Here Comes a Little Brother for LinkedIn

A Rising Star Emerges from the Silicon Forest

Disclaimer: there is no affiliation between LinkedIn and ReciProty

By: Renee Wilbur and Dick Kuiper

Just when you thought we already have enough social media platforms, here comes another. But wait, this one is an up-and-comer that takes business networking online with some new twists. It’s called ReciProty and it provides a much-needed platform for online business networking. But more on ReciProty later; let’s first look at the LinkedIn solution to business networking.

Don’t get us wrong, we are both accomplished LinkedIn users and supporters and don’t feel anything will ever replace LinkedIn. However, no single platform can give everyone all the features they desire.

Many LinkedIn detractors have complained that while having a global presence is great in many things, it can smother relationship creation when it comes to business networking.

This argument can go both ways; some favoring localization with others wanting a more national or international reach.

Since LinkedIn is the recognized leader when it comes to electronic business networks, let’s take a look at the bigger business networking picture to put things in perspective.

Traditionally, most business networking has been very localized with chambers of commerce acting as the de facto stereotype. Most chambers hold several get-togethers every month where members can meet, exchange business cards, do some marketing and hopefully get some business leads.

So Many Choices, So Little Time

Several years ago, we saw an explosion in the number of networking organizations being formed. They seemed to be popping up everywhere you looked as entrepreneurs scrambled to draw people to events. Some were free to join while others charged some rather hefty membership fees.

It wasn’t long before most peoples’ heads were swimming with the overload of choices of where to spend their networking efforts.

In business networking, like many other matters, choices of where to spend one’s time usually comes down to a quality vs. quantity trade-off. Many like chambers of commerce and Network After Work ended up being little more than social gatherings with few real decision makers in attendance. Many of the “exclusive” membership-only organizations became so inwardly focused that membership definitely lost its privileges. Some even bordered on being cult-like.

Social Media Has an Answer

Since business networking is all about connecting people to each other to share things of value, and since many face-to-face alternatives are lacking, where do we turn? Viola! Why not social media? Look at what Facebook and Twitter have accomplished with people-to-people connections.

Enter: LinkedIn.

Since Facebook et al. proved to be ineffective in a business setting, LinkedIn appeared with a brilliant solution: a Facebook-type network designed specifically for business people.

Now that we have a quasi-solution, we go back to the issue raised above – local vs. global. Business networking is primarily a localized endeavor. Many who have not examined LinkedIn’s functionality lately may have missed the fact that the company has improved its search mechanism to provide a more localized focus for those who need it.

Since Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn earlier this year, they have increased the intensity of its local spotlight even more. Nowhere is this more evident than with the renewed push of LinkedIn’s ProFinder service. The only downside is that to use ProFinder, one must pony up for one of LinkedIn’s premium subscriptions in the approximate $50-$90/month price range.

Welcome, Little Brother

For those not ready to reach for their credit card and step up to one of LinkedIn’s premium offerings, or those not even caring about reaching across North America for business leads, here’s the new kid on the block – ReciProty. Best of all, it comes at an amazing price tag of……drum roll, please……..zero!

Born in the Pacific Northwest, ReciProty offers a “floating” choice of local, national, international or anywhere in between with a few keystrokes. Each user specifies their home city location and then may define their preferred “reach” by setting a search radius of “X” number of miles.

Here are a few of the features of ReciProty:

• Member Profiles – Each member must set up a personal and/or business profile. These profiles can contain the skills of each member and the services they provide, allowing them to be “found” by other members searching for those skills or services. Each profile has an “about me” section where a member can enter bio information and/or a sales pitch for their services.
• Member Ratings – Members who utilize the services of other members can rate that member with a numerical satisfaction score and a paragraph of text.
• Member Posts – Members can post messages on the neighborhood wall to reach all members within a specific region or on the wall of any designated group to reach all members within that specific group. These posts can be news items, announcements, special offers, requests for help or just about anything.
• Member Messaging – Members can send messages to other members or groups of members.
• Referral Passing – A formalized method of passing business referrals to other members. The sender and receiver of the referral must be members (free) but once a member; you can receive a referral from another member within minutes.  
• Referral Tracking – All referrals sent and received are tracked by the system. A referral is not counted as such until it is accepted by the receiver and is on hold until accepted. Members can access a history of referrals sent and accepted.
• Groups – Members can set up their own local, regional, national or global groups. These groups can be private or public. Each group has its own “wall” where members can post messages.
• Business Directory – Each member gets a free entry in the master business directory which can be searched by name, services offered and approximate geographic location. Member businesses appear on the search results in sequence of their ratings.
• Event Calendar – A calendar of upcoming events. While the calendar is monitored and controlled centrally, members can post events on the calendar. Note that ReciProty is currently in the process of expanding its calendaring feature.
• Member Blog – A blog is available where authorized members can enter individual posts – any member can enter their comments on any blog comments thread.

Free Membership or More Information:

It’s easy to get a free membership on ReciProty – just go to www.reciproty.com and sign up for a membership. Follow the prompts, set up your profile, and you’re off and running. ReciProty also offers a community section to get and receive support. Check it out. Just click here.

About the Authors

Renee Wilbur is a recognized visionary in sales, marketing and business networking. She founded and operates Wilbur Resources International (WRI), where she provides sales & marketing consulting, leadership training, business prosperity coaching, business excellence workshops and webinars in all related areas. Renee also founded Network With Results International (NWRI), a large grid of localized business networking chapters that revolutionizes the way business relationships are established and nurtured. Renee can be reached at renee@wilburresources.com.

Dick Kuiper has been doing freelance writing and ghostwriting for years for clients all across North America and beyond. He has written hundreds of articles, blog posts, business proposals, marketing collateral pieces, brochures, training booklets, technical manuals, speeches and a great deal more. He has written five books both as an author and as a ghostwriter. Dick has also authored several training courses on a number of subjects. Visit his website at www.ghostwriterhelp.com for more information. Dick can be reached at dick.kuiper@centurylink.net.