Social networking has been growing in many industries, and is now being used even more as a tool for the Green Industry. Dealers and contractors are using the free site Facebook.com to connect with peers and open discussions about the latest equipment trends, industry news, bidding on jobs, completing installation projects, etc. It can be a great tool for getting advice and sharing your own expertise.

Yard & Garden and PRO have Facebook groups for dealers and contractors. We hope these private groups will consist of forward-thinking dealers and contractors whose ideas will help keep our editorial content in line with reader cares and concerns.

But just like a good mower, Facebook is only going to help you get the job done if you know how to start and maintain it. Signing up for a Facebook profile is easy, as the website walks you through the steps. However, managing one isn’t such a no-brainer. There are several articles online that walk you through the steps of using facebook. Here is a series of eHow videos that can help get you started.

Already using Facebook? How are you using it as a tool to better your business? Tell us in the comment section.

Lisa Danes, Yard & Garden and PRO associate editor

Now that Ariens has acquired Kee Mower high-wheel brush mowers, a product line that’s ideal for rural property owners, municipalities and my lazy neighbors who only mow their lawn three or four times a summer, dealers are armed with a pretty diverse aresenal of product that appeals to a variety of customer groups in every season. Entry-level landscapers, big commercial maintenance contractors, sports fiels, rural folk, metro folks, snowbelt folks … etc.

Lawn equipment dealers who can sell more products to more customers, without adding a zillion suppliers, have a leg up on those who can’t.

~ Gregg Wartgow, Yard & Garden

Did you see American Idol the other night? It’s the first few episodes of the season when they show clips of some of the weirdos who auditioned. One of them was a nature-loving “lawn guy” from Massachusetts. The Idol producers did a great job of playing up this character as a free-spirited flower sniffer you could hardly take seriously. He wasn’t a “professional landscape contractor” or a “licensed irrigation contractor” or a “Landscape Industry Certified Lawn Care Technician.” He was a “lawn guy”. How’s that rub you?

~ Gregg Wartgow, PRO Magazine