Leverage Your Network to Seize Control

Rewire Your Connections for Opportunity

Your network isn’t just a list of names in your phone. It’s a living, breathing web of potential waiting to be tapped. Stop treating your contacts like a dusty Rolodex. Every person you know holds a key to a door you haven’t opened. That coworker from your last gig? They might know someone hiring. The neighbor you wave to? They could be sitting on a game-changing introduction. Start seeing people as bridges to your next move. Dig into your relationships with purpose. Ask bold questions. Offer value first, then watch doors swing wide open.

Stop Waiting for Permission

Nobody’s going to hand you a golden ticket to your dream job. Sitting on your couch, scrolling job boards, is a one-way ticket to nowhere. Your network is your secret weapon, so wield it. Reach out to that old boss who respected your hustle. Slide into the DMs of that industry pro you met at a conference. Be direct, not desperate. Offer a coffee chat to pick their brain, then show up with real questions. Don’t just ask for a job. Show them you’re a problem-solver they can’t ignore. Momentum starts when you stop waiting for an invite.

Build Relationships That Break Barriers

Your network isn’t static. It’s a muscle you build through action. Stop hoarding business cards like they’re Pokémon cards. Follow up with people. Send a quick note after meeting someone new. Share an article that sparks a real conversation. Small moves compound into trust. That trust turns into opportunities you’d never find on a job board. Be the person who connects others, not just the one asking for favors. Subscribe to my newsletter below to get weekly tips on turning your network into your superpower.

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Why Build Your Network?

image by by Refracted Moments™

If I offered you $1.00 for every person that you could contact in the next 5 minutes, how much money would you get?

Here just the twitter volumes of a few folks:

@chrisbrogan $156,906

@guykawasaki $285,377

@britneyspears $6,096,638

How much would I pay you?

 

 

 

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

3 Steps To Build Your Network, From Scratch

You finally have decided that you need to build your network.

Awesome. How do you do it?

1. Make a list of everyone you know.
2. Get their contact information
3. Contact them

Lets talk about everyone you know.

Start with everyone you interact with daily, then add all the other people you forgot. Seriously! As you write down everyone, add their boss, kids, wife, father-in-law... everyone.

Here is a list of categories of people you know. Hint, you may have to introduce yourself to people you "see" all the time but do not know.

• Friends
• Family
• Neighbors
• Co-Workers
• Boss
• People at church
• Pub / bar / coffee shop
• Parents at your kids sports events
• Retail clerks
• Police / fire / utilities / delivery drivers
• Hobby / training / gym / bike
• Internet friends / facebook / myspace / chat / email / twitter (google these if you do not know what they are)

Then get their contact information.

Introduce yourself and ask if they have a twitter account / facebook / email. Connect with them and send them a message thanking them for connecting with you. If you are more than just the nod-as-you-walk-by friends ask them for their email.

Then contact them.

I send out a quarterly email and blog post to everyone in my network. You can see it at whatsupwithandy.posterous.com. I write a blog post, send it in email, tweet it, put the link and invitation to read it on facebook and linkedin.

That should get help you started.

Image by Marc_Smith

 

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

17 Tips for Building Your Network Online - Careers Articles

Online networking has revolutionized the way people build and maintain relationships and search for jobs. Imagine being able to go into the offices of everyone you know and search through their Rolodex or have a conversation with dozens of people from all over the world, all from the comfort of your keyboard. That is the power of online networking.

Here are some tips on how to maximize your online presence, build meaningful relationships, and connect with people who may be able to help you in your search.

3 Unique Ways for Executives to Build Their Network » Blog | Great Resumes Fast

At the executive level, you are always burdened with the task of trying to get more people to know you so that one day they might be able to help you. In other words, you’re faced with the job of having to build your executive network. Nothing wrong with this in theory, but sometimes the job can get a bit tedious, especially when you feel that you’ve used up all of your options.

Well now’s the time to get some fresh ideas to help you continue to build that network. So let’s look at some unique ways of getting this done.

Create Your Own Networking Group
Often times, we think that the only real way to grow our network is to join an existing networking group. But we forget that we could also build our own.

One great benefit of starting your own group is that you get to have control over when it gets together and what activities you will take part in. Also, it can center more specifically around your interests, thus guaranteeing you will feel passionate about it.

If you want to start your own group, you could create a strictly-online environment to include people from out of town, only work with your offline contacts, or mix it up a bit. By taking this route, you give yourself the opportunity to not only create more networking opportunities for yourself, but many others.

Bond with Online Contacts Offline
Sometimes people don’t realize that they’re online networking contacts are real people, especially if they meet them online. But they are very real and able to make a significant difference in your career if you let them. A good way to make the best use of your online contacts is to make them a part of your offline networking circle. This way, you have a face to place with the name and they do as well.

So how can you get this done if you are living in different cities? You could consider having a nice lunch meeting if you take a trip out to their city. If this is not likely to happen, you could even find out what activities they take part in outside of work to see where you have common ground. If you both love to ski, for instance, maybe you could schedule yearly ski trips on the same weekend and at the same resort to make sure you connect.

Create Exciting Business Cards
One way to get noticed is to create exciting business cards – some that tell a little bit more of your story with a unique flair. This means, instead of creating the standard business card with bland text on a white background, consider trying different colors that reflect your personality and brand. You could also include your picture on the card so people won’t forget your face after they meet you. And consider having yours cut into a unique shape – one that prompts people to ask questions yet still is able to fit neatly into a wallet or business card rolodex.

When building your executive network, don’t simply rely on the “tried and true” to get the best results. If you step out of your box and try unique options, you could see your network grow faster than ever.

via greatresumesfast.com

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Re-building My Personal Network After Resetting It to Zero | Brand-Yourself.com Blog

Four weeks ago I wrote about resetting my online personal network back to zero.  I received some interesting, but supportive responses.

To recap what took place, by the numbers:

• LinkedIn – removed 401 connections
• Facebook – removed 306 friends
• Twitter – unfollowed 486

Where I am at now, four weeks later, by the numbers:

• LinkedIn – 120 connections
• Facebook – 180 friends
• Twitter – following 482

Is it a numbers game?

First off, a bit of a disclaimer for clarification: I do not in any way equate the number of your online followers or connections to a guaranteed breadth and depth of reach, however, for the purpose of this post had to focus on the numbers to show the change.

One of the first things I learned is the time value of a personal online network. It has taken me four weeks to build up nearly to have where I was, number wise, on LinkedIn and Facebook.

What truly matters in building an online personal network?

Your online personal network is worth more than gold.  It takes time to make good quality connections with those that can add value to your network.  I used to laugh at the term “build your tribe,” however, now know the value first hand.  To quote Seth Godin on the topic:

It starts with permission, the understanding that the real asset most organizations can build isn’t an amorphous brand but is in fact the privilege of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who want to get them.

It adds to that the fact that what people really want is the ability to connect to each other, not to companies. So the permission is used to build a tribe, to build people who want to hear from the company because it helps them connect, it helps them find each other, it gives them a story to tell and something to talk about

Where I am headed, and where you should be headed too

From now on I make a pledge to fully value my online personal network, and to protect it fiercely.  Reconnecting with those whom I had to hand pick out of thousands of contacts took time, but is well worth it. I will continue building back up, and connecting with and meeting new individuals and companies.

Starting from zero refreshed my perspective on what it truly means to build a strong personal brand and an associated network, online and off as well.

Question: What do you value about your personal network?

About the Author: An avid relationship marketer, Mark Mathson works with businesses to create dazzling social marketing campaigns.  He enjoys conversing on Twitter and growing and adding value to his network on LinkedIn.

(Photo credit: Evgeniy Zotov

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10 Commandments for Better Networking | Career Rocketeer - Career Search and Personal Branding Blog

Do you suffer from “Butterfly-itis” at the very mention of networking at business functions? If you answered yes, you are not alone! Many business people and entrepreneurs get a bit uncomfortable when it comes right down to walking up to someone and starting a conversation. Many others are concerned about getting effective results from the time they spend networking.

The process doesn’t have to be traumatic, scary, or a waste of time. When done properly, it can truly make a difference in the amount of business your company generates. With the right approach, you can use it to build a wealth of resources and contacts that will help to make your business very successful.

Use the following Ten Commandments to help you network your way through your next business networking event:

1. Have the tools to network with you at all times

These include an informative name badge, your business cards (I’m amazed at how many people forget to bring these to networking events – really critical for people to be able to contact you), somewhere to write notes (I use the cool, free tool at http://www.repocketmod.com/), something to write with, and a way to refer other professionals to those you meet (such as a card file, smartphone, etc.).

2. Set a goal for the number of people you’ll meet

Identify a reachable goal based on attendance and the type of group. If you feel inspired, set a goal to meet fifteen to twenty people and make sure you get all their cards. If you don’t feel so hot, shoot for less. In either case, don’t leave until you’ve met your goal.

3. Act like a host, not a guest

A host is expected to do things for others, while a guest sits back and relaxes. Volunteer to help greet people. If you see visitors sitting, introduce yourself and ask if they would like to meet others. Act as a connector.

4. Listen and ask questions

Remember that a good networker has two ears and one mouth and uses them proportionately. After you’ve learned what another person does, tell them what you do. Be specific, but brief. Don’t assume they know how to help you.

5. You’re not there to close a deal

These events are not meant to be a vehicle to hit on business people to buy your products or services. Networking is about developing relationships with other professionals. Meeting people at events should be the beginning of that process, not the end of it.

6. Give referrals whenever possible

The best networkers believe in the givers gain philosophy (what goes around, comes around). If I help you, you’ll help me and we’ll both do better as a result of it. In other words, if you don’t genuinely attempt to help the people you meet, then you are not networking effectively. If you can’t give someone a bona fide referral, offer some information that might be of interest to them (such as details about an upcoming event).

7. Exchange business cards

Ask each person you meet for two cards - one to pass on to someone else and one to keep. This sets the stage for networking to happen.

8. Manage your time efficiently

Spend ten minutes or less with each person you meet and don’t linger with friends or associates (you already know them!). If your goal is to meet a given number of people, be careful not to spend too much time with any one person – and don’t spend too little time only focusing on gathering business cards. When you meet someone interesting with whom you’d like to speak further, set up an appointment for a later date.

9. Write notes on the backs of business cards you collect

Record anything you think may be useful in remembering each person more clearly on the back of their business card (or remember the repocketmod.com). This will come in handy when you follow up on each contact.

10. Follow up!

You can obey the previous nine commandments religiously, but if you don’t follow up effectively, you will have wasted your time. Drop a note or give a call to each person you’ve met. Be sure to fulfill any promises you’ve made.

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Guest Expert:

Called the father of modern networking by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the founder and chairman of BNI (www.bni.com), the world's largest business networking organization. His latest book, Networking Like a Pro, can be viewed at www.IvanMisner.com Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute (http://www.referralinstitute.com/), an international referral training company. He can be reached at misner@bni.com.

A highly sought after word-of-mouth and referral marketing expert, Mark Deutsch is the Managing Editor of The Business Networker. Mark is also the Dean of Elephant University (http://www.elephantu.com/), a sales/marketing training company, and he is the CEO/Executive Director of BNI-Central Virginia (http://www.bniva.com/). He is a widely recognized expert in sales, marketing, sales management, and entrepreneurship and a frequent speaker on the topics. Mark is also a Guest Expert for Love Your Life (Again) specializing in business networking. He can be reached at mark@markdeutsch.com.

Coordinator

This article was coordinated by CareerRocketeer regular contributor Brent Peterson.

Brent Peterson, PMP, MS, MBA, is the founder of Interview Angel Inc, a company that offers a comprehensive guide and toolkit for job seekers to use in interviews. Interview Angel is in use at universities, corporations, non-profit agencies, and local governments.
Discover customer testimonials, blog posts, upcoming events, and media interviews at http://www.interviewangel.com/. Brent is also in LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/brentpeterson) and on Twitter (@InterviewAngel).

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Do You Have a Network in Place

A friend of mine is quitting her job to go teach in Rwanda. I wished her well, and was very happy for her, but then immediately, I had a question: do you have a network in place? This question, it turns out, is quite a core piece of what Julien and I think matters to the way business is done these days (and honestly, the way life is done). And it’s a bit evolutionary, so let’s talk a moment more about it.

Our Old Networks

In the old days, our network was a little easier to understand: relatives, neighbors, coworkers, schoolmates. It was weighted heavily on genetics, geography, and our job. It made a lot of sense. The downside was that, if a region got hit hard by lack of work, then we were all in the same boat. The downside was, everyone knew us for what we were, so they had trouble seeing us for what we wanted to become. The downside was, sometimes, we wanted to shift radically, and we didn’t have a sense of what to do.

Keith Ferrazzi wrote the classic book, Never Eat Alone, back before we had little digital networks in our pockets at all times. He wrote it for the people who hadn’t yet found the new networks.

Our New Networks

We have new tools, new opportunities, new ways of gathering people to us. With tools like Facebook, we can connect with people from our past and in related fields. With tools like Twitter, we can connect with anyone in the world. Our new networks are based more about thinking, mindsets, ideals, passions, and future visions. We can be who we want to be, or who we’re growing into being. Our past is there, but it’s not often the focal point. It’s our ideas and our ideals that drive things forward.

ABN: Always Be Networking

Danger: I don’t mean “always be networking” in the smarmy, business card ninja way. I mean it in the “let’s connect with wonderful, thoughtful people all over the world” kind of way.

In my network are people from every continent (though not as many in Africa). In my network are many walks of life, from preachers to millionaires, from teachers to artists to real estate types. They range in age from the early teens up into the 70s and 80s.

That’s on purpose. I love the diversity. I love being able to reach out and help others connect because of the larger and larger web I’m weaving. A healthy, thriving network is a beautiful thing. It’s also why I encourage people to connect with me on LinkedIn (my email: linkedin @ chrisbrogan . com). I love the connections because I use them to be as helpful as possible.

Feed the Network

There’s no value in your contact list if you don’t reach out to them when you can, and if you can’t offer them value long before you have a request of your own. It goes that way. You have to try and offer what you have. Then, when the time comes, and not in a “quid pro quo” kind of way, there will be some sense that a relationship existed long before you needed it. “Be there before the sale,” Julien and I called it in Trust Agents.

Feed your network often. Connect with them. Touch them in whatever ways you can.

Never Jump Without a Network

So many people are trying to reach escape velocity. They’ve had enough of their job, or they’re aching to try something new. They want to leap out into the nothingness.

But to me, there are two things you need before you jump: money and a network. Of the two, I think the network is more important. With a network, you might have people who’ll cover some of your needs until the money flows in. A lot of people were kind to me along the way, and so I do my best to be kind to others who are on their path. So to me, the network might be more important, and yet, you’ll need both.

Never jump into the nothingness without a network. You can always benefit from having contacts in other places, with other disciplines, and who offer something new to the story.

And You?

How are you nurturing your network? How diverse do you keep it? Do you think beyond your current job role and your current needs, or is your network a homogenous reflection of you?

I’m glad to know you. You’re my network. You make me feel stronger every day.

Photo credit faster panda kill kill

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Posted via web from AndyWergedal

4 Social Media Marketing Tips That Work

Speakers at the Smash Summit in San Francisco today said brands should take a holistic, goal-oriented, authentic approach to social media marketing, rather than focusing on any one platform or method. Analyst and keynoter Jeremiah Owyang labeled the temptation of marketers to fixate on any one tool like Facebook or Twitter “fondling the hammer” as opposed to building the house — an awkward if memorable metaphor. But presenters did offer up a few solid case studies about tweaks that worked. Here are some of the ones I picked up:

Use the tools available to tweak your targeting and language and test them, said Facebook’s Bubba Murarka. In one test, he was able to boost clickthrough rates fivefold by changing the world “has” to “could” in the text of an ad. Murarka is working on publishing an academic paper on the findings, he said.

Posting fresh content is important, but the archive has value, said YouTube’s Hunter Walk. He advised brands to start on YouTube with an “anchor video.” Once it gets to about 5,000 views, it will start surfacing in search and related videos. Of YouTube’s more than 1 billion playbacks per day, Walk said, half of them are from content uploaded more than six months ago. That’s a huge opportunity.

Make promotions fun, said Wildfire Interactive CEO Victoria Ransom. For the private retailer Hautelook, Wildfire turned coupons awarded to fans on Facebook into a game. Users didn’t know the value of a coupon they received — anywhere between 10 and 90 percent off — until they registered. Hautelook received five times as much revenue as what they spent on the campaign, with customers including 20 percent first-time buyers and many more people who hadn’t purchased in a while that the company assumed weren’t coming back anymore.

Attention to details matters, said Digg’s Bob Buch. Putting a picture instead of a logo in a Digg Ad doubles the clickthrough rate, every time. Virgin America posted an ad on Digg that was just a reprint of what the company uses for search. It had a logo that was poorly sized for Digg’s image slot, and nothing in particular to appeal to Digg users. The ad had a sub-1 percent clickthrough rate, said Buch. “It doesn’t have to be a girl in a bikini,” said Buch, “any picture will work.”

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

The Dos and Don’ts of Social Media Marketing

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How Do I Network? | Career Rocketeer - Career Search and Personal Branding Blog

While this may sound like a strange question, it is one that I get asked often. Since we are all looking for opportunities for greater success, networking is a skill we might want to learn. In this post, I’ll take a look at some of the reasons for our inability to connect with others and how we might be able to overcome them.

It’s not hard to understand why it’s important to be able to network. A quick look at the job situation in March shows that we are about 30,000 jobs short of what we need to keep up with our growing US population. Right now, the government is holding these numbers up with temporary census jobs. Once that’s over, competition will get really fierce (like it isn’t already). At this rate, you can expect it to take 5 to 8 years to catch up. That should give us plenty of time to learn some networking skills.

Once these opportunities start showing up, we’ll need to connect with people on the inside of companies to get a job, since that’s how most jobs are filled. Yep, it’s a little thing called referrals. It’s a trump card that can win you the game. Of course, they are not so easy to get. You have to network with others, get to know them and convince them to help you. Here are a few reasons why this might be tough for you.

Academia doesn’t teach it. The college years were fun and teach us a lot of skills that we can use to improve our career. As an engineer, I learned more than I wanted to know about physics, chemistry, material science and electronics. The one thing we never discussed in those 6 years (bachelors and masters) was how to work a room full of people. If I had been looking for a good engineering job that didn’t require me to interact with people, I was setup for success.

Unfortunately, I got a job in a company that was full of people. To make matters worse, they didn’t speak the engineering language. Once I began interacting with my fellow employees from quality, HR, management, contracts, production and so on, I realized that if I had any intentions of being successful, I had to learn to read people and speak in ways they could understand. Otherwise, I ran the risk of creating my own communication barriers, which could easily blind me of opportunities.

We don’t make attempts to practice it. Networking is not just a skill, it’s an art. Sure, there are some basic aspects of communicating with people that will make you better, but it takes practice to make yourself great. How many events do you attend each year? Most of us don’t push the development of our skills by registering for social or business conferences. These are perfect venues for establishing connections in other companies, industries and geographical locations.

Maybe we avoid these things because we feel out of place. It moves us away from our comfort zone. But this is often exactly what companies are looking for. They want someone who can walk into a strange situation, with little information, and take charge of it. Anyone can follow, but few can lead. As I learned as an engineer, your daily job doesn’t provide a whole of chances to improve your networking skills. I don’t mean that you don’t develop friendships with your coworkers. That’s not the situation where you can excel. Your opportunities come from successfully building working relationships with the people you don’t know, such as suppliers, clients, potential customers, vendors and contractors.

We don’t understand the value. I’ll have to admit it, but it took me quite a few years to assess the real value in networking. I’m not talking about the conversations around the water cooler. I’m talking about stepping into a room where I didn’t know a single soul in the room. However, when I left, I had business cards from numerous people, whom I followed up with and are still in contact with today.

It wasn’t so easy at first. I would enter the auditorium but would keep to myself. I didn’t interact much, except for this one time when I was at an event I actually knew someone else who was in the audience. He was an old colleague and a big networker. I figured he would have fun with me since he knew I was out of my element. However, he showed me around and introduced me to several people. It put me at ease. From then on, I realized that people were in the room. You know, people just like me and you. They think the same things, feel the same things and even seek the same things.

Each new contact leads me down a new road, for which most of them lead to another new contact. This is expanding your network. It’s a simple concept. You walk up to someone you don’t know and introduce yourself. You ask a few questions about them to learn who they are, what interests them and what things you share in common. If you find a lot of commonalities with your new contacts make sure to follow-up with them later to share your schedule and list of activities (in case they are interested in one of them). If you need help, you ask them for it and you encourage them to do the same. The relationship is mutually beneficial.

Sounds simple right? Well, it is. It doesn’t take much more than what I just defined in the previous chapter. Most often the obstacles to networking that get in the way and keep you from connecting with others are inside your head. You are your biggest obstacle. How do you overcome it? Keep putting yourself outside of your comfort zone. Eventually, it isn’t uncomfortable. At this point, it’s a whole new world. Your eyes will be opened and you’ll wonder why we fear what we don’t know.

New roads will lead you to new adventures. This is what we talk about when we say we are looking for new opportunities. Notice though that the opportunities don’t just come directly to you. You actually have to meet people to find these new paths. Then, you must walk the path and be able to recognize the opportunity. Lastly, you must act on it. It’s not hard work. Spending four or more years solving a lot of textbook problems was hard work.

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Author:

Todd Rhoad, MSEE, MBA is the Director at BT Consulting, a career consulting firm in Altanta, and author of the book, Blitz The Ladder. Stay tuned for his upcoming book, The MBA Owners Manual, coming out this year. Todd can be reached at todd.rhoad@blitzteamconsulting.com.

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Build Your Digital Relationships Before You Need Them | Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel

The old rules of professional networking translate to the online world as well. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “build your network before you need it.” Every single job search success story that I’ve heard stems from someone already having a network, tapping into that network, and then securing referrals and interviews from it. In this way, your online network is your only insurance policy against a layoff, and it is a bridge to new opportunities as well. On the other hand, if you choose to solely focus on job boards, newspaper ads, and job fairs, your job search will last five times as long. If you’re starting a business and you don’t have a large network, then you are at a big disadvantage and you’ll have to spend more time networking, when you could be investing in your business and serving customers.

The facts

Avoid networking at your own peril. You can’t afford to ignore online connections these days, especially when almost every first impression is created virtually, and people are more accessible than they have ever been. As you can see by the following statistics, building your network before you need to is timeless advice. If you have a network, especially an active one, it’s far easier to land your next big job, start or expand a business, or move up in a company.

• 70% of jobs are secured through networking (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• Jobs seekers spend 68% of their time looking at online job postings–and less than one-third of their time reaching out to others (UpMo.com)
• 92% of small business owners recommend business-focused online networking (WeCanDo.biz)

What happens when you build your network when you need it?

You shouldn’t rush to build your network. There’s a reason why ExecuNet states that 74% of executive jobs are through referrals. There’s also a reason why one-night-stands don’t result in relationships!

If you’re looking for a new job or another opportunity (and don’t have a network), you will exude these three qualities (acronym=DAD) to people who you’re trying to network with:

1. Desperate: Job seekers, entrepreneurs who are trying to raise venture capital, and corporate workers who are begging to move up the ladder, will naturally appear desperate if they don’t have a support system to back them up. Other people will know that your desperate because you’ll promote yourself and hand them a resume, without shaking hands with them. You will try too hard, talk too fast, and ask for an introduction, without even getting to know the person. I don’t know about you but I don’t respond favorably to those types of people.
2. Aggressive: Being aggressive is a very good thing in life, but if you’re overly aggressive because you need something from someone else, then it makes you look bad. For instance, if you’re really looking to get promoted and you bug your boss every day, you will probably either lose your job. Also, if you’re looking for a job and you’re in a conversation with someone, you’ll harass them in-person, and then through email after, until they respond. You need to understand that people will only go out of their way for you if they already know you, like you, trust you, and feel that they can proudly endorse you.
3. Disingenuous: You can’t force relationships on people, so your attempts to network when you need it become viewed as dishonest and insincere. People know what you’re after so they will be turned off, not engaged, and not welcoming of your resume. Adding one hundred new LinkedIn contacts isn’t going to result in a job because people don’t know who you are, what you want, and if they receive an email from you saying that you want a job, you will be “LinkedOut.”

When you have an agenda, other people can smell it out, and it will be hard to convince them to support you.

The difference between online and offline networking

Online networking

When you have an online brand, you will be judged on the size of your network (your popularity), your influence within your industry, how you describe yourself and what you do professionally and personally, and the way you go about reaching out to other people. Also, it’s important to note what your intentions are for networking online, and how you will continue to provide your knowledge to that networking community forever. When you network online, there are certain unspoken rules, such as “don’t add a friend without sending a customized introduction letter,” and figuring out “what’s in it for them.” In the online world, your introductions and conversations are cataloged, shared, and responded to. This means that you have to be twice as careful as what you would say in-person.

Key differences are: your network is visible, searchable, and people can draw conclusions about who you are based on who you’re connected with on a grand scale.

Offline networking

When you’re in an offline networking situation, people can get a good feel for who you are based on your behavior, body language, and words. They can also grasp how you conduct yourself, and who you associate yourself with. All of these factors in drawing people into your networking database. Offline connections tend to become online one’s as well, especially if someone wants to follow-up with you or remain connected because they or you might feel compelled to work with them in the future.

Key differences are: Offline networking, or networking in a real-world environment, breeds stronger connections because you get a better sense of who someone is based on emotions.

5 steps to build your digital network in preparation for a career or business move

Let’s think of building your digital network like building a house. Here are the following steps you should take:

1. Have a plan of attack: Before you build a house, you need to know where you want the house built, who you want to work on it, what materials you’re going to use, etc. When you build your online network, you will want to know which social media sites you want to use, and which target group of people you want to build relationships with.
   
2. Lay the foundation down: Always, always, always, import your current email, instant messaging, and social network contacts in everything you do. Of course, you shouldn’t do this if you have a “personal profile,” but otherwise you should. By starting with a base, even if it’s your parents, friends, and a few acquaintances, it’s easier to build off of it. You can’t build a house without a foundation, and a deed.
   
3. Get all your bricks together: Once you’ve chosen the social networks, blogs, and other websites where you want to grow your network, then you have to enable others to become connected to you. For instance, with a blog, you’ll want to add the “Facebook Like Plugin,” or a “Share This Plugin.” By doing this, you’re able to attract more referrals from people who are in your industry. Other bricks you’ll need are the design, some content to make it appear that you’re human, and flawless profiles.
   
4. Build a house: Once you have the foundation and the bricks, then you need to build a community by driving conversations, commenting on other people’s materials, and become a leader in your category.
   
5. Make house additions: You should always look to expand your network by providing more value, building a better site, or even starting your own social network. You want to keep leveraging new technology so that you can reach more people.

Your turn

Do you typically put off networking until you need to?

via personalbrandingblog.com

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How Advertising Creeps Me Out — and How Social Media Can Help

A recent development in advertising has really rubbed me the wrong way. I know it was supposed to be a good and helpful thing, but it felt so Big Brother-ish that I felt annoyed and almost angry at the company who clearly thought it was a good idea to perpetrate what felt like a violation. I really think social media could have been a much better set of tools to achieve better results for the advertiser.

Here’s what happened to me: I used Register.com to register a domain name. I know, it isn’t the cheapest domain registrar, but it has been reliable with excellent customer service, so I’ve been a customer since the 1990s. The other day, I was poking around for new domain names (because one can never have too many domain names), and purchased one. Then I went off on my merry way surfing the web for other things.

Much later on, I was on a site entirely unrelated to domain names and an ad on the side of the page I was browsing caught my eye. It contained the exact domain name I had recently purchased, but with a different suffix. It was telling me that I could purchase a variation of the domain name I already had. And right away it creeped me out. Upon closer inspection, it was an ad from Register.com. My geeky, I’ve-been-doing-this-stuff-for-years brain knew that this ad was most likely generated by tapping into the cookies on my browser, and that someone, somewhere, got the wacky idea that customizing my advertising experience would be a good thing — not just tailoring the ad to my interests (travel, parenting, Internet services) but literally lifting what I now felt was my domain name and putting it in the ad. Even though it was supposed to serve me and entice me to purchase more, I was annoyed.

How Social Media Can Help

Where do we draw the lines between connected and disconnected? Where do we draw the lines between opting into personalization and customization and having it automatically appear because our activities online are being tracked and tagged? My thinking on this is if a company wants to get social with me as a customer, it should use social media tools, not cookies and automated tools to track my every move and then spit information out to me based on some kind of algorithm.

What I would have rather experienced with Register.com could fall under a number of social media marketing tools and tactics. These are simple things that, at first, might seem like unrelated to the sale of a domain name, but hear me out.

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1. When I bought the domain name, it would have been nice to be led to a page that thanks me for the purchase and encouraged me to connect with the company on Facebook or Twitter.
2. Once I “liked” the company’s Facebook Page, I’d pay attention to specials or discounts offered via the Page. I’m fine with consuming messaging from a company via their Facebook page, even if the messages are merely reminders to buy that domain name that I’ve been thinking about.
3. If I followed the company on Twitter, ditto. I’d be happy to see a discount code running through my Twitterstream that I could act on immediately, perhaps prompted by the nudge: “Hey, thinking about getting a new domain name for that project you’re working on? Act now…”

I probably wouldn’t visit a Register.com blog or subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed. As a consumer, my plate is overflowing, but it’s easy enough for me to connect to a company I like and have a varied stream of messaging from them in my two most frequently used social networks.

Isn’t that how social media marketing should work versus old-fashioned, clunky and invasive advertising? Let’s connect, feed me some valuable info over time interspersed with marketing messages and some coupons or discounts, and I’m a happy camper. Trust builds between us. I’m not creeped out by your connections to my communications streams. It’s a win/win scenario.

What do you think about the old ways of advertising and the new ways of connecting to customers via social media?

via webworkerdaily.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

From J. Lory and other Northern California Jobs group members on LinkedIn

Below is a great example of social networking and building your network.

In March of this year, my Linked-In profile was compromised. I am attempting to reestablish connections past and present. I have 10+ years of delivering full-life-cycle recruiting services to web-based and advanced software application technology companies, including all levels of software product development, associated engineering and services, and product marketing and sales. I am extremely well versed in advanced sourcing techniques. Primary areas of work have been specific to ERP practices, E-Business, SAAS platforms, mobile & media, and advanced communications.

I am currently seeking contract recruiting work in the Bay Area/ Silicon Valley region. Please feel free to establish [or reestablish] connections with me. My Linked-In profile can be found at www.linkedin.com/in/jlory1

Thanks in advance. By J. Lory, Sr. Recruiter :: Information Technology

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Tips for Saving Time while Building Your Personal Brand | Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel

Are you one of the many who use lack of time as a reason to put-off building a personal brand by writing provocative thought leadership articles, books, starting a podcast, frequently updating your blog, or submitting guest posts on other blogs?

If you don’t have the time now, when will you have the time?

Lack of time is an unfortunate reality for most of us; today, everyone is stretched then by family demands, financial pressures, job expectations, and an “always connected” Internet/cell phone world.

Nevertheless, each year, new subject area experts appear as competitors in every area.

What’s their secret?

Since everyone shares 24-hour days, and no amount of wishful thinking is likely to reduce your workload, there are mainly just 2 things you can do to find the time to build your personal brand:

1. Commitment. Commitment means making your personal brand a priority in your life, not just something you do when you finish your “real” job. Commitment involves recognizing the importance of creating a personal brand, making difficult choices, and cultivating the habits needed to create the content you need to establish a a compelling personal brand in your field.
2. Efficiency. After making the commitment to build your personal brand, you have to cultivate the habits of efficiency. Efficiency involves multiplying your time by accomplishing in 30-minutes a day what would normally take you 60 or 90 minutes a day. Efficiency involves writing strategically, so your words and key ideas can be leveraged as broadly as possible.

The following are some ideas learned from authors and subject area experts whom I’ve interviewed during the past 18 months.

7 time-saving personal branding tips

1. Time limits. Try writing your blog posts in 30-minutes, or less. Stress builds, and productivity often gets clogged, when you take a writing task too seriously. The solution is to commit to writing your blog posts in 30-minutes. Words are far more likely to flow when you spend your time writing, rather than over-thinking the topic before you begin writing. Writing quickly also gives you more time to review and self-edit your post before sharing it with the Internet.
2. Technology. One recently self-published author I interviewed purchased an inexpensive, hand-held digital recorder and dictates blog posts and sections of chapters while driving to client meetings or stopped at traffic lights. When he gets back, he plugs the digital recorder into his computer, and his voice recognition software program transcribes his dictation and prepares the first draft.
3. Expanding topics. Although the practice is by no means universal, more and more individuals are building their personal brands and leveraging their writing by expanding blog posts into articles, ebooks, and chapters of brand-building books.
4. Condensing topics. The same idea works in reverse; blog posts can be condensed to their essence and reused as tip sheets and sidebars in articles and books.
5. Reformatting. Content ideas should transcend media; ideas that first appear as blog posts can be addressed in podcasts and YouTube videos. Likewise, after creating a podcast, you might be able to convert the topic into 2 or 3 separate blog posts addressing aspects of the podcast. Each media has its own followers. More important, each time you re-address a topic, you’re likely to come up with new ideas.

   

6. Live connections. One of the easiest ways to develop new content is to present an on-going series of free interviews and teleseminars which are recorded and transcribed.  Live events create deadlines that overcome procrastination and prompt action. Your enthusiasm builds, and your voice changes, when you’re projecting to a live audience, and the ideas flow as they tend to during conversations.
7. Crowd-sourcing. Many profitable personal brands have been based on tapping into the power of others, often by providing an opportunity for others to share their expertise and ideas. By soliciting success stories and examples of mistakes made and lessons learned, or even just commenting on the videos found on the TED.Org site, ( not only taps into the power of story, but provides a foundation for your critical analyses and observations.

Personal branding sense demands efficient content creation

The above are just a few of the ways you can save time while building your personal brand with helpful and relevant content. There’s no time to waste! If you want to succeed in the Web 2.0 world, you must establish your personal brand, and personal brands dependent content. Your ability to build your personal brand is, ultimately, tied to your ability to save time creating content. Do you agree? What’s your favorite time-saving technique? Do you have a tip you’d like to share with others? Submit your ideas as comments, below.

Author:

Roger C. Parker shares ideas for planning writing, promoting, & profiting ideas and strategies in his daily writing tips blog. His latest book is #BOOK TITLE Tweet: 140 Bite-Sized Ideas for Compelling Article, Book, & Event Titles.

via personalbrandingblog.com

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Networking – You Need A Heart Of Gold

What does it mean, generally, to have a heart of gold?  I checked the lyrics from Neil Young’s song with the same name and I’m not sure he has it nailed down.  The Kinks (greatest band of all time) have a song also with that name.  Their key lyric says:

But underneath that cold exterior, I know you’ve got a heart of gold

So, officially, I’m going to say a “gold heart” is good and, if you have one, you will make others feel good.

And I guess this post in the end is about intent.  If you are out networking with a particular purpose.  To win.  To succeed.  To be the most connected person at the event.  Well, let me suggest that you slow down a bit.

Because your heart is likely a bit lighter in color.  Like a silver perhaps.

And if that’s true, you have an opportunity to make some adjustments.  To consider the needs of others and to consider that maybe there are some folks out there that could specifically use your help.  Tomorrow.

If you’ve become a bit myopic.  Consider taking a break.  Consider taking a productive day off during job search.

Photo Credit, Bennett Graham

via timsstrategy.com

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How To Build A High Value Network

This is a guest post from Mohammed Al-Taee, a blogger who lives in Amman, Jordan.  His Altaee Blog focuses on social media and career development topics.  Mohammed and I met on Twitter and have started a value exchange.  His post below is a must read for anyone looking to build a powerful long-term network (a new, feel good form of social capital).  You can follow Mohammed on Twitter to begin your own conversation with him!

Recently, I ended my presentation at Amman International Toastmasters Club with a quote by Author Tim Sanders who said:  “Someday this will be true for all of us: Our network will equal our net worth.”

The quote is true for me and it’s the reason I write this post. In the near past, we used to have a circle of friends who we met offline and it was the only way to be connected.  But today, for many of us, our circle of friends is mostly our online network, i.e. the connections that we add everyday are our net worth. Think of your net worth potential as a job offer from one of your Facebook friends, a Follow Friday #FF from your Twitter followers that could get you another 10 followers, or an invitation to write a guest blog post as I’m honored today. Think of net worth as a new opportunity that could bring a new business, career or the most valuable thing, a new connection to your network.

Here are some proven ways to build a high value network:

1 – Engage your followers and friends through interesting updates, don’t just be a broadcaster of normal information. Read an article and share your favorite statement as a tweet or make a question from an article and share it with your friends. Engagement is must-have skill in today’s social media revolution.

2 – Update your status frequently but remember that each social network has its audience so try to share business, training and presentation events on Linkedin; personal, questions and kind of interesting things on Facebook; and everything else can be shared on Twitter. Twitter will become your online biography in the near future so keep your tweets professional.

3 – Promote what’s important to your network.  Whether it’s a tweet, a link in a blog post or even writing Linkedin recommendation. I have today three recommendations from my Twitter friends, we never met but I know them now like any of my colleagues. We collaborate online most of the time and that was enough to know my brand.

4 – Grow your network by connecting with more non-spam people.  It’s right that the more connections you have, the less social interactions you make with your friends but it’s worth to have a big network. Think big when it come to social networking.

5 - Tag your followers when you RT or share a status via Facebook. This tag could connect more like-minded people in your network and by that your and your friend’s network becomes a network of values.

6 – Help your network by selectivity inviting the right people into the right group or fan page. I always mention some of my Twitter followers in resource or a tweet but after making sure its suits their needs. Always give before receive. Offer value and don’t expect something in return, this is a great way to build your personal brand.

7 – Connect people. Play the role of connector on your social networks, I’m enjoying doing that everyday. It doesn’t require any physical efforts; you can do it while you are on Linkedin or Twitter. I realized that the more people I connect, the more people will connect to me.

8 – Gratitude for your network. Write at least one Linkedin recommendation to one of your colleague even if he/she is overseas, Tweet 10 Follow Friday to the best tweeple, and comment everyday on your favorite blogs. Do it and make it part of your brand attributes. Remember, adding value to your network starts with you so be generous.

9 – Ask your network. I wouldn’t able to make my Brand Conversations with experts on my Blog without inviting them. I wouldn’t write my guest post here without Tim’s invitation. Ask your network for help or advice because it’s about mutual interests.  I add value to your network and you do the same.

10 – Brand yourself, in order for people to remember you, you need to position yourself on your social networks. Be remarkable so you become the first in other people’s minds when they want to share resource, invitation for an event, business opportunity or even a coffee meeting. Your personal brand is key to build your network as mentioned in a recent book called Career Distinction: “when the members of your network respect you and understand your brand, they give you their support as you advance your careers.”

via timsstrategy.com

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5 Burning Questions To Ask Yourself Today | Brand-Yourself.com Blog

The world today moves faster than ever before.  It is so easy to get caught up in the 24/7 barrage of information and connectivity and never step back for a little self-evaluation.  Allow me to suggest a few “what-if” questions to ask yourself.  Some are logical, some are a bit off-the-wall, but the sum of your answers should provide an excellent snapshot of where your brand stands today.

What if you lost your job tomorrow?

I’m certain that for some of you, this question is more than future conjecture; it might be reality.  For those currently unemployed, this “Help! I lost my job!” article might contain a few helpful resources.  If you are pondering this “what-if” for the first time, ask yourself if you’d be devastated or relieved.  If “devastated” – are you doing enough to make certain you keep your job?  If “relieved” – might it be time look elsewhere and align your future goals with your personal brand?

What if you could not use your resume to impress prospective employers?

We’ve discussed this hypothetical situation before, when I asked if resumes would even be around in 10 years.  Well…what if they didn’t exist, starting tomorrow?  Imagine you had to prove your worth to a recruiter without the trusty resume as your sidekick.  How impressive (or existent) would the following be:

• LinkedIn profile?
• LinkedIn references?
• Blog archives?
• YouTube channel?
• Twitter listings?

Ideally, you would knock a hiring manager’s socks off with any of the above tools.  If not, time to get working!

What if your favorite social network disappeared tomorrow?

Admittedly, the percentage chance that Twitter or Facebook would suddenly disappear is infinitesimal.  Yet, I think posing the question is still a valuable exercise.  Specifically – if Twitter is your network of choice, how many of your connections do you really know?  Do you have their e-mail addresses, phone numbers, or websites stored away?  Personally, using this test, my 6,000 connections would instantly dwindle to around 100 – which is a bit scary.  You?

What if you could turn your real passion into a lucrative career?

If you could instantly take your #1 life passion and transform it into a lasting, financially rewarding career, would you do it?  Of course you would!  So then, the real question is not “what if?”, but rather “how can I make it happen?”.  Check out 50 of the weirdest jobs that actually exist, for creative inspiration.  Then, watch this Gary Vaynerchuk speech for REAL inspiration (caution: strong language).

What if you could borrow attributes from other personal brands?

For me, this would be an easy question to answer – there are so many people I admire for very specific traits.  I’d take Copyblogger’s wit, Melissa Cooley’s generosity, Dan Schawbel’s entrepreneurial spirit, and so on…what about you?  After you ask and answer the “what if,” next ask what steps you can take to actually initiate change.  The social web is full of brilliant, shining examples for us to emulate – but it is up to us to ultimately make the change.

Now, let me ask you – What question have I omitted that everyone should ask themselves today?

Do you have questions on personal branding in general?  Ask Ryan Rancatore at Personal Branding 101, and your question might be featured in an upcoming blog post.  Or, send an @RyanRancatore to Ryan on Twitter.

via blog.brand-yourself.com

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What's Your Personal Network Worth To You? | Brand-Yourself.com Blog

It would be safe to say that most of us value the connections we have in our personal networks.  That’s why we make them in the first place, right?  Some people have even attempted to put a monetary value on them.  But take a minute to think about it. Do you appreciate the quality of your connections, or is it the quantity? Maybe you have thousands of connections and can send out a quick ping to the group and get many responses. That is one aspect of the power of social media! Or you could be focused in on a tiny niche, with less than a hundred contacts, but they are worth gold, each one of them.

Before we go any further, let me explain what I mean by “personal network.” For the sake of this post, let’s take it in the context of an online personal network. This may consist of your Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections, or those whom you follow on Twitter.

Now imagine what you would do if that entire personal network that you took some serious time to build it up, just, disappeared? Sound like a scary scenario? It might be, depending on how you look at it. The value of a personal network can be hard to put a tag on.

I just did something that may surprise many of you. I just set my social online personal network back to zero (yes, 0), and did it on purpose!

Here are my reasons for doing what some would call a bad move:

• Experimental – It’s taken me a few years to build up the contacts I’ve made on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. I’m curious to see how long it will take me to build it back up, and I might do it slower this time.
• To make a point (to myself) – That I won’t really miss that much. The details that are very important to me will still rise to the top. Cream always rises to the top.
• Quality over quantity – Think organic. I have some wonderful contacts and people I talk with on a frequent basis on the social media wave. They will probably be some of the first people/brands I add again. But there is no rush. I can always do an old fashioned email or phone call in the mean time.
• Gives me a fresh perspective – Everyone has their own method of social network contact discovery. For some it’s annoyingly uploading their entire address book to every site and hitting invite to all 800 of their contacts. Others it’s more organic, just let it happen. I’ve done both. I was almost stopped from doing any more invites on LinkedIn once because I invited so many people at once. I learned a good lesson and will never do anything like that again.

By the numbers

For posterity:

• LinkedIn – removed 401 connections
• Facebook – removed 306 friends
• Twitter – unfollowed 486

This post isn’t about me!

Although I focused a large portion of the post on my experience, and why I did it, I’d like to focus it back on you, the reader. You may be thinking a few things right now, but if you can take away anything take this. The value of your personal network is what you can offer to it. I am confident that I will rebuild my personal network even stronger than before, meeting new contacts along the way. I know this, because I am focused on adding value to it through quality over quantity.

Question: What can you do, today, to add value to your personal network?

About the Author: Mark is content with chinking away on the process of re-building his online personal network. He enjoys conversing on Twitter and growing and adding value to his network on LinkedIn. Mark likes how links come across in his Facebook news feed.

via blog.brand-yourself.com

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What Would Dad Say » The New Visual Elevator Pitch

You know what the elevator pitch is…it is the little talk you give about your career or new product or new company, all condensed into the time it takes you to ride up in the elevator.  So not much time.

Done well, every word matters and there’s no wasted you-know’s and um’s.

High level friends, venture capitalists and others who have A-D-D love elevator speeches.  Concentration being what it is today, the shorter the better.  Hey, what about those Minnesota Twins!!

I have a new idea.  I am calling it the Visual Elevator Speech, copyrighted by GLH.

Every business leader I know has a constant issue with his team not being able to communicate what it is they do.  Staff management types recite the company mission, (maybe), but leave out important parts.  Sales people do a feature dump on prospects…”No, YOU LISTEN, here is what I am selling!!”

Every once in a while a top leader will get his team together to “get back to basics.”  These meetings typically take four hours or, if moderated by an outside consultant type person, four days.  At the end we all sing Kum-Bay-Yah.

Instead try this.

Design ten 4 by 6 postcards, only the art side.  You must have a picture and at least three sentences+your company’s logo, your kicker text.  Use Google images and find the picture you want…then come up with the copy.

These postcards are going to your prospects or other audience.  Imagine sending them a postcard each week for ten weeks straight.  Do they get what you do?

Can you condense your message down to the postcard?  Can you find their hot button, or pain, or need, or whatever it is you call it now in your own sales training program?

Three sentences and a picture.  Show me what you got.

Here are two examples for you.  At Linkup, the coolest of the job search engines, we index company websites and present those jobs to job seekers.  By showing job seekers only these jobs and taking them directly to the company’s own website, they are better prepared, more likely to understand the company and so forth.  Here are two postcards that condense those thoughts.  My tenth one is a LOT better and so will yours.

via blogs.jobdig.com

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Are you cheating on your employer? | JibberJobber Blog

I’ve read a few things on doing a job search at your office – that is, at your employers office, with their computer, internet connection, etc. I was surprised to read one article talk about how to do it – make sure your boss knew, make sure you knew what the HR policies are, etc. That may be good and true, but even if it is within the policies at your office, you really are opening yourself to your employer (you know, the “internet cops”). I realize that this is a little different in a contracting environment.

But here is the problem. In my last job, I was the General Manager of what was essentially a start-up IT firm. I felt that if I would do things that everyone should be doing (networking, having an updated resume, etc.) I was essentially *cheating* on my company. Actually, I felt worse about *cheating* on my employees. How does it look if your boss, the guy that is trying to instill a strong culture and work ethic, is spending his spare time working on the “safety net”… especially at a small firm? Not too good. I spent a lot of time with these guys talking about where we were headed and building momentum that was exciting – and made it exciting to work there.

… and then I was laid off. Really, I should have been working on that safety net. Here is what I wish I would have been doing:

1. Keeping an updated resume
2. Maintaining relationships with recruiters
3. Keeping tabs on the job market – I had been in small business for so long that I wasn’t up to speed on certain common job titles, roles, responsibilities, what skills are considered current, etc.
4. Have at least 2 interviews a year – sure you aren’t looking, but this is a great way of networking, and seeing how other companies do things
5. Go to network meetings – rotary or alumni sponsored or local interest (within or close to your specialty), etc.
6. Written more articles to be published in my arena – this builds credibility and gets my name out (in other words, builds/reinforces my personal brand)
7. Tried to get at least one speaking engagement a year – whether at a university, association, etc. Again, build/reinforce your personal brand – you should establish yourself as an SEO in something
8. Network
9. Network
10. Network… and network some more

I think one of the hassles of networking is keeping track of the relationships, contact info, etc. using JibberJobber helps you keep track of all of this information – you should focus on the relationship, not on a tracking spreadsheet that you are constantly tweaking. Of course, I’m preaching to the choir, right?

So, go ahead and cheat on your employer. Create expertise, build your brand. In reality, doing this adds value to your employer – I think that’s what people refer to as a win-win!

via jibberjobber.com

Just not on company time...

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