Did you know that business networking and growing your business go hand-in-hand? Let me share with you how you can use business networking to grow your business.

There are basically two ways that you can conduct business networking. The first is online and the second is off-line. Regardless of which way you choose, make sure to at least incorporate the other way into your business networking effors. 

For example, there are many Yahoo groups that have a focus of meeting the needs of entrepreneurs and helping them to grow their business. Below is a list of a few Yahoo groups for entrepreneurs. Check them out and then come back here to post your feedback about the groups (I do not guarantee the results that you will receive with these groups).

• Small Biz Startups (membership not required)
• The Entrepreneurial Group (membership not require)
• Minority Small Business Forum (membership required)
  

Please keep in mind that these online groups generate a lot of email and if you do not like to receive a lot of email, remember to put yourself in digest mode (you will receive a couple of emails daily with a list of all the emails that have been distributed to the group on that day). Other types of online networking groups consist of…

• International Virtual Women's Chamber of Commerce (IVWCC)
• LinkedIn.com
• Ryze.com
• OpenBC.com
• Women Partner
  

Now if offline networking is your cup of tea, then you may want to join groups that encourage you to grow your business while finding business partners that you can network with. When searching for an offline networking group, below are a few things that you need to keep in mind as you finalize your decision about a group.

• What type of geographical group do you need to join (local, regional, state-wide, national, or international)?
• What type of demographics do you need the group to have (gender specific, income specific, industry specific, etc.)
• How large do you want the group to be?
• Do you need the group to be in your industry or can it contain a variety of industries?
• Is there room for growth within the group?

As a business owner, podcasting should be one of those business tools that you add to your business design. It allows you to get your business message into the hands of those who may become potential client or website visitors. To help you learn more about business podcasting and how it can help your business, below is an article written by Ryan Hoback.

Enjoy!
Kim Beasley, "The Ouch Factor Doctor"
http://www.TheOuchFactor.com
http://www.PodcastWordPress.com
http://www.CustomizeWordPress.com

Business Podcasting
by Ryan Hoback

Podcasting has evolved over the past year as a new medium for broadcasting. It has merged the terms "ipod" with "broadcasting" and formed what we now know as "Podcasting", or personal on demand casting as industry insiders are labeling it.

Major corporations are just now beginning to see the benefits of podcasting on a national basis. But the best part about this new industry is that it serves the local city and state communities as well, by using nanocasting services. Nanocasting is a model for commercial podcasting based on established media and direct marketing principles. Nanocasting differs from early podcasting by beginning with a clear definition of the target audience, the business model, the revenue model and use of a system specifically developed for targeting commercial audiences called RTS (Really Targeted Syndication). The objectives go beyond advertising, sponsorship and subscription based thinking to use podcasting in very creative, customized, commercial applications designed to achieve specific measurable business goals.

In order to develop a highly effective business podcast, the first and most important factor is targeting; a plan must be developed that identifies your ideal customer. Podcasting is a medium that offers unparalleled access to niche markets, based upon consumers accessing content on-demand to their specific tastes. In most cases these podcasts are series, where subscription based "tagging" or RSS technology, allows the user to click a subscribe button once, and receive all the updates to come in the future as soon as their published.

This sort of medium, coupled with this technology, allows businesses to identify consumers, and it gives direct input into their lifestyle preferences, habits, wants and needs. This makes podcasting an extremely viable and quantifiable business tool.

Here is an example I will give you:

Lets say you are Pampers Corporation; you have newborn mothers and expectant mothers all over the world buying your diapers and using your products for their kids. At the next P.R. and marketing meeting when the discussion arises, "How do we better reach our mothers?", and "What will form a stronger bond with our company over Huggies?"

You mention podcasting, and here is an idea for free. "Well, how about we utilize this new medium of podcasting to target our mothers with informative audio and video podcasts. We can put out 10-15 general 1-3 minute podcasts, which will detail an array of topics from "what to do about diaper rash" to "choosing the right size diaper for your baby"." This will give mothers the ability to go to the website to hear and see this information, or better yet, they can subscribe to the Pampers feed and receive on demand updates to their personal MP player.

This is how a business can integrate podcasting on a national level, and be highly effective with their usage of the technology. On a smaller scale, podcasting can be used to target highly specific niche demographics, using nanocasting models.

Here is an example:

Lets say you are a local accounting firm with a customer base of anywhere from 1,000 clients to 50,000 clients. You have been sending out monthly newsletters and quarterly advisory notices, however you are looking for a more effective medium to get this information across to your clients.

You can develop an audio podcast, which can be used in streaming emails as well as downloaded to personal devices that will cover these important topics. You could develop a standard 5 minute nanocast, which speaks on the specific topics of information you are looking to make public, and do it through an appealing listening experience.

Another example could be local restaurants, looking to offer promotions to customers to help drive traffic in their business. Nanocasting allows you to target specific demographic regions; states, cities and even zip codes. A restaurant could use a local podcast directory to reach markets that are centralized to his location and will convert into new customer traffic. You can already imagine the local pizza shops weekly podcast featuring their half off secret item of the week; you have to know the secret word to get half off the item.

Business podcasting is an incredibly valuable advertising, marketing, and public relations tool for any business, when practically applied. The idea behind podcasting, regardless of what size business you may be, is; define your market clearly, and be creative with the information you are relaying. These concepts, mixed with a professional podcast production, will lead your business to on-demand success with your target audience.