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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
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I received an email yesterday advising me that a profile had been set up for me by xx xx and that this was my invitation to join their network.

I was immediately turned off. First of all, I didn’t even know the guy who had set up this ‘profile’ for me - how dare he do that? No previous contact, no introduction and his name is not familiar to me. Second, the address the invitation had been sent to indicates which network this guy supposedly knows me from but when I check my connection list he is nowhere to be found. He has just proven himself not to be trustworthy.

I contacted the people at Mash and asked them to remove the profile - as yet no response and it’s well over 24 hours ago. I’ve had to do it myself after I spent some (wasted) time exploring.

I think just this one thing has proven to me that Mash is not a network I want to participate in. And if the responses from my colleagues in a business network are anything to go by, neither will they.

Interesting, when you search Yahoo’s Terms of Service it actually states that you can make your page modifiable by others in Mash. What the? And so doesn’t the ‘owner’ get any say in the first place as to whether they want a profile? I think they’ll have problems with this - it’s an open door to trouble. What do you think?

Tags: Networking, Social Networks by Kathie Thomas
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As my profile at LinkedIn grows and I remain active on the forums and the Q&A section, I receive constant invitations to other social and business networks. I often wonder what the thinking is behind this? Perhaps it’s because I am seen to be so active.

I’ve elected to make LinkedIn my preferred business networking tool and I am aware there are heaps out there. But how do you choose and where do you draw the line? There are a number of things you need to weigh up:

1. How long has the network been around?
2. Are there people you know and trust already connected?
3. What have you read about the network - has the information been worthwhile?
4. How much time will you need to spend on a daily or weekly basis to make the network work for you?
5. How much time can you afford if you join more than one network?
6. What is the benefit of joining more than one network if you’re just going to keep inviting your existing contacts to each network? Or, are you separating the groups and by what process?

For me I have a business network and I do belong to a social network reserved for friends and family - a small number of people will be in both but I make sure I don’t blur the lines and keep business for business and social for social.

It stuns me though that when I accept an invitation from someone I don’t know personally at LinkedIn that often I will then get a number of invitations from the same person for several other networks. I don’t get that. I do say on my profile I’m not accepting invitations from other networks but perhaps they didn’t get that far in my profile (assuming they have looked at it or read it). And the other day I received an invitation for a brand new network from someone who isn’t directly connected to me at LinkedIn but is a second level connection. I didn’t know why they were but because they sent it to my linkedin email address I knew where it had come and was able to look them up. But I don’t understand why they haven’t sent a linkedin invite? I’m still waiting…

business networks, social networks, LinkedIn, connections

Tags: LinkedIn, Networking, Social Networks by Kathie Thomas
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Apologies for my absence over the past 6 or so weeks - with a trip to Japan, a book being published and launched and other events, life has indeed been busy, but I’m back in my chair and at the computer for the most part, so you should be hearing from me more often now.

Readers will know I’m an active member of LinkedIn, an online business network. I’ve had fun exploring how it all works and have made many new contacts and some friends in the process. However I am becoming aware of the growth of networks online and that many of them aren’t run in the same way - they are less formal and more social.

I recently posted this question at LinkedIn and have received a lot of varied and interesting answers and I thought I’d post it here too, so that you, the reader, also get the opportunity to have your say.

I have always thought of LinkedIn as a business networking medium but more and more I hear people mention LinkedIn when they are talking about social networks.

To me there is a difference - social is (in my way of thinking) for spending time with friends or making new friends, discussing personal interests (hobbies, etc) and so on, where I think of business networking as the opportunity to get to know other business people, look at possible business opportunities and build up your business profile so that people think of you first, when seeking your particular service or product. Or seek you out when looking to fill a vacant position. That’s not to say you can’t develop friends in a business network - I certainly have, but I still see business and social as two distinct and different things. It seems to me there has been a blurring of the two for some time now in some circles.

So, what I’m saying is that I see ’social’ as being informal, personal, discussing things that you wouldn’t ordinarily discuss with someone you are working with or doing business with, whereas I see ‘business’ as being formal, discussing things of a business nature, rather than a personal nature, less likely to ’socialise’ with these people outside of business events or business hours, and so on.

I looked up Dictionary.com just to see what it had to say and here are some interesting definitions for you:

Business:
an occupation, profession, or trade: His business is poultry farming; the purchase and sale of goods in an attempt to make a profit; a person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a service; profit-seeking enterprise or concern.

Social:
pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations: a social club; seeking or enjoying the companionship of others; friendly; sociable; gregarious

And here’s an interesting one under social which kind of backs up my way of thinking:

involved in many social activities: We’re so busy working, we have to be a little less social now.

So, what say you?

business networks, social networks, Facebook, LinkedIn

Tags: LinkedIn, Networking, Social Networks by Kathie Thomas
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