Social Butterflies - Finding the Right Sites Pt 2

Are you are a Business person? Do you have a business you want to promote?

In Part 2 of Finding the right sites we will look at three (3) strong Business sites that can benefit you as a business person and/or business owner.

The first is LinkedIn. Not considered a social site, its' primary focus is on making contacts and networking with other professionals at different levels at companies you would like to interact with.
Perhaps you are looking for the contact person to a company you are interested in seeking an opportunity or employment with. This is the place for such a search. It is more direct and you can get past the gate-keepers.
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If you are new to LinkedIn and want to start making contacts then consider joining one or more of the open networking groups found on the groups page. Groups such as; LION (Linked In Open Network), OPEN Networker, TopLinked, GroupLinked, Inviteswelcome, and BLUE (The Dallas Blue Networking site with over 25,000 members worldwide) are all excellent groups to start with. As you sift through contacts, hone in on the ones you feel you will want to network with and expand your contacts from that base.

Additionally, you can find niche groups related to your area of expertise that you may also want to join. You can have up to 50 groups which will expose you to thousands of potential contacts that you can add to your network.

Quality, more than quantity is key, therefore, if you receive an invitation to connect from someone that doesn't look like a fit, just Archive it. Never click the "I don't Know" button. This is a courtesy all LinkedIn folks extend to each other.

LinkedIn offers several levels of membership. I suggest starting with the Free Membership, then if you like it, move into a paid subscription. Visit them at http://www.linkedin.com

Another focused business site is FastPitchNetworking.com - which is a business networking site that will help you grow your business and give you greater exposure across the internet. They offer many tools to help you become more visible in the network and on the internet. It is also segmented, so you can find professionals locally, citywide, and statewide. Again, this offers several levels of membership. Visit them at http://www.fastpitchnetworking.com

A different kind of business and social networking site is e-cademy. This is a global site that enables you to connect with people world-wide. In your profile you are asked for 50 words to describe yourself, which are like keywords or tags. This will allow people who type any of these keywords to find you and invite you to connect.
Again, you can choose to accept or decline their invitation based on what you are looking for. Visit them at http://www.ecademy.com

Finally, keep it all real - give enough professional information about you, your professional experience and expertise, but don't write a thesis. Stick to the point of your reason for being there, advertise your services or company by following the template they provide. Let people know you are open to invitations and are ready to engage in networking.

You will be amazed at the door that will open for you in the networking world.

Ready, set - Go for it Winning Woman and start making those connections!