Work at Home Moms Articles – WAHM Articles

Social Networking is extremely popular right now. It brings worlds together with a few mouse clicks and a keyboard…or even your phone! We can build friendships with people thousands of miles away. Social Networking is also something that can also be beneficial for businesses.

Tips to Use Social Networking for Business

Twitter.com. Twitter is one of the most popular forms of social networking. It is like having an IM with the world. You can use Twitter to promote your business, self or service. The key though is to be active and unselfish. You cannot make it all about you. Relationships must be built. People on Twitter are like the rest of the Internet world…they despise spammers! Do not DM links or self promos. Save that for your live tweets. I would suggest 1 self promo tweet for every 7-10 non business tweets.

Ning and others like it. Ning.com is a social networking platform that is usually categorized in different niches. For example, you may find a network for writers. Writers will go there and discuss their crafts and share what they are doing. The cool thing about places like ning is that each “member” of the network gets their own page. On their page they can have links and other self promoting things for their business, product or service. Members also have their own blogs that other members can come and read. Again, you must be careful not to be labeled a spammer. Join the community and build relationships. Stay in your niche and never make it all about you.

Facebook. You can get similar results with MySpace. However, for a more professional look and mature audience, Facebook is the best choice for business promotion. Create a personal page and be sure and add your link. Find people you know and people to network with. You can also create a page specifically for your business. Facebook is another way that you have a platform to promote you and what you do. As with anything though, do not be a spammer. Build relationships.

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Are you trying to figure out what to do with that new “timeline” layout that’s taken over your Facebook page?

Here are 5 easy actions you can take to leverage the new features we’ve been given by the Facebook overlords.

1. Use a Great Cover Photo

Make your cover photo attention grabbing and interesting. Consider changing it occassionally to keep it fresh.

Just touch the image with your mouse and a “Change Cover” option will show up in the bottom right corner. Click that and choose your new image. Dimensions are 851px by 315px.

What can you do with it?

Share photos of yourself/your business:

• products or portfolio shots
• speaking on stage
• working in your office
• with a client or group of clients
• with a coach or your mastermind group
• out networking or attending live events

Use a custom image collage or custom image:

• you can create one yourself with a tool like http://pixlr.com
• use a collage of your fans created with http://myfbcover.com/apps/texteffects/ (scroll down on the page to see it)
• find a talented graphics designer or virtual assistant to create one for you

2. Fill in Your “About” Box

If your page isn’t connected to a place, you’ve got about 165 characters here and if you put in a URL with http:// or www. at the beginning it will show as a live clickable link.

Tips:

• Keep it short and simple
• Don’t use a bunch of buzz words or industry jargon
• You CAN use a call to action in this box (such as “like my page to…”)

If your page is connected to a place, you won’t get to customize this space. It will automatically show your address and contact info. Just make sure it’s accurate and up to date.

3. Take Advantage of the Featured Boxes/Tabs

Instead of “tabs” we’ve now got boxes. Only four will be featured on your page but you can see all the boxes on any page by clicking the small arrow on the right.

Change the box positions to feature the ones you want noticed. If you have a great custom tab promoting a free opt-in gift, upcoming event, or sale you may want to feature it. You may also want to make some boxes not show up when someone first lands on your page (for example, if you’ve only got a few fans, you can hide the “like” box while you grow your numbers).

Just mouse over the box you want to move and an editing pencil icon will appear. Click that then click to swap it with the box of your choice.

4. Star & Feature Your Best Credibility Builders

With the two column layout of our pages, we can now “feature” some posts to make them show up as one column, stretching across the page.

Just touch your mouse over the status update, and you’ll see a star and editing pencil icon appear in the top right corner. Click the star icon to feature it.

5. “Pin” a Welcome or Offer on Top of Your Page

You can “pin” the status update of your choice to the top of your page for up to 7 days. You could use this to share a short welcome message or feature an upcoming event.

And there you go! 5 ways to get more out of your new Facebook timeline.

Got more time? Check out the “Milestone” feature and add important events in your company history — awards, honors, etc.

Michelle Shaeffer’s Twitter profile reads, “Helping entrepreneurs build visibility, voice and community. Homeschool mom, SyFy fan, voracious reader, lover of coffee.” That sums it up pretty well. You can connect with her at or get help with your blog at www.launchyourblog.com.

Social media sites are more popular than ever and with over 100 million users LinkedIn is in the top five most popular. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network and is an extremely resourceful tool for job hunters, recruiters, business owners, etc. Once you sign up for a LinkedIn account, you must create your professional profile. The more effective your profile, the more professionals can find you and connect with you.

Below are ten things you can do to enhance your profile so it is the most effective it can be in building your network of connections.

1. Complete the Profile – This is very important in that you do not want a half-done, unprofessional profile. This will not accomplish much in the way of building your network of connections. Complete each section, completely and professionally to make the most of your online professional identity. According to LinkedIn, you are 40% more likely to be found in a LinkedIn search with a 100% completed profile as opposed to one that is not completely finished.

2. Always Use a Photo – There are many people who do not want to use photos for various reasons but you need to post a photo on your LinkedIn profile to get more results. You do not have to have a professionally taken photo but you do want it to look professional. People will be more likely to remember your profile if you present a photo of yourself. Photos can also increase the chances of people trusting you.

3. Use a Persuasive Headline – Don’t just plaster your name and title as your profile headline. Add a short slogan or benefit you provide. Compare the two headlines below and decide which one would capture your interest more.

Jane Doe
Virtual Assistant

Jane Doe
Virtual Assistant – I will free up your time and grow your business.

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Most marketing professionals that have been in the work at home industry for awhile know that there is no such thing as instant, easy Internet riches. However, there ARE many fairly easy ways to make legit money online. If you’re interested in finding out what type of “easy” work at home opportunities I’m referring to, keep reading. 2012 can be the year you can say; “I successfully work at home.”

When searching for a legitimate work at home opportunity, you of course need to be on the look out for scams. If you’ve had experience with successfully earning money online and have done extensive research for Internet scams, then you know that these scams are relatively easy to spot. Those ads that claim you can earn (for example); $1000.00 per week without lifting a finger are for sure among the infamous work at home scams. Also, for those shady money making websites that don’t include a reputable way to get in touch with the site owner…yes, you guessed it, it is indeed a scam site.

Now let’s get into some legitimate ways you can earn some decent income online. For the article writing for content mills and paid surveys, you will need to be consistent and be involved in several paid surveys and write for various content mills to earn more than “pocket change.” For the others I have listed, you can make some good money.

Don’t just keep one egg in your basket. By combining the money making options below, you have a better chance at experiencing work at home success. Also for these opportunities listed here, you will need web search skills and basic typing skills. (more…)

In the direct sales business, many sales consultants brand their company. Branding your business gets attention, recognition, and eventually more customers. You can brand your company by getting on the Internet and getting its name, purpose and products out to millions of users online.

* Start a company Facebook page. Invite people who are potential customers. Don’t invite just to achieve high numbers; you want people who are interested in your page and your products.

* Start a business Twitter account with a picture or a logo.

* Get a Foursquare page and use it.

* Create an Aboutme.com page and fill it with information about your company.

* Advertise and send e-mails, but don’t spam. You don’t want your company
branded as a spammer!

Once you’ve branded your company, you are not finished. To truly reap all the benefits the Internet has to offer, you also need to brand yourself. If you have branded your business, you may have already begun the personal branding process. Hopefully, you have put some personal information on your company website pages. Attaching your business to a real person – YOU – helps to create relationships. Even in this fast-paced digital age, relationships are still a part of business success.

How to Brand Yourself

* Get a Facebook page. Having a personal Facebook page in addition to a business one, will increase your search ranking and your online visibility.

* Sign up for a Linkedin account and stay active on it. Join a few discussions groups and start a few of your own.

* Start as many social media accounts as you can properly maintain. If you start one, you need to maintain it. A profile that is never updated is not worth anything.

* Start a blog. This is one of the best ways to brand yourself. Write about topics relevant in your field on a regular basis. Once your blog contains some relevant material, you can post your blog link on various forums or websites. Having and maintaining a blog is one of the best ways to brand yourself as an expert in your field.

As a direct sales consultant, you should not only brand your company, you should brand yourself. You will become recognized as an expert in the direct sales business and people will eventually remember your name. Once they connect your name, your company, and your products, you are on your way to success! Take advantage of the power of the internet and get yourself branded!

Today is Free Book Friday and today’s Kindle book is called “Unfriend Yourself” by Kyle Tennant. Kyle is the Director of Student Ministries at the Village Church of Barrlett in Bartlett IL. He graduated from Moody Bible Institute and is pursuing an MA in Christian Formation and Ministry from Wheaton Graduate School.

This book is all about Facebook and other social media sites. We all know how Facebook and other social media sites can be addictive to say the least. Facebook alone can keep you busy for hours and hours at a time. You can lose track of time and before you know it you have spent your entire day playing games and chatting with your friends, all the while you were supposed to be cleaning the house and spending time with your family.

Unfriend Yourself is a short read book that shows you it’s good to disconnect for a while. This book is designed to be read in a weekend. There are three sections to this book and each one should be read in about an hour. This book will help you think like a Christian about the ramificantions and merits of social media.

You need to realize three days is not going to hurt anything when it comes to Facebook. You might even be surprised at what you can accomplish in a day when you’re not on Facebook or thinking about it. What’s important to remember is Facebook and other social media sites aren’t your life. Yes, they are fun and a great way to connect with others, but it’s important to do what God wants you to do and that’s to be with your family and do what’s important in life.

If you feel Facebook is taking over your life, you need to read “Unfriend Yourself” by Kyle Tennant. Here is an affiliate link to the Kindle version of this book. Remember to get your copy today while it’s free.

LinkedIn is a like an online resume’ so to speak. It’s also a great way to be high on the Google search engines for your name. Depending on the popularity of your name, you might be the first site listed.

The number one thing that is more important than anything is your profile. If you don’t have a complete profile, you’re not going to get anywhere with it. It’s possible, a partial profile page could do you more harm than good, so you must be careful.

Now that your profile is created you need to add contacts to your profile. To start you can search for people you know like friends, family, and co-workers. Connections will help you to meet other people which will ultimately introduce you to people that will help you grow your business or they’ll help you find a new job.

After you have added all the contacts you have it’s time to join groups so you can find more people to add. You’ll want to join groups that are related to your business or the type of work you do for a living. You’ll want to communicate with people and network with them before you ask them to be a contact.

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Christmas is fast approaching. One way to increase your income during the holiday season is to offer specials on certain products or services. You may think you’ll lose money by offering this specials, but that won’t happen because people will make purchases or increase what they’d purchase due to your special.

The only way you’ll have success with your specials is to promote them. There are a number of ways to promote the products or services you have on special. You’ll want to promote your specials daily so you’re sure to reach out to your market. Here are a few suggestions for promoting your specials.

1. Social Networking
2. Article marketing
3. Blog posts
4. Button or banner advertising
5. Text ads
6. Vendor fairs

Each one of these suggestions will work if you use them properly and you place them in front of your market. It’s also important to make sure you promote them regularly. A one time post is not going to work. You need to do market your products or services on a regular basis or you won’t see the success you strive to achieve.

I would like to help you with your special offers. On Friday, December 9th the blog post on WAHM-Articles.com will contain a list of all the specials our readers and followers are offering for the holiday season. Below is a list of what I’ll need in order for your listing to appear in the post.

1. Name
2. Business Name
3. Special
4. Link to the special
5. Price for the special
6. Deadline

You can list as many specials as you want, so please send as many as you would like. Please send this information to me no later than 5 pm MST on Thursday, December 8th. I look forward to helping you with your special offers.

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away and that means the vendor fairs and parties are going to begin. If you offer products or services that do well with these types of events, you need to do the best you can to market them so reach success. Most times everyone involved will market it, but it’s not a good idea to rely on them to do it.

One of the best ways to market your online vendor fairs and parties is to use social networking. Facebook and Twitter are the most popular right now and so it’s a good idea to market your fairs and parties on these sites.

Of course it’s very important to do this the correct way and that means you communicate with your followers as well as marketing your fairs and parties. Once a day is good for this type of promotion. You need to make sure you include instructions for joining you.

Using social networking to invite others to your vendor fairs and parties is a great way to increase the number of people that will attend. When this happens you’re sure to increase your sales as well and that’s the ultimate goal.

About social networking…

For anyone doing business online it is important to incorporate Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and now the Google + social site into your marketing efforts. It can be quite confusing to know just how to get started using each of these. Below you will find a quick overview of these sites and the benefits of using them.

The Benefits of Using Social Network Sites

Creating a business profile allows you to brand yourself and create awareness for your company. You can also like or follow your competitors to get an idea of how they advertise and use these social sites themselves.

The biggest benefit has to be that of increasing customer loyalty and trust. As social media allows you to connect in a personal way, your customers will begin to trust you more quickly and see you as a person and not just a company name.

Facebook

With Facebook you can only have one personal account but you can have as many pages as you wish. These are commonly known as Fan Pages or Business Pages.

With a business page you are able to get a vanity URL when you set up your page. This rule has recently changed as previously you needed to get 25 likes to qualify for the vanity URL. This new rule currently applies to the first new business page you create.

When setting up your business page you want to use your company name and location if your business has an offline connection. If not attempt to get a keyword in the business name as this will help get you found in the search engines.

The point of your Facebook page is to provide your fans and friends with information that is helpful. In this way you can gain trust and they will be more likely to purchase products and or services from you.

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