Alex Brown’s love of horses started long before he launched the blog, Alex Brown Racing, but it was Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro that pushed the blog into prominence — and eventually established it as a site dedicated to the welfare of horses. Along the way, Brown learned many things about creating and nurturing an online community using tools, including Wikis, Facebook and Twitter, and following certain principles, such as: Be authentic, be transparent, be consistent and build trust. Brown, one of whose goals is to rescue horses destined for the slaughter house, talked with Knowledge@Wharton about his strategies for bringing attention — and money — to the cause. Transcript can be found at: knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

Building on work from chrisbrogan.com this post shares how I promote my blogs using social media and other websites

I’m only four months old in the social networking arena, and I admit that I’ve become less inhibited about requesting connections on Linkedin than when I started. I believe my Facebook participation has made me believe that anyone should be approachable. However, I do see the value in the Linkedin guidelines because it’s more of a business oriented site. FB is driven by social etiquette, and Linkedin is driven by business etiquette.

Because of the business etiquette on Linkedin, I ignore the invitations from people who look like they are mass marketers. I think they are using the wrong networking service. Facebook has built more of a culture on quantity, and I like that you can follow anyone…ANYONE; your favorite author, your favorite tennis player, favorite artist (as a fan.) It appears to break down any barriers and brings the world together. Finding new people to connect with and reading their profiles, comments, etc is addicting too, but is it worse than vegging in front of a TV for hours?

I teach workshops that help people understand and acquire business networking skills. I start by defining stages of relationship building, and add that according to our research (Contacts Count program; 17 years of research) it takes about six contacts to get to know someone’s character and competence. Hopefully this is done in person, but social networking sites can help us get to know someone….Help. We wouldn’t want to substitute online communication with person to person communication, I hope. There is research from the Stanford University’s Shyness Center that shows Americans are getting more shy- will the networking sites feed this trend by encouraging people to hide behind the computer screen?

Who would I recommend, or not recommend from a Linkedin contact? If I have never met someone in person, I might be able to see online activity that shows a sense of honesty, intelligence, politeness, and consideration (expressions used in writing, interests, work history, and how they contribute and help others.) Good character and competence are characteristics that I would think any hiring manager would like to see in a candidate.  Interview questions can predict future behavior based on answers which show historical behavior, right? So wouldn’t there be a good value attached to seeing someone on Linkedin who is proving to be a good source of information in their field? How quickly could I really learn about their character and competence and begin to trust them enough to go out on a limb and recommend them? It would depend on geography, groups and associations in common; frequency of contacts. Is meeting someone in person the deal breaker? Can I recommend someone based on their showing good character online rather than actually working with them? Can I assume the “all or nothing rule- if they succeed in their personal life they will succeed in their work life.” Last point to make- if we network by teaching and giving, we can develop relationships both online and in person. Thanks for the first contact.
Susan

Networking, both traditional and online, takes work. LinkedIn has given you a posted profile to talk about yourself and your business. Have you finished your profile? Did you post your picture? Please make sure your have a professional headshot. Seeing you doing gardening or working on your car will not give your potential clients trust in your business abilities- unless of course you are a gardener or mechanic!

Your LinkedIn profile is the first place to begin your LinkedIn experience. You must be informative when writing your business description. Explain why a client would want to chose you over your competition. Show your experience and background clearly. Make certain to add your contact information as well as your website address. This profile is your 30 second elevator speech, however, without your personality. Make sure readers get a sense of who you are through your words.

After your profile is complete, the fun begins. Imagine that you have your business cards in hand and are about to walk into a networking meeting with complete strangers. Are you nervous or excited? LinkedIn takes some of the anxiety away from approaching new prospects, but as described before, takes the “human” touch out of the initial meeting. You can’t give a warm smile when approaching a new online contact. Instead, you must use your words to convey your confidence and personality. But where do you find people to “talk” to?

The first and easiest place to begin is your own email accounts. LinkedIn has an application which will search your address books on certain accounts to find current friends or business associated whom are already on LinkedIn. You simply send them an invitation to add you as a connection. Once they are added, you can then examine their connections for possible introductions. Just like you use your current “ins” to get an introduction now, so you will do the same with LinkedIn. You can ask your current connections for an introduction to someone within their connections whom you would like to “meet”. It’s that simple.

Being on LinkedIn does not mean you will not network traditionally. As you meet your new contacts outside of the computer, ask them upfront if they are on LinkedIn. Many of them are, but they too may be confused on how to use their account. You can use this as an opportunity to become an expert to them. When they tell you that they do have an account with LinkedIn, ask if you can add them as a connection. By doing this, your connections will increase dramatically.

Once you have your feet wet with navigating adding connections as well as asking for introductions through your connections, venture now into joining relevant Groups. LinkedIn has a large selection of industry Groups  to which you may request to be added. What profession or professionals would be a good referal network for your buisness. Do you want to target a certain industry. Joining LinkedIn Groups allows you to do just that- find a targeted audience. For instance, your target may be women-owned businesses. They are various Groups for women business owners. If marketing companies are a better fit for you, they are many LinkedIn marketing groups to which to join. All you have to do is request to be added to your chosen Groups, then await your approval. However, you must create a “buzz” for yourself within the Groups once approved. You can do this by either starting or responding to various discussion which other members have begun. By doing this, you will become an instant expert. It is another opportunity to show your experience and “personality”.

LinkedIn is an excellent avenue to expand your networking reach into geographic areas otherwise unreachable. However, you must dedicate time and effort to your online networking efforts. Once you commit yourself to working your LinkedIn account as described above, you will dramatically broaden you sphere of influence. The ultimate goal of networking is to find either potential clients or referral partners. LinkedIn allows you one more way to accomplish this.                          

1) The Law of Visibility on Facebook. 

2) The Law of the Powerful Facebook Profile. 

3) The Law of the Facebook WALL. 

4) The Law of Your Facebook Network. 

5) The Law of the Facebook Notifications. 

6) The Law of Facebook Link Love. 

7) The Law of Facebook Groups.

8 ) The Law of Facebook Events. 

9) The Law of Facebook Multimedia- Videos and Photos.  

10) The Law of the Facebook NEWS FEED. 

Yes, you need to establish relationships, and build community. But if you are going to MARKET on facebook-then you need to at least get a guideline of what and how to do it. The 10 Social Media Laws of Facebook hopefully gave you some idea in your social media marketing.

Read the whole article at http://socialmediablogster.com/?p=547

So it’s nice to get a nod from your peers…some type of recognition. I have received some recognition that I am very honored to have. Ron Hudson came out with the companion to his 50 of the Most Powerful and Influential Women in Social Media with the …wait for it… 50 Most Powerful and Influential Men in Social Media list.

I snuck in and made spot number 50. I will be the first to say that there are a number of people that should’ve been on that list that aren’t…but hey, Ron went throught he same “Monday Morning Quarterbacking” on the womens list.

So I will just say THANK YOU Ron and those who nominated me and voted for me. I will continue to strive to learn and grow and help others. It’s an industry tha is filled with many amazing people. ANd frankly I’m glad to be in the group.

So here’s the list of the 50 Most Powerful & Influential Men in Social Media:

1. Michael Arrington | www.techcrunch.com
Rank: 4076 | Linking in: 26,705

2. Pete Cashmore | www.mashable.com
Rank: 6,977 | Linking in: 15,105

3. Darren Rowse | www.problogger.net
Rank: 45,859 | Linking in: 8,734

4. John Dvorak | dvorak.org/blog
Rank: 46,169 | Linking in: 2,009

5. Frank Kern | www.masscontrolsite.com
Rank: 69,096 | Linking in: 180

6. Aaron Brazell | technosailor.com
Rank: 78,019 | Linking in: 1,123

7. Jason Calacanis | calacanis.com
Rank: 87,831 | Linking in: 2,813

8. Steve Rubel | www.micropersuasion.com
Rank: 87,428 | Linking in: 4,232

9. Willie Crawford | williecrawford.com/blog2/
Rank: 90,848 | Linking in: 387

10. Jeremy Schoemaker | www.shoemoney.com
Rank: 101,291 | Linking in: 3,153

and 50. G. Wayne Clayton | socialmarketingexpert.org/

To see number 11-49 visit 50 Most Powerful and Influential Men in Social Media list.