The cell phone industry is growing daily with new types of cell phones (called smartphones), applications and new technologies that enable us to stay in contact easily with this very portable device.  As the HTC “You” commercial says, it’s the first thing we see in the morning, it is always within arms reach and the last thing we see at night.

With this in mind, technologies are evolving to include group activities for your cell phones. Group activities will include creating groups (i.e, family group, marketing group, new prospect groups, etc.) and then being able to either send a text to that group, leave a phone message for each individual within the group, email the group, or schedule a conference call for the entire group to attend directly from your cell phone.

This ability presents itself with endless possibilities and ideas on how to stay in contact with your members, prospects, family, etc.  Business will be able to use this ability easily for quick messages to members, updates, and meeting information. Small businesses will be able to connect to their sales and prospects with marketing items, etc. and staying in touch with family and friends will be more efficient.

Which cell phone carriers and when will this be available?  Unfortunately, this hasn’t been released as of yet, but the idea and concept presents itself with ideas and opportunities that will be beneficial to those who embraces new technologies.

Twitter is a great way to generate interest, awareness and keep everyone up-to-date on your meeting events.

With a few quick steps, you can keep everyone connected and the interest flying throughout the meeting.

1. Set up a twitter account – if your company or association doesn’t already have a Twitter account, go to http://www.twitter.com and set one up. It’s quick, easy and free.
2. Create a customized background – This only takes a few moments and if you don’t have an in-house staff that can  help, there are plenty of resources available for a quick/customized background.  You can find more information on Twitter backgrounds by visiting http://www.twitip.com/7-free-twitter-backgrounds-to-download-and-customize/
3. Establish a Hashtag for the meeting – Hashtags are a tool for adding additional context and metadata to your tweets. You create a hashtag simply by prefixing a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag.  Anyone can add the hashtag to their twitter post and this then allows anyone to click on the hashtag or search by the hashtag to view what is being posted.  This is a great way to allow people who are at the meeting to communicate with each other, post important information about the meeting and events/schedule for attendees to see, and/or allow people who are not at the meeting to see what attendees are posting on Twitter from the meeting.
4. Advertise your Twitter Page and Hashtag on your Website and Meeting Materials. Get the word out via your Meeting Materials that you have established a Twitter page and hashtag for the meeting.  Include this information on your website, the attendees confirmation emails when they register, any notices that are posted about the meeting, etc.

Start Tweeting and get the buzz going about the meeting.

One of the most powerful marketing techniques in today’s challenging economy is networking.  As reported by the Neilsen’s Global Online Consumer Survey recently, 90% of 25,000 consumers surveyed reported that they trusted recommendations from people they knew vs. online search results.

These are powerful results and only proves that networking is the key to any successful person or organization.

Networking does take time and effort and can be done using a few different mediums. These could include:

Social Media – Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.  Get your name and organization out there in the mainstream and interacting with clients, consumers or people with the same interests;

Blogging/Website – Keep your website content updated and have a blog where you provide your users with relevant and useful information;

Groups – Join Groups and interact. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn all provide Groups that you can view/join and meet and interact with people within the group;

Organizations – Join Organizations that are of interest to you or your organization. Take some time and attend the events that they offer and meet/mingle with the other members;

RSS Feeds and Blog Updates – Subscribe to your favorite websites or blogs RSS feeds so that you are kept up-to-date with the latest and greatest news.  Comment on the posts and interact with the other subscribers when able.

The key to networking is creating friends and fans that would recommend you to their fans and friends.  Meeting these friends/fans does require time, but worth the effort.  Take a minute and say hello.