Welcome to Rob Brown Council!

All kinds of people from inside and outside the world of business are creating relationships and spending significant time online.You may already be active in the face to face networking world. but how connected are you in the virtual one? Online networking gives you a medium for spreading your words of wisdom, advertising your wares and marketing your personal brand. structure, which allows you to communicate quicker, easier and more frequently. Some time invested in your online networking will reap dividends for your reputation, your relationships and your business!

There are two kinds of online networking - business and social. The overlap is blurred, as social networks give you an online presence and access to contacts, ideas and markets. However, usually they are for keeping and making friends, sharing thoughts, interests, commentary and updates, and the ever-present dating scene (currently used by millions daily!). The business sites have a more commercial focus with an emphasis on alliances, profile-raising, referrals, marketing and prospecting.

Whether you're looking for company, clients, partners, jobs, work or insight, you can find it online.  It should become an integral part of your reputation, relationship and business development. With a massive potential global market, the scope to build relationships with and be seen by almost anyone is a distinct possibility. It's no good being the best kept secret in the world. The strategy for survival is visiblity. As Ivan Misner, founder of global networking outfit BNI, states, visiblity leads to credibility, which leads to profitablity. You've got to be out there because your competitors, your clients, your customers and your prospects are there already.

If your'e not already started, pick out one social network (Facebook is a good international one with a strong reputation) and two business ones. Ecademy and LinkedIn are my preferred ones. They're all free for basic services and it doesn't take much to set up your personal profile so that people can see you, connect with you and even do business with you. From a reputational standpoint alone, being anonymous online is no longer an option. Unless you're already a celebrity, being online is an absolute necessity!