AVDA Webinar series features social networking best practices with David Nour

AVDA is pleased to offer its members a variety of training and educational courses throughout the year via its partnership with the Association Education Alliance (AEA). AEA is comprised of around 40 industrial distribution associations that work together to provide live in-person training as well as Webinars. This partnership allows AVDA members a cost-effective alternative to continuing education and training for their employees on a variety of business-related topics.

AVDA has just announced a brand new Webinar series featuring David Nour, author of Relationship Economics, and featured speaker at the AVDA 2010 Annual Conference April 18 - 20, on Social Networking. Nour will present a three-part series teaching how to utilize social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter on a professional level.

Social networking is a powerful business tool, changing the fundamental manner in which you engage and influence other business professionals online. The more you learn about this evolving technology, the more you realize the power and promise of social networking as a platform for mass collaboration - with prospects and customers, employees and suppliers.

Much of what has been presented in the market are gimmicky or consumer-related examples. Some seminars are heavily focused on just the tools vs. why you should start with a plan. This series will cover tools and also touch on the bigger, more strategic value of a social networking plan.

Nov. 3, 2009: Are You Really LinkedIn?
With an estimated 50 million users on LinkedIn, are you connecting with the right people for the right reasons? The first session, “Are you Really LinkedIn?”, will highlight the best practices to help extend the value of your on- and off-line business relationships. This 90-minute session will focus on the practical and pragmatic use of LinkedIn with a content-rich profile, identifying and reinvigorating stagnate relationships, how to address unanswered requests, how to combat unsolicited invitations and how not to abuse the system. It will also review groups, discussions, newly released applications and much more.

Dec. 8, 2009: Leveraging Facebook for Business
With an estimated 250 million users, Facebook is THE most prevalent social networking application in the world. As such, it has become an online community to reconnect with old friends and colleagues, build marketing campaigns and create critical awareness for your business.

Jan. 12, 2010: Why You Need to Get Active on Twitter
What began as a simple idea has spread like wildfire, as an estimated 30 million users - from celebrities to corporate brands - have expanded the idea to what they’re thinking, what they’re reading and what they find of interest and value.

Countless others have extended the original Twitter Web page into thousands of applications - from productivity, to promotions, analytics to multimedia. From TwitterFountain to TweetLater and hootsuite, participants will be amazed at what a simple idea of staying in touch - 140 characters at a time - has become as a strategic online business tool.

In this 90-minute session, Nour will cover how to build a branded Twitter page, how to follow and build a following intently, extending your brand online via this real-time interaction platform, how to offer customer service, engage a broad-based audience in an active community, how to join Twitter groups, create hashtags for events and drive exponential geospatial traffic and awareness to your company’s Web site, blog and overall marketing gravity.

For more information about these events or to join AVDA, call (443) 640-1040, e-mail at AVDA@ksgroup.org, or visit www.AVDA.net.