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.

He gave us access to his successful business philosophy. Even when the call is not about shoes, Zappos reps will find a way to make you happy. He proved that quality customer service is memorable and the stuff business profits and  legends are made of. Every caller is important. Time is not of the essence when speaking to a caller. Delivery is free. Returns are okay…even after three years.

My company, Triad West’s core competencies are diversity, leadership, transformation, and aligning employees to vision and values. Our core values include integrity, respect, and hospitality. We’ve worked with big and small organizations. And we always add some fun to or trainings. I enjoyed every moment of Tony Hsieh’s talk. He talked my walk.

And as this video shows, he has a sense of humor. After a night of bar hopping, one of the party goers wanted a pizza. The hotel’s kitchen was closed.  But the woman from Skechers got her pepperoni pizza nevertheless. How? Even though it was said as a joke, “call Zappos”, she did. Apparently the Zappos customer service person she talked to found a pizza place for her that delivered 24 hours. Tony Hsieh gently suggested that we not call Zappos for pizza — just shoes.

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.

How to sell on ebay can be the best thing you ever learned for your business.

Even So, promoting stuff on eBay is becoming harder because of increasing competition, but this kind of auction is still a lucrative business and Profitable Ebay Strategies is a product that will reveal some of the simplest and most gainful methods of making money on eBay. It can’t be denied though, being successful at selling on eBay will require you to roll uo your sleeves.

Your common seller tips will cover lessons on making and submitting listings, using photos, timing, managing your auctions, taking care of payment, transportation, feedback and doing basic customer support. Of prime importance to any merchant is to participate in the self-policing feedback community-building system of Ebay.

Although you can probably have many ideas on what to sell on ebay merely by investigating the online auctions yourself, there are many better ways of finding out what kind of items sell well. Right now, it seems that larger lots of things like toys and childrens clothing sell very well for some reason, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should be selling that as well. You should also be aware that a small insertion fee will be required of you even if your item isn’t actually sold. Likewise there are many other options, like the “Buy it Now” button that cost extra.

You’d be well adviced to get going with an auction with something small for starters. It may be things from your own household, or something you got off at the nearby garage sale. One man’s food is another man’s poison, whatever you deem as useless may be sacred in someone elese’s eyes. Start off with objects that you can sell profitable, otherwise you will repeatedly find yourself asking:”Is it worth it?”.

As the threshold to get started is so low, many people get started with ebay entirely on their own. This is not an impossible task, but you risk wasting a lot of time and money. Regardless of your ambitions for your online auctions, you need to be armed with the right kind of information in order to succeed.

Here are also some thoughts on why Ebay may help you with getting through the economical rough patch ahead.