Search For and Connect with People

LinkedIn has a search function that allows you to look up members in specific industries, companies, positions, educational levels, by name, and even by keyword. Some of these features require you to upgrade your LinkedIn account to the Pro level in order to use them. But you will be able to find and contact people who have a need for your products, services, and opportunities.

Join Groups Filled with Your Prospects

Like most social networking sites, you can connect with likeminded individuals on LinkedIn by joining groups. Use the search function to find groups related to your interests or business type. Not only will you be able to interact with potential prospects but you can often trade ideas on how to make your mutual businesses better and more profitable.

Alternatively, Start a Group

If you can’t find a group that fits your needs or you have a unique idea for one that will attract people in your target market to you, then start a group. The one caveat to this is that you need to be prepared to run the group. A lot of people get caught up in the excitement of building an online meeting place that draws people to their business that they don’t realize the work involved in maintaining the group and keeping it relevant. If you are willing to put in the time, then you can definitely reap rewards from your efforts.

Use the Event Feature to Network Offline

LinkedIn has an event feature that lets you post information about events, both online and offline that you may be hosting. Additionally, you can find events that other people are hosting which will provide opportunities for you to meet with potential prospects in person.

Answer Questions in the Answer Section

Perhaps one of the best places to meet and impress prospects is through the Answer section of LinkedIn. This is the place where people post questions ranging from seeking business advice to how to better use LinkedIn. Taking the time to answer questions in this section helps to position you as an expert and encourages people to seek you out whenever they need help again. This can be just the thing you need to open the door to a long term relationship.

Direct Ads Campaign

If you’ve got money to spend, the LinkedIn will happy to post your marketing materials on their site. They have options for both companies with large budgets (over $25,000) and people with small budgets. Click on the Advertising button at the bottom of the LinkedIn site for more information on their program.

Because LinkedIn is a business oriented site, it makes the perfect place to look for prospects interested in joining a home based business opportunity. Take some time to get to know this often overlooked social site and you may be surprised at how much you get out of it.

For more social media marketing tips, read other articles I’ve written about using social media outlets to build your business. If you want to take the next step and build a green business that lets you make money while saving the planet take an online tour of a profitable eco-friendly e-commerce business or contact me directly.

(photo credit: nan palmero)

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5. Search Engine Marketing Tips for Capturing Real Time Twitter Traffic

Is this your life?

Another reason trying to build multiple mlm businesses at the same time is probably not a good idea is because of the possible confusion that may result as you attempt to market yourself. When you meet a prospect how will you determine which business opportunity to pitch to them? If they show no interest in one opportunity will you then launch into a sales pitch about your “other” opportunity? It is already difficult to engage people enough to sit through one sales presentation. It is highly unlikely that a prospect is going to allow you to continue to take up their time with another one.

Lastly, you may want to check your contract with your network marketing company for possible non-compete clauses. Some of these network marketing companies are competing fiercely with each other and will not tolerate a network marketer concurrently promoting another mlm business in the same industry. Doing so can result in you having both of your mlm businesses taken away by the parent companies and sued for damages. Not to mention the hit to your credibility as you attempt to sell competing products to the same people in your social network.

Now I want to make it clear that I do not oppose owning more than one business. I firmly believe that financial security requires that you have multiple streams of income flowing into your bank account. That way if one stream fizzles out, you have several others that will take care of your needs until you find something to replace it.

However, I also believe in being smart about your business development. Work on building one business to a successful level before jumping into another one. When you are focused 100% on what you are doing, you’ll communicate your vision more effectively, connect better with prospects, and spot opportunities quicker. Which all means you will achieve success much faster.

If you are starting multiple mlm businesses because you are not experiencing the success you want or none of them are providing you with what you need to succeed, then read a few articles on this blog for ideas on what you can do to kick start your business. Additionally, you can download my free report on why many home based business fail and what you can do make sure yours succeed.

In the meantime, stay focused and be successful.

(photo credit: Thomas Hawk)

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Here are a few suggestions for using social media marketing tools to increase website traffic:

Create Profiles at the Major Sites – Your first step to social media marketing success is to build profiles at the major social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. These sites provide a platform for you to network with people who may be interested in your business. Don’t forget to include links to your website. Facebook and LinkedIn specifically allow you to submit the RSS feed of your blog which will help generate website traffic from people visiting your profile.

Bookmark Yourself – Another social media marketing tactic to get traffic to your website is to submit links to your website and articles to social bookmarking sites such as Delicious, Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon and Blinklist. When submitting sites, be sure to write an attention grabbing headline and description as well as use general and specific tags to categorize the material so it appeals to your target audience.

Create a Traffic Jam to Your Website

Submit Content to Targeted Social Sites – There are a number of social media sites and forums that cater to specific audiences. Many of them allow you to submit original content that is useful to the members. Submitting posts that tap into the needs of the community is a good way to get more website traffic. Be sure to close your articles with a strong call to action that directs the reader to your website.

Use Social Media Marketing Widgets – Your website should be outfitted with bookmarking widgets that allows visitors to submit your site and content to their favorite social media websites. WordPress has a number of plugins such as Tweetmeme, Sexy Bookmarks and OnlyWire that visitors can use to promote your website and increase your website traffic. If you don’t have a blog, or don’t use WordPress, tools like ShareThis and AddThis will work on any website.

Interact with Prospects – Possible the best social media marketing tactic you can use to get traffic to your website is to socialize with people. While the previous suggestions will help you spread your name around, you’ll make yourself more memorable if you actually interact with the members of these websites. You don’t have to have to be active at all of them. Pick one or two that you enjoy using and just starting connecting with people. Show an interest in what they have going on. Not only will you convert a prospect but you’ll make a friend and that is what social networking is all about.

I have been using a number of social media marketing strategies to increase website traffic to my blog. To learn about other powerful techniques you can use to explode your traffic meter, visit RockYourBusinessOnline.com.

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Two great tools to help identify people with like interests & tracking for your business.

TweetBeep

TweetBurner

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5. What is # FollowFriday on Twitter?

Twellow lets you find people on Twitter by location and category as well as find people that have your same interests.

Be sure to register so that you are listed in the directory and put yourself in categories like Green, Eco, Music, etc. This way people can find you by category. Then you will want to go and search for people in these categories and follow them.

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Easily create free, customizable twitter backgrounds using TwitBacks.com. Choose from over 70 pre-designed templates, add your logo and photo, add a bio about yourself and links to your social network profiles. When done you are given an option to enhance it with Picnik.

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You must first understand that your customers only listen to one radio station when considering any product or opportunity; WIIFM, ‘What’s In It For Me’. Now you may be thinking to yourself, “My product is the best thing since mankind discovered fire! It does this extraordinary thing, has these fantastic options and comes in 900 colors. How can my customer not see how horribly inadequate their life is without this product?”

Get people to shop til they drop.

The fact is, your product may have some great features but, in order to convince your customer to buy it, you must translate those features into the tangible benefits they want. Therefore, the secret to increasing sales in your network marketing business is to show your customers how your product fits their needs.

Determine the Features

The first step to using the WIIFM method to increase sales is to list all of your product’s features. For example, I own an online shopping portal that saves people money and time when they use it to make their every day purchases. Two attributes of my shopping website are: it has over 500 major retailers and I offer shopping webinars.

Of course, my shopping website has tons of features and, I’m sure, the products in your network marketing business do too so be sure to list them all.

Detail the Advantages

Next, beside each specific feature, write down the advantage that particular attribute gives to the product. Using my online shopping business again, the advantage to having over 500 retailers means shoppers have a good variety of stores to choose from and the shopping webinars teach people how to make effective use of the site.

Tie Them Together

Lastly, to encourage people to buy and, in turn, increase sales in your network marketing business, you now have to show your customers how your product’s features fulfill their needs. Take some time to think about what is important to your customers and then tie the advantages of your product to what they value most.

My customers all have their favorite store to shop in, so having a lot of major retailers in my internet shopping mall means they are able to shop at the stores they know and love. My customers also like saving money, hence the shopping webinars show them how to find the best deals that puts cash in their pockets.

When you sell the benefits of your products rather than the features, you are almost guaranteed to increase sales in your network marketing business. I make good money selling the ease and convenience of online shopping. Visit Rock Your Business Online to get a FREE home business checklist & to learn more about how you can make money showing other people how to save money shopping online.

(photo credit: ppo @ flickr)

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photo courtesy of Photos8

Creating a compelling personal brand is a vital component to building a successful business. In a time when more and more people are starting their own businesses as a result of a job loss, it is important that you do something to stand out from the crowd. Developing your personal brand will give you the edge you need to cut through the noise and grab the attention of your customer.

Unlike a business brand, which is the story of your company, your personal brand is the story of you. It is the image that pops up in people’s minds when they hear your name. Whether you realize it or not, you already have a personal brand. Ask any of your friends, family or business associates what they think of you and they will tell you exactly what your personal brand stands for.

Your personal brand is not only your perception of yourself but also how others perceive your. The problem is that you may not have ever taken the time to actively and consciously develop your personal brand. As a result, you end up with an image that may not reflect who you truly are.

Your personal brand has an enormous effect on whether or not someone wants to do business or be associated with you. Therefore it is important that you take the time to develop a personal brand that attracts rather than repels. But before you can actually develop your brand, you must figure out what your brand is.

To discover what your brand is, take out a notebook and write down the answers to these three questions.

What are your core values and beliefs?

Your values and beliefs influence everything you do. From the style of clothes you wear, to the way you handle compliments to how you react to getting cut off in traffic. You could say that your personal brand is the tangible result of all the things you believe about yourself and life in general.

Therefore it is important to sit down and think about what those values and beliefs are especially the ones that determine how you interact with others. This will go a long way towards helping you determine what your personal brand is now as well as what you want it to be.

How are you unique?

In other words, what makes you different from the other people in your field? This could be a unique perspective about your industry or a particular skill set that enhances your ability to get the job done. Distinguishing yourself from everyone else requires that you highlight those differences that make you who you are.

How do you want people to perceive you?

As much as we’d like to deny it, our reputation is based as much on what other people have to say about us as what we have to say about ourselves. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t take control of the conversation and have people saying the right things about you.

Determine the personal brand you want to have. This will be immensely helpful in developing strategies that gets others saying the things you want them to say about you.

A personal brand isn’t an exclusive tool for celebrities and rock stars to use to sell more movies tickets and records. It is something you can also use to help you build a successful business.

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photo courtesy of webdivasuccess

Promoting your brand with a social media marketing campaign focused on addressing the needs of your target audience is an almost guaranteed way of driving customers to your business.

Before the internet came around, the only way to reach potential customers was to either advertise on the media outlets available at the time – i.e. newspapers, television and radio – or to directly connect with them by interrupting their day with a telemarketing call or approaching them on the street.

These days, however, social media has turned the sales process upside down and inside out. Customers hate being sold to and thus are resistant to the outdated sales tactics, such as cold calling, still being used today. Customers know what they need and use social media to seek out people they can trust to help them. Therefore running a social media marketing campaign has become a necessity for successfully attracting these customers to you.

Social media marketing is the art of promoting yourself and your brand on social networking websites. It is different from other forms of marketing because social media is dynamic and offers the opportunity for quick success. Social media marketing is also inexpensive and gives you the ability to leverage the popularity of the social networking site to get your brand in front of a large audience.

In order to use social media marketing effectively, you must first have a brand to promote. Without a properly formed brand, your marketing campaign will be unfocused and may fail to attract the customers you want.

Your brand is your story on a bumper sticker. It is the image that pops up in your customer’s mind when they hear your name. Take advantage of the innumerable resources on the internet to help you figure out what your brand is and why people should be attracted to it.

A second necessary component to successful social media marketing is knowing who your target market is. Though it sounds counter-intuitive, you don’t want everybody in the world to be your customer. You only need the people who want, and can afford, to do business with you. Focusing on only attracting those in your target market will make it easier for you to design a campaign that reels them in.

It goes without saying that promoting your brand with social media marketing requires that you be active on social networking websites. You’ll want to focus on working a few popular sites rather try to be active on all of them. You don’t want to spread yourself too thin and once people get to know you, they’ll spread your message to those other sites for you anyway.

The bulk of your social media marketing efforts will focus on interacting with the members of the site. You want to actively engage your target market by sharing useful information that is in line with their needs as well as respond to things that they share on site.

Last but not least, make sure your brand’s physical presence is consistent wherever it appears. This means the information about you should be the same on each site including image you use to represent yourself and you should customize your social media profiles to reflect your brand wherever possible.

Social media marketing is a tool that no internet marketing strategy should be without. Just remember to focus on addressing the needs of your target audience and you will find your business overflowing with customers in no time.

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