10 Ways to ROCK and NOT on LinkedIN

LinkedIN is being talked about constantly in the small business world in #Indianapolis (oops.. sorry the hashtag is out of habit). I thought I would add my flair onto how to use and not to use LinkedIN.

How to Rock it on LinkedIN

We have all wanted to be rockstars at one time or another in life. I always wanted to be Tom Morello from the last Rage Against the Machine.. and sometimes… I still do. In light of my extreme Tom Morello man-crush…here are 10 ways to rock it on LinkedIN.

1. Be the first to answer on Q&A. When you are surfing the questions and answer sections of LinkedIN it is important to keep the “Be The First To Answer” link in the back of your mind. People are more likely to read the top three answers than the couple on the bottom.

2. Go 3 and 3. Pick three local groups you can join and three global groups. Keep the number at six or below in order to help you manage the multiple emails you will be getting fromt he groups.  You don’t want to get overwhelmed. Also, try to add comments or some type of thought into half the groups (3) once a day.

3. It is better to add all your work experiences not just your current. (Thanks Guy) You will have a better chance at finding more connections by adding your previous employers. Who knows what could come out of it!

4. You must give to receive. Give out those recommendations and you will receive them in return. People put greater stock into the LinkedIN recommendations that are given by other people because they know (to an extent) they are sincere. It beats putting them up on your website… not very trustworthy.

5. Put your LinkedIN address on your business card. It is going to be easier for people to add you on LinkedIN if they have your url in their possesion. Add it to your next business card and always ask if they are on the site.

How to NOT Rock  on LinkedIN

1. Fill out your profile to 95%. Believe me this sounds easy but I cannot tell you how many times I have come across a profile and it is only filled out to 75-92%. Seriously? Did you not take the time to just fill in your last job? Give me a break.

2. Add your logo instead of your picture. Be personal. Add your picture and use your real name. Please?

3. Lie on your LinkedIN profile. You would think this would be a given but it’s not. Just don’t do it. The Internet NEVER FORGETS.

4. Become a connection whore! If you add 114,000,403 people within your first week of being on the network. You have completely missed the point. Don’t become a connection whore! Add the people you have met face to face. It will keep your relationships and connections strong.

5. Send an invitation without clearing explaining the objective. Do you have a business card to a person at a networking event and just walk away? Don’t do it on LinkedIN.

That’s it for me. Write them down. Pin them up. Laminate it and put them in your wallet.

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When is Social Media a Primary Marketing Tool?

Let me be the first to say that social media is a brilliant tool. It can enhance every aspect of your marketing plan from Public Relations to direct mail. Although… there is a time and place for everything. It is extremely important to realize the potential of social media can either be a primary or secondary.

When should social media be used as a primary tool?

If you are building a personal brand, social media can be a huge driver to increase a following or “fans.” Many small businesses are run by so-called thought leaders… The visionaries behind the brands that are being built by the thousands. Small businesses must rely heavily on referrals and word-of-mouth marketing and what better tool to help the process than soacial meda. As you advance in a community of clients and customers you can use social media as your primary source of marketing.

Whether social media can be defined as a medium or a tool (later post) is not the point. Arguing over semantics hasn’t helped anyone in the past. You have the opportunity to build your brand.. both personally and professionally. Embrace it.

This is the first time in history when millions of people are just a click away. You can’t get any better than that. So how should you get start on your online brand development?

• Do your customers even care? Make sure you do not negate your current clients. Keep picking up the phone.
• Research what others are doing in the area. What are your competitors writing about? How can you be different? How can you do it better?
• Start a blog. Sign up on WordPress.com and start writing (after the research, of course)
• Go to CommonCraft and get update on the more recent tools on the Internet. They will help you in your social media quest.

And remember… be conscious of your people. What makes them tick?

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Is Gen Y Going to Leave Facebook?

I “grew” up on Facebook. It is true.

My sophomore year of college is when Facebook hit the campus of Anderson University like a firestorm. Everyone was joining talking about the internal messaging and laughing at the pictures being posted over the first couple of months. It was the epitome of a 24/7 party but online.

Gen Y (millennial) have ruled Facebook for the last couple of years but that is changing… rapidly. Online Media Daily describes the changing tide of demographics on the social media powerhouse:

“Facebook is aging fast. The number of U.S. users over 35 has doubled in just the last 60 days, according to new data from Inside Facebook.”

Baby Boomers are also taking advantage of Facebook… rapidly. What is a Gen Y to do?

I have been having multiple conversations lately about the generation clash that is about to happen on Facebook. With parents and family members joining the social network I believe we are going to see a shift in younger users moving on to other platforms. Maybe.

It is debateable. Can the Gen Y users get comfortable with their mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, and uncles joining THEIR network?

What do you think?

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It is About Experiences Not About Sales

Tuesday I gave a keynote at the Hoosier Hospitality Conference in the beautiful city of Indianapolis. The presentation was over the future of online communication and what it means to business and the tourism industry. While giving the keynote… I stumbled across a recurring theme…

The value of experiences over the value of a sale.

When you are using social media as a tool in your marketing mix… It is important to remember how the world is changing (in terms of communication).

People are craving experiences. We have experienced decades of 50% off and last chance now sales ads. We have been pushed multiple advertisements in the span of a thiry minute television show.

1st mile. Billboard. 2nd mile. 5 radio advertisements. 3rd mile…

We all get the picture don’t we?

Everyone says they have excellent customer service. Everyone has a half-off sale.

Not everyone can create unbelieveable experiences for their clients. Show the experiences. Show the respect and trust.

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Social Media is Valuable but Broken. We Need to Work Together.

There is always debate.
There is always debate on the topics of social media… the black magic of the business world. Should we do it? What is the best way to do it?

Traditional marketing, advertising and PR firms do not know what to do. “Social Media” companies do not have enough traditional strategy to make something stick. We are all scraping to find something to make this powerful tool work. It is going to be a long process of customization, personalization, and strategy.

My company, Brandswag, started out as a small business design and marketing firm in Indianapolis. We have thus grown to a 5 person shop dealing with graphic design, web design, and social media/internet marketing. The transition happened pretty naturally because all of us were so involved in social media already… Why not try to leverage this amazing tool for business benefit? And it has worked… to an extent. The tool is broken. Social media should be used strictly with a traditional strategy. Hire a traditional marketing firm. Hire a Public Relations firm.

This is not the “save-me-from-the-economy” tool. It is a new thing. It is a new product that is being slowly pushed and pulled apart to make it work. I am far from an “expert” and there are only a few that can take that title (Chris Brogan and Douglas Karr). We all have little pieces of the pie to maximize a marketing strategy.

What are we to do? Work together.

Traditional marketing, PR, and advertising companies need to open up their minds to the tool and also the opposite way. Social media and internet marketing companies need the traditional strategy and marketing of the agency. Let’s work together to measure and get results.

We are all in this together. We have (at our fingertips) a tool that could transform the way we communicate.

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The Real Value of Social Media: A Piece of the Pie

Elizabeth Friedland over at TrendyMinds has an excellent post about the concept of social media not being the end-all scheme to push marketing to the masses.

I wanted to bring up my thought on the real value of social media to the small business owner or CEO: Listening. You do not need to get rid of your tradtional marketing strategy. You shouldn’t. Whenever I am in front of a group of people I always say, “If you come to me and say you got rid of your press releases and direct mail pieces and started a Facebook Page. I will never talk to you again.”

So what is a business owner to do?

Learn the tool. Use the tool. Evaluate the tool.

You can either decide to take a class to learn how to implement the tool into your overall strategy or learn the tool yourself using videos from Common Craft. You need to understand the tool before using it. You need to use the tool before implementing it into your overall strategy. If you decide it is a waste of time and money… ditch it. At least you tried.

The important thing to remember is that whether you do it yourself or hire one of the numerous marketing, social media, and new media companies you should be staying ahead of the curve.

1.5 Billion people are connected to the Internet and 300 million use social media. It is an important tool and it will be in the future.

Be strategic. Be thoughtful and listen.

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Don’t Shoot Your Transparency All Over Me!

We talk alot about transparency in the blogging and social media world. In terms of being a business owner or a professional it is important to be transparent in everything you do in the online environment. Why? People want to know YOU not necessarily what you do.. that is secondary.

I haven’t really thought much about the concepts of transparency recently until reading a post by Louis Gray entitled Being Transparent is Fine but Please Use Smart Filtering. It talks about where you should/could draw the line when it comes to sharing personal information on the web. Louis talks about how he only shares personal information when it is relevant to the conversation or where it adds overall value to his online brand or persona.

“If you want to be transparent, and build a personal brand you are proud of, you must always be thinking about filtering what gets into your stream, and how it could benefit you and your audience.”

As I told some Purdue students a couple of weeks ago..

Everything is recorded online. Everything is searchable. Be careful what you post because it could come back to hurt your personal brand.

There is a fine line between being transparent and being ANNOYING. There is a reason why you have people following your blog or your profiles on multiple social networks. Don’t dissapoint and be proactive in what you share.

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Be Different. Be Genuine. Be You.

There isn’t a day that goes by where I DO NOT enjoy the writings of Seth Godin. As many of you know, he writes about the concepts of being yourself and standing out from a crowd. He recently talked about the concept of fitting in and standing out and how it is always easier to fit in.

You can see it on a daily basis..

…marketing and communication companies helping their clients fit in. “Do what is safe”… they will say.

Let me give you a little insight into the consumers people of the world. They do not want you to be safe. They do not want you to look and feel like the other company in the industry.

We want you to be genuine and different. We want to know that there is a human being on the other end of that logo. We want to know we can trust you.

If you fit in…

What’s the point?

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Is Blogging for Search ruining Innovative Thought?

Let me preface this post by saying… I don’t know the answer… and if you are a social media professional or consultant.. you are at fault.

I have been debating with myself lately (you should try it) about the concept of blogging for search and how it could be affecting the . From a marketing standpoint it is brilliant to use a blog for search. I will be the first to say that my company, Brandswag, uses our corporate blog for organic search. The blog you are reading now is used for some organic search goals, as well as my own personal branding in the city of Indianapolis.

What am I struggling with?

If you are constantly focused on keyword rich writing and blogging for search is that taking away from building knowledge and innovation in your industry? Is it taking away from you actually writing your thoughts.. feelings.. and ideas?

Sometimes I get stuck.

We blog for many reasons. Maybe you want to learn and co-create interesting articles and discussions. Maybe you want to build your company brand in order to drive more revenue. Maybe… you just want to talk to other people with the same interest.

Blogging and the world of social media has created a spinning mass of information that is being consumed by hundreds of millions of people on a daily basis. Are we missing out on writing from the heart and helping industries/people become better?

Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know the answer.

If you are focusing so intently on the right keywords and such doesn’t that take you away from being truly innovative and thought provoking in your writing?

Maybe we are all at fault.

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25 Steps to Choosing a Social Media Consultant and Educator

I have been discovering many people starting to enter the world of social media marketing in Indianapolis. It can be anything from an advertising firm to a small business coach. It is probably pretty confusing for business owners trying to learn about the amazing new tools available on the web. I wanted to help you out with your first steps in choosing a social media educator or consultant.

1. They need to use the tools they are teaching.

It is extremely important that the teacher is using the tools. Before you decide to use a social media consultant… investigate! Make sure they are using tools like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN, and Plaxo. If they do not use the tools on a regular basis, they are just riding a wave.

2. They communicate with their audience.

The last person you will want to hire is someone who throws content out on the bed and doesn’t allow for two way communication. The best way to test this? Go to their Twitter account and make sure they are actually sending “RT” and replies to people. 2-way communication is key.

3. Do they call themselves a Social Media Expert? Ask about the 10,000 hours rule.

The person that calls themselves a “social media expert” is the last person you want to hire. Read Paul Dunay’s post about 10,000 hours to become an expert.

4. Ask them their definition of social media.

If they give you a list of tools. Fail them.

5. They will run your Twitter account for you.

It is impossible to ghost a Twitter account. YOU either use it or you don’t. Ghostwriting for a blog is a different story and NOT for this post.

6. Their blog is less than six months old with no comments. (thanks Beth)

7. Ask them about social bookmarking. Do they know what it is? Do they use it?

8. Have they taught a class before on social media? Even a webinar?

It is important that your consultant or educator has experience in teaching or presenting on social media. The last thing you want to do is spend money for something that is going to be a DRAG. You want to know that you are not wasting your money.

9. Are they a Just-add-water expert?

10. They actually have a personality and GET people.

It is important that your social media consultant have a personality. What do I mean by personality? They are not stuck in an office all day pecking away at Twitter and have no sense of humor. ALSO, they are not overly bubbly and excited about everything under the sun. Sanity is key.

11. They blog more than once a week.

It is important that the investigation goes deeper into the blogging world. Your social media consultant should be learning on a daily basis and expounding upon what they are learning by blogging. This does not have to be catered specifically to a BLOG (wordpress or blogger). You can always check on Twitter on how they are communicating and learning.

12. They are linking and being linked.

Complete a Google link search and make sure your social media consultant actually has people and blogs linking back to their site. It is extremely important

13. Ask their opinion on viral marketing.

It is extremely important that your social media consultant and educator understand the concepts behind word-or-mouth marketing and viral marketing. Social media marketing is a relationship drive model. The evangelists and lovers of your product or service need to have the means to shout to the world… WE LOVE YOU!

14. Check out their website.

The first step to any Internet or social media strategy is the website. Do they have a communication drive website or is it a web 1.0 brochure driven site? Are they interacting with people? Are they talking about social media? Are they talking to YOU and not about their services.

15. What do other people think about them?

Mentors are one of the greatest asset to any small business owner. Who would they choose? Maybe they think social media is a waste of time. You need to take that into account. Maybe they were burned in the past? It is extremely important to get another perspective when entering into a relationship with any type of consultant or marketing professional.

16. They advise you to start a Facebook page as the first step.

It isn’t about starting in one spot. If you are new to the world of social media it may be smart to start USING Facebook other than trying to manage all 5 but the last thing you need to do is just start a Facebook fan page. SM strategy should be surrounding an integrated marketing approach. Period.

17. The instant success test

It takes time and knowledge to be successful at using social media as a small business strategy. If they promise instant results.. You should probably find another consultant.

18. What do they think about traditional marketing and advertising?

Ask them. If they come back to you and say that the traditional approach to marketing is dead. They are just riding a wave of no return. They will never understand the concepts of combining traditional and new media into an overall strategy.

19. Ask them about Radian6.

Radian6 is one of the better brand monitoring companies out there. If they have no idea about Radian6. FAIL.

20. What is their opinion of Quality over Quantity?

If your social media consultant starts talking about driving hundreds of followers to your social media account they don’t understand the concept of TWO WAY COMMUNICATION. Quality is so much better than quantity. Quality connections are the only way to succeed at using social media to expand your business.

21. They believe in actually listening to your problems instead of convincing you about the world of social media.

22. If they are still using an @aol.com, @aim.com, @comcast.net, or @att.net email. Fail them.

23. Listen for new approaches to strategy.

Everyone is offering to be a “social” consultant. Do they talk and think differently than anyone else you have listened to? If they do. You have a gem on your hands. Creative thinkers are the best social media consultants.

24. Are they a used car salesman? Do they seem genuine?

For the sake of argument I am going to list this. Do not work with someone you do not trust. Period.

25.Do they have any success stories?

Ask them about their history in using social media. The space is extremely new but there are people who are succeeding in using the tool. If they do not have case studies. Ask.

There are plenty more but this is just the beginning. Add to the list if you would like!