It’s time for another social media teleclass!

How to use LinkedIn to Bring in More Business / Connect with Potential Clients

Date: August 25
Time: 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST
Cost: $20 (register by August 18) or $30 (register August 19 or later)
Register here

If you’re not using LinkedIn yet, you’re missing out! I’ve been active on LinkedIn for quite a while and have made many great contacts – pet sitters as well as people in other businesses. Some have turned into clients, while others are people who I share a common interest with – and sometimes we’re able to help each other in one way or another.

LinkedIn is a place to find like-minded professionals, businesses, and opportunity. It’s a place where you can be found as well. Boasting more than 40 million users, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. It literally puts networking at your fingertips, so that you can connect with trusted colleagues throughout the world. And, because of the unique tools offered by LinkedIn you’re able to streamline your search process when looking for business leads, potential clients, or collaborators.

Here’s what I’ll be talking about:

• How you can use LinkedIn to grow your business
• Tips on how to use LinkedIn to drive traffic to your website
• Why you and your business need to be on LinkedIn
• How to establish yourself as an expert in your chosen area
• How to create a powerful LinkedIn bio that will attract attention
• What to include in your headline, summary, and job descriptions
• How to effectively use the advanced features of LinkedIn
• What recommendations are, how to ask for one, and who to recommend
• Why discussion groups are so important
• SPECIAL BONUS: LinkedIn Tips and Tools list to get you started after the class

Whether you’re interested in finding employees, getting the word out about your business, or simply enlarging your own personal network, LinkedIn is a powerful tool you can’t afford to ignore.

Kristin Morrison, from Six Figure Pet Sitting Academy is hosting the class. Learn more about the class and register here.

Whether you’re in the pet care business or some other business, you’re welcome to join in. This class is for anyone who wants to learn more about LinkedIn – regardless of your occupation.

Technorati Tags: LinkedIn teleclass, pet sitters, social media, social networking

Lately I’ve been getting a number of requests from people on LinkedIn wanting me to recommend them. I’m happy to do them for the people I know, but there are others that I simply don’t know well enough. From the little I know about these people, they’re all very nice people but I just haven’t interacted with them enough to give them a recommendation.

I’m pretty particular about doing recommendations for people on LinkedIn, and suggest to others they should be as well. Whenever you recommend someone on LinkedIn, it’s a statement from you that you think that person is a fine, upstanding individual to do business with. And, like anything else you put online, it’s out there for all to see, so it’s in your best interest to feel super comfortable giving someone a glowing recommendation.

Tips for asking for LinkedIn Recommendations

Ask people know you…

Ask for recommendations from people you know and who can make valid and honest comments about you. The simple fact that you’re connected on LinkedIn doesn’t always mean they know you or your work well enough to recommend you.

Personalize your request…

Sending the default “can you endorse me” message doesn’t show the person you really value their time or what they have to say. And, if you don’t have time to put together a well crafted, polite email asking for their recommendation why should they take the time to write one? Put some thought into your request and let the person know what it is you’d like them to focus on. Something like, “I’d love it if you could recommend my (fill in the blank) services since we’ve worked together and you’ve been pleased with the results,” will make it much easier for the person to write the recommendation.

You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Not necessarily…

While giving a recommendation to someone may get you some positive juju in return, don’t make that your motivation for writing one. It may be that the way you interacted with that person was a bit one sided, leaving them without enough information about you to comment on. And, on the other hand, there may be times when people recommend you but you just don’t have enough knowledge to reciprocate.

The key is to ask for recommendations, and give them, when you know the result will be real, and not done simply out of a sense of obligation.

Technorati Tags: LinkedIn, recommendations, social networking

I taught a social media class with @SueRostvold last night and one of the issues that kept coming up was the idea of sharing too much through social networking websites. What we were hearing is that some people are afraid to do anything with social media because they don’t want to reveal too much of their personal life. They don’t want their everyday activities, personal choices, feelings, or secrets to be ‘out there’ for everybody and his brother to read.

I get the same comment from people quite often actually. For people just getting started with social networking, it can be a bit frightening. Stories that we hear on the news about wierdo online stalkers don’t help matters much either.

One of the many cool things about social networking is that there really is no one right way to go about it. Think about your friends in real life. No doubt you have some who, when they walk in a room, are bigger than life and everybody knows they’ve arrived and the party can start! In contrast you may be the type that quietly walks into that very same room and says hello to a few people you know well. What feels right for one person may terrify the heebee jeebies out of another. But the thing is, nobody expects every one to act the same way when they get together in that room. The same is true when it comes to revealing things about yourself online with social networking.

The thing is, you only need to share what you feel comfortable sharing. I usually tell people to set up their account – whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, or whatever – and then ease into it. Just because you go online and have an account on a social media site where people share their drunken images and intimate details, it doesn’t mean you need to. If you feel more comfortable just looking around for a while, then that’s what you should do. When you feel comfortable, say hello to people you know, share an article you found online you think is interesting, or comment on something someone says.

As you learn your way around, you may feel comfortable revealing a little bit more about yourself and find a way to do it that makes sense for you. It’s all up to you.

Technorati Tags: social networking, social media, life online

Social Media: How to Use Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
to Make Money in your Business

A Teleclass with Therese Kopiwoda, of PetsitUSA.com
and Kristin Morrison, of Six Figure Pet Sitting Academy

Join us April 28 for a teleclass on using social media
to give your business a boost!

——————————————————————————–

Knowing how to put social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to work for your business can make a big difference in your marketing plan. Savvy business owners are harnessing the power of the Internet to boost their bottom line, and you should too! Are YOU ready to catapult your business to success?

Don’t be left behind. Learn how to make social media work for you and your business!

In this 90-minute teleclass, I’ll give you an overview of social media and how it can be used to drive traffic to your website, gain more visibility for your company, and help you get started with social media.

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Time: 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST
How long is this teleclass? 90 minutes
How much: $20 (Registration by April 21) / $30 (Registration April 22 or later)

For more information and to register:
Kristin Morrison, of Six Figure Pet Sitting Academy, is hosting this event. You can find out more about the class and register on her website. This class isn’t just for pet sitters though. It’s for anybody who wants to learn more about social media!

I hope you’ll join us!

Technorati Tags: social media, pet sitters, pet sitting business

If you’re new to Twitter and are trying to play by the rules, it can be a bit daunting! There are, of course, the official Twitter rules that you need to be mindful of. The folks at Twitter make it clear they dont’t want people doing slimy things like impersonating others, violating copyright laws, threatening people, and the like. If you get caught breaking one of these rules you’re likely to be banned. Not a good thing!

As with any community though, there are other rules besides the offical get-your-ass-in-major-trouble rules. These are rules created by the community members themselves, and while they may not be hard and fast like the others they can get you in a bit of hot water…at least with your peers. Some of the things many Twitter users don’t like to see are auto responders, constant self-promotion, using Twitter as an RSS feed, and of course spamming all your followers. There are others but these seem to be some of the biggies.

If you Google “twitter rules” you’ll get a long list of websites coming up with their version of the rules Tweeps should follow. (Even this post will likely be in that search result soon!). Here are just a few of the people who have written about Twitter rules:

@dcrmom (Jo-Lynne) – 7 Ways to Be Worth Following on Twitter

@Scobelizer (Rober Scoble) – The 10 rules of Twitter (and how I break every one -  This guy actually writes about breaking the rules, which some folks can get away with! Some people may not appreciate his lack of adherence to rules, but with nearly 50,000 followers he’s a definite presence on Twitter.

@GrantGriffiths has a bulleted list of things to do and not do on Twitter.

Some Twitter rules are definitely worth taking into account, but when it comes right down to it, it’s about respect. If you respect your followers, chances are you’re going to avoid many of the downfalls the rules have been built around. If you don’t like getting tweet after tweet from someone trying to sell their fancy automatic plant waterer, chances others won’t appreciate your multiple tweets about what you ate for dinner. If, on the other hand, you simply like to piss people off, go for it! I’m sure you’ll find some like-minded followers, but you’ll also find those who will unfollow you once they find out what you’re all about.

Technorati Tags: Twitter, social media, rules

I tend to use analogies when trying to get a point across. One of my clients laughs about it, but in the end, he says they work and help him understand things that have baffled  him in the past. So, when I thought about what my first post should be about I decided to share one of my analogies to help people understand social networking and social media. Hopefully it’ll help you as well.

If you’ve ever watched The Andy Griffith Show, you’ve seen social networking and social media in action. Think about Floyd’s Barbershop. Floyd’s in there talking away as he cuts Andy’s hair. As Barney and Howard walk by they see the guys through the window and decide to go in say hello. Then Aunt Bea stops in as she passes by, and even Opie gets off his bike to go in and see what’s going on. While everyone’s there, they talk about the salesman who passed through town, the fact that Otis was in the jail sleeping off a rough night, that Ernest T. Bass had been throwing rocks again, the upcoming church social, or even the news they heard from Raliegh.

Spending time in Floyd’s was a good way for everyone to catch up on the Mayberry news, but it didn’t necessarily mean they’d get the most up-to-date news from nearby Raleigh. To get that news they’d have to talk to someone who had been there recently or knew somebody else who had. And even then, the news may not be as recent as they’d like. Whatever they shared though, whether it was current Mayberry news or not-so current news from Raleigh, it was done through actively engaging in social networking.

Now, as for the social media part of this analogy…that’s easy. It’s Floyd’s Barbershop! The barbershop gives everyone a place to gather so they can share ideas and news…social networking.

The thing is, social networking is nothing new. People have been doing social networking since the first time two people got together and talked! What’s changed though, is the way we communicate and the size of our community. Nowadays, thanks to the internet and social media tools like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and others our community has expanded far beyond our own little Mayberry. We can certainly use those tools to network with people in our own area. But the really cool thing is, that rather than having to know somebody who knows somebody in Raleigh to get the news, we can hop on the computer and get the news as it happens directly from the folks in Raleigh. Andy and the rest of the people in town didn’t have that luxury back in Mayberry’s heyday!

Our community has expanded far beyond the places we can physically go to and we don’t have to be stuck in Mayberry (although I’m sure there are worse places to be stuck!). Now we can use social media tools to reach out to people all over the world who share a common interest. These tools can help us create a network of people who we might visit on a cross-country vacation, enable us to connect with others on a professional level to find a new job, keep us in touch with relatives and friends, or maybe just help us meet people who have the same interests and hobbies. The possibilities are as endless as the conversations that take place between two (or more) people. Whether it’s for work or play, social media and learning how to use those tools for networking can take you to Mayberry and beyond!

Technorati Tags: social media, social networking