Imagine Your Reality

Biznik, Facebook, and Linkedin have a features called Groups. Linkedin and Biznik also have a Q and A forum. These features are very useful for becoming more visible in your social media communities and even leading to business, but there is one thing you need to do: participate.

Participation doesn’t have to take up a lot of time, provided you are focused about it. I usually will check out the Q and A forums first and skim a couple pages of them and see if there are questions I want to answer. I usually at least answer two questions. I do this every couple of days for the different sites I visit, which usually suffices for keeping me visible and engaged with the people I’m having an online discussion with.

I also check up on groups every couple days, unless I’m posting something to the group, at which point I’ll check when I post my discussion and determine if I want to contribute a comment to a discussion on the group. Again, I’m doing this to say visible and engaged in the group.

Can this activity lead to business? Sometimes it can. As people get to know you and also as they read what you’ve written, it can provide an opportunity for you to make online connections that can turn into offline conversations. Again, it’s ultimately up to you to follow-up with people you interact with online, but I’ve found that by choosing to follow-up with people has opened up opportunities I would otherwise miss out on. And participating in forums and groups has connected me to those people, so I think its worth investing a bit of time into the online groups and forums you join.

What about you? what has your experience with Q and A forums and groups been like and how has it helped your business?

Twice a year I get on Linkedin and Biznik and spend part of a day writing recommendations and compliments to people I’ve done business with. It’s my way of thanking people that have helped me in the last half year and its my hope that if someone sees my recommendation on their profile, it will help that person choose the person I recommended.

Some social media consultants argue that if you have lots of recommendations on your linkedin profile people may actually not believe all those recommendations, but to my way of thinking, if someone actually does write a recommendation I want to show that recommendation so that people who visit my profile can see what someone had to say. I don’t think that lots of recommendations discredit someone, so much as show the real value of that person’s services.

I don’t ask for recommendations. If someone wants to give me one, I think its better to do so because they feel I’ve earned their recommendation. But I do notice that after I write recommendations, I usually get a few back. Why? Because those people are reminded of me with the recommendation and they start thinking about me and how I helped them.

You don’t have to use recommendations and maybe you won’t, but there’s nothing wrong with getting a recommendation on a site or displaying it. Let people who visit your profile see who you are and what you’ve done. That’s what a profile should show them and recommendations are part of that.

The latest episode of Social Media Coach Radio is up.

I was a guest blogger on Search Engine Optimization Portland in a post about how to use video effectively on your website.

My latest article on Biznik focuses on how to take your social networking to the next level.

Upcoming Classes

Social Networking for Business 101

If you want to leverage your social networking profiles on Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook, and other social networking sites to market your business, this message is for YOU:

Join us on Monday October 26th, 2009 at 1pm for a special 4 hour class on how to set-up and optimize your social networking profiles, where you will learn the following:

• How to claim your personalized url for Linkedin and Facebook, and why it’s important to do it.
• How to optimize your social networking profiles for search results and as a way to market your business.
• How to connect your social networks to each other.
• The key to developing effective connections on different social networking sites.

• Organize your thoughts, pick a key message
• Use current events to keep your status updates relevant.
• Write DREAMY, attention-grabbing copy

Social Networking for Business: One half day delivers killer writing and optimized social networking profiles!

Register here

Seating is limited register early.

Eight Steps to a Successful Social Media Marketing Plan

This is a 12 Week Webinar for Business Owners who are great at what they do, but feel overwhelmed when it comes to Social Media Marketing

If you’re like most business owners you’re frustrated by social media technology and having to fit it into your already busy schedule. Additionally having to learn how to market yourself on social media can be intimidating because it also involves learning the correct social media etiquette as well as the tools.

You feel discouraged because you know social media is becoming more important for marketing a business but don’t how to use the technology or you do know how to use it, but wonder why no one ever responds to your posts.

We meet twelve times over four months and will go through the 8 steps to a success social media marketing plan. You’ll work on setting up your social media presence and gradually develop a successful social media marketing plan.

You’ll be part of a powerful group of entrepreneurs who own businesses, just like you, who want to get unstuck with social media. You’ll learn the technology AND the marketing together.

The sessions will be a very focused combination of teaching, sharing, feedback, and support.

At the end, everyone will have a completed social media marketing plan and presence to take into 2010!

To register, please go here.

My latest Biznik article acknowledges the need to look to the past to sometimes chart your future. This is true in personal life, and especially true for the life of your business.

The latest radio show can be found here. Tonight I talked with Gene Hamilton and Becky Tengwall of I Take the Lead about Networking and how it works and what I take the Lead is.

In my last newsletter, I talked about leadership. In this newsletter, the focus is on networking, both in person and online networking. Networking is a valuable skill which can help you grow your business and offer referrals to other people. Additionally it helps you find people when you need their services. Networking of any type only works if you do two things with it:

1. Do it consistently. People who only show up occasionally at networking meetings aren’t generally considered invested in the community they are approaching. And networking is about building community as much as it’s about doing business. People do business with the people they know, who will also take care of them.  This is also true, to a lesser extent with online forums. To stay on top and be noticed in online forums, you’ve got to be willing to invest time into those forums.

2. Build Relationships. Make time to get to know the people you network with. This involves more than just learning how someone’s business works. It can sometimes involve learning about a person’s family, hobbies, and other interests. The relationships you build can really improve how you do business because people who know you will care about you and be willing to work with you.

Networking also works when you find people who offer similar services to you, but don’t do quite the same thing and consequently may need to refer people your way. These people act as power referrals to you. They help you grow your business and can usually direct many leads your way because the services offered complement each other.

Networking is an excellent tool for a business person. It also helps you build relationships that can last a life time, while also providing you an opportunity to share what your business does and how it can help people.

**********

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for the following:

Improving communication skills

my clients

my networking groups

I consciously Commit to:

providing my clients the best service possible

What are you thankful for? What are you willing to Commit to?

***********

Upcoming Classes

In early January, I will be offering two upcoming classes:

How to Market and Publish Your Book

How to Build Your Business in 9 easy steps

Details for each class can be found on the workshops page.

Taylor Ellwood
I help writers get published and small businesses attract great clients
Imagine Your Reality