You want your online presence to reflect your offline presence: you want your personality, abilities, skills, and successes to be easily searchable, and you want to make sure your name shows up on an internet search with only favorable items attached to it.
Here's my list of seven easy online tools to boost your business success: I've either tested or heard glowing reviews from each of the below items, and I've also added examples of how these tools really work for me and my businesses.
Second Life
43 Things
ZoomInfo
YahooGroups
Your own website
7) Second Life www.secondlife.com
Julie Fogg, the president of telecommunications company Active Port www.activeport.com uses Second Life to help her visualize her future: she's even organized her fellow award recipients at MakeMineaMillion to use this virtual reality application to expand their thinking. Second Life is a real-time, online, other world where participants create, build, buy, and develop anything they can imagine. Some real-world stores have even opened Second Life "annexes" to sell their real-world products. The site is a great playground for your imagination and for clarifying your vision and intention: by practicing in the virtual world you clear the path for doing precisely this in our real world.
Tip: make sure you are grounded in this reality and not subject to addictive online behavior before embarking on your virtual life tour!
6) 43 Things: www.43things.com
This gem of a site keeps your list of "43 things" in one convenient place. There is only one question that drives the site: "What do I want to do with my life?" You get to choose your answers, see others with the same answers, and keep an online record to keep you motivated until you check an item off your list (and replace it with a new one). Keep growing, keep going,
Tip: Keep on track with your goals: checking in on a weekly or monthly basis keeps you accountable and moving in the direction that you're choosing.
5) ZoomInfo: www.zoominfo.com
ZoomInfo is all business and creates a Web Summary entry on your professional background and associations based on previously published information. Check yourself out and if you want to extend your information, or edit it, log in to make changes.The ZoomInfo search engine continually scans millions of corporate Web sites, press releases, electronic news services, SEC filings and other public online sources to create your entry. Check in periodically to see if it's keeping up with your public image.
Tip: Online like in real life, *only associate* with people and companies with whom you feel comfortable: make sure you're happy with your name and who you're associated with on your Zoominfo.com web listing.
4) Yahoo Groups: groups.yahoo.com
Who hasn't subscribed to a Yahoo! Groups at some point? Beware of spammers by using a less important e-mail and use the list to get networked in with a national or international group of others who share your interests. From politics to food to activities to people, there's a group out there for even the most "niche" interest. My alumni listserv has been one of my most positive sources of business referrals, associates, and inside information, and it's convenient, too.Tip: Set your subscription to "daily digest" to get a combined e-mail for the week, instead of separate messages from each participant.
3) Google: www.Google.com
One of your best advantages is to keep your business listing high up in Google. Mind your keywords and the types of phrases that you use in all your online and offline literature: all the "sticky" stuff stays with you so in your press releases and corporate materials (even PDFs), mind your p's and q's. Even obscure journal publications, or postings to a now-defunct listserv are cached here, so make sure your success orientation is prevalent in all your communications. And any actress-related questions, that's the other Monica Flores! http://www.google.com/search?&q=monica+flores
Tip: Before an in-person interview or appointment, take a minute to search Google for the name of your contact. You might find that you have something in common. If not, at least you'll have something to start off your conversation.
2) LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com
I'm such a fan that I recently added my LinkedIn profile to my e-mail signature. Our network helps determine how much information we may access, and LinkedIn is a perfect way to access not only your own business network of quality connections, but also your associates' network.
I signed up for this service long ago but have only in the last few months started moving my personal contact database into this network. I invite you to start up your online network as well.
Tip: Mind your Account & Settings: Profile Updates. Make sure you CHOOSE if your contacts receive notification on profile updates. You want to remain close, but you don't want to spam your business associates eveytime you add a new award, honor, or job.
1) Your own website!
As someone who loves the web, this is my biggest contribution to you: develop a professional, well-designed, easy-to-understand website.
Make sure your keywords are listed. Make sure your developer adds your sitemap to Google. Make sure your business values, vision, and mission are clearly stated and your company's standard information is listed: a well-done website adds tremendous value to your image and has the added benefit of working 24/7 to make sales or encourage customer confidence.
Tip: Usually for website design, you get what you pay for. Make sure you have a list of your priorities and shop around for a quote (we have an online quote generator for my company, 10K Webdesign). Check in at least annually to make sure your web presence reflects your business.
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