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Over the past 12 months I’ve written about the use of various tools for networking.  I did a series on LinkedIn and also on Yahoogroups.  And now I want to do one on Facebook.

As time passes I find that my own thoughts on which are worthwhile tools for business to use online changes considerably - perhaps because the tools themselves change and evolve and become more popular amongst the very networks that I spend time with.  At any rate, I finally succumbed to joining Facebook several months ago and used it only for personal contacts - family, friends, people from my church.  But then one of my clients told me about Mari Smith and the use of Facebook to develop Fan Clubs and promote your business and so, in doing the research for her, I ended up creating a new Facebook profile for my business contacts.

So, I plan to share with you my tips on setting up a Facebook profile for your business.

First - there is a difference between a regular Facebook profile and having a Facebook Page.  My business one here is a Facebook Page and if you scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on Advertising you’ll actually find on the right-hand column that you can set up a page.  But you’ll note the address is still a bit cumbersome and too long to give out to people, so what I did was purchased a domain and then forwarded it to the Facebook page address.

So why not go experimenting to see what you can do and I’ll give you more hints and tips soon about setting up Facebook for your business?  Once you do I’d love to be given your address so I can become a fan of your Facebook page.

Facebook page, Facebook profile, domain registration, social networking

Tags: Facebook, Networking, Social Networks by Kathie Thomas
1 Comment »

I get a lot of people asking how to blog and what they need to do to get visitors, etc but when they get started all they do is just write a few posts and nothing else.  Some write more regularly than others but they do little else.

Some of the suggestions I give are:

1.  Don’t write posts that are too long; you could do a series of posts on the one topic instead.

2.  Ask questions so that readers are prompted to leave answers.

3.  Visit other people’s blogs and leave comments on them - often they will come back and visit yours and leave comments and so will some of their own visitors.

4.  Consider running a competition now and then - established bloggers do this to encourage subscribers or comments.  It might be a while before you can do this but keep it as a thought.

5. Subscribe to other blogs that might help you with hints and tips in blogging.  In fact, whenever they write something you find useful, it is good to leave a comment and always leave your blog address - these blogs get lots of visitors so it might draw some more traffic for your own: http://www.chrisg.com/, http://www.chrisbrogan.com/, http://www.problogger.net/, http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

6. Join bloggers’ forums where you can learn from others also.  http://www.aussiebloggers.com.au/forum/, http://forum.authorityblogger.com/ are two I recommend. Some well known bloggers at both groups - one is an Aussie group, the other has leaders from the UK.

7. Search for blogs on similar topics and add them to your blogroll in the hope they will add you to theirs. They will see the incoming links in their dashboard. Leave comments when appropriate.

If you are writing a blog simply to write, then that’s fine, but if you really want to grow your readership then you need to be networking online too. People won’t know your blog exists unless they’re specifically looking for your topic or if they meet you via a comment, blogroll link, a forum of some sort or perhaps through other websites, article directories, and so on.  And if your goal is to earn some income by attracting advertisers or clicks on advertising, then building sufficient traffic for that to happen is imperative.

Networking online is a very worthwhile way of making connections for anyone who is doing anything online.

And don’t forget my free ebook offer ‘Blogging Basics‘ by learning from my own blogging experiences.

You might have more suggestions to help new bloggers and why not share them here?

blogging basics, networking online, how to blog, increase traffic

Tags: About Blogging, Networking by Kathie Thomas
11 Comments »

As most readers know, I’m an active member of LinkedIn.com and have made many connections there and lots of friends - old and new.

I recently received yet another invitation to connect from someone I don’t know and who obviously hasn’t read my profile.  It amazes me that people won’t look to find out a bit about the person they’re sending an invitation too, and in most cases, the invitation is one of those generic, unedited invitations that blatantly show the sender is more into collecting numbers rather than true connections.  Although, in some cases, particularly when I see their network is less than 20, it can indicate they’re brand new and are still learning, in which case I often give them some pointers and suggest they come to this blog to read the LinkedIn category for tips.

The latest inviter responded to my question of why he wanted to connect with:

Networking is getting connected with people whom you don’t already know which is the point of linkedin. Whats the point of networking with people you already know…

I asked him if he had read the rules? LinkedIn actually tells people they should only be connecting with people they know personally and besides, networking is all about relationships - it’s not about numbers, it never has been.

It did make me wonder who he had been listening to though, before he sent a blanket invitation to someone he doesn’t know.  And without even reading my profile (which might have saved him some trouble if he had read it).  There is a school of thought to connect first and get to know later, and then there are others like me, who like to be wooed just a bit, simply by letting me know they’d read my profile, or had seen me somewhere and was interested in knowing more about what I do and could we connect?  And in that invitation they should also tell me something of themselves.

The majority of people I’ve connected with have been those I’ve gotten to know through LinkedIn discussion forums, or via Answers, when they have seen my response to something, or I have seen their’s.  Perhaps they answered a question I asked and they helped me. Perhaps we were involved in something else together.  Or perhaps someone they know also knows me and have forwarded an introduction.

If people are more interested in growing numbers rather than growing relationships, you have to wonder why they’re in the networking game in the first place.  I mean, how does it benefit them?

I’d much rather a smaller number of true connections, people I’ve gotten to know, rather than a large number of people I know nothing about and most likely never will.  How about you?

Tags: LinkedIn, Networking by Kathie Thomas
5 Comments »

I had a meeting with a business acquaintance at the Melbourne Airport this morning.  This man originally made contact with me December 2005 on an off chance that my Virtual Assistant team in Australia might be able to assist his business in the UK.  At that time I was only a few weeks away from travelling to the UK for the first time and I asked him where he was. The answer was London and when I told him I was flying in there the following February (2006) he offered to come with his wife and meet my husband and me and take us to lunch.

That started an email business relationship that is slowly growing over time. We have connected via LinkedIn, post about each other periodically on blogs (and here I am, doing it again) and the business we discussed this morning means we’ll be working more closely together very soon.  What he has been developing since we first met has some exciting promises for my industry and for small business people in general.

You hear often about the ‘hunters and gatherers’ who collect email contacts or business cards at networking events, but then there are the ‘farmers’ too, who sow seeds, nurture, water and feed, and over time grow a harvest that is later ready for reaping.

There is value in building relationships and spending time waiting for the right time. True, you might be able to turn around some quick business bucks by grabbing cards and making follow up contact, but often it’s not till people really get an understanding of who you are and an appreciation for your experience and knowledge that longer-term benefits begin to show.  So it’s important to maintain contact without making a nuisance of yourself - no hard sells, but regular contact through newsletters, occasional emails and catching up with each other whenever someone is in town.  You never know what’s going on in the lives of others and maintaining contact, even if casual, can often reap a harvest at the most unexpected times.

Tags: Networking by Kathie Thomas
2 Comments »

Wish I’d thought of this post! At Aussie Bloggers an excellent post called “It’s Just Like A Party” has been written by Jeanie about participating in forums and it’s real commonsense stuff. And yet I see so many breaking the often ‘unwritten’ rules of etiquette when it comes to forum participation.

I love being involved in forums - a great way to network with others in a casual way and really get to know people. Perhaps further down the track you might do business with them or socialise with them face to face, who knows where it will lead, but it’s important to start off on the right foot first.  Otherwise you could end up being branded a spammer or troublemaker when it’s possible you’re just being enthusiastic and didn’t think. Especially if you operate a business - all business owners want to let others know what they do and where to find them, but it’s best to play down that enthusiasm and get to know the lay of the land first before linking right, left and centre and being accused of spamming a forum.

Why not read through this list and think on it when you’re next in a forum? It might just help you to have a lot more fun!

Tags: Having Fun, Networking by Kathie Thomas
2 Comments »