Before you jump on the Internet and start Facebooking, Tweeting and doing other activities not yet inducted into Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, there are a few things that you must understand first.

1) Know your brand.  Success on social networks depends heavily on branding.  Having a professional logo and professional headshot can mean the difference between becoming a social media icon or dud.  Remember, new contacts will not have the benefit of speaking or chatting with you first.  The first thing they will see is your profile photo.  When creating group, pages or mini-networks on social media sites, ensure that your brand looks polished.  Also, maintain the same image across your social media platforms.

2)Know your target market. Who are you trying to reach via social networks?  Your target market is going to help you determine which social networks are right for you.  If you happen to be marketing clothing to teens, MySpace would be a viable option.  However, if your target market is industrial engineers, LinkedIn would be your primary social network.  Identifying and understanding your target market will also dictate what groups you join within social networks.  For instance, if you are trying to reach stay-at-home moms, you may want to join a group in LinkedIn or Facebook for mothers of home-schooled children.  It stands to reason that this group will likely be composed primarily of stay-at-home moms.

3) Understand the purpose of each social network before joining. Most professionals should join no more than three social networks.  Joining as many social networks as possible is poor strategy.  There are thousands of social networks, so it is important to know the purpose of a social network before joining.  For instance, LinkedIn is basically a directory of professionals.  MySpace is a pop culture network aimed at tweens.  Twitter is a micro blog platform created to promote real-time information exchange.  Understanding your target market paired with knowing the purpose of a social network will help you determine which networks are better suited for promoting your products or services.

4) Create measurable goals. This is what separates true business marketing from a simply spray and pray method of marketing.  Set measurable goals before signing up.  Creating goodwill and awareness is not enough.  How much additional website traffic would you like to see as a result of social media marketing?  How many additional attendees would you like to see at your events?  How much additional sales revenue are you projecting each month?  Once you have your numbers in place, MEASURE!  Use website analytics to determine how much traffic is coming from your social networks.  Google Analytics is a great free resource that can help you track your visitors.  If your products can be purchased online, be sure to create a question asking how they heard about your products/ services.  Include your social networks in the answer choices.  If you have physical events, use surveys via the registration process or at the event to ask attendees how they heard about your event.

5) Keep it social. Imagine yourself at a networking event.  You’re on fire!  You’re making great contacts and harnessing the power of synergy to create genuine win-win relationships.  Now, imagine someone in a ski mask, wearing a sandwich board comes up to you to shake your hand.  How would you feel? Don’t be that person on social networks.  Yes, you are leveraging social media for business but you have to inject a little personality as well.  Social networks are social!  The quickest way to see absolutely no results is to become a billboard for your business.  Create interesting posts, share funny stories, post pictures.  However, know the difference between business-social and social-social.  Similar to a professional environment, there are limits to what a person should share.  Also remember that you should always be social without conflicting with your established brand.  Encourage two-way communication and build relationships that will lead to future purchases as well as your contacts becoming brand ambassadors.

Crystal Washington is a dynamic entrepreneur and highly sought international business speaker. As the Principal of a Houston based marketing firm, she develops marketing strategies and implements practical tactics which yield measurable results for her clients.  For more information, please visit http://www.crystalwashington.com.

Look for more good news like this in the future at this site for entrepreneurs and corporate contributors too.

“Run Your Business From Home? Here’s 10 Ways to Be More Productive”
by Ali Brown

Ah, working at home sweet home… Visions of leisurely days, conference calls in comfy sweatpants, increased productivity with fewer interruptions. But the distinctions between work life and home life soon blur. You really should throw some laundry in the wash before you write that proposal. You have an hour before a meeting: Should you balance your books or clean the kitchen? And remember to call that client back right after you empty the cat box.

Welcome to the real world of the home office: unforeseen distractions, a lack of structured time, and sometimes a perceived loss of identity. But don’t give up the dream just yet! By putting into place a few simple ideas, you can reap more of the rewards of staying home-bound. Based on my experiences and those of my clients, here are 10 simple ways to help you stay on track.

1. Separate Your Space.

Keep a separate, distinct work area in your home. Very important. (This is especially difficult if you’re living and working in a shoebox apartment, like I was when I started my business in New York City!) If you don’t have a separate room, at least define an area, and know that when you’re in it, you’re in “work mode.”

2. Structure Your Time.

As your business and personal time mesh, it’s more important than ever to structure your day. For example, if you regularly take a walk or go to the gym, try to do it every day at the same time. Value that personal appointment with yourself — even when you’re very busy. It will actually help you keep your business on track! I like to get up early and work until 1 pm, then I take a few hours off to enjoy lunch and go to the gym or jog on the beach. Then I’m back at my desk at 5:00 until who knows when!

3. Outsource All You Can.

When I began my business, I made the mistake of doing all my own administrative work. Whenever you start thinking, “Well I can just do that myself,” STOP. Streamline your business, making everything as automatic as possible. Use outside services to stay focused on your *real work*. Get accounts with an overnight delivery service, virtual assistant, messenger service, errand service, bookkeeper, etc. Save your time and energy for your brilliant ideas!

4. Use Technology to Your Advantage.

In-person meetings are very valuable when appropriate, but schedule them sparingly. Try to do most of your business via phone, fax, and e-mail using the best equipment you can afford. For most of us, when we’re out of the office, we’re not bringing in the bacon! So it’s important that you can communicate flawlessly from where you are. PLEASE do us all a favor and get separate lines/services for your phone, fax, and Internet! No one likes getting a busy signal or having to call first before faxing.

Get separate lines for home and business, or ask your phone company about getting “distinctive ring”. Also, voicemail is better than an answering machine, because if you’re on an important call and don’t want to be disturbed, other callers can still leave you a message.

5. Group Your Errands.

Try to group your meetings and errands together to minimize your out-of-office time. Make a list in the morning of all the outside tasks you need done for the day, and attempt to complete them in one fell swoop. Even better, do what I used to do and designate just one day a week as your “blitz” day for errands and meetings. Plus, then you only need to get dressed up one day a week! : ) (Nowadays I use an errand service to run around for me.)

6. Stay Focused.

Make your workspace off-limits to other roommates or family members when you’re working. For you animal lovers, this may go for pets as well. (My dear old cat Francine would get extremely jealous when I wasn’t giving her complete attention!) Keep all personal paperwork such as bills, magazines, and to-do lists out of sight, so they won’t distract you from your work projects.

7. Beware of Yappers.

Many of your friends and family will be immediately delighted when they learn that you’re now home-officing. They picture you lounging on the couch, eating potato chips, and waiting for their calls. When they call you simply to chat, politely remind them that you’re working, and ask them if you can call them back after your day is over. It may take them a while, but they’ll eventually get the idea.

8. Work With Your Moods.

Keep track of your moods and productivity compared with the time of day. For example, if you find you’re more alert in the morning, use this time to make important calls and do your creative work. Take advantage of your natural cycles. If you feel better after an afternoon nap, go for it! (I’m a BIG proponent of the catnap. In fact, I may start a support group.)

9. Suit Yourself.

To bring out your best work, make your environment perfect for YOU. How do you work best? With plenty of breaks, or with no interruptions? In silence, or with some light music in the background? On a cushy couch and coffee table, or at a business desk in an ergonomic chair? (My friends thought I was nuts when I spent $750 on my Herman Miller Aeron chair, but they quickly understood why I did once they sat in it! It will last forever and my spine thanks me every day.)

Also, find some places you can do work when you need a change of scenery. How about the library, the park, or your neighborhood coffee shop? When I need to do serious reading, thinking, or editing, I take my work outside to the beach. The sea air, sunshine, and soothing waves help me think much more clearly.

10. Break for People.

Feeling sluggish, lonely, or moody? Arrange for at least one social break during the week. Schedule breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even just coffee with a client, vendor, or friend. Join a business networking group, or sign-up for social activities such as dance class or recreational sports league. Don’t go into hermit mode — it can be self-destructive!

© 1999-2009 Alexandria Brown International Inc.

For those who covet higher pay, the best job titles, and the most responsibility, a Master’s degree is often required. Knowing this, some businesses have begun offering degrees in less time than would normally be necessary. These opportunities to receive an online college degree often are not legal. It’s really not possible to earn a legitimate undergraduate degree in less than a couple of years.

In order to advance in your career, your employer may suggest going back to school. Maybe you have experienced this already. However, if you expect them to recognize the additional degree, it will have to come from an accredited school. Non-accredited schools will be overlooked, in most cases, so you’re better off not attempting to get a degree from that type of school.

Check with your employer to see if they offer tuition assistance for you to take the necessary coursework. You might also want to ask if they will accept a degree that you learn online since you will be able to continue to work and go to school at the same time.

Getting a Bachelor’s degree, or higher, has never been easier. In fact, you can get your healthcare degree online without ever having to step foot inside a classroom or onto a college or university campus. You will want to ensure that any degree program you choose is accredited so that it will be recognized by your current employer, any future employer, or any future school may choose to attend.

Your employer should deem your education valid provided it was earned at an accredited institution. However, you will want to verify this with your own employer.

The National Education Association is one the governing bodies determining whether a school is accredited or not, and all schools will get their accreditation through one of these in order to be considered a valid school. They must meet the standards as determined by the state or federal government. If the school itself, or the program being considered, isn’t accredited, that prospective student would be wise to consider another school or course of study.

Accredited colleges and universities abound, so there’s no sense in taking chances on your degree not being recognized. And, online learning degrees are much more readily available than in previous years. Don’t take a chance, search out the online degree program that will both meet your scheduling, financial, and online learning needs.

Don’t plunk down your money for online classes until you’ve done some homework. Check out several schools, their admission requirements, the available online degree programs, their accreditation status, and all costs associated with attendance. Ask whether student financial aid is available.

Try to understand the advantages and disadvantages of earning your degree online. You can attend an accredited college or university, obtain the degree you want from any college in the country, and do it all in a way that will meet your scheduling needs. You’re not limited to attending classes at a particular time, because online courses are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s even possible to receive college student loans to help pay the bills.

There’s really no point taking classes from an unaccredited online school because they won’t transfer. You will save yourself time, effort, and money in the long-run by choosing an accredited school to begin with.

Here is a quote from Samuel Culbert, author of this article, “Get rid of the Performance Review! It destroys morale, kills teamwork and hurts the bottom line. And that’s just for starters.”

…And yet in a performance review, employees are supposed to be measured along some predetermined checklist. In almost every instance what’s being “measured” has less to do with what an individual was focusing on in attempting to perform competently and more to do with a checklist expert’s assumptions about what competent people do. This is why pleasing the boss so often becomes more important than doing a good job. Create a positive impression and the boss will score you high on any dimension presented.

By the way I picked up this article on the ASTD National LinkedIn Group. Trainers, coaches, etc. you might want to join us.

How You Use Your Time

Rather than working harder, we can work smarter so that we may realize how much time we can save when we use time management practices. But the success of such techniques largely depends on if you create a realistic routine that you actually can adhere to. If you do this the right way you can quickly reduce your overall stress level.

We handle many different fields depending on what we do. But there are many time management techniques that would prove useful in almost any situation. A student for example can learn and practice time management by applying time management techniques when doing their homework or projects. Using time management techniques and practices can and will help to ensure the quality use of your time and the efficiency of the results that they produce.

Here are a few concepts you should be able to use without too much effort.

Making a List

Another good method of time management is to handle daily tasks by prioritizing the more important tasks first. You could have listed them all, in order of importance, on your “to do” list. By doing this, you can then be able to separate the tasks that you need to do in accordance with their relevancy and significance. Then, you can deal with each tasks one at a time.

Not taking on too much work

A very effective time management skill is the ability to say “no” when other less important tasks and affairs are presented to you and you have more important pending tasks. By learning how to turn them down, it reflects your commitment to follow your schedule and accomplish the task at hand. Once you have mastered this simple but difficult little thing, you will save a lot of time in the future. Not only did it help you to finish your tasks in time, but you also created more opportunities to accomplish more.

You don’t need the day to have 25 hours

There are many reasons for trying one or more of the above mentioned strategies. The most apparent one is merely completing the job within the time frame you have allotted for it. It keeps task A from eating up the rest of the time needed for tasks B, C and D.

For some, time is considered an enemy. But simply prioritizing and adding a few extra elements of planning will enable you to enjoy your tasks as you do them, and quit worrying about time as a factor. After all, you cannot stop time from running; you have to keep up with it.

Of course, time management shouldn’t be considered some miracle cure for everything. It may for example also turn out that more fundamental changes would need to be made to your working conditions. All the same, a little bit of time management rarely makes things worse.

Michael Hawkins is the owner of a new store named Ebook Maniac, where you will find ebooks as well as many interesting Instructional videos in the near future. Quite a few of them will relate to online marketing.

Various multilevel marketers and companies that have dabbled into taking their businesses to the internet without success the first time have often just thrown in the towel and given up on the goldmine that is called the internet . However, I have noticed that one of the single most significant reasons this often happens is because of the mindset multilevel marketing businesses bring to marketing their businesses online. In this post and in the concluding part, we’ll be looking at the three keys that you need to successfully develop a profitable MLM Home based business online.

1. Stop speculating that you are not dealing with individuals. Funny as this may sound, the tendency to feel that your prospects are just some set of individuals there that I don’t have to really talk to is pretty common online. People often feel that because it is the internet, you do not need to know these people. This is a mistake. Regardless of whether you see them or not, you Must treat them as you would if you were looking right at them. This will guarantee your business’ stability and resulting profitability.

2. Always motivate your team and downlines. Offline, this is commonly carried out in the form of motivational seminars often including successful individuals who were able to produce money from their multilevel marketing efforts who come to share their “secrets”, give tips and techniques during the seminar and generally prompt people to keep at it. So, how can you do this particularly when your team are from all over the globe? Simple. be the hostess of teleseminars or webinars every week, every fortnight, every month, etc. determine when you feel will be quickest for you and notify your team about the upcoming seminar that you will be having for them. Depending on what you feel the content of the seminar will be, you could either cost them a very low fee or make it free for getting on the call. Your teleseminar Must also include question and answer sessions so that people can seek and get answers to questions that are nagging them.

3. give them incentives sometimes. Have you seen how much happier and more inspired downlines are when you offer a rebate or a discount on a certain product if they brought in X amount of sales a month? Or have you noticed how your team often desire to work with you when you give them some free gifts? give them something of high perceived value; a gift that they will really adore to have. This will increase their participation and boost their morale, which will often translate into more gain for your MLM Home Based business.