The Social Networking Academy

The Social Networking Academy
The Social Networking Academy Is A Comprehensive Training Program Showing You How To Create An Online Business Using The Power Of Facebook And Other Social Media! Voted The No1 Online Marketing Product By Imreport Card!
The Social Networking Academy

IPad Social Networking Applications Development – Revive Your Social Arena on Web in Your Own Way

IPad Social Networking Applications Development – Revive Your Social Arena on Web in Your Own Way

Apple’s iPad is reviving device for social networking on the web. Device makes the web more productive in all the ways. Experiencing the social networking by using iPad is excellent and it opens new avenues by allowing using iPad social networking applications. Web browsing with iPad is splendor that includes faster functioning and brilliant visualization of web pages such as vibrant color, readable sharp text size in portrait or landscape on the large Multi-Touch screen. There is a long list of amazing features that takes share in increasing the fun of social networking on the iPad. An iPad user can easily add more and in his own specific way by integrating the iPad social networking applications. For spicing up this latest technological lure anyone can go for iPad Social Networking Applications Development.

Seamless iPad Social Networking Applications Development is vital for deriving the real fun on the iPad. Professional iPad developers / programmers can do much better in developing iPad social networking applications. Modern web is available with a wide range of social networking sites and every social networking website offers various different features. You can choose anyone of them and make custom iPad social networking application, but it requires expertise to implement all the features seamlessly. There are some common features of iPad Social Networking Applications such as Photos, SMS, GPS, Multiplayer Game, Calendar, Video, IM, Personal page, Video conference and many more. Professional iPad social networking developers can easily integrate the existing social media network sites and they can develop customized applications as well.

Apple’s iPad allows the best way to see and interact with social networking sites with faster speed of internet. Everything on touch screen with few finger taps and roll overs makes the social networking amazing for user. Imagine the age’s latest technological device in your hands is working just according to you with your customized iPad social networking applications. Device allow you to revive the old web in your style, it is really fun raising experience for fun loving modern masses that deems in advance technology. Using advance devices is no doubt easy for everyone, but it is very true that operating / programming on them for any modifications is complex. For all technological practices and comprehensive iPad solution there are iPad social networking application developers / programmers are available. It is much better to take services from any professional iPad application developing company that offers Seamless iPad Social Networking Applications Development.

Free Networking Resources with Downtown Women’s Club membership

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Tips For Making A Lasting Impression At Networking Events

Tips For Making A Lasting Impression At Networking Events

How can you make a lasting impression at networking events? Have you ever attended a trade show or convention, shook a bunch of hands, collected a stack of business cards, and then the next day you go through the cards and can’t match faces (or more importantly, conversations) to names? Or do you remember someone you had a good chat with, but can’t recall the name of their business in order to look them up? Now look at the other end of that spectrum. Are you able say that you were effective in making a lasting impression on people so they’ll keep you in mind for future opportunities or transactions? How many of those people do you think will remember YOU? The next time you attend one of those large marcus evans business events, get your game in check before you work the room. Here are some tips:

1. Distinguish yourself. Clothing is a good way to do this. No need to be outlandish – women, you could try an unusual neckless, men, a hand-painted tie. Whatever you do, make sure you are at least impeccably groomed – dress for the occasion, shave, trim your nails (you’re going to be shaking a lot of hands), and make sure you’re not wearing overpowering amounts of cologne or perfume. You want to be remembered in a good way. Although you’re there to make a social/intellectual impression, physical appeal is important as well.

2. Be fully present and engaged in all your conversations. Make eye contact, pay attention to what you’re saying, respond promptly. If you’re only half there, you’re cheating yourself of potentially valuable information and possibly being rude to the person you’re talking with. Things have a tendency to move forward naturally when all parties are fully engaged. Even if a chat seemed like a waste of your time, at least you gave it the attention it deserved to be able to make a judgment call about whether that person would be a good contact. And who knows, later on, that connection could come in handy, even if it doesn’t just now.

3. Reiterate key points about you. In other words, find discreet ways to “plug” your who, what, when, where, why & how. If you’re at a particularly large networking event, such as a business convention hosted by marcus evans, people aren’t going to remember lengthy facts about you. At best, they might walk away with one or two key points: your name, company name, business/industry, product, location. You need to subtly increase the occurrence of these “keywords” in your conversation without sounding like a commercial for a local used car lot.

4. Give your two cents.

When talking to a group, whether sitting around a table at a luncheon or just gathered around in some other setting, it’s important to contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way if you want to make yourself stand out. Without dominating the conversation or saying something just to have spoken publicly, you can create value for yourself and make yourself memorable if you make one or two intelligent, impressionable statements that add to the discussion.

5. Ask good questions. This shows that you’re paying attention to the person you’re networking with and it will often garner you more valuable information. “How did you get started in solar technology?” or “How did you come up with this or that product/idea?” are good questions, but the best and most thought provoking inquiries are going to be specific to your conversation and will flow naturally as long as you’re engaged in the talk.

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Social networking has an impact on search engine marketing

Social networking has an impact on search engine marketing

Search engine marketing is starting to be heavily influenced by social networking.

According to new research from Experian Hitwise, social networking websites are grabbing significant amounts of traffic from search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. As a result search engine marketing agencies appear to be adopting their search marketing strategies to encompass the relatively new technology. John Merakovsky, a search engine optimisation expert from Experian, told ZDNet: “Social networking visits have consistently exceeded search engine usage.” He said that the trend has been strong in the Asia region since 2007 and it looks like the trend could take off around the globe.

Experian Asia Pacific’s research showed that social networks in Hong Kong accounted for 16.69 per cent of user visits in the week ending October 23rd. This is compared with just 7.58 per cent for the leading search engines. In Singapore, the numbers were 15.57 per cent and 10.15 per cent respectively. The trend could easily change the face of search engine marketing, which is going to get a more real-time, user interaction focus.

Meanwhile, Steve Hodgkinson, a leading IT analyst with Ovum, told the news provider that social networking is merely the next step in the development of search – which means every SEO Company worth their salt will have to keep abreast of the latest Facebook and Twitter search engine optimisation developments.

“Social search is just a natural evolution of search made possible by the creation of social network databases that are available for exploitation by new forms of search algorithms and social networking dialogue,” Mr Hodgkinson claimed.

Meanwhile, James Roy, senior analyst at China Market Research Group, told ZDNet: “People are realising that information such as music or online videos which their friends like and recommend, are more likely to interest them than what is broadly popular on the Internet or has a high Google ranking.” Microsoft’s online search executive Yusuf Mehdi recently claimed that the integration of social media into its search offering was a major part of its new strategy to personalise search. His comments came as Microsoft signed a lucrative deal with the leading social networking site Facebook.

Social networking & search engine optimization

Social networking & search engine optimization

 

SOCIAL NETWORKING &  SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

 © Dean Bouridis, 2009

Dean Bouridis BA, CDM, BSA

  

1.0       EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 The convergence of retail and community building online has become known as “social networking”.  This online phenomenon is spreading across the globe. Nearly all internet users are being engaged in some aspect of this online activity.  It ranges from social shopping, networking to community building.

  

2.0              SEARCH ENGINE OVERVIEW

 In light of the rapidly growing phenomenon termed social networking, the ultimate goal of search engines is to adopt a risk management program that will enhance the customer experience; to create repeat sales and enthusiastic word-of-mouth referrals. To accomplish this, an effective program has to be driven by the organization’s business operating environment.  An organization has to maintain an environment that meets:

 -          Customer’s expectations. 

-          Operational business needs

 An organization is challenged with the on-going need to focus on, evaluate and improve each of its functional services.

 

 2.1       Keywork Search Optimization

 Some online loyalty programs operate as a means to simply encourage customers to stick with a particular brand. Other programs encourage customers to throw more business towards a company, by establishing tiers.  They use incentive programs that offer greater rewards for increased levels of spending.

 The leading search engine is positioned on top of the evolving web mosaic.  Their unique positioning allows the search engine to maintain its competitive advantage by:

 -          Monitoring any area of growth

-          Acquiring the first position for any area they want to compete in.

 To maintain their position, the leading search engines adopt a marketing strategy which has the flexibility to reposition them in the marketplace when deemed necessary.  If the organization is uncertain of their competitive positioning, they have on occasion listed their services alongside a couple of other competitors.  Often they have demonstrated they will maintain this positioning until their internal stats show their product is superior.  The leader in the industry has mastered the concept that offering free exposure along with free benchmarking equates to great advantages.

 

3.0       SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

 3.1              Keyword Tools

 To optimize search engine keywords (SEO) There are many free or low-cost keyword tools one can use within the social networking environment.  The search engine Google for example uses the AdWords keyword tool as a focus of its innovative business models. Adwords is associated with the pay per click concept.  Adwords is still one of Google’s main sources of revenues.

 A percentage of business owners that want to make money online are taking advantage of innovative internet marketing strategies and internet advertising.  Businesses that use Google AdSense ads for instance make money online on the front end, and by writing articles on the back end.

 Google AdSense is positioned to allow advertisers to get both targeted traffic and sales, – but so is everyone else.  However, by writing articles, the Internet marketers who incorporate Google AdSense, can also make more money online, if done properly with this internet marketing strategy.

  

3.2       Keyword Positioning Strategies

 The objective of applying key word search techniques is to meet client needs with minimal effort.  This equates to higher profits, better budgeting and a faster return on investment.  It is accomplished by managing the web site’s traffic relative to the investment output.  The impact of the key word searches, is measured by the competitiveness of the data used as well as the popularity of the applied data.  The right competitive mix of keyword search usage allows the search engine to be optimized; to measure the traffic on investment of any keywords. 

 

3.3       Search Engine Optimization

 To optimize the search engine performance, one has to take into account certain factors.  For example, one has to equate a webmaster’s degree of intent to compete.  They also have to mitigate any obstacle that may impede the ranking for a targeted keyword

 Other factors to take into account include:

-          data integrity

-          impact of automated searches

-          manipulation of data collected by search engines

-          relativity and consistency

-          seasonal data

-          private keyword sources

 

 4.0       SEO OPTIMIZATION  STRATEGIES

 4.1       Effective Online Search Marketing

Effective search engine marketing is an ongoing qualified measurement and improvement program.  Such a program has to constantly scrutinize the statistical data being collected to optimize the search engine marketing campaign.  Adjustments have to be made regularly for the highest possible return on investment.

 A reliable internet online marketing experience is mandatory to provide services such as:

 -          Building professional, search engine friendly web sites

-          Making the best presentation of your company to potential clients

-          Branding in the global marketplace

-          Structuring paid search marketing campaigns

-          Designing landing pages that convert to leads

-          Creating dynamic web content

-          Providing measurable results

 The goal of keyword researches is to obtain search volume estimates.  This is essential to maximize search engine optimization. An organization wants to make sure their online subscribers are expanding their efforts on the most leveraged keywords. Usually these are the keywords or terms with the most searches.

 

4.2       Maximizing Return in Investment

 To maximize the return on your investment, one has to closely monitor certain keyword search variables. 

 4.2.1        Keyword Matches

 Keyword searches are impacted by:

 -          Total Matches

-          Exact Matches

-          InURL Matches

-          InAnchor Matches

-          InTitle matches

-          inText Matches

 

4.2.2        Page Links

 The strength of a site’s inbound links is related to the page ranking applied by the search engine. To determine the strength of the inbound links in relation to its derived page ranking, one has to understand the driving force and resulting impact of the search engine’s page ranking? The page rank of the URL is in essence a function of all back links pointing to it. These back links come from inside and outside the domain.

 Furthermore, pages are ranked based on a series of variables:

 -          Ranking Page Links

-          Ranking Page PageRank

-          Ranking Page In Title

-          Ranking Page inText, etc.

 Another goal of keyword searches is to ensure your domain is properly ranked.  Variations on the key phrases one has selected within their domain can have a significant impact of your search engines’ optimization. Sometimes the first phrase that comes to mind isn’t the first one to come to the searcher’s mind.  For instance, if you’re selling a technical product or one that involves technical jargon, a person may not relate to the terminology used within your domain.

 

4.2.3    Domain Ranking

 Domains are ranked as follows:

 -          Ranking Domain Links

-          Ranking Domain PageRank

-          Ranking Domain Age

 Following the above noted matrix guidelines will allow the search engine to be optimized for your Internet marketing campaign.  You should start to measure the increasing return on your on-line marketing campaign’s investment.

 Keep close tabs on key PPC (pay-per-click) metrics such as CTR (click-through-rate) and conversion rates by keyword, as well as quality score. Tweak your campaign by dialing down losers and boosting winners. The goal here isn’t only to gather data, but ideally to get conversions as well!

 

5.0 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

 5.1 Evaluating New Technologies

 Investing in the Search Engine Optimization strategies – information technology solution is an important part of staying competitive with potentially positive impacts on growth, risk, and online marketing outcomes. When evaluating new keyword techniques, there are several important issues the Business Analyst has to consider.

 The project objective is to provide “personalized keywords” and the intersections between the emerging

fields and the electronic data records. This entails the planning for and executing projects to meet

business and target marketing objectives.

 

5.2       Business Analysis Project Scope:

 Within the scope of the project the Business Analyst will examine the Search Engine Optimization -

information technology solution:

 1. How the technology is utilized to mitigate key risk factors such as errors in keyword identification and delays in search report availability

2. What’s available and what’s on the in automation, including interfacing with processing devices as well as new labeling technologies

3. Integrating data from multiple sources into a single data record (inbound results)

4. Training – as new technologies emerge or become available, how do you build the necessary skill sets?

 

5.3       Target Marketing

 Evolving Standards of Keyword Searches:

 - Is the standard advancing in a particular field?

- Does the peer-reviewed literature and regulators support the advance?

- Do users and stakeholders expect the highest standard, and if so, what is the liability risk of not upgrading?

 Search Engine Outcomes:

 - What effect will the new technology have on keyword search outcomes?

- Will outcomes improve, stay the same, or worsen?

 Workflow Efficiencies:

 - What impact will the new technology have on workflow efficiencies?

- Will it increase capacity?

- What effects will it have on human resources in terms of increased revenue streams and return on investment?

- Will it improve operations?

- Can the technology be incorporated into a lean operation?

 Differentiation:

 - Does the technology allow you to stand out from other web sites?

- Is it a marketing differentiator?

  

5.4       Working with the Technology Partner:

 Does the Search Engine Optimization – information technology solution have a proven implementation team that will analyze specific business needs and customize the solution to meet them?

  

5.5              Support Resources:

 Does the Search Engine Optimization – information technology solution provide support resources for

marketing, training, and educational opportunities?

 Greater accuracy is based on a statistically significant improvement in sensitivity and a statistically significant improvement in specificity of the individual marketing campaign. False-negative reduction is based on a statistically significant improvement in sensitivity.

  

5.6       Return on Investment:

 Providing additional tests represents an improvement for keyword search results in terms of maximized access to your web site.

 

 6.0       DELIVERABLES

 The objective is top increase the web site throughput capacity. This can have a positive impact on revenue streams, client consistency, traffic flow standardization, reproducibility, and revenue growth.

- The Business Analyst conducts, and directs the analysis of business problems to be solved with automated systems

- Partners with users to identify, evaluate, and develop systems and procedures, which are, cost effective and meet functional requirements

- Plans and executes unit, integration, and acceptance testing

- Creates specifications for systems to meet business requirements

- Designs details of automated systems

- Leads cross-functional linked teams to address business or systems issues

- Plans, conduct, and direct the analysis of business problems to be solved with automated systems

- Partners with users to identify, evaluate, and develop systems and procedures which are cost effective and meet user requirements

- Plans and executes keyword search integration, and acceptance testing

- Creates specifications for systems to meet financial targets

- Designs details of automated financial systems

- Leads cross-functional linked teams to address business or revenue issues

- Enhances efficiency through customizable search engine workflow

- Improves diagnostic processes and search engine financial interpretations

- Provides convenient, immediate access to comprehensive keyword search financial data

- Decreases diagnosis delivery turnaround time

- Eliminates errors and redundancy caused by recording results via ETL system

- Improves transcription workflow

- Increases revenue through efficient, accurate coding and charge capture

- Lowers total cost of campaign

 

 7.0       QUANTITATIVE & MEASURABLE RESULTS

Search engines today face many challenges. Revenue generation and competitive differentiation are key to their success in overcoming those challenges. The proposed search engine systems integration and implementation overcome many of the inherent challenges of a consolidating marketplace, workflow inefficiencies, and mitigate liability.  This is paramount in the advancement of the standard of search engine optimization and thereby creating a positive financial impact on both traffic revenues and business outcomes.

 The Business Analyst will continue to evaluate the development of new technologies that will address the needs of search engine optimization.

 

 7.1       Functional Next Step

 Performing a business needs assessment is a powerful method to diagnose workflow inefficiencies and identify opportunities for financial improvement and revenue growth.

 What to look for in the Search Engine Optimization – information technology solution:

 1. Deliver current, evolving optimization standards

2. Improve keyword search financial outcomes

3. Expand revenue capacity

4. Improve workflow efficiencies

5. Provide a business needs assessment and support throughout implementation

6. Support resources will make a significant contribution to keyword screening and search engine management

7. Flexible task-driven workflow search engine

8. Full keyword context with embedded dictation and transcription workflow

9. Encoding and mapping to keyword search optimization standard codes

10. Common terminology manager

11. Comprehensive, accurate activities-based costing

13. Integrated search engine methodologies

14. Common platform and service methodology

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Social Networking Software – a Good Investment for your Online Business

Social Networking Software – a Good Investment for your Online Business

Increasing traffic to your website has become difficult in recent years due to the growth of a number of websites offering similar products and services. If you want to attract more people to your website, you can try out and install social networking software, which is networking software that allows users to interact with their friends, family members and business associates.

Cheap Investment Option

Investing in social networking software does not mean that you will have to redesign your existing website. The software can be installed on any type of website, be it a commercial or an online community website. Investing in social networking is relatively cheaper than employing any other form of Internet marketing strategy or tools because social networking software investment costs are limited only to the actual price of this software and its implementation. If you install good social networking software, you may not have to make additional investments in marketing your website.

How It Works

People who visit your website will probably register themselves for a membership in your software. They will then send invitations to their friends requesting them to register on your website. With time, this will result in a chain reaction and very soon, your website will see an increase in overall traffic. Increased traffic will most probably lead to a parallel increase in advertising revenues that you earn from your website, as companies prefer advertising on websites that have a large number of regular users. This can be favorable to you, especially if you have a content-based website that is solely dependent on advertising revenues. Increased traffic also benefits commercial websites because the more the number of visitors, the more is the probability that a product or service will be purchased. This means that your website will now earn more revenues, which is necessary for the long term success of your business.

Many online companies have successfully added social networking software to their websites and are reaping the benefits associated with the use of this social networking software. You can also install the software on your website to allow people to find long-lost friends, keep in touch with existing friends, chat with each other, share news and views, share digital photographs, and upload their images.

All these tools will help users to relate to your website, which in turn will help in building customer loyalty (customer loyalty=$ $ $ ). This is necessary because your website is not the only one that will be using the software. If you are not successful in building customer loyalty, your visitors are most likely to keep hopping from one website to another until they find the best one. When selecting social networking software make sure that it is fast and has all the necessary tools that will help in attracting and retaining Internet users. This is the key to using this social networking software effectively in order to successfully grow your Internet business idea.

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Social networking script – Solutions for a winning social media campaign

Social networking script – Solutions for a winning social media campaign

As the year 2009 draws to a close, I must say it was quite an eventful year for a lot of companies who re-modeled their marketing campaigns and drew extensive benefits out of the power of internet. Internet marketing was the ‘buzzword’ throughout the year 2009 and ‘social networking’ campaigns were adopted by many organizations as a successful strategy to market their products/services across the globe effectively.

So, how do organizations benefit from social media campaigns such as social networking websites? The fact that people get influenced by their friends is not new. Such is the power of networking that a good word about a product/service is spread in no time within a close knit network of friends. Therefore word-to-word or viral advertising as it is popularly called has become the success formula upon which most of the online marketing campaigns especially social networking websites revolve around. A social networking script is the base on which an effective social marketing campaign can be structured. Social networking scripts therefore are an essential feature for organizations who want to tap into a specific target audience.

A social networking script is a foundation to an effective and customized social networking campaign for any organization and is a must-have in your arsenal if you want to expand on to your market share and take on competition. You can build your social marketing campaigns around the existing social networking websites which are very popular such as Facebook.com, myspace.com, twitter.com, etc. Also inclinations towards open-source platforms such as Drupal, Joomla, vBulletin, etc. have also become a popular choice amongst the social media managers. Open-source platforms such as Drupal (market leader) provide high degree of theme-driven, easy to use, customizable and expandable social networking scripts which enhance a social networking campaign.

So whatever your eventual choice, be it Drupal or any other platform, investing in to a good social networking script makes it for a wise choice in order to have a winning social networking campaign.

Social Media – Online Advertising And Social Networking With Facebook

Social Media – Online Advertising And Social Networking With Facebook

The last two years has seen the explosion of social media and social Networking. As a result there has been an increased use of online advertising as more people are attracted to Internet advertising. Google advertising is currently the kingpin of social marketing and business advertising. However, Facebook advertising is growing in popularity and hence it is important to understand how to run a Facebook ads report to help you analyse your advertising campaign. In this article I will briefly describe the three report types available on the “reports link” of your Facebook ads manager – these are advertising performance, responder demographics and responder profiles.

Report Type 1 – Advertising Performance

When you click on your reports link in your ads manager you will be presented a choice of the three reports I have already named above. The advertising report performance report is very useful because it includes valuable data like impressions, clicks, clickthrough rate (CTR) and spend. By running this report you will be able to determine the number of different users who clicked to view your ad. Another useful feature of the advertising performance report is that it counts statistics for ads with “social actions” attached. Facebook creates specific Facebook-specific social action. This action can be seen in how users manage their social information, communicate, gather and share information.

Report Type 2 – Responder Demographics

This second report provides you with valuable data on the different kinds of users clicking on your pay per click campaigns. The demographic column provides you with information on the age, gender, country and region of users who viewed your campaign. This report will provide you with information on the number of unique clicks you got from people in a particular area or region. Demographic data is very useful because it enables you to easily find groups of people with a particular characteristic you are interested in collecting more relevant information for further analysis. An example is where you are offering a fitness product for women. You can use the demographic data to find out regions that have a predominantly female population. Further analysis could then be based on the hobbies of the female population in that particular region.

Report Type 3 – Responder Profiles

This third report provides you with valuable data about the types of users who clicked on your campaigns based on the interests they have listed in their personal Facebook profiles. You can gain valuable information on users buying interests such as their favourite books, music, TV shows and rank. You can make use of this information by sending your users Cost Per Action (CPA) offers relating to their favourite films, books, music and travel interests. This could be a good source of residual income.

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Social Networking: Quality Vs. Quantity

Social Networking: Quality Vs. Quantity

The value of your social networks is largely based on the quality, and to some extent quantity, of people in them.

While nearly all social networks have a “Terms of Service” (TOS), the rules for participation (don’t post obscenities or copyrighted material, for example), the etiquette for adding people to each network is defined by the mores of those on the network. It’s also highly subject to change when early adopters (who tend to be purists) become outnumbered by “newcomers.”

When developing your strategy for adding people, you’ll want to consider who you are and why you’re on the network. For this column I am assuming predominantly professional use. Although I’m focusing on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for this article, the same concepts apply to many other networks.

Some choose to connect with very few people, often confining their social networking to people they already know through other means. My strategy is what some people refer to as “promiscuous.” I will accept an invitation from nearly anyone, to connect on any network, because I am a social media professional interested in the efficiency and velocity of new media tools, and I want to be completely open minded about who I connect with in order to be open to new learning experiences and diverse viewpoints. You’ll need to figure out what’s comfortable for you.

General Advice

Connect with people with like experience and interests, the same schools and employers, or those who are potential mentors.

Know and follow the rules (aka TOS) of the network you are on.

Obvious attempts to curry favor with potential employers are just that.

Male users should be particularly careful to avoid the appearance of flirtation and inappropriate comments and messages. Sure, it happens in the other direction, but not much. Use the same rules as you would in the workplace.

Don’t send blatantly commercial messages. Business networking is OK. Shameless promotion and cold calling is not.

If the network allows, give the person you are inviting some context for the invitation.

Err on the side of conservatism. If in doubt about the appropriateness of connecting with someone, hold off.

Be willing to give and get. Think beyond what is “in it for you.”

Don’t add connections simply to display an impressive number. Quality trumps quantity. As my friend Ophelia says, “Connect, don’t collect.”

Don’t worry about having only a few connections if you’re new. Your network will grow as the value you offer others becomes apparent.

Be modest about the number of connections you have.

Do not take it badly if someone declines or ignores your invitation to connect. That’s their option.

Many people will decline all unexpected invites. In some cases, you can inform them ahead of time you want to invite them, increasing your odds of acceptance.

 

 

Each network has slightly different protocol for adding connections. Here are my experiences and thoughts on each.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the oldest, most established and most traditional of these three networks. LinkedIn also has the most controls over who can connect with who, and the severest penalties for failing to follow these rules. LinkedIn is generally a network for career and business development, and is structured to ensure that members create trusted networks of connections with like interests who already know each other in some way.

LinkedIn validates each request you make for an introduction by requiring you to document how you know the person you are connecting with, and actively recommends you do not connect with people you don’t know. If the person is not in your immediate circle, you may have to go through one or more intermediaries for an introduction.

Recently, a number of people have found a “workaround” in LinkedIn that lets you add almost anyone by creating a new “Group” or “Association” with nearly any name, like “Blog” or “Twitter” or “Blogosphere.”

LinkedIn has also spawned a number of “communities,” like LinkedIn LIONS and MyLink500.com, dedicated to helping people add large volumes of connections.

When extending a LinkedIn invitation, you should add to the standard message that LinkedIn sends by adding a personal message explaining to the recipient why you are contacting them.

LinkedIn also maintains a strict policy on “I Don’t Knows,” popularly known as IDKs. If you send an invite to a user who does not know you, and they reply “I Do Not Know this person,” that is a point against you, and if you get five IDKs, you can be booted from the network.

Facebook

Facebook has a fairly advanced search tool for finding new connections (and like most networks, tools for adding people from other networks, or using your email address book to find people). You can use Facebook’s networks or browse friends of friends to see former co-workers and classmates you can connect with. It’s also easy to find people in your industry.

When you send an invite to someone to connect on Facebook, you can “add a personal message” to your invite. If you are not previously acquainted but feel this person is appropriate to connect with, this is a good place to type something like “I really enjoy your blog” or “Would love to connect to talk about (insert subject here).” This will greatly increase the odds for acceptance.

When you invite someone on Facebook, they will be able so see your profile, so if your information is up to date, they will be able to make a decision based on your experience, age, gender, etc.

I find the etiquette on Facebook in general to be a little overwhelming and confusing, possibly due to the network’s early roots among students. For example, the “poke” was originally a suggestive gesture meant to indicate that you were interested in hooking up with the person you poked. Some people now use a poke simply to say “hey!” Women in particular HATE getting a Facebook poke from anyone but a boyfriend or spouse, so be very careful.

Twitter

Adding connections on Twitter is expressed in terms of “Following” and “Followers.” You can see the updates (posts) of the people you follow and the people following you can see your updates. Twitter is very transparent in showing how many of each you have. Opinion varies widely on this point, but I think a balanced number is good. It’s not perfectly valid as a statistical indicator, but at least suggests that you are interested in the conversational aspect of the network. I think having too many followers vs. following is indicative of an inflated sense of self and a touch of narcissism.

Women on Twitter are very wary of male users who are only following 600 female users in their teens and 20s. This kind of profile makes a guy look like a stalker, and then again, if this is your profile, you are one. There are currently grassroots efforts to indentify and ban these people, which I think is a bit much, but this kind of behavior is not appropriate on any general purpose social network.

Finding and adding is simple. Search for new connections using the “Find Folks” box on the right sidebar. Twitter’s search tool is very unsophisticated. I use the following terms for finding people in my profession: media, social, PR, public relations, communications. You can follow anyone by clicking on their “handle” (Twitter name) to follow them. They may or may not follow you back.

On Twitter, I will follow back anyone who follows me unless they are:

A bot that is designed to send me marketing messages

Someone who sends obscene, racist or otherwise inappropriate material (you can check this by looking at their previous updates)

Someone with no profile whatsoever

 

Some people “protect” their updates, which means you can request to follow them through the process outlined above, but they must approve your request. Personally, I do not protect my updates, but I guess people have reasons for doing so. Conversely, you can block specific users whom you do not want seeing your updates.

General Courtesy

I always thank people both for inviting me, and for accepting my invitations, on Twitter and sometimes on Facebook and LinkedIn. (Twitter is more suited to such informal communication.)

Of course, as I mentioned, etiquette is ever changing and also very personal. This is my take on these three popular networks. Your results may vary. Etiquette is also wrapped up in the functionality of each network, so you have to know the interface and how to connect before you can do it without offending.

This piece is quite a bit longer than I generally write, but I’ve barely covered the subject. Please comment below or email me with your reactions and experiences, And add me to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn if you’d like!

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