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Posts Tagged ‘LinkedIn’
Sunday, January 30th, 2011
I was reading an interesting piece from Lee Odden about social media marketing strategies. What he was talking about made perfect sense to me – but then, I am a professional in the business. It struck me early on in the article that most business people, especially those new to online marketing, would have been lost after the first two or three paragraphs.
There are a lot of online business owners, and I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that it’s the majority of online business owners, that know little about online marketing or SEO and even less about social media marketing. I could flippantly suggest they engage a professional like myself to help them through the maze, but that is not always a viable option.
What is a viable option is to use the one resource that many offline businesses rely on, and that’s networking with other online business owners. Networking can be done in a number of ways. You can get together with other business owners in your community, in an offline environment, and compare tactics and different approaches. You can then invite guest speakers to come in and discuss tactics with the group – I have been a guest speaker at several of these over the years to great effect.
You can also meet online with like-minded people in a variety of online forums and social media environments. Facebook and LinkeIn are two popular social sites that provide great networking opportunities.
If the online world is proving to be a frustrating and confusing experience for you, find a way to network with others of varying Internet skill levels. You will find you can learn quite a lot from your peers, and that over time, your confusion will start to clear, and the online world will actually make a lot of sense.
Tags: facebook, guest speakers, LinkedIn, offline networking, online marketing
Posted in Networking for Small Business | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
I’m excited to let you know that tomorrow – I know this is very short notice, but sometimes these things just happen that way – I’ve been invited to be a part of a Goldmail seminar and I’d like to invite you to attend. The topic I’ll be speaking on is “Top 5 Tips For Putting LinkedIn To Work.”
Now, let’s start at the basics: What is LinkedIn and why should you be on it?
LinkedIn is a social networking website for business people. Chances are, you already have a profile at LinkedIn and you may be wondering what to do with it. If you don’t, that’s OK too. I’ll tell you why you should have a profile at LinkedIn, and what to do with it.
In my webinar tomorrow, a part of the Goldmail Thought Leader Series, I will share with you 5 specific ways you can put LinkedIn to work for you right now, today. These are not methods that will take days or weeks to implement. They are easy-to-follow steps that you can do right away to make your social networking at LinkedIn profitable and pay off in a big way.
To learn more about the Goldmail Thought Leader Series and tomorrow’s webinar, click this link and watch the short video, then sign up for the webinar, which will take place on Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 4 p.m. CST.
Tags: business, LinkedIn, social networking, webinar
Posted in Social Media | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
LinkedIn has been a little bit of an anomaly among social media networks. It isn’t going after the popular crowd. Rather, it’s focus is on business professionals. Because LinkedIn has focused on the professional crowd, it has grown quite a following among business-minded professionals who want to engage through social media marketing. But the downside is that LinkedIn has not had the innovative technologies that other social networks have come to rely on.
Ah, but that doesn’t mean that LinkedIn isn’t an innovator. They are. And here’s another proof of LinkedIn’s ability to keep up with the times.
Until now, LinkedIn has largely been closed to the Web. You can network with other LinkedIn users, ask and answer questions, send links through private messaging, and engage in many other cool networking activities – all within LinkedIn. But you haven’t really been able to share links with your network from outside of LinkedIn. Now you can.
By dragging and dropping the Share button to your browser toolbar, you can now share any page on the Web with your LinkedIn network of friends and groups. While that isn’t exactly innovation since other social networks have had this capability for quite a while, it is an added value to LinkedIn, which is the premiere social networking website for business professionals. LinkedIn just got a heck of a lot better!
Tags: LinkedIn, sharing, Social Media, social networking
Posted in Social Media | 4 Comments »
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Is it any different marketing online for business-to-business services and business-to-consumer? On the surface it might seem there is no difference, but there is one slight difference: Where your customers hang out.
If you are a B2B marketer then you’ll likely find more potential clients at LinkedIn than at MySpace or Facebook and more at Facebook than at MySpace. If you are a B2C marketer, however, you might find more potential clients at Facebook than at LinkedIn. If you are in the music business then MySpace might be the place to hang out.
SEO is SEO. The principles are the same, but the strategies might be different. For instance, you might have a more difficult time getting inbound links from your competitors in a B2B environment. In a B2C environment, you are more likely to find non-competitors who are willing to link to you.
While there is technically no difference in the ways that you go about marketing online, strategically B2B and B2C have different needs. In that regard, there’s a difference.
Tags: business, facebook, internet marketing, LinkedIn, Myspace
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | No Comments »
Sunday, March 29th, 2009
You always want to show yourself in your best light–online or in person. So why limit yourself on LinkedIn? Did you know that how you present yourself can make a big difference? This is important whether you own a a small business, work for a large corporation, or own a company. LinkedIn is about connectivity, so make sure people have something to connect to.
An important hint to making the most connections on LinkedIn is to take the time to fill out your whole profile–much like a resume–be sure to include past companies, education, affiliations and activities. Most people who sign up for LinkedIn only list the their current employer, or company they own. This limits your contacts. You want lots of ways for people to identify with you–from your recent award, to where you went to college–to your love of kayaking.
Another smart thing to do is to include a link to your profile as a part of your email signature. Make it easy for people to check you out. That way, you don’t have to brag–just “point.” Walt Whitman said, “it ain’t braggin’ if you really did it.” But there’s no need to toot your horn when you can simply link to see your credentials and get to know more about you.
Another benefit of LinkedIn is that it makes your profile information available to search engines. In fact, LinkedIn ranks high on PageRank. So when someone Googles your name, your LinkedIn page will come in high. That’s impressive. Be sure to click on “full view,” and not private setting. And all you had to do is fill out your profile and start connecting with co-workers and business associates. Make sure you customize your public profile’s URL as your real name (or whatever name you use for business) so that it doesn’t use the default. Take it one step further and use your LinkedIn profile link when you comment on blogs or other internet activity. This will strengthen your rank as well.
LinkedIn is all about connections, but it’s up to you to make the most of it.
Tags: LinkedIn, social media networking
Posted in Networking for Small Business, SEO for Small Business, Small Business Internet Marketing, Tools for Small Business, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Saturday, March 28th, 2009
You’ve probably heard some statistics about who’s on LinkedIn. The “average” LinkedIn subscriber is a 41 year old male, with a median household income of $109,703. And while statistics might be skewed, it does tell me a few important things. People who sign up are using LinkedIn for business and networking purposes. So it sounds like LinkedIn is a great business party that’s online and a perfect place for small businesses to connect with other professionals.
LinkedIn has even more relevance in today’s economic light. Male or female, everyone is scrambling to either keep their job or find a new one. Networking is more crucial than ever. Small businesses need these connections to diversify, make stronger ties, and locate new marketing opportunities.
LinkedIn has many uses, and when handled correctly it’s quite appropriate to make business contacts through this social media network. And you should–there are over 8 million professionals on LinkedIn, and they represent over 130 industries. Nowhere else do you have this kind of chance to work your way up or over the ladder of success. You can ask for an introduction, form a partnership, or find out about an employment opportunity–all while increasing your online presence.
You have to do more than sign up for a LinkedIn account and then set up a profile. You have to learn how to “work” it. Increasing your visibility is crucial to making LinkedIn work for you. Type in every business associate name you know. Go down your rolodex, get out all those business cards you never use–and start typing in names and asking for a connection.
But I already know these people! Yes, I’ll give you that, Do you know who they know? Bingo.
That’s where the connectivity really starts. You can “name drop” on LinkedIn. “I’m a business associate of Joe Bob, will you join my LinkedIn network?” That’s how easy it is. Not only will you connect with Joe Bob, you’ll also be privy to all of his friends and networking associates. Hundreds of names for you to peruse–many of those people will agree to connect with you because of their association with Joe Bob. It’s well known that people in the business world like to have a reference for a future employee, or business partner. LinkedIn, when handled appropriately can will have something in common with you.
So to continue with our party analogy, don’t just agree to show up at the LinkedIn social networking party–and don’t just grab a drink and stand in one corner–get out there and mingle.
Tags: LinkedIn, Social networking for small businesses
Posted in Networking for Small Business, Small Business Internet Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
If you`ve been following this blog for any amount of time or if you have ever attended one of my live workshops, you`ll know that I`m a fan of social media, LinkedIn in particular. There`s a very good reason for this . . . it works.
The problem that many people face, however, is not knowing what to do once they have signed up for LinkedIn. Are you in the same boat?
This social media site can be very powerful and really enhance your business if you use it properly, but if you`re stuck at the first step, it won`t work. That`s why I`m going to be offering my very first workshop of 2009 on this very topic. In fact, here`s what we`ll be covering:
- What LinkedIn is and why you should care
- How to network on LinkedIn
- The essentials of creating a power-packed profile that shows up in the LinkedIn search results
- How to use LinkedIn to find new clients or customers and grow your sales
How to Attend:
Cost: $50
Location:
BlueChip Advisors, LLC
8441 Wayzata Blvd.
Suite 200
Minneapolis, MN 55426
Date: January 29th
Time: 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Register here or call 888.712.0075 with questions and to register.
Tags: LinkedIn, Social Media, workshop
Posted in Social Media | No Comments »
Friday, November 7th, 2008
Social media is something I talk about a lot because it`s an important part of promoting your business. You can easily network with hundreds, if not thousands, of people all at once with social networking.
I`ve talked before about signing up for LinkedIn, but many readers have written in, wanting to know what they should do now that they`ve signed up. This is a common problem, not knowing how to actually get started in social media. So, I`ll be holding a Workshop mini-series to help anyone interested in social networking learn to do it well.
You`ll get the training that will enable you to move forward in your online business promotion and also written materials to allow you to train others to promote your business, as well. You can register to attend here. Or call 888.712.0075
Cost: $50
Where: Byerlys Community Center Ridgedale, 3081 Ridgedale Drive, Minnetonka, MN 55305
When: November 11th, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Hope to see you there!
Tags: LinkedIn, Social Media, workshop
Posted in Social Media | No Comments »
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