Online Networking Superheroes: 5 Female Marketers Share Their Strategies

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Are you are feeling overwhelmed?

Confused about how best to leverage the power of social media and online networking?

Fear not – you are not alone.

There are five female networking superheroes with super social media powers coming to the rescue.

Each of these five women has shared at least one of their social networking strategies that you can easily apply to your own networking efforts.

So let’s get to it – the first superhero on our list is…

Tara Gentile

First up is Tara Gentile, who is kind of a big deal in the DIY and handmade community.

Before Tara became a blogger and business coach, she studied Religion in college, and played the trombone. She can play E-V-E-R-Y instrument in the brass family.

Nowadays, Tara motivates and empowers passionate people to build businesses around what they love through her blogs, membership site and one-on-one coaching.

Let me tell you, she is really good at what she does, and it has been paying off. Tara set out to create a business that would allow her to stay home with her daughter, and she did it. Now, she fully supports her family, and she is on track to taking home 6 figures this year. She can show you how to turn your intentions and information into reality, just like she did.

TARA’S STRATEGY: Tara’s networking and social media strategy is pretty spectacular. She takes “small talk” connections from Twitter, Facebook and even blog comments and takes them off-platform.

She explains that “the number one mistake I see people make in online networking is assuming that Twitter or LinkedIn are the places where stuff goes down. They aren’t!” Tara makes it personal by connecting with people on a deeper level through Skype, email and even meeting people in person whenever possible.

When she is not busy coaching up and coming creative stars or guest posting on popular websites like Problogger or Etsy, she is busy with her community website The Creative Empire, and her two blogs TaraGentile.com, and ScoutieGirl. Go check her out, say hi, follow her on Twitter @taragentile, and tell her that Annie sent you.

Marlee Ward

Marlee Ward is a woman after my own heart.

She’s keeping it real and setting the bar high.  Marlee reminds me of the girl that could step up to bat and hit the ball further than any guy in school.

I kind of have a girl crush on her.

To say that she is a driven and ambitious woman would be a huge understatement.  While attending law school, Marlee contemplated becoming a helicopter-boarding guide in New Zealand but opted to finish law school instead. (Can you say thrill seeker?)

Now she runs not one, but two successful online businesses. A healthcare marketing company called Rx MD Marketing Solutions, and a micro-entrepreneurship and personal development blog called Metamorphoself.

MARLEE’S STRATEGY: Marlee says to “focus on making sincere connections with people, and everything else will fall into place naturally.”

She is a genuinely caring and compassionate person, and it shines through in her video blogs and writing.  She once sent me a thoughtful and encouraging email full of ideas for my blog – which I can’t reveal here, because they are THAT good.

Marlee is making waves online and you should definitely keep an eye on her before she gets too big to respond to your emails and comments. Don’t forget to follow her on Twitter @MARLdblE, and take the time to get to know her.

Natalie Sisson

Natalie is a nomadic Kiwi, and the woman behind The Suitcase Entrepreneur, which she’s been running since 2009 while living out of her suitcase, travelling the world.

She is a blogger, as well as a business and social media coach that can teach you how to find creative ways to run your business from anywhere in the world – using online tools, outsourcing and social media.

To say that Natalie is multi-passionate doesn’t begin to cover it. I can’t begin to list the breadth of her accomplishments, so let me highlight a few of the her smaller amazing feats.

In 2004 she won the Central North Island Body Sculpting competition. In 2007 she broke the Guinness World Record in Dragon Boating across the English Channel. She hung out with Kate Middleton (The future queen of England).  She used to compete in women’s sailing races, she helps young girls learn about entrepreneurship, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg – but any more and she’ll start to blush!

I think Natalie may be a cyborg sent from the future to raise the bar on the human race!

NATALIE’S STRATEGY: Natalie’s number one strategy is to “just ask. Ask the big wig and, the up and comings for guest posts, interviews, skype calls and meetings.” Her number two strategy is my favorite: “To hustle every single day on Twitter, Facebook, commenting, forums and meetups.”

Go visitThe Suitcase Entrepreneur, and I guarantee that you will learn something new. Oh, and follow her on Twitter, too @womanzworld.

Ingrid Abboud

Ingrid may look like a delicate flower, but she is brimming with personality.

In fact, she secretly wants to be a TV host for a less raunchy version of “Chelsea Lately” keeping it just as witty and sarcastic.

In the mean time, she pens a very popular, funny and witty blog called Nitty Griddy which is “kind of a social media journal”. Her style is entertaining and funny – not normal funny, but laugh out loud, spit out your morning Cheerios funny.

Ingrid’s passion and love for networking and people shines through every single day. Just go and read one of the hundreds of extremely long and thoughtful comments that she leaves all over the blogosphere, and you will see exactly what I mean.

She may actually be triplets pretending to be one person because everywhere I go, there she is, commenting on blogs, guest posting, tweeting, and doing interviews. Did I mention she has a slow dial-up connection and lives in Lebanon?  Very intriguing isn’t it?

INGRID’S STRATEGY: Ingrid tells me her secret weapon to all all this networking is “common sense, charisma, courtesy and basic politeness.” It’s working, because Ingrid is getting noticed in a big way, after just a little over a year of blogging.

Make sure to check out her SuperPost Sunday series – It’s chock-full of great information that will save you time and might even make you smarter, all while you laugh your head off.

I guarantee you will love her, and you can follow her on twitter @nittyGriddyBlog.

Gini Dietrich

Last, but certainly not least, is Gini Dietrich.  She’s everything I want to be when I grow up: elegant, smart, witty, successful, athletic and more.

Between her 14 websites and social media presences, Gini has an incredibly busy schedule, but she doesn’t let that stop her from having a life.

Not only is she a great cook and wine connoisseur, she’s also a world class cyclist. Last year she did 15 Centuries, 25 time trials, eight velodrome races, and four criteriums. You KNOW she looks hot in spandex.

Plus, she told me one of her talents is that she can curl her tongue. Gini, I’m sold.

Gini is the CEO of Arment Dietrich, a marketing and PR firm of which she is the CEO, and blogs at Spin Sucks, an award winning blog on public relations. She also heads up Spin Sucks Pro, which offers professional development for PR and marketing professionals.

GINI’S STRATEGY: Gini’s number one networking strategy is actually a combination of strategies that work together to get her results. You see, Gini covers the gamut when it comes to networking – here’s just one example of how a potential client might end up calling Gini:

A potential client hears Gini speak, who then goes to her blog Spin Sucks, who then starts to follow her on Twitter or friend her on Facebook and eventually calls her.  Voila, instant client.

In addition to blogging, she does a lot of of guest posting and commenting on other people’s blogs. She also does speaking engagements, and columns for other publications.

She’s a tour de force to be reckoned with. I encourage you to visit her blogs and follow her on Twitter @ginidietrich – but only if you’re serious about marketing and PR.

You Can Be a Networking Superhero, Too!

There you have it: five ladies who are flexing their networking and social media muscles to engage their customers and grow their online brands and businesses.

If I’ve learned anything from these five women, it is that even the shiest and most introverted person can aspire to be a marketing marvel. You just need to start having conversations.

Most importantly, be patient and start small because growing and leveraging the power of your network is about trust and relationships. In any relationship, trust takes time.

Have you interacted with any of these marketing marvels? Who would you add to the list?

Annie Andre is veteran traveler and ex-cubicle dweller turned lifestyle entrepreneur. She pens a travel & lifestyle blog called Practical Adventurology. Her adventurously practical advice and refreshingly honest stories will give you guts to live your life with no regrets. Visit her Damn Cute sleeping mask store, follow her on Twitter @AnnieAndreHacks and friend her on Facebook.

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