So before I share with you 10 Social Media tips – allow me to introduce you briefly to each of these three media.

1. Blogs

A Blog is a website usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary and descriptions. You can either have a Blog created by a web designer as a separate entity, or as part of an existing website, or you can set up your own at www.blogger.com . With 40,000 blogs in Australia and 130 million in the world, they are providing a powerful place to share information in text format, photos and even video. One of the effective ways to drive traffic to your Blog is to find other blogs or forums that relate to the industry within which you wish to launch your career, and start commenting. Find your niche and communicate. If you would like to design a blog that complements your brand talk to the team at www.oe-design.com.

2. Facebook

Facebook helps you to connect and share with the people in your life. With over 5 million users in Australia alone and growing, it can open up a large audience. The average user has 120 friends on their site. An interesting statistic is that more than half of Facebook users are outside college and the fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older. These could represent your future bosses.

3.Twitter

Twitter can advance your career by allowing you to access the leaders in your industry. Through using search.twitter.com you can identify your specific niche and begin to engage influencers. Don’t forget to use www.tinyurl.com as part of your brief posting strategy and drive traffic back to your Blog.

So when you create your Blog, your Facebook account and your Twitter account – what next?

Position yourself in a positive light by using the following 10 Social Media tips.

1. Ensure you project a professional image while using social media at all times. Your future employer could be watching you.
2. Discrete is the word. Use wisdom sharing in such an open medium. Share positive comments.
3. Choose photos that are discrete.
4. Build relationships. Build trust. This is a powerful form of communication. A future employer can quickly get an idea of who you are by how you present yourself in your profile.
5. Create a professional Blog to show your understanding or keen interests in line with your chosen career. Post regularly. Now when it comes to blogging – either write it, copy and paste it and give accreditation to the writer by including their website address, or hire a ghost writer.
6. Meet and interact with the leaders in your industry via Twitter and point them back to your Blog.
7. Read well and then ask strong questions. Twitter is a great place for questions.
8. Sell yourself subtly. Social Media is a ‘not in your face’ medium. It’s all about subtle.
9. Upgrade yourself and share it in your social media circles. Your next opportunity is more likely to come from a social networking referral than from a job posting or advertised job opening.
10. A little wisdom and a lot of smart work(using social media) will help you forward your career, even in a tight economy. Employers hire when they don’t advertise, and often when they don’t think they have an opening, or even have a hiring freeze – that is before they meet you.

So your three social media career advancement friends are Blog, Facebook and Twitter. Use them wisely and consistently, and they will serve you well.

And while you’re at it follow Peter Sinclair – the CEO of OE Design – The Web Designers at www.twitter.com/OEDesign

How To Effectively Use Social Media To Advance Your Career is a post from: OE Design Blog

Brandi Cummings of www.freedom800.com says “Communication today between seller and purchaser is not always assisted by words, voice inflection, facial expressions, body language and in their handshake.”

Much of today’s business transactions are being conducted without ever physically meeting. So how can we build trust in the Online World?

Here are some secrets that can help small businesses to earn the trust of potential clients in the online world.

Have A Professionally Designed Website For Your Business

Make sure the design of your website reflects the professionalism of what you provide as a business. Unfortunately, a badly designed website is often interpreted as a reflection of the poor quality of your products and services. I recently heard of a business owner who lost a major contract because he had been so busy running his business that he had failed to update information on his website.

Provide Clear Contact Information On Your Website

Don’t hide this. Have it throughout your website, and provide a range of options by which you can be contacted, such as an 1800 or 1300 number, an email form, and even an online instant chat facility is another option.

Write Customer Driven Content

Make sure that your website communicates that you are in the business of solving customer’s problems. Your website is a chance to educate your customers. Provide good and clear content, for this adds value to your site and positions you as the expert in your industry.

Tell Your Story

Share your history. Share your vision. Share your mission. Don’t hold back. Share the charities and the other businesses you support. Update regularly with press releases and tasteful use of photos and bios of staff that can be placed throughout the website.

Use A Variety Of Testimonials & Presentations

In addition to written testimonials, you can use photos, audio and even video testimonials to create a sense of trust.

Provide World Class Customer Service

When people call or email your company, make sure that they are promptly cared for in a professional manner. Write scripts for your staff to follow. Voicemail messages must be professional, and return any messages within hours.

Don’t Get Bogged Down In Your Business – Blog Regularly

The beauty of the Blog medium is that it allows your clients to interact with you in a personal way. Spend at least an hour a week writing fresh material for your Blog. The search engines love it and your customers will love it too.

Send Out Regular eNewsletters

A regular Enewsletter sent to your chief database creates ownership. Even if your Enewsletter is not always read in its entirety, when a competitor comes to see your client, because you have built up this regular communication relationship with your client, they will declare you as their preferred supplier.

So, nullify mistrust on the Internet by applying one or if not all of the above on your Online Shopfront – your business’ website.

The Secret To Building Trust Online is a post from: OE Design Blog

Google penetration in Australia is currently 93%.

Google penetration in the USA is currently 67%.

Although Blogger doesn’t attract as much traffic as YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook – people are drawn to those sites from blogs.

Put soul back into your business by using YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook as part of your blog strategy. Create a social media page. Put up pictures, videos plus more. Use these in your ecommerce section of your website.

Join local search listings.

Embed YouTube videos in your blog.

Other great sites are: Photobucket, flickr, snapfish.

Go to http://maps.google.com.au put your business name in there and see if you’re there V – put pictures/ video/ services etc.

Other great sites are: Hotfrog, dlook.

Blogging is not hard.

Blogging best practice:

• no hype
• personal
• attitude
• not defensive
• write like you talk
• post frequently

Add a bit of controversy!!

Write or hire someone to write 200 – 400 words weekly.

Automatically update facebook/ myspace.

Use RSS Feed to update multiple sites simultaneously. What is RSS? It is Real Simple Syndication.

When you create videos have them only of 1-3 minutes in length. Include tags so that they are indexed.

Here are some other ideas…

• Open a Facebook account at www.Facebook.com
• Link your Blog and your Facebook page to your website. Link from you website back to these pages
• Open a Google Analytics account and add to your site http://www.google.com/analytics/
• Create a site map and submit via www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/
• Consider opening accounts with Flickr, YouTube and eBay

Blogging For Business is a post from: OE Design Blog