Post Valuable Content That Drives Action (Part III of III)

Posted on September 25, 2011 by socialmedia22

This is the last part of our blog series:  How to Use Linkedin to Grow your Business.  Part I went over how to optimize your profile and Part II talked about how to grow your networks.  Now that you have a Linkedin profile and people (connections as Linkedin calls them) now what?   The answer is simple:  post valuable content that drives action (but don’t be salesy!).

We all know it – or should know it by now – content is king!  Bringing real value to your target audience and customer base is a must if you want your website or blog to succeed.  I learned from a recent training with Brendon Burchard that you want to deliver content that is so valuable you can say, “Geesh, I could sell this or people would pay to know this information.”  That’s how you know you have value.

This post will discuss two parts:

1) Creating valuable content.

2) Creating content that drives action.

If you make sure to do both 1 and 2, then you will get more website traffic and more followers/fans/subscribers, which means more business for you.

Creating Valuable Content

#1 Here are some tips to creating valuable content:

  • Provide powerful and insightful information with a clear focus.
  • Create content for each target audience.
  • Use examples, stories, case studies and statistics.
  • Create titles that grab one’s attention!

o    Ask a question
o    Spark their curiosity (don’t put full description in title – make them want to read more)
o    Present title as a problem based question – not solution based

  • Segment target audiences and create web pages that speak to them, press releases targeted towards them, etc.
  • Develop a site personality – This is HUGE!  Create a distinct, consistent and memorable site.  Consider tone of voice in content.
  • Insert photos, graphs, charts, polls, videos, audio – need more than just text!  Content is everything you see – catch people’s attention.
  • Make the content interactive – wikis, calculators, quizzes, “Ask the Expert,” trivia, “Your Expertise Q&A,” How To Checklist, etc.
  • Give opportunity to post comments/feedback – this will give ideas for content the prospect wants to read.
  • Showcase a client’s story.
  • Remain focused on buyers and their problems.
  • Always be answering the “So what?” – why should people pay attention?
  • Post interesting articles that your target audience would enjoy.
  • Set Google Alerts for keywords within your industry to learn what is being talked about, what is in the news, etc.  Then build off this for your content.
  • Follow blogs that your target audience would follow.  Repost interesting blogs or build off from what people are commenting on.  Find the current buzz!
  • Check in with your target audience – ask them for feedback, post a poll, etc.
  • Giveaways, contests, or any other appealing content will draw in more followers, fans, etc.
  • Make content benefit based – what’s in it for them (your target market)?
  • Stay away from product driven messages.
  • Always think of the wow factor – what makes your company unique – not just better.
  • Always have a call to action; what step do you want your readers to take next?

#2 Creating Content That Drives Action

Now that you have content that brings value to your target audience and customer base, make sure it drives action as David Meerman Scott would say.  So what does this mean?  Everything you write, a Linkedin post, Facebook post, a Tweet, a newsletter, an article, a blog, and even content for a web page should all have a call to action.  For example, if you write a blog post on Top 10 tips for PR, at the end you could have a call to action that drives action like this:

Do you have another PR tip?  Please comment below or keep the conversation going on Facebook!  Post your tip on our wall with your name and website URL.

This call to action does a few things:

1.    It drives traffic to your Facebook page.

2.    It encourages interaction on your Facebook page; the more activity on your Facebook page with fans the better.

3.    Gives others a chance to showcase their expertise and link back to their website; and you could even learn something new!

Check out this blog from Entreprenette to learn unique call to actions that work for other entrepreneurs:

What’s Your Call to Action?

This concludes our series:  How to Use Linkedin to Market Your Business.  Part I taught you how to optimize your profile, Part II discussed how to grow your networks, and Part III showed you how to post valuable content that drives action.

Do you have another tip or a comment?  We want to hear from you!  Please comment below and make sure to link back to your website.  Also follow Social Media 22 on Twitter and we will follow you!

Godspeed.

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How to Grow Your Network on Linkedin

Posted on June 24, 2011 by socialmedia22

Part II of III:  How to Use Linkedin to Market your Brand

In the previous post we gave tips on how to create and optimize your Linkedin profile and also gave some action steps to take.  Click here to review the previous post:  How to Create and Optimize your Linkedin Profile.

On to step 2:  Grow Your Network

Know your Target Audience First

Before you start randomly connecting with members on Linkedin, you should first take the time to know what type of professional you want to connect with.  Complete this worksheet to develop your target audience profiles:

Worksheet:  Developing Target Audience Profiles

Linkedin Rules:  You Can’t Connect with Just Anyone

Linkedin has a rule about connecting with other professionals; you essentially have to know them or be in the same group as who you want to connect with.  When you ask a member to join your network you have these choices to choose from:

Create a Custom Invite

Your invite to connect is your first impression, so personalize the message rather than using the computer generated invite.  Briefly state that you want to connect and the reason (300 characters or less including spaces).  Important:  The invite message is not the time to market your product or service; an invite should give a compelling reason why the other member should be a part of your professional network (collaboration with likeminded professionals, potential mutually benefiting opportunities, looking for guest bloggers – whatever the reason may be).  Here is a blog I found helpful:

11 Ways to Personalize a Linkedin Invite

Keep in mind that people can respond to your invite by choosing:

  • “accept”
  • “ignore”
  • “report as spam”

You obviously do not want to be reported as spam, so don’t be salesy in your invite and be genuinely interested in connecting with a quality contact.

It’s not About Quantity!  Seek Quality Connections

When I receive a Linkedin invite I do not approve the connection without first scanning the member’s profile.  This is important for a couple reasons:

1) You want to connect with quality professionals that you can potentially work with even if it’s just to collaborate or give referrals; it’s not about how many connections you can get, it’s about the quality and connection potential you have with each person.

2) After you approve the request to connect, it’s important to send an email message thanking them – this is where you should restate something on their profile that is interesting to you or relates to what you do, etc.  Making the connection personal is essential if you truly want to build substantive business relationships that could help you (and them) make more money.

Linkedin Search Box is Your New Best Friend :)

You can search for people, companies, groups, job postings and more using Linkedin’s search feature.  Depending on what you are searching for make sure the appropriate choice is selected as shown below:

Ways to grow your network

1. Find people you already know! As discussed in the previous blog post, you can grow your network by adding those you already know.  Export your contacts from your CMS system and email accounts to import into Linkedin Connections. Go to Connections Tab, select Add Connections from drop down menu and then click on the link that says “Import your desktop email contacts.”  From here you can easily upload a CRV file (excel) as shown below:

2.  Search for Companies you know! Linkedin has recently added Company Pages where you can search for company profiles.  Often employees of the company will be connected to the company profile; follow the companies you know and then request to connect with its employees.

*Create a Company page for your business in order to be found by others too.

3. Join Groups.

Industry and Target Audience Specific Groups

You can join up to 50 Linkedin Groups so join 50 groups.  Yes, you should join a few groups that are specific to your industry to connect and collaborate with professionals within your field, but join more groups that your target audience are members of.  For example:  One of my clients The Woombie has this awesome patent on a unique baby swaddle.  Some of the groups she could join on Linkedin are:

Moms Extraordinaire 3,272 members!

Kids Stuff:  New baby and children’s products 2,095 members!

When Karen (invetor of the Woombie) joins these Linkedin Groups, she has access to the thousands of members; members that are likely interested in connecting with The Woombie and learning more.

Further, being part of a group allows you to deliver valuable content to your target audience through group posts (will cover this in part III).   Join in on conversation threads and post helpful information; create a name for yourself in each group…eventually people will start to recognize you.  Tip:  Create a signature line for every post or comment you create in a group:  name, company, website URL or Blog URL, and Twitter handle.

Open Networking Groups

There are “open-networking” groups such as “LION” and “Open Networkers.”  The members of these groups are open to connect with anyone on Linkedin hence the term “open networker.” Joining one or two open networking groups may be a good idea so that you can have access to a variety of professionals.  By joining a group like this however, you are also saying that you are an open networker and will connect with anyone.  If you choose not to connect with someone from an open networking group, make sure you do not mark as spam so they will not get docked by Linkedin for you not accepting their invite.

Tip:  When inviting someone to connect that you do not know, state the reason why you would like to connect with them in your invite.

4.  Add your Linkedin Profile link to your email signature line, newsletters, white papers, articles, eBooks, or any other communications you send to your target market.  Ask people to connect with you on Linkedin and make it easy for them to click an icon or link to do so.

Conclusion…

Overall, growing your network is an important step in order to effectively brand your company (or yourself) on Linkedin.  Before you can deliver valuable content, you must first have connections to reach out to; connections made up of people in your industry, but – most importantly – connections that are within your target markets.

If you have not completed your action steps from Part I, please do so before we post Part III:  How to Create and Optimize your Linkedin Profile.  Linkedin will help you build a recognizable brand and will bring in business if you follow each step.  Feel free to post any questions in the comment section below and I will help you!

Your Next Steps:

  1. Export all contacts from CRM system and all email accounts (repeated step from Part I) so may already be done!
  2. Complete Worksheet:  Developing Target Audience Profiles
  3. Create a generic invite that you can use (300 characters or less); then when you are ready to send an invite, personalize it according to the person you are trying to connect with.
  4. Write a list of search terms associated with your industry and target market.
  5. Use Linkedin Search to find people and companies you know.
  6. Enter keywords from your list in Linkedin Search (select “Groups”); join 50 groups…a few industry specific, a couple open networking groups, and mostly groups your ideal prospect would be a member of.
  7. Once the group approves you, start posting value in each group and join in on the conversation!  Don’t forget to create a signature line with name, company, URL, blog, and Twitter Handle so if a member likes what they read, they can easily get to more information! (more in Part III on posting valuable content)
  8. Download Linkedin icon or create a link asking people to connect; link icon or link to your profile page.  Say the words:  “Connect with me on Linkedin.”  Use this link in emails, newsletters, etc.

Do you have any other strategies to grow your Linkedin network?  We want to hear from you!  Post your comments below.

Also, follow us on Twitter @SMMSEO22 to be entered to win $100 gift card for any of our services – drawing is at the end of every month and the winner will be announced on Twitter.

Part III coming soon:  “Post Valuable Content that Drives Action”

Godspeed.

 

 

Posted in Linkedin, marketing, online marketing | 4 Comments

How to Use Linkedin to Market your Brand (Part I of III)

Posted on May 25, 2011 by socialmedia22

Linkedin is a professional social media platform that showcases you as an individual – as a professional. Linkedin is an essential network to be a part of because you are your brand. At the end of the day, it’s your core values and beliefs that shape you as a professional and ultimately shape your company or career. There are ways to promote your business as well via features such as Linkedin Groups or Linkedin Companies, which we will talk more about in Part II.

So what is Linkedin? Linkedin began in the living room of co-founder Reid Hoffman in 2002, but officially launched in May 2003. At the end of the first month, Linkedin had a total of 4,500 members in the network. Approximately one million new members join Linkedin every week (equivalent to a professional joining the network faster than one member per second!). Currently, Linkedin operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 100 million members in over 200 countries and territories and there were nearly two billion people searches on Linkedin in 2010….http://press.linkedin.com/about/

So, as you can see, Linkedin is a well established platform that can help promote yourself professionally – and more importantly, give you the opportunity to collaborate with likeminded individuals within your industry or expertise. Also, through posting valuable, helpful posts and comments, you are likely to reach your target audience as well. Give value first and strive to be a thoughtleader in what you do and then your target market will follow. A great example is Hubspot. They give free eBooks and webinars that are so valuable that I follow them daily to get great marketing tips and information. Because I see such value in Hubspot, I refer clients to them, re-tweet their content and mention them in articles, blogs, etc. – just like I am now…this is the power of value at work!

I digress…

Now how can you use Linkedin to Market you or your brand? Here are 3 easy steps to take to get you started:

1. Create and optimize your profile.
2. Grow your networks.
3. Post valuable content that “drives action” as David Meerman Scott would say.

Step 1 – Create and Optimize your Profile:

Linkedin measures your profile completeness. This should be at 100%, and this is easy to do. Make sure all the sections are completed with the most information you can give, while keeping it neat, organized and to the point. It is helpful to have a copy or your resume while completing these sections because you will be asked about prior work history, education, specialties, interests, and more. Also, when posting past work experience, elaborate on each position to include what you accomplished and did at each company – simply listing a past position and company doesn’t paint the whole picture. Think of Linkedin as your canvas and make it as vibrant as you can.

After completing the basic background information, write a summary about what you do, your purpose, and what your goals are. The summary is often the first thing someone looks at when they view your profile so this is your first impression. Don’t be salesy! Talk about your passion, your story of how you came about doing what you do, state what makes you unique in what you do and describe what type of professionals you are looking to connect with. One or two pointed paragraphs is sufficient – not too short and not too long. You will also be asked to list your specialties – be creative to add some personality to your profile! Yes, list your services and areas of expertise, but also think outside the box of what you really excel at (e.g. connecting business professionals, avid golfer, notorious networker).

Here are some other Linkedin tips:

Tip #1 You are able to list three websites. I would try to post three websites if possible: company website, your blog, your Facebook Fan Page, YouTube Channel or any other website connected to you. Also, there are limited ways to add SEO to your Linkedin profile, but one way is to use keywords for the website link name. Under edit my profile, go to add website, select edit and then choose “Other” which will allow you to insert the name of the website link you want to show up on your profile. For example, instead of your profile saying “My Company Website” – add keywords instead such as “CCP – Retirement Planning.” There is a 30 character limit so choose your keywords wisely.

Tip #2 Customize your Linkedin URL. You are assigned a URL, but this can be edited to represent you better. I recommend using your first and last name for search engine purposes or your name and company if it’s not too long.

Tip #3 Complete your personal information to include a way to contact you! I have come across so many profiles that do not have contact information, which drives me bonkers! I understand the privacy concerns, but there are ways to keep your phone number and email private while still providing a means of contact. I personally list my office phone number and email, but this is my preference. At the very least set up a gmail email account that you can use for Linkedin (and use this gmail email for all other social media accounts too in order to keep everything in one place). You can add contact information under Edit Profile -> Contact Settings.

Tip #4 Add applications! You can feed your blog into your profile, can add Slide Share to post PP slide presentations, Amazon reading list, Company Buzz Plug-in, Travel, Events, Google Presentation, Polls, and more! These applications not only jazz up your profile, but you are able to offer more information about you and your brand. You can add applications by going to Edit Profile -> Add a application.

Tip #5 Upload a profile picture.  There has been some good debate on whether we should upload a picture of ourselves on Linkedin.  I can respect those who want privacy, but people do business with people they like and trust so a profile picture gives your profile more credibility so upload a nice headshot photo of yourself.  Select a professional looking photo of just you.

Tip #6 Get recommendations!  Linkedin has a feature where you can ask and give other members recommendations.  This will help bring your profile completeness to 100% and it builds credibility.  Another person’s testimony is great marketing!  Try to give a few recommendations and ask for some in return.

Get started today!  Take the next week to complete the following next steps:

1.  Export contacts to an excel spreadsheet unless you have Outlook.
2.  Print your resume to have handy. 
3.  Logon to Linkedin by clicking here.
4.  Start building your professional profile – remember…you are your brand!

Stay tuned for next week’s blog about Step 2 – How to Grow your Linkedin Network.

Godspeed.

Was this helpful? Can you think of any other helpful tips? Please post a comment below – we’d love to hear from you :)   Also, follow Social Media 22 on Twitter (@SMMSEO22) and tweet this blog to be automatically entered to win a $100 gift card for any of our services!  Drawing will be every month and announced on Twitter.

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Three Steps to Optimize a Web Page

Posted on May 17, 2011 by socialmedia22

Optimize web page - SEO

Web page optimization is an important step in search engine optimization (SEO). Today it is all about content.  What value can you offer?  Is your website content helpful?  Does it show your expertise?

Equally important, does your content speak to a specific target audience?  Have you effectively used personalization and customization (Learn the 60 ways personalization is changing marketing. Download Hubspot’s Personalization Revolution.) Yes, it’s important to drive traffic to your website, but if your content is not effective once the prospect arrives, the “sales” cycle will end there. 

Conversion rates are important to track – where are people clicking?  How long are they staying on a certain web page?  Are they leaving a web page without clicking on your offer or call to action (CTA)?  Install Google Analytics for free to start tracking this important data to better understand what web pages are working and what is effective.  Special offer:  Free Google Analytics Training.

Here are three steps to optimize your web pages:

1.  Define your target audience(s).

2.  Create valuable content that drives action.

3.  Use simple SEO strategies to make sure your page is fully optimized.

Now let’s expand a bit on each step…

STEP 1

Defining your target market consists of building profiles for each group you market to – be specific when developing each profile in order to be most effective with your message.  After deciding the groups you want to market to, learn about them!  It’s not what you think is best, it’s what your audience thinks and wants.  What are they saying about your product or service?  What are their problems?  What solutions are they looking for?  Use Twitter, Blogs and forums to learn what your target market wants and needs….then build your valuable content around what you learn.  Here is a worksheet to help you define your target audiences:  Developing Target Audience Profiles

STEP 2

Each web page should speak to a specific target audience on a specific topic.  Valuable content is helpful and useful – content that will make your web site visitors want to share on social media or bookmarking sites (easily add social bookmarking links to any page with Add This).  For example, David Meerman Scott gave an excellent example that I really like and will paraphrase:  A Tire Company should not write content about discount tires, upcoming sales or anything of this nature…instead if they wrote about “Top 10 Road Safety Tips” this is valuable content that will help their target market gain important knowledge and in return the tire company is indirectly promoting themselves as experts.  When I need tires I will remember the value I got from this particular tire company and more than likely will contact them to inquire about tires.  At the very least, if you have valuable content, the prospect will continue to follow you on social networks, will continue to subscribe to your newsletter, etc.  Creating a following is essential because they help you promote your brand in a way you cannot do yourself.  Here is a list of tips to help write valuable content:  How to Create Valuable Content

In addition to creating valuable content that speaks to a specific audience, each web page should also have a call to action to drive action and keep the prospect moving through the buying process.  For example, an Irish Pub could have a web page dedicated to the history of St. Patrick’s Day – then at the end of the content have an offer such as – “Click here for a free Irish food and drink guide.”  Then in the guide at the end list some specials, coupons, or ask them to follow your blog, or ask the reader to post their favorite Irish recipe on your FB Fan Page.  You get the picture – a call to action can be a free webinar, white paper or can be as simple as asking the visitor to sign up for your newsletter or connect with you on your social networks. The more creative you are and if you encourage interaction, the better your call to action conversion rate will be.

STEP 3

The last step is implementing some technical SEO tricks to optimize each web page which will help search engines properly index your page.  Here is a list of tips:

  • Select 2-3 keywords/phrases to use for your webpage.  Remember to use different variations of these keywords/phrases.  Each web page should use different keywords, which makes sense because each web page should be about a specific topic. (Free tool alert:  Use Google’s Keyword Analyzer to find what keywords people are using to search)
  • Use keywords specific to your web page in the title tag within your web page’s code (title tags should be 66 characters or less which is the amount of characters Google shows; Yahoo shows 100 characters, but keeping it short is best).
  • Accurately describe the content on the page in 1-2 sentences for the description meta tag – again within your website’s code (description tags should be no more than 200 characters to help show entire description in Google’s search results).
  • Use up to 50 keywords in keywords meta tag within your site’s code (aim for 200 – 500 characters).
  • Choose a web page title that uses one or two of the keywords – make this an H1 heading.
  • Use H2 headings as subheadings to break up the page making it easier for the visitor to follow and also use keywords in the subheadings that search engine spiders will pick up on.
  • Try to use 250 – 500 words per web page – this is ideal.
  • Do not overly use your keywords.  Keyword density should be about 3-4% compared to the rest of the word count. (Free tool alert:  Keyword Density Tool)
  • Search engine spiders pick up on bolded words so bold 3-4 keywords per web page.
  • Search engines spiders cannot read images so be sure to use descriptive keyword file names and also add ALT tags over images that also use descriptive keyword phrases.
  • Use internal links by utilizing anchor text. For example, if you mention Facebook in your content, make the word “Facebook” clickable to another one of your web pages that talks about Facebook in more detail.

Was this helpful?  We would like to hear your comments and tips!

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Welcome!

Posted on March 2, 2011 by socialmedia22

Thank you for visiting the blog of Social Media 22!  We are dedicated to providing valuable and useful information that will make your company shine!  Stand out from your competition with easy to do marketing techniques.  We specialize in Social Media Marketing (SMM), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), web development, email marketing and public relations.  Refer a friend to our blog and receive a custom review and personalized report detailing the opportunities you have to make your business better!  Thank you for following our blog – you will definitely have a positive and sunny experience!  Godspeed.

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