Social Media networking can be a great boon to your business, but one thing many people need to always keep in mind is that what you say/do online IS your online presence and it is important – if you are networking for your business – to remain professional.

I’m not saying you cannot have a good time or that everything you say on your networks has to be 100% happy and upbeat at all times. Trust me, I am never 100% positive, but I am professional.

I can be seen airing my frustrations of the day – but rarely anything that could be construed as an unprofessional. My gripes tend to be technical-related ones or ones that don’t offend people but make them see how ‘real’ I am.

A software program causing issues in my email program is okay to complain about – but you will never hear me venting about a client or frustration related to my clients. That crosses the line and I would never want people thinking – “Is she talking about me?”, or “That seems mean.”.

This is my number one lesson with clients.

Never say or do anything online that you wouldn’t do in person.

Pretend you are at a business networking event and act according to that. You will find this keeps it fun and professional and makes your time on social networking sites useful for your business and great for building relationships.

Technorati Tags: social media training, social networking

I recently took a course through VAclassroom on Facebook fanpages, I had wanted to add more to my skills through this.  One topic that came up was contests on Facebook and how they can help you market your business and make more connections.

I was the naysayer that brought up the fact that Facebook had rules in their terms of service and the promotion guidelines section about contests.. and it shocked a few people to hear this.  Contests are popular on facebook and especially on fanpages.

You can run them but there are many rules/regulations you must follow and  you also may require written permission from Facebook to do so.

This past week Facebook has made a few changes to their promotion guidelines, but the basics still remain the same.  The biggest terms to make note of if you do plan to run a contest on your fanpage/facebook are the following:

3.4 You will not mention “Facebook” in the promotion’s rules except in the following ways:(i) “You can enter the Promotion through the [application name] application on the Facebook Platform. You can also find the application on the [tab name] tab on the [Page name] Page on Facebook.”; (ii) to fulfill your obligations under Section 3.7.

You do not need our prior written approval if you are publicizing a promotion that is administered completely off of Facebook. However, we may remove any materials relating to the promotion or disable your Page or account if we determine that you violate these Promotions Guidelines, the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities or any other of our policies. If you publicize a promotion in any way on Facebook, in addition to the other terms and conditions contained in these Promotion Guidelines, without limiting your other obligations you agree to the following:

4.1 You will not directly or indirectly indicate that Facebook is a sponsor or administrator of the promotion or mention Facebook in any way in the rules or materials relating to the promotion.

4.2 In the rules of the promotion, or otherwise, you will not condition entry to the promotion upon taking any action on Facebook, for example, updating a status, posting on a profile or Page, or uploading a photo.

In a nutshell, you may need prior written permission; you cannot mention Facebook at all – on or off Facebook – except to say they are not affiliated with this contest. Asking people to make a wall post, become a fan or share anything on the facebook wall is not permitted.

It all comes down to following the rules and having a good foundation of your own – ie your blog, website, newsletter list etc.  You need all these to be in place and working well to help support your social marketing efforts. I never recommend a client rely solely on social networks, your own foundation has to be string to support it.

My advice – read very clearly all these terms before undertaking any contest or promotion on Facebook. Be certain you are not violating their terms in anyway that could have the rug pulled out form under you and your Facebook community you have built.  Trust me – losing a fanpage is not fun.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Marketing, social networking

Making connections on social networks should always be about more than just numbers – yes numbers are important , especially to reach the viral aspect of social networking, but you should also be making connections with a purpose.  Whether it’s a a connection in your target market, someone you would like to partner with or a role model… there should always be a purpose behind your connections.

One of the more important ones to seek out, in my mind, are role models – leaders in your industry.

Not to say you should always be aiming to be a ‘tag along’ but more from the point that these leaders have much to teach and by connecting with them you can gain valuable insight and learn more about your industry.

I follow several people I consider role models and ensure I have them in special groups so that when they ’speak’ I can hear them.  The WEB 2.0 room can be very crowded and hard to hear certain people at times. I use available functions on certain networks – like facebook or tweetdeck – to help me sort out my contacts. This sorting allows me to follow more closely those that I do not want to miss.

What system do you use to keep track of your industry leaders?  How do you sort through all the ‘noise’ on your social networks.

Or maybe you are a leader… I am curious to know if those considered leaders in fact do the same type of practice?  As an industry leader do you group out certain people to keep in better touch with them?

Technorati Tags: followers, Social Media, social networking

I read a great article today posted in the Vancouver Sun newspaper. It refers to a report released Wednesday by Robert Half Technology . The survey is said to find that 58% of Canadian Companies surveyed prohibit social networking at work.

The concerns the businesses who ban social networking have are more about employee’s wasting work time to chat on facebook or twitter for non-work related purposes. And fair enough, that is a valid concern. As a business owner it would bother me if my staff was being paid to work and instead were doing something personal during that time.

There’s always been big debate about whether employees should be allowed to use Social Networking sites at work. The recent growth of Social Media for business is making this decision even more difficult. Businesses are looking to use Social Media but for many the concept of talking directly to customers via social networks is very new and they are learning.  Some the right way and some the wrong way.

Personally, I don’t think social networking works for everyone – or every business.  For business, there needs to be  a solid foundation (ie your website and marketing plan) on which to build these relationships and a good strategy to implement to achieve the desired goals.  If you don’t have this foundation, you may struggle and even fail.

Businesses, especially corporations who make the jump into social media, have to have a very strong foundation as well as a concise policy for employees who use the networks as a representative of the company.  They are acting as a  spokesperson and all parties must be clear on what can be said, and how and when and to whom…

So, what’s my take on the ‘bans’?  I kind of agree if the business does not use social media as part of its marketing plan, however technology is making it near impossible to block all access. Social Networking is new to business, so it makes sense there is a high number of corporations blocking these sites on their networks.  I do however, think that number will go down as time passes and more and more businesses join in this new way of networking directly with their clients.

There are a couple comments on this article as well… Jane Doe’s comment on how allowing staff access may mean taking a break is not a break at all – at least not one from sitting in front of your computer screen…she has a point.

Technorati Tags: business, Facebook, social networking, Twitter

A few notes came through the grapevine lately that Fanpages could now book their user names without the minimum requirement of 100 fans.  Seems the limit has now gone down to 25 again, the original limit set.

Read this post from July to understand more about how to set your fanpage username.  If you have more than 25 fans now, go do it.  Better to get your brand name now than have it scooped up by someone else.

Don’t forget to add the Fan Box to your website or blog if you would like visitors to be able to easily connect to your facebook fanpage. You will find the link to this application under your fanpage profile picture.  Click on “Add a Fan Box to your website” and it will take you right to the application.

Time on Task Va Services

Promote Your Page Too

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Social Media, social networking, virtual assistant

One of my clients – and one who is my best social media success story – recently had their Facebook fanpage disappear.

No warnings, no explanation – just gone. It was a fanpage we have been working on for a few months and one that had more than 500 fans and a lot of good interaction with the fans.

I sent off an email to several areas of facebook, but will not be holding my breath for a quick response. I did get the automatic emails stating they have received my request and that ‘we may contact you for more details’

Honestly, I expect nothing less from support of a ‘free’ platform that has millions of users. Users of any of these types of applications are at the mercy of the limited resources available to support them.

This loss of a fanpage is one more scenario that makes me think the unthinkable for many people.  Is it time for some of these applications to evolve and move to the next level? A level that requires users to pay (Yes, I said pay) for a service in order to receive more reliable support and service.  A service you can count on, especially when using it for business.

“You get what you pay for”, my Mom always said. A statement that certainly rings true when you are dealing with millions of people using a free platform.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Social Media, social networking, Twitter, virtual assistant

You know, I honestly enjoy my time on Twitter…

Tonight I saw a tweet about a live party on Ustream with @MariSmith (for those not familiar, she is a “Relationship and Buzz Marketing Specialist” born in Scotland, lived in Canada -yay – and now is in California.  She is very successful with Facebook, Twitter and Social Media) , so I decided to join the party. My virtual friend @Teri8D is always a reliable source of good social media fun, and it was her tweet!

Onto Ustream (a type of live broadcasting)  I go and find about 60 or so people live online with Mari who is streaming from her kitchen in California. A friend flits about in the background helping prepare for the ‘live’ party a little later.  It was great fun, chatting about some social media tips and even just chatting.  She even had a few draws for some prizes, and I won one of them!

I correctly answered a question about facebook and won @Davelakhani ’s Book “How to Sell when Nobody’s Buying”  (I think it was, in the excitement I may have won a different title of Dave’s – no matter I say, It’s Dave Lakhani!)

Why so exciting? I have been following Denise Wakeman’s blogs for some time and she has mentioned Dave and his book many times. It is too cool that I won a copy and cannot wait to receive it!

So, that’s my Twitter Good News for today, I won a book.

Have you any good news or success stories from Twitter?

PS. I asked Dave’s permission to put his book pic here… so it’s ok

Technorati Tags: social networking, Twitter, virtual assistant

August 6th, 2009… the day that Twitter almost died.

My fear was near realized today when both Twitter and Facebook were part of targeted attacks that caused issues with their service which means for us users – we cannot Log In!

Once I realized this early in the morning…as it is part of my practice daily to log on to Twitter and Facebook – I then ended up doing some unexpected blog reading – Mashable is fabulous at keeping me on top of things with his updates.  This lead me to sending notes to clients and after finishing some other work, I realized this Denial of Service Attack was not going to end soon.  I headed to the beach with the kids, got out my pen and paper and started writing some blog posts.

Yes, your Blog.  it’s another way of using social networking though some don’t always realize the benefits in blogging. (more…)

Technorati Tags: Social Media, social networking, Twitter, virtual assistant

I have been getting many inquiries lately and thought maybe it would help to tell people how I learned to use Twitter and Facebook and more…

How did I start? Well, I read… a lot!  If you check the Resource Page on this site, you’ll find several great places to kickstart you.  There will be more added as well, so feel free to re-visit this page to see the updates. (more…)

Technorati Tags: Facebook, online training, social media training, social networking, Twitter, virtual assistant

Recently, there was a grand example from Nova Scotia (my home province) that makes it clear to businesses and consumers exactly how social media has changed the way these parties interact.

Dave Carroll , a musician from Halifax, Nova Scotia, had his guitar broken in the spring of 2008 when his band was on a United Airlines flight.  United refused to acknowledge responsibility or pay for the damages even though there were witnesses who saw the ‘luggage” being thrown around during unloading.

After many months of trying to get United to accept responsibility for the damage (it cost $1200 to have his guitar fixed) Dave finally decided to take his frustration out the best way he knew how… via his music. (more…)

Technorati Tags: business, Social Media, social networking, Twitter