Having Fun Networking

Networking can be quite tricky. You need to have the time and knowledge of the Internet. If you use Twitter and let's say YouTube, you must connect them. I am an author and have my own author page on Amazon. My Facebook remarks are tweeted automatically and they show up on my author page.

When I upload a YouTube video it goes on Facebook automatically because I have connected the two sites by allowing them to do this. The YouTube video also gets 'tweeted.' Every time I reply to a comment made on my videos or others videos on YouTube, they get put on my Facebook page automatically as well as getting 'tweeted.'

When I post on my blog, it gets tweeted because I have allowed the connection by clicking on allow. Now Twitter will 'tweet' my blog to wherever I have allowed Twitter to do so.

My articles here on Ezine have the URL posted on Facebook and Twitter as well as my blog. They now expand those posts. In doing this you have increased your audience.

It does not hurt that I own an interactive poetry site where I have a forum for 'Articles and Press Releases.' That means I can post the URL to this article there as well. Now all the members have the option to click on the URL and read this article.

I know all this sounds hard to do for some people. There are those who pay others to 'network' for them. 'Networking' gets your name and the things that you do out on the Internet and makes it available on a search.

For instance, I can do a Google search on my name and all my Internet connections are working for me. I just did a search on my name just an hour ago. At page forty-six I stopped looking. With that many pages coming up on just my name, I consider myself a professional 'networker.' I have fulfilled my expectations.

There were things from my life and the people I do business with as well as my videos, my publishing and poetry sites, articles and of course my books being advertised free for me.

 

Every person who had put my name in print comes up with what they said about me. It gives them some promotion to be 'tagged' under my name and in general people tend to say nice things about me and my work so this is good promotion for me.

A tag can be a review that someone gave me on a site which sells my books or a poem someone wrote about me on Facebook or an interview with me.

There is one thing that pops up, which says I am dead. Normally that might bother someone. Dead writers sell, right? So, even negative things can prove to be useful.

My sister was murdered many years ago and her body was never found. The police found a way to contact me through the Internet to ask me more questions so they could expand their search and keep the 'cold case' open. To me, that is important. (Could that be another article, another time maybe?)

If you are going to 'network' don't go gang-ho into it. Take your time and pick your sites that will promote what you are selling. Even someone like me, who has been 'networking' for years, signs up on a site where I have been invited and can get annoying emails. You see, the more you 'network' the more sites want you to be on them.

Some sites use your profile and stick it into a dating site that is affiliated with them. I am married and do not want to date. I state that, but still get those annoying emails. That means deleting a lot of junk every day. Setting certain emails as 'junk' generally works, but many do sneak in. You have to be on top of things all the time.

In summarizing, you can connect all the dots; for example connect all the sites you are on to give you interaction, if you want to promote yourself. It is important to know that once you are a public name and get some expose, once hidden information, can come out as well. Also, if you are not well liked, people may put out some false information. Generally the good over rides the bad. If doing all this seems a bit time-consuming and you are not ready for this, you can hire someone to do it for you.