Are you still interacting online with a username that hides your identity or are you using your real name? Have you gone so transparent that everyone knows who you are, what you’re doing, and where you are all day, everyday?

Last week’s release of Facebook Places produced a whole new flurry of discussion about social media and Internet privacy. And frankly, I’m confused.

When I first got started online (more than twelve years ago), most people tried to be anonymous and maintain privacy. I think many were like me – fearful of who would be getting our private information and what they’d do with it. While there are still people whose identity is well hidden online, I think many others have gone way too far over to the other side.

Not only are people using their real names and sharing photos of themselves and their families, but now many are using applications that announce their whereabouts to the world.

Personally I don’t want strangers to know whether or not I’m home, at the coffee shop down the street, or cruising the Caribbean. To me, it’s a safety issue. Did you see the site PleaseRobMe.com? The site no longer post tweets that announce users’ locations; now they are trying to raise awareness of potential dangers of announcing when you’re away from home.

Plus, I just don’t understand the need to tell anyone besides my immediate family where I am.

But that’s me.

At the same time many are sharing their every move online, I think most people would say that they highly value privacy and don’t want their private information shared. Perhaps we have a false sense of security because we use privacy settings to determine who can see what we post. Or perhaps we’ve just given in because the “bad guys” seem to be able to get our information no matter how much we try to protect it.

I’m pretty middle of the road when it comes to what I share online. I use my real name, and I post my picture, and I’m sure other information about me is pretty readily available. But I don’t post much about my family, and I don’t share my exact location or announce when I’m going on vacation.

I’m still of the mind that if you post it online, it’s available to the world. If I don’t want the world to know, I keep it to myself.

How important is privacy to you? How much Internet privacy do you want and how much information are you willing to share?

[Image courtesy of Faithful Chant.]

With the Internet becoming more and more of an everyday convenience for most people, and with more and more interest in running an online business, turning to the Internet to market a direct sales business naturally follows. Marketing online can be very effective, but sometimes direct sellers become so engrossed in Internet networking tools that product sales takes a back seat.

Social media marketing can be particularly tricky. It works if worked right. And it’s fun. But if you aren’t careful, it can consume a lot of time – time that could be spent direct selling for immediate profit.

As Lisa Young says in Twitter Tips For Direct Sellers, “…social media and online marketing does not replace your home party business.” Marketing and selling is a balancing act. Use online social media to build relationships that can lead to business, and continue to sell use the proven, basic direct sales methods like home parties and face-to-face sales.

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Direct sellers, along with many others who are marketing their businesses online, have embraced social media to connect with customers and prospects. And many continue to market on the message boards and forums that they’ve participated in for years. These are venues I enjoy and have also used successfully to build my businesses.

While many people post using their real names, I still see quite a few people posting anonymously. It just doesn’t seem right to me. How can you be social anonymously?

I understand the reasons for posting with a company name or using a keyword for your username, but when you do that be sure to put your real name in your profile or sign your post with at least your first name. I find it awkward to say, “Hi CandleBiz” or “Nice to meet you, SilverBaubles.” I much prefer “Thanks for the information Susan.” On occasion I’ve decided not to respond to a Tweet or post when I don’t know someone’s name; I’ll move on to offer an answer or introduce myself to someone who uses their real name.

In person, offline, you wouldn’t introduce yourself as “Jewelry Inc.” It’s no different online. Your prospects want to get to know you. Business will follow.

What do you think?

When the first social networking sites started, only very few people used them. However, they’ve gained popularity because they are easy enough for anyone to use. While social networking sites offer more advanced options for the technically savvy user, anyone can learn the basics of these sites with very little time and training. But for many of us, using them to build your business may not seem so easy. The Social Networking Workbook shows you how to make the most of social networking.

         

Social networks are websites that let people join, find their friends, and share information with each other. Facebook and Twitter are two well-known social networking sites, and there are many others.

Like many people, you may already be using these sites to find friends and stay updated with them in real time. In much the same way, you can use these sites to connect with business partners and customers you already have, and to expand your business. However, successfully using social networking for business does require a different strategy.

The Social Networking Workbook walks you through the steps to take to get the most out of social networking for business. It’s written for the beginner, but if you’ve already tried social networking and feel like it’s a waste of time, the workbook can help you refocus and make the most of the time you spend social networking.

Claim your copy of the Social Networking Workbook for just $2. Also included is a handy checklist to help you stay organized and focused while you develop your successful social networking strategy.
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Links in this post direct to products we sell or are affiliate links. (Why tell?)

Downloads are processed through our carefully selected 3rd party shopping cart service, e-Junkie.com.
Payments are processed through PayPal even if you don’t have a PayPal Account.
To view and print these files you will need a PDF reader. If you don’t have one, you can get Adobe Reader for free here.
Note: Every effort has been made to accurately represent our product and its potential. Each individual’s success depends on his or her background, dedication, desire and motivation. As with any business endeavor, there is an inherent risk of loss of capital and there is no guarantee that you will earn any money. Click here for complete terms of use and disclaimer.

Are you using social media to drive traffic to your website and increase sales? Or are you still sitting in the skeptics camp not certain that social media is anything other than a waste of time?

If you are not using social media to promote your services, products and website, you are missing out on one of the hottest marketing trends in years. And in doing so, your competition is very likely capturing sales that could be yours.

Social media is opening doors for entrepreneurs and businesses worldwide. Through social media you can:

• Formulate joint venture partnerships with someone you otherwise would have never connected with.
• Interact with customers and clients in real time offering support and guidance.
• Interact with people who are interested in your product and services and in you.
• Drive traffic to your website, squeeze page and brick and mortar or online store.

And, if all that isn’t enough to convince you to incorporate social media into your strategic marketing efforts, the costs of social media most likely will.  Aside from your time to network and connect with friends, followers and connections, nearly all social media tools and applications are free. Affordable and powerful strategic marketing…NICE, huh?

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Click the “Add to Cart” button below and find out whether Twitter, Facebook, and/or LinkedIn are the right social media platforms for you and your business. Learn social media best practices and how to avoid the pitfalls of social media marketing. And get a list of tools that will help you make the most of your social media efforts.

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Downloads are processed through our carefully selected 3rd party shopping cart service, e-Junkie.com.
Payments are processed through PayPal even if you don’t have a PayPal Account.
To view and print these files you will need a PDF reader. If you don’t have one, you can get Adobe Reader for free here.
Note: Every effort has been made to accurately represent our product and its potential. Each individual’s success depends on his or her background, dedication, desire and motivation. As with any business endeavor, there is an inherent risk of loss of capital and there is no guarantee that you will earn any money. Click here for complete terms of use and disclaimer.

There’s no doubt Twitter is becoming a very popular social media tool for both business and personal use. It’s easy and fun. If used properly it can help you build your direct sales business by connecting you with prospective team members and potential customers. If used improperly it can be a waste of time and even damage your reputation.

Lisa Young (Follow @lisarobbinyoung on Twitter) offers these tips to get you started on the right foot:

Twitter Tips For Direct Sellers
By Lisa Young

As a target marketing specialist for direct sales reps, I spend a lot of time testing new strategies to help direct sales reps reach and serve their customers. My current favorite is twitter.

Twitter is an obvious choice for connecting real time with friends or followers. It’s quick and relatively easy to navigate. Simply create an i.d., and start looking for people to spread your message.

The trouble comes when a person is brand new and has no idea how/where to begin.

Twitter is not a platform for heavy selling. Rather, it’s a great place to introduce yourself, share more about who you are, and then open the door to potential business ventures. Heck, you only have 140 characters per tweet, and if you want people to share those tweets, you need to keep it under 120!

In the interests of etiquette, here are a few simple tips to help direct sellers make the most of twitter:

1. Be genuine. This is at the heart of everything twitter represents. Select a user name that reflects who you are, rather than your product or company name. In fact, most companies prohibit use of their name in that manner anyway, so why risk it?

People will gravitate to who you are first, THEN to what you offer.

2. Provide value. You’ve heard me say this time and again. People are always asking themselves, “why should I believe/listen you?” We are deluged with thousands of “advertising” messaged every single day. Your tweets need to stand out, provide value to your market and serve the very people you’re trying to reach.

3. Be personal. By that, I mean resist the temptation to automate your folowing/unfollowing or direct messaging.There are appropriate ways to use automation with twitter. I’ve tested dozens of applications that were developed to maximize the efficiency of twitter. My results conclude that autofollows and autoDM’s just cause trouble.

Take the time to make the connection manually – which will avoid the need to unfollow at a later date. Yes, it means your number of followers may grow more slowly, but you can be sure that the followers you do have are actually INTERESTED in what you have to say.

4. Be patient. If you’re being true to who you are, you’re not likely to get a million followers overnight, but you WILL generate a following of people that know like and trust you. Word will spread as your followers share your message with their followers.

This is why I stress that social media and online marketing does not replace your home party business, but is an additional marketing component to running your business like a real business. Yes, there are people who have all but retired from doing home parties, but it didn’t happen overnight.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that a twitter account (or any single marketing strategy) is the fastest way to riches. It can help increase your reach dramatically, but it’s certainly not an overnight solution.

==========

© 2009 Lisa Robbin Young.

Want more help understanding twitter and how to apply it to your business? Explore Lisa’s new course: Twitter Secrets for Direct Sellers [http://www.homepartysolution.com/twittesecrets].

The only certified Direct Sales Marketing Coach in the WORLD, Lisa Robbin Young helps demystify the business side of running a direct sales business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Register today for her free member community & target marketing program for direct sellers at http://www.homepartysolution.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Young
http://EzineArticles.com/?Twitter-Tips-For-Direct-Sellers&id=2673303

In a recent post about using Facebook as a direct sales tool, Jennifer Fong (@liajen) identifies a very important key to social media marketing success. The post is full of great tips, but in my opinion, this one section sums up the secret to becoming a direct sales consultant worth befriending and following:

“Folks, recruiting is a one on one activity that is accomplished after LISTENING. Your status update is not the place to broadcast your opportunity to the world. If you really want to recruit people through social media, build relationships and find people that actually need what you have to offer. Then share your opportunity privately, in a way that meets the needs of the prospect.”

From Annoying Facebook-ers, Direct Sales Style

Being social and personable, and not all business, will help you build lasting relationships that can benefit your business in many ways.

Admittedly, I struggle a bit with mixing personal with business. I don’t share a whole lot of my personal life online. But I think it’s very possible to be sociable without being too personal, which is my goal. It’s a little like how I get to know people in real life. Perhaps we meet at a social function or our kids’ school and exchange small talk at first. Later when we see each other again we ask about the kids and work. We find we have some interests in common and we decide to meet for coffee. A relationship develops. When it’s just the two of us, we share more personal stories and information.

Whether you choose to be more or less personal in your interactions, social media can be a powerful tool for online direct sales recruiting. But as Jennifer points out, you don’t want to become the person that everyone tries to avoid. It’s extremely easy to un-follow, un-friend, and block spammers and other annoying people in Facebook, Twitter, and the like. Be careful not to push people away by doing nothing but blasting your business offers.

Every Friday users make recommendations for who to follow on Twitter. It’s a fun way to find new friends. It’s a bit like a who’s who among your followers.

Of course I think all of my friends are worth following, but here are a few suggestions to start with (in no particular order):

And in a category all his own… @RoyMontero
who I suspect would really rather talk to you on Skype than Tweet.

There are many more people I can recommend and I’ll do so in the weeks
to come by adding to this list regularly. On July 17th I consolidated the list and from now on, when I add friends they are marked NEW for a week. Comments dated before July 17th refer to earlier versions of this post.

If you aren’t already following me, please do.

Choose a free graphic from Twitter Signature Styles and gather Twitter followers from your message board signatures, blog, or website.

Here’s my favorite

Claim yours at Twitter Signature Styles