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The Ten Commandments of Social Media Marketing

10 commandments of social media marketing written on stone tablet

Over the years I have wanted to encapsulate a few fundamental rules for any organization to fall back on when developing their social media strategy. Social media and business have had somewhat a love/hate relationship as many struggle while others see success. Similar to having a mission statement or defined company goals, your business social media strategy should rely on a few general pillars of success to establish a powerful plan. I know it’s a bit bold to declare these pointers to be the “ten commandments of social media marketing” but they have been quintessential to my success, so I can only hope that they will do the same for you. Scroll down to see the full article 1. Be Consistent In Your Social Media Strategy Rule number one of social media marketing is to be consistent with your practices. That means posting on a daily basis and being committed to engaging regularly in the social stratosphere. Here are some rough guidelines for posting frequency: At least one blog per week (two times is great but focus on quality vs quantity) Post one-two times per day on Facebook, same for Google+ (I personally limit to one) For Twitter, I generally [...]

Prioritizing The Right Social Networks For Your Business

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As we approach the halfway point of 2013, the question is no longer whether businesses should use social media…it’s how should they use social media for business. Some businesses claim social media is a godsend and have incredible success while others complain that it is a waste of time, money and resources. Both of them are right. I’ve said many times that I don’t believe that every business should be on every social network. In fact, I usually recommend that most businesses only focus on 2-3 sites so they can spend the necessary time to do them well. The trick is picking the right social networks to focus on. Where are your customers spending their time online? 27% of total US Internet time is spent on social networking sites alone (Source), so saying that your customers aren’t using social media is a tough argument to make. Understand Your Target Market The obvious task before prioritizing the right social networks is assessing where your customers are online. You should already know and understand your target market, otherwise you are not ready for this step yet and should be reading another article. A deadly mistake in any social media strategy is making [...]

How To Create A Kick-Ass LinkedIn Profile [INFOGRAPHIC]

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With the professional network now boasting more members than many developed countries, business professionals across the planet are racing to figure out how they will leverage LinkedIn marketing for themselves. Statistics have shown that LinkedIn marketing is 4 times more effective than Twitter or Facebook for B2B (business to business) purposes but there are still many people who get frustrated before reaching success. LinkedIn Marketing: Your Professional Presence Online Your LinkedIn profile is often your first online impression as it usually shows up at the top of Google results when someone Google’s your name. It is essentially your online professional presence and it’s imperative that it conveys that you truly are a professional. This LinkedIn marketing infographic details every single step you need to craft the perfect profile. If you follow each step, you will not only look good but also attract and engage your ideal clients to take action and reach out to you. Stand Out From Your Competitors LinkedIn is very SEO-friendly but many people don’t think about the searches that are actually done on LinkedIn every day. If your profile is properly optimized, you can take advantage of the many searches being done every day within each [...]

9 LinkedIn Mistakes That Are Making You Look Bad

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Everyone knows the value of a great first impression but many seem to forget these common sense rules online. When you are trying to generate business online, there is nothing worse than leaving a bad impression with new visitors and not even realizing it. Sadly, this even happens frequently on more professional social networks like LinkedIn. Business owners, employees and job seekers are not exempt from common LinkedIn profile errors so pay attention to these 9 mistakes … you could be making one (or all) of them!   Top 9 LinkedIn Mistakes (That Are Making You Look Bad) 1. Liar Liar Pants On Fire. You should never, EVER lie on your LinkedIn profile no matter how clever you think you are. Somebody, somewhere will eventually bust you for it and that is an instant credibility drainer. When it comes to your online reputation, always assume that people will find out the truth or you are putting yourself and your business at a risk you might not recover from. Sound scary? That’s because it is!   2. Your Profile Is Written Like A Resume. This is okay if you are a job seeker but completely ineffective for business owners. Entrepreneurs have [...]

Why Your Social Media Strategy Needs A Face

social media strategy

You might have a business or brand with an online presence and decent social media strategy but when it comes time to closing the sale, what is the number one reason a great product or service isn’t getting the cash? In a word: trust If your visitors don’t trust you, they will never give you a dime. They probably won’t even give you their email! You could have a dynamite website, slick graphic design and a cool logo but that all doesn’t matter unless they believe you are reliable, trustworthy and legit. It’s a very realistic and reasonable concern to think about which companies are legitimate online and which ones are not. Some might be somewhere between where they follow through on the service but do a very poor job, leaving evidence that their flashy site was simply bait (and you took it).   Who Can You Trust? If you are on a website or checking out a business on social media sites and they don’t have the following, consider it a major red flag: Picture(s) of company owners Phone number Professional email Specific names of company owners and/or senior management If a business isn’t willing to display this simple [...]

7 Reasons Why Sales Pros Should Use LinkedIn For Lead Generation

Mastering LinkedIn training for sales professionals can be difficult (yet highly effective) simply because this particular social media site works quite differently than others. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn is specifically geared toward business decision makers and other professionals who want to leverage the connections they make with others to improve their own businesses and gather more leads. Have you spent time on LinkedIn trying to understand the system and how it can work to attract more leads? Have you felt like throwing your hands up in despair as you tried to learn the ins and outs of using LinkedIn effectively to find new prospects? This article will give you seven specific tips related to using LinkedIn for lead generation in a way that works for your business without adding more unnecessary frustration to the mix. Related: 18 Steps To A Masterful LinkedIn Profile (That Attracts Your Clients   LinkedIn Training For Sales: Why You Need It In Your Toolbox 1. Easier To Find Key Decision Makers. Using advanced search functions with the click of a button you can find and create a long list of ideal prospects to connect with. Whether through a direct connection, introduction or group, you will have [...]

LinkedIn & ROI: Interview With Viveka Von Rosen

Being in the social media game, you cross paths with a lot of self-proclaimed gurus and social media experts that are, quite frankly, competition. Despite this competition, the social media industry tends to have an unspoken brotherhood because one of the common practices preached is to share other’s content. In this process, you inevitably stumble upon some great people who you start to perceive more as peers than anything else. I’m happy to say that the person I interviewed for this feature is someone who has a lot of great advice to give on the subject of LinkedIn and social media. Being that LinkedIn is my field of expertise, I am exceptionally picky about those whom I get info from and Viveka von Rosen is someone that has been around long enough to have earned her stripes. When it came to choosing who would become the author of the upcoming book, LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour A Day, Viveka von Rosen was a stand out choice with her conversational writing style and authentic approach to marketing. The meat of our conversation was our focus on ROI and LinkedIn. We spoke for well over 40 minutes but this article has been condensed [...]

3 Critical Online Marketing Strategies For Professionals

The days of people looking for your business in the local phone book are almost over. Today everyone is turning to online searches when looking for a product or service they are in need of. There is no doubt in my mind when people ask me what are the top three most critical online marketing strategies for professionals. Professionals need tools that will have them quickly and easily showing up in online search results while also positioning them an industry leader and experts. In a world where decisions are made in a few clicks, you need online marketing strategies that will have you being found and, in my opinion, these three are your best bet for your time and resources. Three Critical Online Marketing Strategies For Professionals 1.    LinkedIn Recent stats show LinkedIn is 4 times better for B2B lead generation than Facebook and Twitter but that’s not what I love most about it. When your profile is properly optimized to get you found, prospects can literally come directly to you with little work on your part. You must ensure your LinkedIn profile is well optimized for the search results to make sure you are found.  Once this is done [...]

5 Fundamental Steps To Success on LinkedIn

It’s never quite as simple as “plug and play” when it comes to a solid business social media strategy but with a little extra work, you can start creating and building relationships that produce results. At the heart of great networking lies great relationships and LinkedIn is the best online tool for cultivating those relationships digitally, in my opinion. You want to ensure you have done everything possible to make your online presence appears welcoming, professional and personalized. Related: 3 Easy LinkedIn Profile Tips That Get You Found Here are 5 steps to add to your LinkedIn approach for a more effective social media strategy: Make your initial message more personal! If someone reaches out and connects with you on LinkedIn, spend a minute to remember where you might know them from and review their profile to see if anything rings a bell. If not, look for some common ground to connect on and thank them for the connection. I still get more than 70% of my business through LinkedIn and it generally starts from the initial message as it comfortably opens up the dialogue. Be a leader in your industry. You need to personalize your profile to speak directly [...]

Social Proof: Your Magic Bullet For Success Online

If you don’t know what social proof is, it’s one of the key influencers that people use when making a decision who to do business with. People look to what others have done when making a decision and that’s why testimonials and celebrity endorsements have been so powerful for businesses. When you scroll down your Facebook News Feed, the stories that catch your eye are always the ones with the most likes, comments and shares. It’s that same crowd effect that compels people to see what all the commotion is about. According to Wikipedia: “Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation. This effect is prominent in ambiguous social situations where people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior, and is driven by the assumption that surrounding people possess more knowledge about the situation.” Basically, people have a tendency to base their decisions from the reactions and decisions of their peers. Nobody wants to be the guinea pig because it takes too much effort on what’s perceived as a risk. It’s nice to be able to gain wisdom through the second hand experiences of those we [...]