Keep working on your social networking relationships to help your business grow by making sure that have social networking consistency.

So let’s start with the science of social networking schmoozing. First, you have to start connecting with people in a methodical fashion. Every day I connect with hundreds of people on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I am continually adding to my list of connections and looking for the rare nuggets of people that will become my clients. The secret is that there is no secret. I make more connections in a week that never go anywhere than most people do in a month or even a year. The difference is that I connect with more of them faster, so I can find the connections that have the best chance into growing into a professional relationships faster.

Once I find these diamonds in the rough(excuse the Aladdin quote), I start engaging them. I talk to them on their Facebook wall, mention them on Twitter, and answer their questions on LinkedIn.

This is where the art of schmoozing comes in. I have to engage them in a way that will lead to a professional relationship and at the same time I do not want to be pushy about my services. My quality of work speaks for itself.

Therefore, I use Dale Carnegie’s immortal line, “No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” I actively take an interest in what they are doing and their life and business in general. It enables me to more effectively build a long standing business relationship with my clients and network partners.

After being artful in human relations we return to the science of schmoozing(should I give away Social Networking Schmoozing degrees?). It is sort of like a science-art-science sandwich in a way. I feel like baking a cake and asking for one parts art and two parts science. Yet I digress. Once we have created a relationship. The trick is to now build it. The best way to do that is by connecting with them on your social networks personal messaging system and eventually through phone, video, and possibly face to face conversation.

Social Networking Schmoozing is all about creating the right environment to create and build relationships online that are prosperous for the long. You do this by using a mix of processes and systems along with the right human touch. That is what social networking schmoozing so successful you do it over and over again and it always seems like the first time.

I love attending new networking events where I get the chance to meet a large group of prospects and networking partners. I might spend a few moments talking to these prospects at the event or end up speaking with a potential networking partner for half the event.

Networking events were not always this way. Before I started using LinkedIn and Facebook on a regular basis I was not able to keep in touch with a large group of prospects for more than a certain period of time.

I would meet 20 people at an event and more than likely only stay in touch with 2-3 people. Now with social networking I can usually stay in contact with 10-15 people. That is what enables me to make the statement that I never need to cold call again. Why do that when I have such a great warm market.

After every event I would connect with people on Facebook and LinkedIn. Now that I maxed out my Facebook personal page I mainly use LinkedIn to connect with people. It has made my social networking relationships that much better to be connected with so many people that I have had live contact with at past networking events.

Additionally, networking events have proven to be a great way to stay connected with those that I meet online. I meet someone online and get to know them a little. Then we meet at a networking event and it is like we are old friends. It is amazing how much you feel like you know someone just from meeting them online.

For me networking events are part and parcel of a great social networking strategy. I use these two strategies almost exclusively to bring in business. The key for me is that I can now follow up with more people than ever before. Using social networking and networking events has led to additional business opportunities and an enhanced relationship with my clients.

Now the question is not what a social networking relationship is. The question becomes how we build these relationships more effectively.

We start with creating new valuable relationships. One of the first things that I tell my clients when they are looking to build their business online is to find those that are already motivated to talk to you.

For example, when I was in the mortgage business what I did to find a supportive place to find additional business I looked to connect with real estate professionals. Because of those early connections with real estate agents and investors I was able to feel more at home using Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to build my business.

Once, I felt comfortable on these networks I started spreading out to other media, such as video, photos, and then article writing in order to create engaging information for my target audience. The information is designed to engage my social network and take the relationship to the next level.

After that I like to use my blog to tie everything together. I still write articles, but more importantly I have combined my videos with articles and social networking to create a complete package of social networking relationships as I continue a dialogue with my network using all of the communication tools at my disposal.

Social Networking Relationships deal with connecting with people online and building those relationships through the new communication tools at our disposal.

We’re going mobile mental! The success of the Smartphone means that many of us now engage in social networking, emailing, blog posting and even work on the move. Armed with an iPhone, there’s really no excuse to be unreachable, either by phone, text or email. This has meant, for many, that commuting by bus or train equates to more hours of productivity, given that you can now answer business emails on the go.

But it’s not all about productivity and working on the go. Oh no! Of the 5 billion downloads from the Apple App Store, a good proportion have been ‘just for fun,’ games or utilities etc. Here we take a look at 5 iPhone apps that probably won’t change your life – but they’re a lot of fun regardless!

Shine On!

Exclusively for iPhone 4, Shine On makes lighting up dark surroundings much quicker. It uses the phone’s LED light as a torch and is the ‘fastest and brightest’ torch on the app store. I know, I know… it won’t change your life. It won’t make you employee of the month and it won’t make you an overnight millionaire. But it will make looking for things in the dark much easier and well, it’s the small things, isn’t it?

Foursquare

The Foursquare app is not only a social networking app. Oh no – it’s a social networking app that tells your friends (and stalkers) exactly where you are at any given time. Well, only if you ‘check in’ at your given location. Yes, we know all about the potential dangers of half your city knowing exactly where you are, but if you exercise a bit of caution about what you publicise and who to, it’s absolutely fine. Again, this app isn’t going to make your life instantly perfect, but…. you can become a fictional mayor of your local Starbucks if you’re lucky. And that’s surprisingly satisfying!

Doodle Jump

Arguably the most addictive game on the App Store, Doodle Jump is infuriating. It’s a really simple game and has been in Apple’s top 25 chart seemingly forever. You’re the little doodle guy who continually jumps higher and higher. You’ve got to navigate him to the safety of platforms simply by turning your phone in the right direction (the game uses the iPhone’s accelerometer). The aim? Just to get as high as you can. It’s not as easy as it sounds though. Just like every other app in this list, it won’t revolutionise your life and it may even cause you to pull out your own hair. It’s all worth it though for the strangely empty sense of satisfaction you get each time you beat your highscore.

Coffee Art

Coffee Art is an app about, well, coffee art. For anyone not all that familiar with the concept, it’s basically about making artistic shapes on the top of your coffee using milk. And this is an app dedicated to showing you how. It won’t make a difference to your quality of life, but it will double the time you take over your morning coffee.  Entirely pointless but bizarrely enjoyable.

iFart

With iFart, the name says it all. Describing itself with the line – “#1 Fart Machine – Now With Fart Buddies,” you get pretty much exactly what you would expect. The funny thing about this digital fart noise generator is that it really brings the juvenile side of you out. The love of toilet humour you had as a teen and thought you’d grown out of? Guess what, it’s back!

These apps won’t improve your life. They won’t make you more productive and they probably won’t help you on your way to a promotion. But who cares?

First, as far as I can tell Facebook does not seem to work fully with Blackberry, Droids, and other non-iPhone devices. I understand that a lot of people use iPhones, and at the same time I have to ask why release something if you can not distribute it correctly to millions of your users. Are we not as important as the mighty iPhone users? Why do we have to slog around with your workarounds?

Second, from what I have seen online and through my Blackberry browser this seem to be a little ho-hum. No real magic bullet that makes me want to stop using Foursquare, Yelp, Like List, or even Brightkite.

You can check your Newsfeed here, which seems redundant for those checking there Facebook app. I did like the fact that they included Facebook Events, because when you are on the go you can check where the event and what events are close to you at the moment. That might be the one saving grace for the entire project right now. I can actually visualize myself checking out the location of an event and putting it in my GPS before I go there.

Third, let us spend a little time on the idea itself: Facebook Places. You share with your friends where you are going. I have a feeling this is like Tweeting on Twitter that you are taking a shower. Everyone does it, and no one wants to hear about you doing it.

The reason I like doing it on Foursquare is because it is like a game. I get points and badges. By the way, I am now mayor of three different locations. Go me! At the same time, friends will find out where I am going because of this. I do not seem to think for most places that I go in a day that I would want to share it with others.

That in a nutshell is why I am not impressed with Facebook Places. There does not seem to be a convincing reason to use it at this time. In the end, I have to ask myself, why would I use Facebook Places when I already have other location based social networks, such as Foursquare, Like List, and Yelp?

Like List calls itself a word of mouth service to share and discover trusted local businesses. It is sort of a cross between Yelp and Foursquare, because users have the opportunity to find companies in the area and also the users can like their favorite spots just “like” on Facebook. It is a great way to find deals for local businesses in your area and also advertise your business. Here are three ways you can use Like List for your business.

First, attract more customers by getting noticed on Like List by staying active. Like any other social networking service the more you participate in a social network the more you can grow your business. Start taking an active role on Like List by completing your profile and then connecting with other local businesses and patrons. Become their friend through the site, and develop the relationships and service online that they will come to know and expect from you at your establishment.

Second, establish your reputation on Like List by being listed there. Numbers do not matter and at the same time they do. People check to see that they are not alone and are not your guinea pigs testing out your business. They want to see social proof that you business is one that they should use. Whether it is the quality of food at a restaurant or an amazing Social Networking Schmoozer that helps businesses use Twitter and Facebook to grow their online revenue, you can find social proof of your company’s success.

Third, keep your customers coming back with specials every week. The great thing about Like List is that you have the potential to put a new special or as they call it MinuteAds. These quick and free ads are great for the entrepreneur looking to get the most out of their marketing.

Like List can be a great tool for businesses looking to find local customers. Like List’s ability to help local businesses connect with local consumers is the reason why it is a growing location based social network.

Like List

It is one of the bigger names in location based social networking, however, since I use other services, such as Foursquare, Yelp, and Like List (check tomorrow’s post) I have not really used Brightkite all that often, except for posting blog entries.

I sort of find their service redundant when using similar social networks that are larger than them.  The challenge is that Foursquare and Brightkite are two sides of the same coin. However, they still have hundreds of thousands of visitors coming to their site every month. They might find a niche to fit into among the rash of new sites like this, so do not discount them.

Here is what they do offer. They allow you to post what you are doing, so your friends can stay in contact with you and join when you are out and about in the area. This works through a system Brightkite calls placestreaming, which is people telling their Brightkite network where they are all the time, so it looks like a stream of places that they have been to recently.

The only feature that I found that separates them from Foursquare and Yelp is that they do allow photo uploads to share with your friends when you around town. This is cool, because you can show them what you are doing, and not just give them a text description.

In the end, I believe that Brightkite might find a niche that will probably help them survive. Since I do not know what that niche is I have not been as active on Brightkite, because I see other sites that are equally as strong and more relevant to me right now in location based social networking.

The concept behind this social reviews site is simple: connect people with great businesses. You go to a sushi restaurant that you like and then afterwords give it a good review. The more positive reviews the higher the restaurant will place in Yelp searches for sushi restaurants.

Then when people find the restaurant they can read customers unbiased reviews, such as yours toward the place. Because Yelp has locations across the United States, Canada, Britain, Ireland, and France you can find reviews from your peers here. Additionally, owners have a special feature that allows them to respond to customers and positive (and sometimes not so positive) comments on their restaurants.

A small business can use this as a marketing resource, because they will benefit from the quality customer service that will in turn attract lots of positive attention. The more people who positively review your company can lead to more business.

Additionally, Yelp also has a tremendous back end solution available to location based small business owners that allows them to participate with their customers feedback as stated before as well as create offers for their business. 10% off this week on all cinnamon sticks(now I am hungry)? Display on it Yelp for additional exposure.

You can then track your hits to your offer and your business on Yelp through their tracking software, which lets you see the number of monthly visitors see your business online along with new reviews and comments of your business. There is also a business profile tracker to show businesses what else they can add to their Yelp profiles to give a complete picture of their company.

The final item is a Yelp badge, which you can display on your website. Much like I have a Facebook badge to my fan page and also a badge to my Twitter account you can use one for Yelp to connect the two sites.

The one downside to Yelp is that they are not as mobile friendly as other location based social networks, such as Foursquare. While they do have an app on my Blackberry that allows me to search for restaurants in the area, they do not have the ability as far as I could tell from fooling around with the app to allow me to create a review directly from the mobile application.

All in all , this social review site is very useful, because 30 million plus people visit it every month providing it with a lot of heft for any business. This location based social network provides customers with an accurate description of your business.

Foursquare is the new kid on the block for location based social networking. They are looking to become the big name in location based social networking for your Smartphone, as long as the users allow this (more on that later in the week). They currently have a very youthful image, and appeal to a geekier, younger group of users, but with their fun system of badges and points they could take off with a younger audience.

This social network is active when you are. When you go to Starbucks, you check in. Need to make a pit stop at Jiffy Lube. Check in! The idea behind the entire network is that you let your friends know where you will be.

Companies like this, because it makes word of mouth advertising look like a natural way to build your business. As they say on the site, “If you own a bar or restaurant, foursquare can help you find new ways to connect with your customers.” They are looking to help businesses find new referral sources from local residents.

That is why this social network more than Facebook or Twitter is location based. You want to know where your local friends are going to eat, play, and work, not your friend up in Timbuktu. This will encourages users even more to see what their friends are up to, because it is fun activities that they can partake in.

Location Based Social Networking also removes some of the concerns that many people have had in the past about social networking. Why would I want to network with some random person in Mumbai or who are all these random people that I am connecting with online. Instead, with a site like Foursquare you are more likely to connect with friends in your area that you share common traits with, and therefore making a site like Foursquare all the more popular as this type of social networking takes off.

In the end this new location based social network longevity will depend on the enjoy ability of the system of points and badges that they offer users. For example, I am the mayor of three different locations. Go me! Additionally, I get points for each time I check and it is fun to see how quickly they add up. The only challenge is the points at this time do not count for anything, which kind of stinks, since I have checked into over 125 places and accumulated a lot of points doing so.

In the future, I believe that Foursquare will create a system to keep users engaged and rewarded for their loyalty to their location based social network.