Posts Tagged ‘facebook’

I had to share something that happened on Facebook today.

Here goes…I would love for you to give me your take on this so feel free to comment.

Early this morning I received an email from someone I didn’t know.  The email went something like this.

“Are you in the habit of befriending married men? Joe (not his real name)  is my husband so remove him from your list!!!!

Here is my response:

I run a business and “friend” anyone who requests a connection. I have a huge data base and it makes no difference to me if someone is married or not as I use Facebook for business purposes.

I’m sorry that his friend request to me has upset you but if you are uncomfortable with it you really should be discussing this with your husband and not me.

Wow…I couldn’t believe that she thought is was ok to address this issue with me,  a complete stranger rather than confronting her husband about the issues.

I kinda felt bullied by this women.  Almost as if she would come and beat me up if she knew where I lived and didn’t remover her husband from my friend list!

Navigating social media can be tricky especially when you use it for business and are in the habit of  “friending” everyone.

Hope this bully leaves me alone and any other women her husband has friended recently.

Have you ever been bullied on Facebook?  Got any other humorous stories you would like to share?  I would love to read them.

Often times when I am working with a client or answering question at a presentation the topic of online networking comes up.  In effort to answer some of the most common questions about which online networking sites to participate in, and to help you figure out how to use online social networking most effectively read on.

1. Facebook

Ok I can hear what you are saying already.  Facebook?  Do I have too?  Well if you are in business and you are trying to get connected online the answer is yes!  Here are some statistics to help encourage you to get a Facebook account:  there are over 200 million active users on Facebook;  more than 50% are over 35; and Facebook users have more degrees and their median income is above average.  Some of the best features to use if you are trying to attract clients and build your brand is the fan page.  It acts similarly to your personal profile page and therefore allows for the highest degree of interaction.  To see what a fan page looks like and how to use it effectively visit: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/Maureen.Campaiola.DAREToBePhenomenal?ref=ts

2. Twitter

Twitter is a micro blogging platform that allows you to post mini updates to your network of followers.  You are only allowed 140 characters per post and that includes any links. I have been using twitter for over a year and I must admit that it takes some getting used to. At first you may think, as I did, what’s the point? But just like any networking method, twitter takes time to build relationships with the people that you connect with; so don’t expect instant results.

3. You Tube

I am just getting started with using video, but right away I saw the awesome power of using video to build my brand and my business. You get to connect with your customers and potential customers in a more intimate and personal way. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but video is even more potent because they get to see and hear the real you.

4. Friend Feed

Friend Feed is a site is similar to twitter but instead of giving people updates about “what you are doing” it aggregates all of your online activity. This tool gives you a more in depth view about the people in your network and what they are up to. You are able to link up all of your “social media accounts” together at the site; this is set it and forget it technology.  Useful for all of us that are super busy and don’t want to go to several sites to update information.

5. Your Blog

Don’t have a blog?  Not every business needs a blog, but quite honestly I don’t know too many who can’t benefit from one.  If you are a Real Estate Professional you can write a blog on a variety of topics like the 8K tax credit or information for first time home buyers.  If you own a house cleaning company you can posts tips on keeping your home clean.  You see how it can be utilized in ways that you may never have thought of?

6.  LinkedIn

When I think of LinkedIn I think of it as Facebook for professionals.  It acts like an online resume with information about where you went to school and the jobs and positions that you have held.  If you blog you can even connect you blog posts directly to your  LinkedIn account.   You build your contact base much in the same way you build it on other sites but it also allows you to ask and give recommendations and to see the contact sphere of your connections.  If you are looking for a contact the search tool helps you hone in on who you are looking for.  LinkedIn is a must for professionals!

These are just a few of the many online networking tools you can use to gain exposure and build connections.  Try them all or just a few and see if helps you achieve the results you are looking for.

Many of us are deeply entrenched in the viral networking world these days.  We are connected on Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn and Plaxo.  There are so many sites available to us that often times we forget that there is one very handy networking tool at our disposal that is very effective; the business card.

As many of you know I am the founder of DARE To Be Phenomenal Success Minded Women’s Business Network.  These events are designed to connect savvy business women with others who are looking to engage in business building and joint ventures.  Since the group is so large and you are sure to meet someone new at each event, it amazes me when I hear someone say they “forgot” their business card or worse yet that they don’t have a business card!  This is one of the most cost effective ways to market yourself and your business.  Rule # 1:  If you don’t have a business card get one; they are not obsolete.  And make sure you take them with you everywhere you go!

Ok, so you have your business card and made sure that you took them with you when you left your home or office; now what?  I remember when I first started out in business and got my first set of business cards.  I handed them out to everyone; and I’m not kidding even the waitress at the local coffee shop!  But as I got more sophisticated with my networking and business skill set I learned that everyone doesn’t need my business card and that it should only be given to those who ask for it.  Rule # 2:  Never, never force your business card on someone; ask them for their card first.  Most people will reciprocate and ask you for yours.  Even if they don’t, remember you have their contact information anyway.

When working with my clients I am often asked “How can I make my business card stand out from all the rest?”  Great question isn’t it?  There is a ton of debate on what to put on your card but obviously the basic information should be included.  A lot of business owners are moving away from including their addresses since so much is being done virtually, but if you have a business that people need to find by all means continue to include it.  I am in the process of redoing my card and plan on including my URL’s for my Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.  If Facebook and Twitter are not something you use for your business that is fine to exclude them.  But, all professional business people should have a profile on LinkedIn and that SHOULD be included on your business card.  Rule # 3:  Thinks outside the box and include URL’s to other sites where people can connect with you.  If you don’t have a LinkedIn account get one!

The next tip continues to address the question “How can I make my business card stand out from all the rest?”  Most business owners never use the back of the business card.  Using the back is a great way to add additional and thought provoking information about you and your business.  The back of my card is a call to action for people to visit my web site.  Parts of my updates include changing the back of the card to ask people to go to my web site to sign up for my FREE report.  This change is subtle but important in that I am asking them to do something very specific.  Rule #4:  The back of your business card is “valuable real estate”.  Use it effectively with a call to action to visit your website, sign up for your free report or other action related to your business.

When I had my business cards made the last time I made the mistake of having them printed on glossy card stock.  Although they looked great and are extremely eye catching they are literally impossible to write on.  And that my friends is NOT good!  Lesson learned for me.  Don’t make this mistake.  Have cards printed on high quality, non-glossy card stock to make note taking easier.  Rule #5:  Print cards on high quality flat card stock for easy note taking.

Business cards are one of your best marketing tools available in your marketing tool box. But you must remember to use them to have the greatest impact!  Just like everything else you do to promote your business they will help you to spread the word about you and your business.

Everywhere you go you hear people talking about the recession, job losses and the rising unemployment rate.  Some of my friends have been laid off, some of them are trying to figure out creative ways to draw more revenue into their business and sadly some are giving up.

As more and more people are experience these hardships there are a group of people who are not just doing well but are thriving…finding the right job, increasing sales and finding innovative solutions to their business challenges.

Wondering who these people are? They are the people who are highly connected to their network! They are the people who understood way before the recession hit the importance of establishing, building and cultivating quality relationships.  They have their insurance policy and it’s in the form of their network!

Sadly, most people I know, despite the fact that they go to countless networking events and belong to a ton of organizations were just not prepared for these economic conditions and where caught with their panties (or pants) down.  So instead of sitting, wishing  and waiting for the economy to do a 180, do these five things right now so that you can turn your business around, get a new job or find the opportunities that are waiting for you.

1. Call Everyone You Know

Get on the phone and start calling your network and ask them how  you can help them.  I am a strong believer that giving always comes back to you ten fold but you must put yourself in the giving position first to end up being the receiver in the end.  Plus, it just feels great to be of service to someone else.

I know you know plenty of people that may be going through something similar and would love it if someone reached out to them to lend a hand or help them make a contact.  In the end, this gesture will be remembered and will open opportunities up for you down the road.

2. Strengthen Your On Line Presence

It never ceases to amaze me how many business owners are not taking advantage of the online sites that can help them increase their visibility and exposure.  As a business coach I teach my clients the on line sites that best suit their business and objectives so that they can be more visible and attract the types of joint venture opportunities that could catapult them to success.

I have met some wonderful people through Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and as a result are currently working on two lucrative projects.  Find a way to increase your presence on line and look for creative ways that you can leverage your time and talents to increase sales and get the clients you are looking for.

3. Get Out There

I hate to tell you but you must put yourself out there and make new connections all the time.  Business is not going to fall from the sky into your lap just because you are wishing and praying for more business.

How many networking events do you attend weekly?  On average I attend at least 2 events each week and often times many more.  Get out there and pound the pavement! Meet new people and find opportunities to work together.  I challenge you today to find a networking opportunity in your area and go to it!  Stop wishing and hoping for new business and make the connections you need to grow your business.

4. Make New Connections

Is there someone you would really like to be introduced to?  Do you have a strategy of how you are going to meet this person?  If the answer to the questions are “yes” and “no”, listen up.

Sit down and make a list of the people you would like to meet.  Are you on LinkedIn?  If not, get on it NOW.  This is one of the most useful online tools for getting introduced to people.  But the good old fashioned way of picking up the phone and asking for an introduction is just as fabulous.  Who are you going to ask for help in making the introduction?

No matter how you get introduced, whether you do it on your own or ask assistance from a business associate make sure that you are warm, friendly and personal as you reach out to this new person.

5. Relax and Enjoy

These are stressful times and we don’t need more stress in our lives.  Go out and have fun.  One of the things I enjoy seeing is how much fun the women have who attend my monthly networking events. They are making friends, building new relationships and forging ahead working together to make their businesses stronger.  So don’t be afraid to have fun in the process.

Your network can be vast, strong and powerful if expanded and cultivated appropriately.  Never take your network for granted and do everything you can to strengthen your existing relationships and to build new ones.  In the end your will have the best insurance policy money can’t buy.

When you are on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter as well as the countless other sites that are available for social media marketing do you know the unspoken rules of etiquette?  Do you understand what NOT to do?  Do you realize the mistakes that most newbie’s make?  Every day I see people breaking the rules of on line social networking.  So this article is devoted to making sure you don’t make these dreadful and sometimes costly mistakes when you are trying to grow your business on the world wide web.

1. Spending Way Too Much Money or Way Too Little

You know the old saying “You need to spend money to make money”. Well this is true, but you need to spend your money wisely.  Nothing is different just because you are marketing on the web.  You need to develop a solid marketing plan and corresponding budget that fits into the overall goals that you are trying to achieve.  NEVER and I do mean never buy leads…but also realize that you need to make some investment if you want to see results.

2. Insisting On Doing It Alone

The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who’ve worked with a coach, mentor or joined a education and support group like a mastermind.  Unfortunately, many new entrepreneurs and business people make the mistake in believing they can do it alone.  Don’t make the same mistake!  Hire a coach, join a mastermind, or work with a mentor who can make your journey towards success smoother and faster.  These people and resources can shorten your learning curve and have you making money faster than going it along.  Not sure what option is the best for you and your business?  Contact me at maureen@daretobephenomenal.com and I will help you sort it out.

3. Thinking Like An Employee Instead of An Entrepreneur

Most of us worked for someone else at one point in our careers.  And because most of us came from that place we sometimes forget that we are not employees anymore but rather masters of our own destiny.  We are the decision makers, the movers and shakers.  We don’t have to answer to anyone…we make the rules!  But with that comes the responsibility to make it happen.  Set your goals, prioritize your work, get serious and self-disciplined and know that success won’t happen overnight but with consistent effort success will be achieved.

4. Posting Without Permission

The other day I opened my Facebook profile and to my horror someone had posted the link to their website on my profile page and never once asked me if it was ok.  It wasn’t and I immediately deleted it.  This is social networking spamming and if you engage in this type of behavior its business suicide.  Your profile is for posting great stuff about your business…my profile is for posting great stuff about my business.  Now that doesn’t mean that you can’t ask people to help spread the word about a new product or service that you are providing.  But you must ask permission first.  Failure to do so is just plain rude.

5. Not Being Yourself

There is nothing worse than when you can feel how inauthentic and disingenuous someone is being.  People can sense when you are only concerned about yourself and how much money you stand to earn.  It is a real turnoff!  Be authentic and genuine as you network with people on line.  Find out how you might be able to help them.  Remember what Ivan Misner, CEO of BNI taught, that “Givers Gain”.

6. Not Making About The Value

No one cares what you do.  Really they don’t.  What people care about is the value of your product or service and how it can improve their business or life.  But often times I read on Facebook about some ‘amazing new opportunity’ and I think…ugh…when will they ever learn?  Real value is about sharing your knowledge, tips, strategies, great content or anything that will actually be of benefit to someone else.  The person who provided the most VALUE will be the front runner…plain and simple.

7. Make Your Personal Growth Your Number One Priority

In order to be successful you must make your personal growth a priority.  Successful people are not afraid to seek out situations and experiences that challenge them beyond their comfort zone.  Being successful as an entrepreneur, which means by the way making great money doing what you love, requires that you frequently fall outside of your comfort zone.  In fact, frequently feeling uncomfortable means that you are stretching and growing!  Being successful means that you don’t shy away from these opportunities to grow but rather you embrace them. In the end, you will be successful and will have grown tremendously in the process.

By following these 7 tips you can be more successful with both your online and off line marketing.  In the end remember to be yourself, embrace the challenges and be persistent in your efforts.

I love social media.  I use all the tools I can to grow my following and my business.  But in this day and age you need to be careful and protect yourself from unscrupulous people on the web who want to hijack your account.  So what is a savvy and phenomenal business woman to do to protect herself from trojans, phishers, hackers and imposters floating around Facebook ?  Read my tips to learn more.

Watch For Suspicious Activity

Are you seeing suspicious activity in your News Feed, or on your wall or better yet in your inbox?  If so, delete it.  Delete posts from your wall and from newsfeeds that you find iffy.  If you get an email with a suspicious link delete it.   And, whatever you do, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK!  If you make the mistake and click on it you pretty much have handed over your account to someone else.   Remember that hijackers are coy and deceiving so it may appear that it is legitimate even when it is not.

Remove Friends As Appropriate

Remove friends who post suspicious links to your wall or that are contained in emails.  I know I can hear some of you saying, “But they are my friends”.    Still delete them because the person who is sending you the link is more than likely NOT your friend but the person who has hijacked your friends account.  Be safe and remove friends when needed.  Once your friend has regained control over their account you can always add them to your friend list .

Turn off Facebook Chat Feature

Personally, I hate chatting.   I find it a huge waste of time.  Send me an email or better yet pick up the phone or Skype me.   Never mind what a huge distraction it can be when you are trying to post an event, update your profile or post information for your followers.  But the real reason I mention this is because you don’t ever want to be chatting with someone you don’t know.  Hopefully, you know all of your Facebook friends, but I know that some of us “friend” people that we don’t necessarily know because we are trying to grow our list and build a following.  So, just play it safe and turn it off!

Hide your year of birth

Don’t show your year of birth. This may or may not make a difference. I’m not one to be shy about my age or how old I am… however, I heard from an identity theft expert that not disclosing your year of birth is just another way of protecting yourself from identity theft.

Keep Private Information Private

Just because you are using social media doesn’t mean everyone needs to know everything about you.  The line between personal and professional is definitely blurred.  So decide what you want to share on Facebook, twitter and the like and think carefully before you share something.

By following this simple tips you can ensure that your Facebook account is safe and that you are being smart and protecting your account.

When you meet a new prospect or potential client at a networking event or other business affair do you remember to follow up? When was the last time you met a business colleague for coffee or lunch?

If you can’t remember the last time you did either then you need to start putting follow up activities on your to-do-list!  Busy professionals fail at this step consistently and regularly.  But if you are interested in growing your business you  need to ensure you do the following:

1.  After meeting a new contact send an email, card or letter telling them how much you enjoyed meeting them. Nothing helps to keep you in the front of someone’s mind than a personal note.

2.  Try to schedule lunch or coffee with a new business contact on a regular basis. This allows for you to get to know the other person more intimately and allows you the opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise.

3.  Remember to be of service to the people you  meet. If you meet people who can do business with one another extend the invitation to connect.  LinkedIn and Facebook are great tools to help you accomplish the introduction.

Remember,  consistent follow up and  you and your brand remain front of mind.

Are you afraid of Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook? Are you desperately trying to forget that these social media sites even exist?  Does the thought of having to use them send shivers up your spine?  Do you think that you’ll have to devote countless hours to “staying connected?”

Well I understand how you feel; I used to feel the same way.  But what I have come to realize is that social media is not as time consuming as you might think.  A few simple tips can help you manage all you social media tasks and bring you and your business a ton of recognition and new contacts.

Follow these tips to make it easier for YOU:

1.   Don’t put yourself on every possible social networking site.  It’s too much all at once.  Instead pick one or two to start with and build up from there. Master each site first before you add more.  Hopefully, you have set up a plan for your activities; now evaluate the ROI.  If you are not getting a big enough ROI reevaluate your activities.

2.  Use applications that streamline social media tasks. Use Google applications to help keep productivity high and applications like Tweet Deck to keep tweets organized and streamlined. Read blogs and websites in RSS Reader.  If you are not using RSS Reader reconsider using it; it will make reading feeds more manageable.

3.  Use effective time management strategies to keep it manageable. Set a consistent schedule for when you engage in social media activities.  Use a timer to keep you to the schedule you set for yourself and keep you on track.   And don’t live on your blog, email, facebook or twitter accounts!  Check in once or twice a day.

By following these three basic steps you can gain control and mastery over social media and formulate a strategy that will help give you the expsoure you are looking for.  When all else fails give over your social media tasks to a qualified Virtual Assistant or Social Media Expert. It may be well worth the time and investment so that you can focus on even more important aspects of growing your business.

Starting on Saturday, June 13, Facebook started allowing us to create our own unique profile name. Now we can provide a link to potential followers using our real names instead of an ID number.

I don’t have a very common name so I was able to scoop mine up without a problem.  But for those of you who have a common first name and last name, be sure to create your user name right away because it may already be taken.

You can click here to set up your new profile name:

http://www.facebook.com/username/

If you are not already on my list on Facebook, you can find me here:

http://www.facebook.com/MaureenCampaiola