It was an emphatic statement and he appeared frustrated by this scenario. Curious about his experience, I asked him to tell me more. He explained he had set up a Twitter account about 6 months ago and had not used the account since then. In his situation, he tweeted a couple of times then completely stopped using the account.

I do not have all the details but assumed the results he saw did not match his expectations.

In your experience, how long does it take, assuming active use of a networking tool, to see results? What would you advise someone you met who told you social networking tools do not work?

Here are a couple of LinkedIn statistics from the article:
* used by 80% of companies recruiting through the social Web.
* 90% of companies that recruit through social networks have successfully found candidates on LinkedIn.

I talk with recruiters and hiring managers every week who tell me the same thing. They research candidates online and what they find impacts their decision to follow up. They do not hire those who have negative comments or pictures on their profile.

Just as interesting, they do not hire people without a social networking presence either. They assume the candidate who is not online is “behind the times”, “out of touch”, “just not current”. Who wants to hire someone like this?

I am so passionate about the topic, so I had to write this book, Social Networking Throughout Your Career: What’s All the Buzz About? I go way beyond the basics in the book. My goal was to answer some of the deeper, more specific questions I’m asked.

What would you say to someone who asked you “Why should I join LinkedIn?”

Workshop Fee for Columbia College Alumni: $15 (Discounted from $32)

Learn how LinkedIn has helped 70 million professionals around the world further connection, create opportunities and build careers. This webinar is specifically for who are new to using LinkedIn and/or interested in how LinkedIn can serve their job search. Get an overview of key features along with important effectiveness and etiquette/protocol tips.

This fast-paced webinar highlights:
- Tailoring your profile to be noticed in your job search
- Building online networking connections
- Initiating introduction requests
- Effectively using groups
- Leveraging Q&A
- And more!

Sessions will last about 75 minutes with time for participant questions. Please note: your registration confirmation will include logon information and dial-in number (long distance charges may apply).

REQUIREMENTS:
Basic computer knowledge and a computer with high-speed internet access and telephone.

Contact Information
Primary Contact
Cyn Vargas
312-369-8640
cvargas@colum.edu

Date: July 28, 2010
Time: 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM
Location: online

More information

Stop by any Thursday evening from 1 PM – 7 PM at the corners of Harrison & Washington Streets in the heart of beautiful historic downtown Algonquin. Plenty of free parking and a wide variety of vendors showcasing the best of McHenry County. The event runs now through September 30th.

Learn more what LinkedIn is and how it can help your career at this webinar.

Price of admission? Just let us know your LinkedIn question. What do you want to know about LinkedIn? Enter your question in the form below and check your email for the date and time of the call.

Fast Company just started the Influence Project to create a visual representation of how we are all connected. Check it out the Influence Project and see how we are all one big worldwide family.

You might be surprised at how influential you really are!

photo credit: Fatback[Dale]

Contact: April M. Williams

Cyberlife Tutors

847-207-7412

april@cyberlifetutors.com

Richmond Spring Grove Chamber of Commerce Gets LinkedIn

Social Networking Connects Business Community

ALGONQUIN, IL, July 1, 2010 – Networking means time, often taking us away from our business and family. Most business owners face the same problem. How can I be more effective in my networking to build my business?

Recognizing the need to connect with others to build business, twenty members of the Richmond Spring Grove Chamber of Commerce expanded their business networking skills with the “I’m on LinkedIn, What’s Next?” LinkedIn class. The session led by April M. Williams of CyberLife Tutors was co-sponsored by the Richmond Spring Grove Chamber of Commerce and Shah Center for Corporate Training.

“The enthusiasm of the class was contagious!” said Barbara Mikula, Branch Manager at Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp. “We are so excited to be able to connect with other chamber members to promote growth in our businesses in a relaxed and fun environment!”

The “I’m on LinkedIn, What’s Next?” session provides business owners with the tools to create a LinkedIn presence that attracts clients. It focuses on updating your LinkedIn profile to make a positive first impression.

Monica Hamann, Branch Manager at McHenry Savings Bank in Richmond, had this to say about the session: “I liked it a lot, great marketing tool. The class was very informative and easy to follow.”

About CyberLife Tutors:

CyberLife Tutors, located in Algonquin, Illinois, specializes in integrating social networking with traditional marketing for McHenry County businesses. April’s book, Social Networking Throughout Your Career is available on Amazon.com.

More information on upcoming classes available at the following link: http://www.cyberlifetutors.com/blog/?p=606

EDITORS: If you would like more information about this topic or to schedule an interview with April M. Williams, please contact April at 847-207-7412 or email April@cyberlifetutors.com.

A picture is worth a thousand words and a video is even more valuable.

Have you checked out our video how to playlist on Youtube? Visit our playlist to watch tips on using Twitter, Facebook and more.

What topics would you like to see covered in future videos?

If you like to travel or visit sites off the beaten path, check out our video podcast show “Where Are You Today?” on YouTube. You never know where will we will find interesting places and people to share with you.

Recent stops:

• Meeting a volunteer at “The Falls of Clyde” only remaining iron hulled ship in the world
• Paying respects to Kam Fong, Hawaii Five-0′s”Chin Ho Kelly” in Diamond Head
• Touring the Hutto, Texas Hippos
• Chillin’ at Winter Fest in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
• Watching Santa ride a Harley in the Toys for Tots ride

Let us know other videos you would like to see.

According to web strategist, Jeremiah Owyang, there could be a deep connection between our insurance rates and what we say on social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook. In his resent blog post, Jeremiah notes that insurance companies already influence rates based on historical behavior.

Jeremiah predicts there are three ways companies can influence rates based on social data:

1. Monitor and glean intelligence
2. Penalize ill-behavior
3. Reward members with pro-wellness activity

photo credit: Ross Catrow
In my experience working at an insurance company, we used statistical information to tie behavior to rates. For example, data showed customers with lower credit scores submitted more claims. Therefore, our rating included credit scores and low scores resulted in higher insurance rates.

What implications do you see this having on social networking behaviors? Will your behavior change do to these concerns?

I downloaded this free application a while back and have tested it out several times. One thing I like about the application is it is easy to navigate to. Tap on the LinkedIn application icon from the Iphone screen and the application opens. No need to type a URL into the web browser.

The Iphone LinkedIn application gives me access to my LinkedIn inbox so I can respond to emails while I am away from my office.

One thing I do not like is that I can only search through some of my contacts, not all without downloading them to my phone.

There is a way to connect IRL (in real life) with other Iphone LinkedIn application users. If we meet IRL and you have the app, let’s test this out.

Let me know what you think of the LinkedIn Iphone application.

Did you ever attend a networking event then get an email from someone you met there several days later. When a photo accompanies the name, we are more likely to recall meeting the contact.

Here are best practices for choosing a LinkedIn profile photo:

• Photo should be high enough resolution so as to not look grainy
• Project a professional image
• Close up image so you can be recognized
• Image of you, not a group of people
• Photo of a person not a logo or graphic
• In good taste and not offensive according to generally accepted standards
• Upload only images you have rights to use

LinkedIn may remove your photo if they consider your image inappropriate. Follow the best practices above and  you have no need to worry.

Include a photo in your LinkedIn profile and put your best face forward.

The top section of your LinkedIn profile is highlighted in blue. This is your profile headline.

Let’s compare your profile to a newspaper article. When you scan the newspaper, you read the headlines to decide if an article content is worth reading. If the headline looks interesting, you go on to read the rest of the article.

In LinkedIn, readers use the same process to decide whether your profile is worth reading.

Take a few minutes to review your profile header to see if you entice other LinkedIn members to view your profile. Can they tell what your profile is about from reading your headline?

Are you making a positive first impression?

Leave a reply below and let us know what your LinkedIn profile header says and give us a link to your profile.

Here is how you can view these comments.

Log in to Facebook and navigate to your Fan page. In the middle of the page under the “What’s on your mind” status box, you will see the options where you can select the type of comments you would like to see on this page.

Choose to view comments from:

• Wall owner
• Friends
• Wall owner and friends

The choice is yours. Modify your page settings to select the view option that works best for you.

Here is a short video where you can see how I change the page settings to view my friends comments on my CyberLife Tutors Facebook Fan page. Stop by our Facebook Fan page and say hello or leave a comment.

Thank you for your comments, questions and feedback. As a result, we are writing new blog postings on expanded topics and redesigning our website to serve you better.

In order to plan and provide you with information that’s pertinent to you, I have to have an idea of what you want to know about.

So, have your say!

Just type your comment in the box below to let me know what you are interested in learning more about. If you prefer to keep your comments private, just include a note that you would rather keep your comments private.

Alternatively, you may send me an email at April at cyberlifetutor.com and tell me what areas in your business or career which could use the most help.

For those who prefer telephone calls, pick up the phone and call me at (414) 502-7745

Everything is confidential. I just want to know what is on your mind.Thanks.

Membership in Facebook grows every day. Your customers are out there and they want to connect with you. Make it easy for them to find you on Facebook and connect with you there.

Follow the directions on Facebook badge page to create the custom design of your choosing. Your badge can include your name, picture, recent status updates, number of friends and more. You can even customize the shape of your badge – taller or wider based on your preferences and where you plan to place the badge.

Why add the Facebook badge to your website or blog? To make it easy for others to find your Facebook page, find out more about you. They may even add you as a friend.

When they click on the badge, they go directly to your Facebook page.

CyberLife Tutors

Promote Your Page Too

First, why put a “Follow Me on Twitter” button to your site? What does it do for you? The answer is a these buttons give your site visitors a one click link to your Twitter profile. Once they visit your Twitter profile, they can read your recent updates and choose to follow you future tweets.

Looking for a cool way to encourage others to follow you on Twitter? Check out the options and create your button at Twitter Buttons. Best of all – they are FREE!

How does it work?

1. Go to www.twitterbuttons.com
2. Type in your Twitter user ID
3. Select the button type you prefer
4. Select and copy the HTML code
5. Paste the code into a blog posting or your website

When they click on the badge, they go directly to your Twitter profile page.

Here are a few of the choices available:

By: Twitter Buttons

By: Twitter Buttons

These revised rules require anyone who blogs about products, including books, to disclose any connection with the company. If the blogger receives a free product to review or some other benefit from the blog post, they must disclose this fact.

Not disclosing a relationship with the product or service may result in fines.

photo credit: TheeErin

On occasion I am asked to review a product or service and give my opinion. If the product is of benefit to my target audience, I will investigate or test it out. If I feel the product or service is valuable to my readers, I will comment on my blog.

I only promote or cover any products or services I have used and believe in.

Are you a blogger? You can learn more about this law from information available on the FTC website.

When you create a profile in LinkedIn, the system automatically generates a link to your profile. By default, this is a meaningless string of numbers and / or letters. I recommend Linkedin members edit this field and creating a custom URL for their profile.

My custom profile URL is http://www.linkedin.com/in/aprilmwilliams. Clicking on this link will take you directly to my profile page in LinkedIn.

Members can customizable the last part of their URL or the segment after “in”.

http://www.linkedIn/in/<CUSTOMIZE>

Each LinkedIn member profile is unique. If you have a common name, you may have to be creative in your selection. Consider these options:

• <FirstName LastName>
• <FirstName Middle Name LastName>
• <FirstName Middle Initial LastName>
• Tag line: i.e., WorldsBestLawyer

Add your newly customized LinkedIn profile URL to your email signature and include it in your resume.

Enter a comment below and let us know your customized LinkedIn profile URL.

Attract More Clients Using LinkedIn and the Law of Attraction
Buy now via PayPal, just $19.34 for instant access!

What is inside this book …

Let CyberLife Tutors show you how to get more from your online network

Buy now via PayPal, just $19.34 for instant access!

You heard about LinkedIn from professional associates and possibly even created your profile. Now it is time to use LinkedIn to attract clients to you.

A quick overview of LinkedIn: It is an online professional networking tool used around the globe. According to LinkedIn, you can network with 70 million members from over 200 countries, including executives from all Fortune 500 companies. Members are split evenly between the United States and other countries. Basic LinkedIn membership is free though premium memberships are available.

Logging on to LinkedIn and creating your professional profile is the first step to building your online presence. Your goal is to attract clients and engage in business transactions.

This 34 page guide will walk you through the best practices for creating a profile that attracts clients, and the best ways to use LinkedIn as a tool to build your business. In each section you can stop reading, update your profile and come back for more.

Buy today and receive special bonus material too!

Buy now via PayPal, just $19.34 for instant access!

]]> http://www.cyberlifetutors.com/blog/2010/06/attract-more-clients/feed/ 1 http://www.cyberlifetutors.com/blog/2010/06/resume-embellishing/ http://www.cyberlifetutors.com/blog/2010/06/resume-embellishing/#comments Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:03:33 +0000 April http://www.cyberlifetutors.com/blog/?p=1524 Illinois politics is always interesting. This month, we learned one of our candidates has embellished his resume. In one instance, he took personal credit for an award his team earned. In a second instance, he over stated his role.

Politicians are elected by the voters and accountable to us – the citizens of the jurisdiction. It is our responsibility to pay attention and let them know how we feel.

photo credit: CharlotWest
In business, it is not uncommon for an employee to be fired when they lie on their resume. This behavior is not tolerated in the work place. Those who misstate their experience or qualifications are not considered trustworthy. “At will” employees can be fired on the spot.

Why do we, as voters and citizens allow our politicians to behave this way? If this behavior is not acceptable to you, let those who represent you in government know how you feel. Take action and vote for your beliefs.

]]> http://www.cyberlifetutors.com/blog/2010/06/resume-embellishing/feed/ 0