Today, I had the privilege of presenting an overview of social networking and social media at a membership meeting of the Appraisal Institute - Metro New Jersey Chapter  (http://www.ai-newjersey.org).

There were approximately 80 people in attendance at the lunch meeting held at the Spanish Tavern in Mountainside, NJ (which everyone seemed to enjoy the food there, including shrimp and calamari appetizers, seafood paella, flan, cheesecake and chocolate mousse for dessert… oh, and the sangria too).

Before my presentation, two attorneys from the law firm of Davenport & Spiotti presented the topic “Business Communication & Gadgets for Today’s Appraiser.” Seth Davenport, Esq. and Robert Spiotti, Esq. discussed how the latest technology and electronics can help us save time and be more efficient in our work, but warned if it’s too fun to use, it may not be the best choice as a business tool.

The most important technology tool? The scanner, which can help us in our ultimate goal of becoming a paperless office. Mr. Davenport suggested doing the scanning yourself, rather than delegating it to a staff member, because it’s a more efficient use of time. I tend to agree, as it follows the principle of “handle it once.”

In my presentation, I did a high level executive summary explaining, in simple terms, what social media and social networking is.

Here is a slide that I custom-created for this particular group to explain how important it is to start with an up-to-date website first, to establish your “bricks and mortar” presence on the Internet.

Your website would be your main “storefront”, representing your business or service on the Internet. From there, you can start building up a base of satellite locations on social sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, which would always point back to your website for more complete information.

We ended the presentation with lots of great questions and hopefully, the participants left with a better understanding of what social media is and how social networking can be used as a new business communication tool to connect with others in their industry.

How do you use social media for your business? What are your questions about social media or social networking?

Leave a comment below or connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn and let’s have a conversation!

Talk to you soon,
Eva Abreu

Q: What advice would you give someone who is just learning how to use Facebook for the first time?

What’s the most important thing they should learn?

Feel free to leave a comment below, or on my Facebook Page and I’ll feature your reply in a case study.

Thanks!

Talk to you soon,
Eva

I’ll be writing a new bi-weekly Business column covering Social Media for the Home News Tribune, Courier News, and www.mycentraljersey.com/business starting Jan. 13. I’m planning a Q&A segment each week and would like to ask for your input.

The first topic is: Social Media Networking Events (tweetups, face-to-face networking, etc).

• What questions do you have about Social Media Networking Events?
• Do you have advice for first-time attendees or coordinators?

Please leave a comment below with your questions or tips and advice.

Looking forward to hearing your comments!

Thanks,
Eva Abreu
NJ Social Media

Photo credit: Intersection Consulting