Archive for Networking
Friends or Fans on Facebook?
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How do you prefer to connect on Facebook? Do you like to keep your personal profile just for good friends and family or do you open it up for the world to see? Do you let complete strangers friend you on Facebook? How well does someone have to know you to be allowed in to the inner circle of your personal Facebook profile?
Say you meet someone at an in person business networking meeting, they then send you a Facebook friend request, what do you do? Do you accept, ignore or invite them to be a fan of your business fan page instead of being a friend on Facebook? If someone does this to you, how does it make you feel?
I’d like to start a discussion about this. I don’t think there is a right answer and I’m still deciding how I feel about it. I want to hear how you feel about it and what you think is the best practice for business owners.
I personally am pretty open with who I let in to my inner circle on my personal Facebook profile. At first it was weird for me when my clients and neighbors started friending me. I felt exposed, but then I thought about it and decided I don’t do anything I’m ashamed of so why not let my clients and neighbors be my friends on Facebook?
I know some people who only friend their very close friends and family and ask clients and others to connect via their fan page.
What do you think? I understand why someone wants to keep business and personal separate but when I’m the one who has been denied a friend request I have to admit I feel a little bit excluded. 
In this day and age of social networking and being authentic is keeping business and personal separate really the best thing to do? Is anything really private anymore?
I figure if my clients don’t like my political views, the amount of time I spend on Facebook, the pictures of me from when I was 12 or hearing about the random things I do everyday… they either don’t have to work with me or don’t need to be my friend on Facebook, but if they want to be my friend and are interested in what I’m cooking for dinner then… why not let them be a part of my community?
Neighbors… well they are a whole other story… LOL if you are going to talk about a party or going out to dinner on Facebook make sure to invite ALL of your neighbors or expect messages saying things like: “thanks a lot for inviting me!”
If you are a business owner with a Facebook fan page, what do you do?
If you are someone that wants to connect with a business owner and they deny the friend request and ask you to be their fan instead, how does this make you feel? Do you want to be their fan still or does it kind of feel like “Let’s just be friends?” when someone says “Let’s just be fans”?
Please leave a comment and share your thoughts on this topic.
Thanks!
Sally
Networking: Know It Alls and Name Droppers
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I attend a lot of networking and social media events. I’m always amazed at how much people like to talk about themselves and their complete lack of interest of everyone else in the room.
I go to networking events to meet people, to learn new things and to build relationships.
I don’t go to networking events to be cornered by one person telling me how fabulous and successful they are, what an expert in Social Media they are or how they are one of the “early adopters” of Social Media. I also don’t go to hear the same person start dropping names of people I have never heard of.
Name dropping with an attitude is a big pet peeve of mine. I find it irritating, not impressive. Here is a recent conversation I had:
Annoying Person at Networking Event (APNE): I was at a party with John Smith the other day and we were talking about blah, blah, blah and wait… you do know who John Smith is right?
Me: No, the name sounds familiar but I don’t know who he is. Please tell me.
APNE: OMG! YOU DON’T KNOW WHO JOHN SMITH IS! HELLO! WHAT PLANET DO YOU LIVE ON?
Me: No, I don’t know who he is. Are you going to tell me who he is and finish your story or do you want to continue focusing on how ignorant you think I am?
Note to self: never do business with this person, he makes me feel like poop.
Some Suggestions for Successful Networking (a.k.a. common courtesy)
- It’s not all about you – periodically check in with yourself and remember the acronym WAIT: Why Am I Talking (I learned that in coaching school and have a little sticky note on my desk that says WAIT – I look at this when I’m on the phone.)
- Make it about the other person, ask open ended questions and listen to what they have to say.
- Make someone feel special and unique instead of trying to show how special and unique you are.
These tips work for in person networking as well as online networking.
Do you have any interesting networking stories or tips to share?
How Not To Get A New Client
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I am constantly giving the advice to entrepreneurs to network, network, network. I tell business owners to get out of their comfort zone and go out and network. When I say network I don’t mean to go out and broadcast your services or to do hard sales. To me networking is about creating relationships, to get to know others and to let them get to know you. It is not about trying to get that person to be my next client. It’s about making friends and building social capital. You never know who knows your next client or where your next referral might come from.
I recently had a networking experience that felt “icky” to me. How can I explain this? I met a man at an event, he heard me talking about Twitter and social networking (many of you know how much I LOVE to talk about this subject, I get a little passionate when doing so) anyway he asked me for my card and said he’d like to hear more about what I do. The next day he called and asked if I wanted to get together and have coffee to network some more. Being the networking advocate I am, I said yes.
When I arrived for coffee he introduced me to his colleague, explaining they had other meetings to attend today so she came along for this one as well. I thought great, I get to meet another person. They asked me all about Twitter, my blog, social networking and I blabbed on and on talking about being authentic, about how it’s not about sales but is about relationships, they agreed and said they loved the concept because that is how they practice business.
About 15 minutes in to our conversation, I asked him why he wanted to meet today, if he just wanted to hear more about what I do or if he had any questions. Suddenly, his colleague took over and dove in to a total sales pitch trying to sell me a service I did not need, nor want. She went on and on, while the wheels were turning in my head and I was slowly realizing what was happening…
I was thinking to myself, did they even really care about what I do? were they here to sell me their services? I felt like a big dummy for going on and on about social networking. Maybe I was too presumptuous myself and should have spent a little more time at the beginning of the meeting to check in with them.
Meanwhile she is still talking about all the benefits of what they do and how much I will benefit from it. Then she said, “so tell me how we can help you?”. I looked at her confused and said, “I’m not looking for help, I’m here today because he invited me. I’m not looking for X services, I don’t need them. Thank you”. I’m not going to bore you with the rest of the conversation but it just didn’t sit right with me. We were all polite to each other but by this point I felt like they weren’t being authentic, I felt they didn’t really care about what I did, they just smiled politely and kept asking questions to keep me talking. I may be totally wrong, because they seemed like really nice people, perhaps they did care about what I do and they just have a different style of networking but I came out of the meeting feeling icky, which means I’m probably not going to use their services and I’m not going to refer them to my large network of friends.
I’m telling this story not to criticize these people but to share with any of you who may be wondering why you haven’t “sealed the deal” lately. If you are having trouble “closing the sale” with clients maybe it is time to take a step back and look at your own approach to networking.
If you are going to invite someone for a meeting to try to sell them your services please let them know in advance. Maybe even find out if they are at all interested in your services. Time is precious these days.
My advice is to network, network, network but please be authentic when doing so.
After re-reading this, I realized I’m being a little hard on these people. I’m sure they are good, nice and caring people. I’m not saying people who do hard sales are bad people, just saying they may want to re-evaluate the way they look at networking and sales. It’s totally fine to share what you do and talk about your business but that is different than trying to convince someone they need your services.
I’m stepping off my soap box now. Thank you for listening.
Twitter is Magical!
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I like Twitter. My Twitter friends get this. My real-in-person friends don’t. They think I’m weird. But I’m okay with that.
Ever since I first heard about TweetUps I wanted to attend one. A year or so ago I started asking if anyone was interested in a local TweetUp… no response. Since Twitter has grown so rapidly in the last 6 months I decided to ask again because this time I knew I had a handful of local followers. I got responses this time! People said yes they’d love to participate in a TweetUp. One woman @LissaRankin volunteered her office space at Clear Center of Health in Mill Valley. Others offered to bring things. Lissa and I decided to co-host the TweetUp and to make it a potluck. We weren’t sure how many people were going to come.
Last night I arrived at Clear Center with my vegetarian springrolls in one hand, sparkly water and wine in the other and walked in to be greeted by Lissa’s coworkers, charming husband and adorable daughter. They were so nice and welcoming and told me Lissa was coming a little bit later. We rearranged the meeting space, got tables set up, put out our food and wondered if anyone was going to show up. They did! One by one people came walking in with food or drinks in hand. I think we had 20 people total. Four men, the rest women.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with a room full of strangers but what I found was a room full of interesting, friendly people. It was probably the most relaxed and comfortable event full of strangers that I’ve ever been to. But I guess we aren’t really strangers. We see each others tweets, we follow each others lifes. We carryon conversations.
I had a strange experience earlier in the day. A local business owner contacted me for something else and I wrote him back asking if he was on Twitter and invited him to our TweetUp. He wrote me back basically telling me he thought Twitter was a waste of time. He said if I can figure out how to make magic with Twitter then God bless me. Well guess what? I think I did figure out how to make magic with Twitter. Last night I was in a beautiful, warm, friendly office filled with wonderful people who I now consider friends. I would have never had this experience if it weren’t for Twitter. It feels pretty magical to me!
Thank you to everyone who came to the TweetUp!
Social Networking Etiquette
Posted by: | CommentsJust found this great video on the blog Social Media 101 explaining Social Networking better than I’ve ever heard it explained before.
So many people are still trying the “get rich quick schemes”, the bullhorn shouting look at me stuff and the same old marketing techniques. I keep telling people it is not about that anymore. It is about creating relationships with people, building trust and being real.
Tara Hunt said in her book The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business
If you are thinking about using Social Media to sell your next product or service please watch this video before doing so. Thank you.
Thanks to Scott of @UnMarketing for creating this video (and tweeting about it so I saw it).
How Not talk to your potential Virtual Assistant
Posted by: | CommentsI was catching up on my blog reading and came across Candy’s blog where she posted this video (that Nina showed to her). I just had to re-post because I have heard things like this SO many times and it relates to my previous blog post.
(I can’t get the video to fit properly in the post so please click the link to watch)
The Vendor Client Relationship in Real World Situations
Thanks Candy and Nina!
Calling all Virtual Assistants!
Posted by: | CommentsIt is time to start networking!
Are you a lone wolf or do you hang out with other Virtual Assistants? If you are a lone wolf I suggest you try networking with other Virtual Assistants. I have learned so much from my VA colleagues. Virtual Assistants are a special breed, we like to share, we like to learn from each other, we like to challenge each other and we like to see each other succeed.
I don’t know if any studies have been done but my unofficial research says that networking with other Virtual Assistants will bring your business to a higher level of success.
Here area few great places to hang out if you are a VA:
VAnetworking
IVAA
VirtualAssistantforums
Oh and if you are a Virtual Assistant on Facebook please join the IVAA fan page. I am the new admin for the IVAA Facebook fan page. (So please become a fan to make me look good as the new admin) *wink*
If you are new to online networking here is must have ebook written by Angela Smith!!!
She shares lots of great tips and tricks for networking online.
Online Networking for the Newbie
This just added! I told Angela I was featuring her book and she offered my readers a discount!!! Thanks Angela – you rock!
Virtual Simplicity blog readers get $5.00 off the price of Angela’s e-book, “Online Networking for the Newbie.” With this discount, you can pick up a copy of the e-book for only $9.95 or the VA Combo Pack (which includes the e-book and the Virtual Toolkit) for only $12.95. Just enter the following coupon code at checkout: SIMPLICITY.
Women and Money and the Power of Social Networking
Posted by: | CommentsAnyone who knows me personally knows that I am slightly obsessed with Twitter and Facebook. Most of those people think I’m strange too. But I digress. The point of this blog post is to share some exiting news! I am the featured fan at the Women and Money group on Facebook this week! One of the reasons I am the featured fan is because of the power of online social networking. I met Cathy Curtis (the owner of Curtis Financial Planning and the founder of the Women and Money group) through Twitter and then Facebook! Networking online can be a very powerful tool in building your business.
Control Your Privacy Settings On Facebook
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Thanks to Corine who commented on my last post with this video link and thanks to HappySlip for creating this fun video.
A few weeks ago, I posted this under my notes* in Facebook®.
Facebook is weird!It’s the one place where your past & present collide. Your personal and professional life overlap (well at least mine does). Your friends from middle school suddenly appear and post a ton of pictures of you from when you were 12. Your ex-boyfriends start appearing one at a time and now they are all in one place together. Your clients, employers, co-workers, ex-friends, new friends, kids, kid’s friends, ex-husbands, lovers, acquaintances and strangers all together commenting on what you are doing at the moment. Friends from high school, people you don’t remember from high school, people that remember too much from high school, your family, your neighbors… They are all there (here) together. People in your life that would never interact now have the opportunity to interact. It’s just weird. Normally when you go for a job interview or are negotiating a project with a new client you don’t show them your pictures from middle school, talk about your exes, or tell them what you are doing every minute of the day. I’m just wondering what this all means in the big picture of life? It’s kind of strange and cool at the same time.
I’m not sure how I feel about having you all here together… so far it’s a fun ride.
Would love to hear your thoughts about this big social experiment we are all involved in.
*notes in Facebook® is similar to a blog.
This got me thinking… I update my Facebook® page quite frequently and maybe I don’t want every single Facebook® “friend” of mine to always be in-the-know of exactly what I am doing.
Did you know you can change your privacy settings so your “friends” don’t get updated every time you comment on a picture, write on someone’s wall or update your status? You can even specify certain “friends” to get limited updates from you. (You know those friends who it caused less drama to accept their friend request than to ignore it. If you have friends like that.) *wink*
To change your privacy settings in Facebook®
- Sign in to your account
- Click on the link Settings (located at the top right of your screen, next to your name)
- Click the word manage (next to Privacy)
- Click on the word Profile
- Click on Edit Custom Settings under Status Updates
- Where it says Except These People add in any of those special friends you may not want seeing your every move.
Please post your Facebook® questions here. If I know the answer, I will blog about it in future posts.
Become a fan of Virtual Simplicity on Facebook®!
If you are new to Facebook®, want to set up a Facebook® profile or page for yourself or your business and just don’t have the time or the patience to do it yourself… Virtual Simplicity can help you!
Facebook Facebook Facebook
Posted by: | CommentsIt seems like Facebook® is the subject of most of my conversations these days.
Hi, my name is Sally and I am a Facebook-aholic user. I’ve been talking Facebook® with my friends, neighbors, clients, strangers, my mom, my kids, people on Twitter & Skype, basically anyone who will listen. It seems like everybody and their mother is on Facebook® these days.
Last night @CandieB and I even moderated a chat about Facebook® during the VAnetworking VAjot Chat.
Are you on Facebook®? If you are an entrepreneur and you are not on Facebook®, I believe you are missing out on some great networking opportunities.
For many (including myself), Facebook® is not intuitive and not very user friendly. I’ve learned a few basic steps that have helped me navigate my way through Facebook® and wanted to share them with you.
- Notifications – Did you know that when you sign in to Facebook® there is a quick way to see what’s new in relationship to you? Just click on the little white sign icon at the bottom right of your screen. If there is a red box with a number in it that means you have a new notification. This is the fastest way to see what has happened since the last time you signed on. It will tell you if someone has tagged you in a photo, if someone has written on your wall, etc
- Fan Pages & Groups – Fan Pages are very popular on Facebook® right now. Most business have one or plan to get one soon. Does your business have one? You may already be a Fan of a number of pages but do you know how to find those pages again? The fastest way is to type the name in to the Search Box located at the top right of your screen. (This also works for finding friends quickly).
- Ignore – Facebook® can be overwhelming. My advice is to use the ignore button frequently. If someone throws a sheep at you, sends you a drink, invites you to take a quiz or download a new application just hit the ignore key. Don’t feel obligated to accept everything that is thrown your way.
- Etiquette – If you are going to throw something or invite people to play games, join various applications please hand pick who you are going to throw things at. If you must throw things at people please do so only to people that you know will enjoy it. Please don’t send/throw things to your entire list especially if you are using Facebook to network, you wouldn’t want to annoy a potential client.
If you are new to Facebook®, want to set up a Facebook® profile or page for yourself or your business and just don’t have the time or the patience to do it yourself… Virtual Simplicity can help you!
