by Felice Gerwitz
I do things for many reasons and many of them are not very well thought out. I have good reasons for this, of course. One is that I'm "creative" and people who think outside of the box tend to be cluttered, haphazard and well. . .disorganized. When I began social networking and looked into beginning my online social media campaign it was definitely not well planned. I jumped in as I normally do, with both feet and now feel like I will never reach the bottom of what seems like a never ending hole.
It is time to take a look, create a strategy and look at your ROI (return on investment). Is your time well spent? Are you making money from your time? Or are you considering the "social" part of the "media" a time of recreation to "chill," "hang," and "talk" with your friends? In some ways I wish that this platform was around when I was a teen, what a great time to enjoy the great assets of this venue. Unfortunately as an adult there are many responsibilities and constraints on my time. For me the ROI needs to be significant.
When I began these blog posts I explained you must give value in order to receive value. This is important and holds true then as it does now. The question is how to give value and still take something to the bank. Let's look at the word social and see where it takes us.
S is for search engine optimization. Do you use keywords in your article writing, your answers to posts online and in your blog? Did you place links in your keywords when possible? (You will I created an example in this blog for you with highlighted and hyper-linked words.) If you do you will find your time is well spent. When someone does a search online your name may pop up on occasion.
O is for organize and plan. I try to do things in blocks of time. In fact this is my third blog post this evening. I write all my blog posts at once, I'm in a "groove" my mind is geared to speak in short, concise sentences that have impact (hopefully) and address a need. Is your time organized and planned? Do you know when you are going to be on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn? Do you know what you are going to say? By planning this out in blocks of time you can optimize your time online.
C is for caring. Do you really care what people have to say or are you so busy telling everyone about your products, services or needs that you don't listen. Take a few minutes of your time to give someone a "thumbs up" on facebook, read a blog post and COMMENT and do what it takes to get others encouraged and jazzed. Yes, this is a social community we are using our words to convey our thoughts, and while that may take some time a few well placed sentences will work just as well.
I is for intriguing. Do people stop and listen when you post a comment or write a blog. Do you have followers, do you follow other blogs? I found a radio show guest who is a new author by visiting her lovely blog. She obviously took great care in choosing the color scheme, the layout and the fonts. Her blog was warm and comforting. She told a story and drew you in... and when I learned she was an author I invited her to join me as a featured guest on my radio show. How do you draw people to you? Are you outlandish, loud or brash? Are you informative, ingenious and interesting? Whatever it is keep it up especially if it will bring you leads or referrals.
A is for attraction marketing. This term is widely bantered around in internet-guru-marketing-speak. It means how to you get people to come to you, hang onto every word and buy every single thing you produce, talk about or sell. It is easy for those who jumped on the internet first and now we are all wary of the latest-greatest way to sell or market online. In fact I believe that is why the tables have turned back again and relationships matter. In the days gone by relationships have always mattered. People want to do business with people they know and they trust. Be trustworthy.
L is for laughter. Yes, you can have a good time and market... ROTFLOL translation: rolling on the floor laughing out loud. It wasn't that long ago that our emails and instant messages were filled with that type of "speak". Today there is a reason for laughter and for joy! The market is still new and you are on board. Yes, it is growing in leaps and bounds but you are here, you have a presence and you, my friends are making an impact.
Grow your businesses, share your good news, and let others know what you do... make sure you give value and you will find many will come flocking to your door. It has happened to me in many ways recently. I have hired several new part-time staff members and we are forging ahead to build my publishing business with a drive and a focus I had many years ago and thought I had lost. I find myself excited once again with the resurgence of connecting to people I may never have met and opportunities I might only have dreamed about in the past.
Use your time online wisely and you will not be sorry. We are only a click of a mouse and a keyboard stroke away from some of the most influential people in the space. . . and I could be talking about you!
Felice Gerwitz is a wife, mother, author, publisher and radio show host. Her focus is on education, whether it is products, curriculum or teaching social media classes online. You can find her on her website at http://www.InformationInANutshell.comInformation in a Nutshell.com
Note: I am taking a break from my blog posts and won't be joining you monthly for a time as I listen to my own advice, plan and regroup. I want to thank Joanne for her encouragement and understanding, and the entire Empowered Women group for making me feel so welcome!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
How Social is Your S-O-C-I-A-L Media?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Power of Groups on LinkedIn Part 2
Part 2
What is your ideal market? If you are looking for potential customers on LinkedIn you will need this information. In working with aspiring authors I ask who the target market, niche group or ideal audience may be for the author. Each author is unique but often the answer I receive is "Everyone."
Wrong.
While that may be your ideal target market it is too broad. Narrowing down your market will allow you to understand the groups to target on LinkedIn and how to find these groups. The first way is by searching using keywords. Go to your LinkedIn account. You can search for many items on your profile page. In the upper corner in line with the header you will see the search bar. You will notice a drop down menu. Select "groups" as your choice to search, and then type in the keywords of the client base you would like to reach. You can use any string of three to four key words that specify those in your ideal target group.
Let's say your keyword selection is "women in business" In conducting a keyword search I found many groups. They are listed in rank with the largest members first. The largest group was Women 2.0 with 20,000+ members. If this was my target group I would join them. I would work down the line joining the groups that were of interest to me in order to learn or to get to know people in the group.
If I was selling makeup or beauty products, I might look for groups of professional women. I could also search for "dress for success" or similar types of groups. These women I know would be interested in time saving facial cleansing tips, or other beauty tips.
Remember when you join these groups you are there to observe, first. See what the members are talking about. Take notes and keep an eye on those members that participate often and shine. If you know the answer, go ahead and wet your feet, answer the question. . . briefly. You would not mention immediately that you are a consultant for a particular beauty product. IF someone asks then go ahead and share the information.
You are there to give first. If you are self-serving it will become evident very quickly. No one wants to hear a bill-board ad for your product. They want to know how you can help them, either with a referral or perhaps information that will be useful to their business. By becoming a good resource within your various groups, you will soon find connection offers filling your LinkedIn inbox. You in turn can ask your group members to connect to you as well. This is the power of networking.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Getting Linked on Linked In
To recap on the last few posts, we have covered an overview of LinkedIn and the importance of a complete profile. Now it is time to invite and look for current friends on this network. Where do you begin? The obvious place is your email list.
Before you import your entire list, carefully consider your reason for being a member of this social network. This is the business world filled with many potential advantageous contacts. It is not necessarily the person you are connected to. . . it is perhaps someone they know one, two, three or more people down the line that may turn into a valuable business laison. Once you have determined your focus, invite your selected email contacts.
If your contact does not have a LinkedIn account, this invitation may inspire them to create one. There are many ways to add to your contact list. In the next post we will discuss the importance of groups. When you join groups you have a connection with those other group members. This connection should not be exploited. You must be careful to abide by the LinkedIn rules and protocol. If you are unsure of this go to LinkedIn and view the getting started video.
You may search for specific people on this network. You can key in their names, look under a company or search by key words. Sending a connection request is an adventure in itself. You are required to check a box describing how you know this person.
How do you know __________(Person's Name Goes Here)?
- I don't know _________
If you click "other" a box will pop open that requests you place the person's email address in the box. In that way you are insuring at least some knowledge of the person.
(optional) And the personal note that LinkedIn automatically includes is...
I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.
- Felice Gerwitz
If you click I don't know be careful. The person receiving the email request may click IDK (I don't know). This "counts" against you. If your receive too many of these, your account may be suspended on LinkedIn with no recourse. Social media sites are very protective of keeping a semblance of protection to their users in their site verbage. It is highly recommended that you know the person, share a group, or have a connection somewhere that can introduce you. I never click IDK to someone who requests a connection but will archive the request in the event that I do not want to connect.
This is the beauty of LinkedIn. If you see a person you'd like to have as a connection, you may see where in the "family tree" they reside. Perhaps one of your current connections has a direct link or they are somewhere down the family tree. In this way, you can request an introduction to the person through this first connection of yours.
Either way, connections on LinkedIn are very valuable. There are open networkers and groups of open networkers that join for the sole purpose of growing their numbers. If you are interested in this method of quickly growing your group connections this may be an option.