So what is LinkedIn?

For working professionals, the preferred social networking site in the world is LinkedIn, essentially the online Roledex…on MonaVie. At first glance you may think of it as a website that simply stores contacts and their info…and you’d be right-ish. But LinkedIn can be so much more and is really all about networking and making connections, which is really how network marketing works. The site boasts more than 40 million users in more than 150 countries and connects professional colleagues (past and present) with similar interests and industries.

So just how do you connect? Here’s 6 ways:

1. Participate. To play the game, you gotta be in the game. I'm pretty sure at least one of my high school coaches told me that. Create your profile and be as complete as you can as others will most judge whether they want to connect with you based on your profile. This includes uploading a professional picture.
2. Start getting “LinkedIn!” Once you have filled in your profile and work history you are ready to start connecting with others. The easiest place to start is to look at your past and previous relationships, perhaps your address book, etc., and when you do find people you know, invite them to join. Once you have filled out your profile, LInkedIn will then start to suggest people you should connect with based on your information (much like Facebook suggestions). You can also search for individuals or also search through companies to find employees you can connect with.
3. Join groups or start your own. Once you’ve gotten your feet wet with connecting with the people that you already know, you can start to look for new connections. A great way to do so is to join a group that interests you or to join groups your friends/colleagues have joined.  These groups can be searched by industry, alumni, corporate, networking, etc.  When joining these groups, you will be able to select if you want to be notified of activity from a group and also select if you want to allow others to message you from the group.  You can also create your own group as well very easily, and can be geotargeted to a location or even a language. The owner of the group can limit access by approving each member or open it up to everyone who wants to join. Owners of groups can view member email addresses, but it should be noted this should not be abused.
4. Recommend colleagues. Is there someone you’ve really enjoyed working with/for within your network? LinkedIn allows users to provide recommendations for those you know or have worked with in a professional capacity. This is a great way to connect with others you have appreciated in the past and many will reciprocate with a recommendation of you.  This is the beauty of connecting on LinkedIn as it further enhances your profile and will strengthen your connections. *Think Attitude of Gratitude Challenge!
5. Show your expertise! If you have a skill, interest, or just a question you would like answered, LinkedIn allows its users to connect in various ways. One is through its Answers section, where users can pose questions and members can answer. The key to this is first growing your network to include as many people as possible. Asking the question is easy and can be customized and targeted to specific members within your network, by topic and by location/postal code or country. Questions/Answers are archived, so there is a lot of information for users to take advantage of. If you are going to get into discussion about MonaVie, be sure you identify yourself as a MonaVie distributor. 

As you can see from my profile, I'm about as new as the next person so I'll be joining you in building my connections through LinkedIn.

Share it!

Shante

MonaVie Chief Blogger

Based on some of the discussions we’ve seen on our Facebook pages, as well as conversations had during events, many responses revolved around not having time to be active on Facebook and on Twitter, (or other social media channels).  And I hear you on that one! Who has time for a lot of things other than working, working out, family, friends, colleagues and trying to eat and sleep every once in awhile? But what if there was one tool that you could use that allows you to post and track your Facebook feeds AND your Twitter account(s) as well as others like MySpace or Linked In? What if you don’t have to login to multiple websites? There are some excellent tools that do just this, and are available for free.

I heart free.

So…if you want to keep up-to-date on Facebook, and also keep track of what myself and others are “tweeting” on Twitter, this is a very simple way to see it all in one place using social media management tools.

Most of these applications are typically web-based (Seesmic and Hootsuite) that you will simply need to sign up, provide your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. login and password and you are ready to roll. Tweetdeck is the exception as it is a desktop application that needs to be downloaded , provide login details and users will simply need to open the application. So not hard to do considering the pay off!

Many have mobile applications that can be downloaded (for free) depending on what kind of phone you have (Tweetdeck and Hootsuite have iPhone apps, while Seesmic has Android and Blackberry apps). All have URL shorteners as well that will compress URL addresses into a compact link allowing users to maximize the number of characters on Twitter. With that being said…here are a few I would recommend:

Tweetdeck – www.tweetdeck.com One of the most popular and easiest to use is Tweetdeck. You can keep track of multiple social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Linked In, as well as multiple Twitter accounts. You could even do a search of someone you want to follow and you will then see posts of everything they tweet. The website has a very intuitive list of features to answer any question you may have. You are able to comment, tweet, retweet, follow, favorite, view and share pics and videos, upload pics, etc. iPhone application is available. I personally like Tweetdeck’s layout best, although it does not have the ability to schedule tweets nor the statistics that Hootsuite offers.

Hootsuite – www.hootsuite.com Hootsuite has come on the scene very quickly and offers a few variations that Tweetdeck does not.  With Hootsuite, you can schedule tweets or even Facebook postings well in advance. So if you live on the West Coast and wanted to schedule a posting for friends or followers on the East Coast (or anywhere in the world), you can create a post and schedule it to post at a designated time. Or, if you have an informative tweet that bears repeating, you can also schedule your tweet hours or days in advance. (Remember to not abuse this function, spamming or repeated salesy tweets are not good etiquette!) Hootsuite also has statistics available that enable users to see how many people clicked on their link, which is useful to see just how effective you are as a tweeter.

Seesmic— www.seesmic.com -- Seesmic is also a very popular choice and has some features that the other browsers do not. The main difference is that Seesmic is available for desktop like Tweetdeck and Hootsuite, but they also feature a web based version (Windows).  Seesmic also just came out with Seesmic Look, an application that can be downloaded and is targeted at users who may not be on Twitter, who just want to see what their favorite brand, celebrity, etc., has to say, but in a format that is more entertaining, and users need not have a Twitter account to use the application.

So why are these tools valuable?

Hopefully I have been able to explain the reasons why this could be a time saver, but also a great way to track and interact with your friends, followers, MonaVie and anything/anyone else.  For those of you who are not on Twitter or hesitant to dive in, this is an extremely easy way to learn and just listen to what is being said on Twitter. Plus, you can post and view your Facebook feed as well!  In fact your homework for this week is to download one of these applications and take it for a test drive. I look forward to hearing how your assignment goes!

Share it!

Shante

MonaVie Chief Blogger

Contrary to stereotypes of those who participate in social media, most do not sit in their mother’s basement in pajamas and communicate through a keyboard all day…though, let’s be honest, it does sound almost delightful. Just kidding. Maybe.

As distributors…check that…as human beings…you have a chance to build new relationships and enhance current ones through social media.

A study by MicroDialogue, found that 27.6 percent of social media users in the US say social networking has benefited their offline relationships and almost half (48.7 percent) reported they felt communication via the internet was more convenient than face-to-face discussions. Social media has also proven key for some web surfers in expanding their social lives, with 49 percent claiming to have forged new relationships from online interactions and 31.5 percent saying social media pushed them to try things they had wanted to do.

Let me preface the next bit with the words of Dallin and our VP of Marketing Wayne Moorehead, which are, social media does not, nor will it ever replace good marketing, a good business building system or those fruitful (LOL – see what I did there?) tasting parties.

Social media is meant to supplement those best practices and is a new medium to connect and build relationships, which we all know is the cornerstone of network marketing.

Remember Devin’s last blog post where he pretty much says that social media is relationship marketing and relationship marketing is just that…building relationships. And… shouting to the world on Facebook or Twitter “Try MonaVie now…it really works,” does not a relationship make. I know. I’m as shocked as you are. No really, you know this stuff. You know the people who spam you with the same type of sales pitches and why it isn’t working for them.

The reason social media has become a popular way to communicate is because we are all looking for transparency and openness. We don’t want to be sold. We want information quickly and we don’t want anything to feel staged or contrived. It’s about being real. Am I rambling? I’m rambling. Moving on…

Okay, so in keeping with Dallin’s theme for 2010, A Year of Miracles, our first initiative in making miracles – an Attitude of Gratitude Challenge!

Think of each individual you might have on your social networking sites or even acquaintances offline. The challenge is to thank or acknowledge 5-10 individuals every day for the next month. So simple!

You're probably already doing this, so just do it with purpose. It can be as simple as sending someone a direct message, writing on their FB wall, a tweet or email to ask them how they're doing, going to lunch. It can be someone from your upline, downline, etc. Just remember...don't sell.

I'm willing to bet the results will astonish you.

Who's going to take the challenge? Throughout the month feel free to post and let me know how the challenge is going!

Share it!

Shante

MonaVie Chief Blogger

Maybe They’re Just Not That Into You – If you are constantly pushing your business, views and asking for help without giving back, you will find yourself with very few friends and even fewer receptive to what you have to say.

Share It!

Shante

MonaVie Chief Blogger

Today we thought we’d post something a little off topic of our ongoing social media posts. Our hope is that Blog MV becomes a resource for readers, a place to talk about everything from social media, to business, to lifestyle, to healthy living to what’s happening in the news, around the world and here at MonaVie. Always feel free to chime in with comments and feedback. Also, remember to tweet and retweet articles you find especially interesting.

Here’s this week’s round up:

Sheckter and Yokely Video

Has anyone watched this video of Sheckter and Yokley at the GNCC race? Even the best athletes can’t predict tree stumps:
http://www.monavietv.com/monavietv?from=widget&mode=video&vid=5176

Music Makes Exercise Easier

Whether it’s at the gym, running outside or when watching our favorite athletes prepare for competition, music and exercise seems to be a perfect marriage. Now there is some science to go along with our fascination with music and exercise, even down to the type of music that is best.

Check out the MSNBC article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33418663/ns/health-fitness/

What’s your favorite kind of music to exercise to? Fav songs?

Swine Flu
Ah, the dreaded swine flu. I’ll be happy when it decides to move its viral self on. The CDC, is currently reporting that almost all of the influenza viruses identified so far continue to be 2009 H1N1 influenza viruses.

Here at MonaVie headquarters we have Purel dispensers located outside of elevators and bathrooms, as well as in all meeting rooms, in an effort to isolate the cases of swine flu that seem to be popping up left and right. How do you (try to) keep yourself healthy? Are you washing your hands more? Avoiding public places as much? Wearing a surgical mask?

Well, that’s it for this week’s round up. Let us know what you think.

Share It!

Shante

MonaVie Chief Blogger

Ah, Facebook, now that’s something we are all a bit more familiar with right? I mean it is a social media platform where it’s possible that my mother has more friends that I do. My grandmother too.

Even still, let’s do a quick 101 download, because it’s Friday and every Friday should be called Fun Facebook Friday. And you never know, there might be a few things you didn’t know about Facebook.

Here are the basics:

What is Facebook?

Facebook is a social networking service that lets you connect with friends, co-workers, and others who share similar interests or who have common backgrounds. Many use it as a way to stay in touch after finishing school, or as a way to share their life publicly.

What makes Facebook different from other social networks is its extensive privacy controls, its development platform, and its large and quickly growing user base.  Currently Facebook boasts more than 300 million active users.

The following statistics from Facebook’s site show just how popular Facebook is becoming worldwide:

• More than 300 million active users
• 50 percent of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• The fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older
• More than 2 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
• More than 14 million videos uploaded each month
• About 70 percent of Facebook users are outside the United States
• There are more than 65 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
• People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are almost 50 percent more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.

Why you should become a fan of MonaVie on Facebook?

By becoming a fan of MonaVie on Facebook, you will receive the following:

• Notifications of the most recent news and updates on the MonaVie websites
• Be able to post comments, view videos and pictures of MonaVie events, products and campaigns
• Exclusive “Facebook Only” offers and discounts on MonaVie Mall items
• Exclusive “Facebook Only” contests and promotions

So there you have it. We’re having a fun Facebook time already.

Facebook is awesome for interacting with friends and potential friends. You can upload photos and videos, post events, send private messages and of course there is the Wall Status, which is similar to Twitter feeds, in that you are basically sharing what’s on your mind. Facebook is generally a bit more personal, while Twitter is much more real time.

But again note, don’t abuse this platform by posting false ads or trying to sell your friends or you’re no better than this guy.

So, here’s today’s action item; if you haven’t done so already go to www.Facebook.com and create an account. And then become a fan of MonaVie at www.Facebook.com/MonaVie where we encourage you to leave comments and begin interacting with other fans.

Share it!

Shante

MonaVie Chief Blogger

How much do you know about social networking? Probably more than you think. As suggested in yesterday’s post, it is a fairly new platform, and by new I mean as in the last three years new. But it is catching on like wildfire and so, if you haven’t already, it’s time to take the bull by the horns and begin using it, both personally and professionally. Trust me, it’s not as overwhelming as it appears. And all the cool kids are doing it.

So first things first, let’s answer that question that has most likely been looming in your head, or has recently been put there after reading the subject line to this blog post.

Why social networking?

Hey, look at you, asking the best question ever! Let me put on my professor's cap.

According to the latest Nielsen survey, 90 percent of global Internet users trust recommendations from people they know. This statistic speaks to the power of personal relationships, as well as, the power of the Internet in creating new connections and nurturing current ones through the use of social networking. But is social networking really that new? No way! MonaVie has been successful not only because it has assembled a great executive team, product line and opportunity, but because distributors who believe in said executive team, product line and opportunity, present them to their social networks.

And that's what Twitter and Facebook are - social networking tools that provide a more convenient way to stay in touch with existing networks, as well as, create new networks in the process.

Want more? You got it!

YouTube must-sees:

Social Networking in Plain English (video)

Social Media Revolution (video)

Getting Started:

Facebook Getting Started

Twitter Guidebook

Twitter in Plain English (video)

Was that helpful? Let me know by leaving a comment. Want to learn more? Let me know by leaving a comment. Have an idea for another post? I think you know what to do.

Now get out there and share it!

Shante

MonaVie Chief Blogger

Follow us on Twitter

Become a MonaVie Facebook fan

Hello all, my name is Shante and I’m so excited to be your chief blogger and social media guide. A little bit about me:

I grew up driving tractors, combines and forklifts with a few big rigs thrown in when the situation allowed. I’m a former broadcast journalist with a master’s in public relations.

Prior to Utah, I lived in New York, and most recently returned from a nine-month stretch in Israel (Shalom!), where we are just starting to work the MonaVie magic.

I like listening to loud music when I drive. I fancy myself to be a creative type. I love to talk and usually make faces when I do, and my favorite pastime is trying to be awesome, with “trying” being the operative word.

Okay, now that I’ve introduced myself, please feel free to do the same.

So, what I’ve learned recently is that social media is the new frontier of communication. What is social media? Well, it’s not so much what it is than what it is about and what it is about is being part of the conversation. Consider it the Share It in Drink It. Feel It. Share It.

You should also consider this your personal invite and ticket to share it with us, as well as, get all the up to date news, access to special promotions and behind the scenes happenings, and helpful hints on how to apply social media in your own business.

We invite you to follow us on Twitter; become a MonaVie fan on Facebook; and, of course, check back often right here on Blog MV, where you’ll see a number of ongoing changes as we evolve.

We’re going to have a lot of fun!

Sincerely,

Shante

MonaVie Chief Blogger