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.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Power of Groups on LinkedIn Part 2
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The Power of Groups on LinkedIn
Part 1
On LinkedIn there are many nuances in the way that people use this social media platform. Some use LinkedIn to look for work, or to post jobs. Others use it to display their online resume, connect to colleagues or look for connections that will translate into more work. One of the best ways to connect on LinkedIn is via the Groups Platform.
Joining a group on LinkedIn is similar to joining a networking group in your local town. When you first visit it may be by invitation from another member, a chance meeting of a member at another networking event, or learning about the group through some other channel. Chances are you don't know many people but slowly you will through interaction. Getting to know the members will take place via a one-to-one setting or in a larger social atmosphere. This is very similar to groups on LinkedIn. Often each group has an introduce yourself section. Make sure you take some time to learn about the groups before jumping in and posting.
The groups will have leaders that began the group and others that help patrol the posts. These people make sure that boundaries are not infringed upon. The groups are places to post your blogs, ask a question or answer a question. In this way you can learn about the members. If there is a particular member you would like to know better your can privately email them within LinkedIn and request a connection siting your similar group as the point of reference.
It is important to spend some time reading the posts to allow you to see the flavor of the group, understand the heart-beat if you will, and decide if you want to stay. I joined a large group of professional authors and editors because I wanted to learn from their collective wisdom. There were some notable and accomplished individuals in this group. After reading many posts and commenting on a few questions myself, I decided this group was not for me. The members spent half of their time correcting the punctuation and grammar of each of the posts and arguing about the nuances of the parts of speech the rest of us could care less about knowing. I kid you not.
Other smaller groups I have joined for information have been very informative. I have made some great friends, gained clients, and found wonderful radio show guests to interview. I do not post my interest in interviewing guests, but nonetheless I look for authors who would be a good fit for the format of my show within the group setting.
This may sound like it takes hours of time. At first it takes some time. I set up my email to send me a condensed weekly digest of the groups postings. These come into my inbox and I read them by scanning the topics of the reference, or opening the email and scanning the topics quickly. If something is of interest I click the link and it takes me directly to the discussion. Here I can read the posts and the comments or comment myself. I keep my time on the groups that I frequent to a minimum.
It took some research, but I now know where the groups with the most interaction for my chosen profession or niche market reside. I leave some groups and add some groups on occasion as time permits. This is a way to span the global or local market. I have joined Southwest Florida marketing groups on LinkedIn as well. At some point you may want to consider beginning your own. But, that is information for another article.
Friday, May 28, 2010
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Create a Google profile at Google.com/profiles
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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.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Linked In: The Story the Next Level of Networking
You may be comfortable with blogging, know how to use Facebook to connect with friends, family and customers and love the ease and convenience of using Twitter. Yet, for many LinkedIn is foreign territory best left for the marketing executive or those with a full time staff.
Well, if truth be told, LinkedIn is my favorite platform by far. It surpasses Facebook for quality connections, Twitter for informal chats and giggles, and Blogging for lead generation and follows. Why? Because LinkedIn is truly the cream of the crop when it comes to executives, high-level decision makers and those who are serious about the professional world of business.
Who is on LinkedIn? The demographics appear to say anywhere from those in the $80-$100,000+ category. These are many business owners but I have met my fair share of entrepreneurs, business owners, consultants, coaches, authors, publishers, and executives in mid-management and beyond.
The entire idea behind LinkedIn is building relationships and that is the corner-stone for those making the most impact on this platform. People who give value, no matter where on or off-line usually have a large following. The idea of LinkedIn is similar to attending a networking meeting. Instead of walking up to the person and introducing yourself, you ask a friend to handle the introduction. In this way, your friend or acquaintance can vouch for you giving more value to the introduction.
In the next few weeks we will cover some of the ways to improve your LinkedIn profile, content and most of all how to get connected. We will also discuss the value of obtaining good referrals, inviting your friends and learning about group activities. If you have a particular question about LinkedIn let me know and we will address these in the upcoming weeks.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Getting More Blog Traffic
More Traffic to Your Blog
by Felice Gerwitz
So, you have a blog. You took the time to format, check and double check those keywords. And you find that you don't have any blog traffic. How do you get people flocking to your blog? Advertise. How?
The Problem:
Many people approach blogs in the opposite way that they approach other business ventures. No one would think about opening a store front and then letting people know about it. There would be all kinds of promotions, grand-openings, announcements, and/or print ad campaigns to let people know about your new business. It is no different online. One of the best was of getting more traffic to your blog is by advertising, and I don't mean click ads although they can be effective, they are costly. Yes, you need a blog in order to advertise it, but once you do, all your other social network and print ads need to be in place.
The Solution:
Let your facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social network followers know about your blog. Use blog widgets to allow your readers to send the information about your blog, easily to their social network sites.
Twitter and Facebook users are always looking for good content for their followers. A blog post that is a good read will be happily tweeted by your followers. Create a link so that the reader can easily do this with a push of a button. There are all types of add ons for your browser that make this easy. We will discuss some of these application in future posts on using social networking.
Other Quick Ways to Get More Blog Traffic
- In your signature line in emails.
- On your business card
- Letterhead stationary, brochures
- Website
- In your newsletter
- Print Ad
- Banner ads
- Forums
- Responding to other blog posts
- Article writing
- Social networking
- Plaxo
- Youtube
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Social Media: Networking Online
Part 1
Mastering Time:
Time is the number one commodity we own and the most valuable. In order to run our businesses and become the most efficient we need to master the time-monster. It eats away at so much of our day. I think the last time I heard someone say, “Time just goes so slowly,” was a childhood friend as we awaited the approach of Christmas. We all want to learn short-cuts, what works, and how to minimize our time online and get more bang for the buck!
Social Networking: Time Thief
As I determine the biggest time robber in my daily life the finger squarely points at social networking, online. Several years ago everyone in my business (I’m an author), jumped in squarely with both feet and took off running. Some of them stumbled, shook off the dust, and took off again. Others sat right where they fell and decided never to get up again. I took the cautionary and scholarly approach, I studied. Not only did I study social networking for almost two years, keeping up with the head dizzying trends, but I joined several social networking membership sites. The old adage you get what you paid for was correct. I received much for the thousands of dollars I invested.
Wisdom in Your Approach to Social Media
What I learned was to be cautious, to be smart, and to be on the cutting edge. One of the things, surprisingly missing from my classes, was to be a friend. Yes, value was mentioned, in “value laden posts”, or “value driven offers”, but none of the classes I took really discussed the nuances of being a friend, first and foremost. All of marketing boils down to one important ingredient: relationships. We like doing business with people we trust, products we like, or helpful individuals.
Be a Friend First
If you learn nothing else about the business of social networking, please know that being a friend and being trustworthy should come foremost in your dealings. No one would believe the marketing ploy with headlines blazing, “Hi! I’m Trustworthy! Give me Your Money!” Yet, everyday we see posts from people wanting us to join a membership site, purchase an eBook or opt-in to one more mailing list (giving our overtaxed email address and name) to receive a worthless eBook product. Unfortunately, these people have given all online marketers a bad name.
The Big-4: Blogging, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
In the next few posts we will discuss the nuances of social networking and etiquette, online. We will discuss what I term the Big-4. For me they are Blogging, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you don’t know what they are, go ahead and study them. I also urge you to proceed with caution. Remember, the internet is a great place but news travels fast. You will want to set up some precautions and check those security features on you online accounts. If unsure it is better to be cautious.
Here are some tips I have gathered lately about creating a Blog. If you have not entered the world of Blogging but have a website you will want to see if you can enable an RSS feature. Without becoming too technical, this is a way for your information will be updated and sent to subscribers. Feed features are one of the key reasons blogs are so powerful. Your information (if worthwhile) can be accessed easily by readers.
Your Customer Base
A blog is a place to point your customers so they can get to know you. In the arena of social media we are told to not even try to sell unless you have thousands (yes, thousands) of contacts. To begin to attract more customers, you should make sure your blog includes:
Keyword rich content: give the search engines something to find that is keyword specific
- Content that is informative, entertaining, or at the very least contains value
- Be Social: let others know about your posts via social media connections, do not go overboard
- Keep your content unique, this is very important, don’t plagiarize
- Keep your focus narrow but don't be narrow focused: you can talk about different related topics but make sure it reflects your mission statement or marketing plan
- Your calling card: your blog reflects Y*O*U…make sure it shines
- Applications: use them or loose them. If you aren’t using the apps that your blog has available to you, you won’t be driving traffic the way you should.
- Learn: After two years I know how much I do not know. Take at least fifteen minutes or more each week to learn more about social media, and share it with a friend
- Be a Friend: this means post a response on this blog and others, email it to a friend and help to propagate the message.
- Follow a Blog, visibly. Help the numbers by following other blogs
Next Post: Blog Basics, time saving devices
Felice Gerwitz
Speaker, Author, Publisher, Consultant to Aspiring Authors
http://www.InformationInANutshell.com
http://www.MediaAngels.com
http://www.MediaAngels.com/socialnetworking