The following is an excerpt from The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online, a new book from David Teten and About.com Entrepreneurs Guide Scott Allen on building business relationships online.

How to Use Online Networks for Marketing

Here are some of the ways that you can use social networks to market your company and you:

Research your market. You have two ears and one mouth; listen more than you talk. Through participation in these communities, companies can learn about consumer interests and reactions with a candor rarely found in focus groups and surveys.

Create Competence. If becoming an expert in your field is part of your marketing strategy, social networks give you a much more accessible outlet than the media. You can speak up in a mailing list, discussion forum, or blog, and reach hundreds or thousands of people. Say something useful, original, and profound, and you will get quoted and linked to, reaching even more people.

Build and reinforce your brand. Every signature in an e-mail or on the Web, and every profile online, is an opportunity to reinforce your brand.

Unveil a human voice. Networked markets demand openness from the companies who want to sell into those markets. Organizations should have more people participating virtually than just professional marketers. A happy employee is a more powerful brand evangelist than almost anyone in Marketing. This is one reason why Microsoft has approximately 1,200 bloggers out of 55,000 employees.

Associate yourself with a not-for-profit cause. People are much more willing to gather around a cause than a company.

Microtarget. If you have identified a particular narrowly-defined groups to target, the odds are good that you can identify a virtual community where they are already gathered. Are you selling consulting services to independent bookstores? If it doesn’t already exist, just create a virtual community for your target pool, seed it with your closest relationships, and watch it grow.

Ignite word-of-mouth buzz. If you have a new product or service, word-of-mouth—satisfied customers talking about you—is one of the most effective ways to establish your Competence. Word-of-mouth flows through social networks; Leaders of networks are excellent lighthouse customers. If the most prominent blogger in your field likes what you sell, you will create a powerful evangelist.

A common mistake many marketers make when dealing with online communication is in thinking that it can be turned on and off like an advertising campaign. Online networks are generally not very receptive to marketing messages from brand new members. You must earn the right to talk about your product through participation in and contribution to the community. Similarly, you cannot simply leave when the campaign is over, or you will be seen as shallow and a “user.” People do not want to be used; please do not use people.

The United States is one of the world’s most attractive destinations for expatriates. It is, however, also one of the countries that represent the biggest challenges to both expats and administrators worldwide.

The owners of relocationUSA, Pia Munck and Christina Fuglsbjerg assist companies, their employees and accompanying families when relocating to the United States. Guidelines and expert counseling have a tremendous impact on the outcome of the assignment and makes all the difference for the people involved. In short, it is the answer to success and a win-win proposition guarantee.

Their advice to Scandinavian employees relocating to the US is:

● Work together on an Assignment Contract with your employer.
● Involve your family and especially your spouse.
● Organize and plan your move – together.
● Get connected – start networking immediately.
● Be prepared - seek information on your destination.
● Make a pre-view and orientation trip.
● Be aware of the cultural differences and how to minimize them.
● Make the most of your stay – in an enjoyable way!
● Going back “home” – repatriation
● Before any of the above, seek expert counseling from professionals

Find out more here . . .

ROR - “Return On Relationships is about maximising your Reputation in the Marketplace through the effective use of your network of contacts - and vice versa. It’s about building a network of people you Like, Trust and Respect, who will advocate you - and you them.” Writes Mr. Murray on his blog

Here is a few more good tips from Return on Relationships:

ROR as a Sales Tool
making yourself memorable – helping people to remember who you are and what you do….. if you want them to help you, you have to help them(!) and the first step is being memorable……Let’s face it, if I can’t remember who you are and what you do, how am I ever going to recommend you? Even worse, if you tried a hard-sell on me, even if I remember the horrible experience, why would I recommend you anyway……?

ROR – The Essential Elements for Success

1. A clear personal proposition
It’s important that people you meet and network with, both face-2-face and online “get you” – understand who you are and what you stand for. This is basically your Personal Brand.
2. A clear value proposition
If people are going to recommend you, they obviously need to understand what you do, what you’re good at.
3. Invest Your Time Wisely
“Like, Trust and Respect”, it’s critical that you invest your time with people who fulfil these criteria and, if your network’s any good, there should be a steady stream of new people being introduced to you by others who already meet the “standards”.
4. Make the effort with everyone you meet
In the same way you are always improving your own messages and your network, take the time to do the same for others – help them with their propositions and share your experiences to ensure that they remember you and feel they gained value from your time.
5. Invest time in maintaining your network
Updating, refreshing, cleansing and contacting your network should be something you actually spend time on and schedule into your diary on a regular basis. Remember that your network can become the vehicle that carries you throughout your career – like any vehicle, the better you look after it, the more reliably it will serve you.
6. Your network is your Route to Market
You should never consider your network to be your market, it is your route to market – never try to sell to your network……. If you explain what you do and someone wants to buy, that’s different! But don’t SELL! You are unlikely to make an advocate of someone you have “pitched” and lost.
7. Network internally as well as externally
Networking is just as important inside your organisation as it is outside, whether you’re an employee, contractor or consultant. Take the time to build strong relationships and to assist people whenever you can. The better people understand what you do (and you, them) the more effective and valuable you will be within that organisation.

I can recommend spending some time reading Rory Murray’s blog, he has a lot of good networking Need to Know advice.