millions per month to be advertising there, you would want to be up there…wouldn’t you?

3)  Your Facebook business page is like the huge billboard in Times Square  except for the fact that it’s free. Your customers are there, their friends are there. And you can say a heck of a lot more on a FB page than you can on a billboard.

4)  The search engines love a Facebook Business Page. Because a business page is a public URL and not a private one, your site will have a much easier time making it to the top of a Google search than your website. That’s unless you’ve invested a lot of $ into SEO (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

5)  As mentioned earlier, your competition already has a Facebook business page, and not because they want to share about their favorite rice and beans recipe. The “like” button has become the new “link.” Many online marketers, myself included now believe that the Facebook “like” button is becoming just as significant as backlinks to a website. In other words, the more “likes” your page has, the greater the chance of it ranking high in the search engines for your specific field and keywords. So think of it as a link and encourage your customers to press it. Every time you update something on your page these customers will now see it as they have been “linked” to it.

There are so many good reasons to create one of these Facebook business pages I could blather on and on about them forever. For now, think about the math. The average Facebook page has 140 friends. When you post to Facebook, your “friends” and all their “friends” will view your post. Can you spell V-I-R-A-L? As insane as it might sound, there’s a reason why Shop Rite wants you to “like” them on Facebook.

About the Author:

Suzen Pettit specializes in designing, building, marketing and maintaining optimized websites and social media profiles for busy small business owners. By using her strategic internet marketing techniques you will ensure your business is being found and that clients are seeing what YOU want them to see on the internet about you. For even more free tips, tools, strategies and resources, read her free articles at: http://www.omaginarium.com/blog/

When you take control of your social media interactions on LinkedIn you will build, develop and have command over your own community.

For example, when Article Marketing Expert Eric Gruber and I created and launched our Instant LinkedIn Marketing Templates we:

1. Reached out to our LinkedIn Group members.  Eric has over 800 people in his group alone, which is a target rich environment for us to get more sales.

2. We created articles that demonstrated ways LinkedIn should be used to generate more profits for you.  We created articles that showed top mistakes people are making on their LinkedIn profiles.  At the end of all these articles we added a call to action to grab our Instant LinkedIn Marketing Templates.
3. We used a simple learn, lurk and link strategy to capture other prospects that belong to other groups.  Some of these groups have more than 25,000 members.  I cannot tell you how many times we saw an order that had “LinkedIn Group” as the answer to: “Where did you hear about us?”

Here’s My Simple Learn, Lurk & Link Strategy Explained in Detail

1. Learn – Before you can create content that your LinkedIn prospects can connect to you must uncover what challenges they are facing, the latest thinking, mistakes that are being made and what questions are being left unanswered.  The best way to achieve this is to be where your prospects are. That means you should join the LinkedIn groups your prospects belong to.  Then move onto the next step.

2. Lurk – Go to the group and view the discussions. Look what kinds of questions are being asked within the group.  See what kind of content is being created and distributed.  Check out the different debates that occurring, this way you can see other points of views.  This is one of the best ways to see the latest thinking and philosophies.  Then find out how you can add value to the conversations by revealing information that has not been said before.  Offer a new twist or insight on a popular topic.  This will make people want to listen to what you have to say and learn more about what you have to offer.

3. Link – The final step is linking to these prospects.  Invite people to connect that have commented on your articles, posts or previous comments.  Reach out to prospects by asking them questions and inviting them to join the conversation.  The point of this is to get people to like what you have to say so they will view your website, buy your products, use your services, ask for your advice and so on. When you can show that you are an expert in your field others will listen.

Now try my learn, lurk and link strategies with your LinkedIn marketing and see if you can get results like Help My Website Founder Adam Hommey who received 150 new

subscribers, four new coaching clients, $6,259 in immediate profits and two media interviews!  After receiving these results here is what Adam had to say:

“Leveraging the full power of LinkedIn® has been the secret ingredient that has taken me further during the last couple of months toward achieving “authority” status as a website conversions expert than I moved in three years PRIOR.”

Now are you ready to learn, lurk and link?

About the Author:

LinkedIn marketing Expert Kristina Jaramillo, the creator of the first LinkedIn marketing templates at http://www.InstantLinkedInMarketingTemplates.com helps business professionals network more effectively on LinkedIn so they can get more website traffic, prospects and profits. Now, with her free special report, you can uncover how you can become “the trusted source for your industry on LinkedIn” by avoiding her top 14 mistakes. Get this information for free at: http://www.GetLinkedInHelp.com

I’m a professional athlete who sometimes gets bored off the field. There’s only so much television you can watch, so that’s why I like to hop on Twitter. I especially like to do this when I’m really angry about something. But I’ve discovered I get a big backlash when I do this. I’ve blamed the Mad Twitter Hacker, but the problem is no one believes there is a Mad Twitter Hacker and they still get mad at me. I don’t get it — nobody is really reading Twitter anyway, right?

Any professional athlete, any city

Dear Any Athlete,

Ah yes, it may come as a big surprise to you, but people actually do read tweets. And (brace yourself) they also read what you post on Facebook, Linked In, your blog, etc.

I know it can sometimes feel like you’re just typing away and no one is paying any attention, but that just isn’t true. People ARE reading, even if they don’t always comment. And let’s not forget what you put out there in the Internet Universe tends to stay out there.

Ms. Social Networking Manners also suggests that when you’re angry, you may want to count to ten BEFORE you tweet or post on Facebook. That little tidbit works nicely regardless if you’re face-to-face with someone or over social networking. And it’s just good manners.

Dear Ms. Social Networking Manners,

I’m a politician who recently got caught sending naughty pictures of myself through the Twitter Direct Message. Apparently the Direct Message wasn’t private, it showed up on the public stream. I blamed the Mad Twitter Hacker, but I still ended up resigning because no one believed me. I don’t get it, Twitter DMs are supposed to be private. Should I sue Twitter for ruining my career?

A.W. New York

Dear Mr. W,

I realize it’s a sad state of affairs when you can’t trust that Twitter DMs remain private but unfortunately you get what you pay for. And what exactly have you paid for Twitter?

I rest my case.

It’s always wise to keep in mind when you’re using social networking platforms, you are playing in someone else’s sandbox. Which means their rules apply. And since your financial investment in these social networking platforms is roughly zero, you really don’t have much of a leg to stand on when things go awry.

And, it bears repeating that nothing on those social networking platforms should be considered private. Even direct messages or direct emails. If it’s not something you would mind your mother, your children, your boss, your clients, etc. seeing, you probably shouldn’t be stating it on any of those platforms.

Dear Ms. Social Networking Manners,

I work for a professional sports team and I was very upset about a trade they made. So I went on my Facebook account and posted that my sports team sucked. The next day I was fired. That wasn’t fair, was it?

Unemployed and unhappy sports fan, Pennsylvania

Dear Unemployed,

Alas, my mailbag is full of stories like yours. From the “Fatty Cisco Paycheck” debacle to the consultant who dissed the headquarters of his client’s hometown, there seems to be no end to people who post seemingly innocuous Tweets and Facebook updates only to be fired or forced to resign.

As stated above, if you’re not comfortable with the world reading whatever you posted, then you probably shouldn’t post it. And if you ARE caught, then all you need to do is blame the Mad Twitter Hacker.