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I’m doing different workshops on Online Marketing and using Online Social Networks to grow your business and one of the consistent questions I get is “What can I do with an Online Social Network for my business?”

It’s a great question, and generally my response is another question – “What are you trying to do with your business…what is it that you need?  Customers? Partners? Employees?”

The deal with Online Social Networking sites, at least for business purposes, is that they are simply a tool.  If you use them in the right way, they can be a great asset to your marketing, sales or even customer service efforts (depending on your business).

But like that weed whip that hangs in my garage untouched because I don’t have a long enough cord for it, a online social network by itself doesn’t really do anything for you.  You have to have something you’re trying to achieve and then a way to use that tool to help deliver on that goal…if you’ve got that stuff in place, then you’ve got a tool that can really help you grow your business.

Having said that, let’s take a look at the types of things you could do with a tool like LinkedIn.

Connect

Connecting and building a network is kind of a precursor to most of the other activities (it’s kind of like adding gas to your lawnmower).  Having said that, connecting to your network – the people that you Know, Like and Trust has the inherent value of making that connection stronger.

It’s kind of a formal acknowledgement to the world that this is a person in your network that you would go to bat for and that you respect.  (On a side note, if you’re connected with people that don’t fit this definition, you might want to consider un-connecting).

Worst case, this becomes an online version of a rolodex that stays up to date as people move, change jobs, etc.

Be Introduced

This is an extremely powerful tool.  Imagine the feeling you get when you make a cold call to a prospective customer – even if you’re doing well, the chance for you to move that relationship forward is fairly small (that’s why cold calling is tough)!

However compare that situation to a friend introducing you to one of their friends – having someone that vouches for you and lets people know that you know what you’re doing and you’re good at it.

The odds of moving that opportunity forward to the next step in the process is very high, especially if you were smart about identifying your target market and you’re a great solution for what they need.  I’ll take a warm introduction over a cold call any day.

Find Information – Do Research

Sometimes you need to find specific companies or people that match your target market – i.e. all Chiropractors that also offer acupuncture that are within 10 miles of Overland Park.

Or what if you’re going to be meeting with a new contact, maybe it’s a prospect, maybe it’s a potential networking partner – wouldn’t you like to learn more background on that person, where they worked (and when), who you know that might know them, where they went to school, who recommended them and what they said, etc.

Finally, you might want to do a reference search on someone you’re hiring.  In LinkedIn you can enter in the company name and the years that they worked there to find people in your network that might have known the person you’re checking up on.

Be Found

LinkedIn has a really high Google Page Rank (8 out of 10 for the home page) which makes it a great link out to your website or blog (or other social networking site).

In addition, a decently written profile that’s been around for a while will almost always show up on the 1st page of Google when you search for your name.  But the really cool part is that you have complete control over how you write your summary and your profile and if you’re clever about it, you can also score well with specific search terms based on the keywords you put into your profile.  As an example – here’s the LinkedIn Profile for Webster Jorgensen who comes up on the first page in Google for a search on ‘Kansas City SEO’ which I assume is a fairly well contested keyword. 

Not only can you find his website (also on the first page), but also his LinkedIn profile. 

Be Credible

Credibility is one of those behind the scenes types of things that can really make or break you – even before you meet someone.  A tool like LinkedIn can really add to your credibility in a couple of key ways.

First you can add to your credibility by going out and Answering questions that are in your field.  If the person asking the question feels like you gave the best answer, you get a best answer designation and a virtual gold star.  Get a few of those gold stars and you start looking like a real expert…with a lot of credibility.

Secondly, the recommendations tool within LinkedIn is really powerful.  It’s not possible to edit a recommendation.  You can choose to show it or not show it, but they can’t be edited.  Which means that when you’re reading someone’s recommendations, that’s guaranteed to be something that someone else said – and in fact you can go check out the person that said it and see what kind of credibility they have!

Brand Yourself

Finally – LinkedIn is a great tool for allowing you to paint the picture of what you want to be – what you’re trying to achieve.  Because you have total control over your profile, you can let your personality and sense of humor shine through.  You can show what you’re interested in through groups, hobbies and associations that you list and through your interactions (questions you ask and answer).

Although LinkedIn can be an online resume, with some creativity and some focus you can make it into more of a sales and marketing tool for your business or your career – it doesn’t have to be just a listing of your experience.

Other?

What other ways can you think of to use LinkedIn?  I’m sure there are several other ways to advance your business that I didn’t mention – help me out by filling in what I missed.

I’d love to hear your comments below.

Shawn Kinkade     Kansas City Business CoachSimilar Posts:

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Beyond that, he’s also credited with creating the first Fire Insurance Company, he came up with the idea behind Daylight Savings Time and he helped form the first Library (as their known today) in 1731.

However, in addition to all of those great accomplishments, Franklin is also arguably the father of Social Networking (at least as it pertains to business). 

One of the better definitions of Networking that I’ve seen comes from Bob Burg – author of Endless Referrals:

Networking is the cultivating of mutually beneficial, give and take, win-win relationships.

Old Ben certainly knew a thing or two about the power of relationships and networking – even back in the 1700s!  He drove a lot of the ideas that make networking what it is today.

Ben Created the Junto – the first Networking Group?

After a pretty challenging childhood and teenage years, Ben Franklin ended up in Philadelphia in 1727 at the age of 21 trying to make a name for himself.  One of the many things he did during this period was to create a club called the Junto.

I found a great write-up on the history of the Junto at the Mutual Improvement blog – check out the article, but here are a couple of highlights:

It was a club established to debate questions of morals, politics, and natural philosophy and to exchange knowledge of business affairs, which took as it’s goal the “mutual improvement” of its members.

The Junto was one part Toastmasters, one part Rotary Club, but its civic output was amazing.

Franklin’s Junto was unabashedly interested in personal success, yet the members show a deep understanding that their reputations and happiness would be best served by helping others.

In other words the Junto included a lot of the best qualities you might find in many modern networking organizations – Chambers, Tip Clubs, Service Organizations, etc.

I don’t know that it was the first networking group ever (Aristotle and his buddies probably got together on a regular basis outside of the classroom) but it certainly is a clear precursor to modern business networking groups (and online social networking groups) that you can find in every corner of the country.

Ben pioneered the idea of ‘Pay It Forward’

The idea of Paying It Forward was popularized in 2000 by the book by Catherine Ryan Hyde and subsequent movie “Pay It Forward”.

“You see, I do something real good for three people. And then when they ask how they can pay it back, I say they have to Pay It Forward. To three more people. Each. So nine people get helped. Then those people have to do twenty-seven.” He turned on the calculator, punched in a few numbers. “Then it sort of spreads out, see. To eighty-one. Then two hundred forty-three. Then seven hundred twenty-nine. Then two thousand, one hundred eighty-seven. See how big it gets?”

The author went on to create a the Pay It Forward Foundation to generate momentum behind the idea that anyone can make a major impact by helping someone else.

But it was Franklin that is credited with coming up with the concept in the first place in a letter he wrote to Benjamin Webb in 1784.  I don’t think it’s an accident that most successful networkers and business people believe that the best way to help yourself is to help others.  Ivan Misner, the founder of Business Networking International coined the motto “Givers Gain” to reflect a very similar concept.

Ben just knew a lot about being successful in business

Here are a few quotes from Mr. Franklin:

He knew it was important to invest in learning from others:

An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

He knew that it’s actions that you take and not what you say that really mean something.

Well done is better than well said.

And finally he knew that a focus entirely on money and material things will tend to make people not trust you.

He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.

So when you go to your next Networking event, or the next time you Twitter to your contacts, think about the foundation that was paved almost 300 years ago by Ben Franklin.

What are your thoughts on networking or Ben Franklin?  Share them here in the comments below.

Shawn Kinkade – Kansas City Business Coach

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One of the problems they discovered was that movie popcorn, although a tasty treat, was bad for you.

Really, really bad. (like 80 grams of saturated fat for a large serving bad!)

However they quickly figured out that just telling people that popcorn was bad didn’t really make much of a splash – in fact it didn’t even make a ripple.

Then they decided they needed to get creative to get the point across.

They called a press conference and presented a large box of popcorn on a table.  Then they added a plate of bacon and eggs to the table.

Then a Big Mac and Fries.

Then a steak dinner.  The popcorn had more fat than all of that other food…COMBINED!!!

As they say – and as you might remember, the rest is history.  The media jumped all over the story and within a few weeks national Movie Chains started changing the way they made the popcorn – they got rid of the coconut oil and came out with healthier alternatives.

The CSPI had made their idea sticky – not only did people get it, they passed it along to friends (and they told two friends and so on and so on).

That’s the essence behind the book Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.  They analyzed what made some ideas ‘work’ and others just pass by the wayside and developed a set of rules that anyone can use to make their own ideas ‘stickier’.

All in all, this is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time (business or otherwise).  The authors are consistently using great examples to make their point (not surprising considering that concrete examples are one of the 6 rules to make things sticky).

However they go beyond just sharing the examples, they have at least 1 case study per chapter that breaks down the details between an effective and ineffective message to help prove their point.

The other thing I really liked was the overall style and tone of the book – far from being a dry textbook or detailed how to book, there are a lot of genuinely funny anecdotes and points that make the book really move along.

You definitely need to read the book to really get the points, but at a high level there are six key qualities shared by ideas that are Made to Stick: 

• Simplicity – strip it to the core
• Unexpectedness – surprise is important
• Concreteness – details stick with people
• Credibility – if I don’t believe it, I won’t remember it
• Emotional – much more compelling than logic
• Stories – something I can relate to that has a point

Using these qualities, you can see why ideas like the urban myth about Kidney Harvesting, or how Jared lost weight at Subway, or how Nordstrom’s communicates the idea of customer service.

If you’ve got ideas you need to communicate (and really who doesn’t) then I would strongly recommend Made To Stick – it’s an enjoyable read with lots of practical, tangible ideas. 

Have you read the book?  Share your thoughts in the comments.

Shawn Kinkade  Kansas City Business Coach

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photo by Katiew

Networking is all about establishing mutually beneficial win-win relationships with people that you know, like and trust (and vice versa). 

Unfortunately it can be really difficult to develop those kinds of relationships in traditional professional networking environments.

Enter the opportunity of the dinner party.

In his book on networking and relationships “Never Eat Alone” Keith Ferrazzi outlines his recommended approach for regular dinner parties as a key networking strategy.  I don’t know that everyone is going to have access to big name celebrities as the ‘anchor tenant’ for your get together as recommended by the book, but an occasional informal get together with people that you’d like to get to know better can be a big help to making connections.

If you’re like me, there are a lot of people you know informally – well enough to wave to them across a parking lot, but you’ve never really had an in-depth discussion with them.  Find a good mix of those people that seem like they would be fun and/or worthwhile to get to know and pull together a dinner party to break the ice.

If you’re going to give this a shot, what are some the key points to make it successful?

How many people to invite?

This probably depends on your comfort level as a host – depending on how large your space is, you can start running into a lot of logistical issues if you get too large (# of places to sit, # of dishes, chairs, etc.).

My recommendation would be to keep it manageable at 4 to 5 couples – no more than 12 people total.  8 to 12 people gives you plenty of opportunities to have great side conversations, but is a small enough group that you can all participate when you’re at the table.

Who to invite?

It can be really difficult to bring together a whole group of complete strangers – unless they’re pretty outgoing, it may be hard to get the ball rolling conversationally.  Try to pick out a group that has some commonality – kids go the same schools, they used to work at the same company, they are in similar industries, etc. and ideally go with at least some direct connection within the group besides just you (i.e. 2 of the 4 couples know each other fairly well).

From a networking perspective, target people that have to potential to be helpful referral partners or prospects (but remember you are NOT selling).  Obviously you can do this for purely social reasons, but if you’re trying to build a better business network, you might make some different choices.  Not everyone needs to be a target contact, but at least include a couple.

What to have?

Dinner Party sounds like a fancy get together, but it doesn’t have to be.  Start with something you’re comfortable cooking and ideally something that can mostly be prepared ahead of time.  Learning a new dish while you’ve got 10 people watching you probably isn’t the way to go.

Burgers or Chili are both fine choices as are steaks or more elaborate entree dishes – once you’ve had the chance to prepare a few things, it gets easier to do the next time around.

You should also plan on having a couple of appetizers that are ready when the first people get there.  Try to have a mix so that there’s something that most people would like (although don’t worry about trying to totally please everyone).

A couple of side dishes to go with the main dish are  a good idea, but again you don’t need to go overboard.  Focus on things that you can make ahead of time to minimize the cooking and prep time while people are there.

A simple dessert is a great way to wrap up evening – if there’s something you really like or like to make, go with that.  Otherwise brownies or chocolate chip cookies are always going to be popular.

Drinks?

Finally, you should have a mix of drinks – at least a couple of non-alcoholic options to go with a beer or wine selection.  If you want to have a mixed drink, prepare it ahead of time, but I wouldn’t recommend a full bar approach – it can be really expensive, it’s hard to get everything everyone might want and you will end up spending a lot of time making drinks which makes it difficult to connect with the guests.  Learn a bit about wine – there are a lot of great wines for ~$10 – $15 a bottle in both reds and whites and most liquor stores that carry a good selection of wine are happy to make recommendations depending on what you’re eating.

The most important thing is to keep in mind the reason for the Dinner Party in the first place – to get to know some new people, let them get to know you and to have a good time.  You’re not their to sell and you shouldn’t focus on talking about work or business (although it’s likely to come up on it’s own).  What you should focus on is making sure everyone is interacting and enjoying themselves and you will almost be guaranteed to make some new connections.

Do you do Dinner Parties to extend your networking?  I’d love to hear thoughts or stories on things that have worked or not – share them here!

Shawn Kinkade  Kansas City Business Coach

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Small business can be a pretty wild ride.  You land a big deal, have a big day, hit on all cylinders and you are on top of the world!

Then you start doing the work, you focus on delivery, you’re working really hard…in your business.  It’s a sweet, fast ride downhill all the way.

You deliver the goods, the service – what ever it was the client wanted and then you realize, you’ve got nothing lined up for tomorrow.

You’re at the bottom preparing for an uphill climb of marketing to get you that next influx of business. 

You are on the roller coaster business cycle and unfortunately it’s all too common and if you don’t figure out how to manage it, it will eventually sink you.

Knowing it’s an issue, what can you do to get out of this painful cycle?

Plan ahead to smooth out the curves

The first step is to map out an overall marketing strategy – ideally for the whole year.  It doesn’t have to be terribly detailed, in fact it can fit on a page or two, but plan ahead and lock up some dates for initiatives.

Maybe it’s a direct mail campaign that coincides with going back to school.  Maybe it’s a quarterly seminar / workshop and you need to reserve the date and work backward to plan when you would start driving attendance.  It could be reserving the month when you are going to redo  your website and work on Search Engine Optimization issues or locking down the dates for starting to work with a business coach. 

The important thing is to spend some quality time developing a plan – even if  you don’t stick to it exactly (and you probably won’t) just having something to work from will make a big difference.

Use multiple strategies to keep smooth acceleration

Optimizing your website is a long term marketing play for most businesses.  It can have a big lift over time, but it’s not likely to do anything for you this month…or even the next  3 months.

Conversely something like direct mail and phone follow-ups are very time sensitive.  If you wait 2 or 3 weeks after the prospect receives the direct mail, you might as well not call, they’re not going to remember who you are.

Networking or presenting workshops would be more medium term strategies.  You are actively pursuing contacts, but it may take a while for things to come together.

The key is to have a mix of several strategies operating at once, 1 or 2 short term activities every month, a couple of medium term and some long term things going on in the background.  A business that has 10 strategies running consistently is on top of the game and probably not getting big swings, just continued growth.

Automate to minimize the downtime

Finally, the other big key to avoiding the ups and downs is to really put things into a marketing system and automate where you can.  In this case, a marketing system is a series of repeatable tasks that can be documented, delegated and in some cases, automated.

A great example of an automated marketing process is the use of an auto responder for people that contact you via your website (or otherwise).  The easy example would be a prospect downloading a white paper you developed in exchange for sharing their email address.  From their, your auto responder will follow up with that person over a period of several months, sharing valuable information and occasionally pitching the appropriate offer for the next ‘low hurdle’ offering.

People will buy when they’re ready to buy – the job of the automated system is to stay in front of them in a helpful nice way until that happens.

What other ways can you think of to smooth out the ups and downs of a small business?  Share them below.

Shawn Kinkade Kansas City Small Business CoachSimilar Posts:

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