Blog - Local Splash

LinkedIn is a powerful social network of over 8.5 million experienced professionals worldwide. For business owners, it’s a great way to network with other professionals in your industry as well as connect with potential clients and customers. Here are 5 great ways to utilize the social media marketing tools LinkedIn has to offer your business.

1. Add connections. Once your profile is completed, use your email account to add connections on LinkedIn. Also use the LinkedIn search feature to find people you know, whether they are people you went to college with or colleagues, the more connections the better. Adding connections will increase your visibility which makes it more likely that people will see your profile first when they’re searching for someone to do business with.

2. Find 3-5 LinkedIn groups that are in your target market and join them. Participate in discussions so you can grab the attention of other members. This will not only get your business on people’s radar but you’ll also show members that you are an expert in your field so they will feel more comfortable working with you. Make sure to leave a link to your website (if relevant) when you respond to discussions.

3. Subscribe to LinkedIn Answers for your target categories. Try to answer one question every day until one of your answers is dubbed the “best answer.” Then post 3 a week until you get another “best answer” designation. Once that happens, you can post once per week. Using Answers on LinkedIn will make your profile more likely to be seen by other professionals and will help establish you as an industry expert.

4. Give recommendations for people you have worked with. Once you’ve written a recommendation for someone, ask for one in return. These testimonials will make potential clients more likely to work with you.

5. Improve your Google page rank. LinkedIn allows you to make your profile searchable in Google, Yahoo! and Bing. LinkedIn profiles receive a high page rank in Google so allowing your profile to be indexed in the search results will work to your advantage.
– To increase your profile visibility, create a public profile and select “full view.” Make it easier to send people to your profile by creating a customized URL that is your actual name.

Following these tips and using all the tools LinkedIn has to offer can help you connect and network with professionals in your industry for educational purposes as well as market to new clients in order to expand your business.

Social media is becoming more popular than ever and businesses are taking note. These days it’s hard to find a business that isn’t on Facebook or Twitter and there’s a reason why. When used properly, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube can be powerful resources for business. These networks provide a direct line of communication to your customer and target audience and help with brand recognition, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. So if you still think social media is just a pointless way to waste time, read on to find out how social media can help you get the attention of new customers and keep current customers happy.

Social media helps increase brand recognition. Since most of the population is already going to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, getting your brand name across those networks lets people know you’re around. If you haven’t begun creating an image for your brand, social media is a great place to start. You can do this by creating a fun YouTube video that entertains as well as informs and making your Facebook and Twitter pages into energetic online communities where your target audience can share with each other and your company. Social networks are meant to be places were people can, just as the name suggests, be social. This means that when one person becomes a fan and starts interacting on your page, their “friends” or “followers” will notice. This will help build your online community and in turn, increase your customer base and bring in more sales.

Social media helps build customer loyalty. Making your social media network a place where your target audience feels comfortable and entertained will make them more apt to do business with your company rather than your competition. People like to interact with other people or friends, not a big corporation. That’s why it’s important that your business speak in a more casual tone on your social media network. Humanizing your company will make people feel more comfortable which will make them more likely to trust and interact with your company. Then when your “fans” need your service or product, they will likely become more than just fans, they will become valuable customers. These customers can then recommend your business to others as well as become returning customers in the future.

Social media helps improve customer satisfaction. Social media networks allow for your company to directly interact with customers. Customers can post questions or concerns on your social media network and the company can answer them in a timely manner. This not only improves customer service and satisfaction, but it also saves your company money on long distance customer service phone calls. Social media also provides a forum for customers to voice their opinions on new or existing products. Also you will be able to ask them for suggestions to improve your product or service to better suit their needs. After all, you are in business because of your customers, so it is important to keep them happy by serving them the best way possible.

The power of social media can help your business in many ways. Whether you need to attract new customers or keep your currently customers happy, these techniques can help you grow your business and increase your profit. See below for an example of how one brand (Pura Vida Bracelets) is connecting with its customers on social media network, Facebook.

Pura Vida Bracelets posts its new merchandise on Facebook for its “fans” to see. The fans then interact with the posts, asking questions, sharing their opinions or just making a statement that they’ve ordered the product.

Link building is an important part of boosting your SEO and climbing to the top of the Google rankings. The more links leading back to your Website, the more people are likely to see your site and choose to do business with your company. Also, when search engines see that a business has a lot of links leading back to their Website, they view the business as more credible, thus rewarding the business with higher search engine rankings.

The higher ranking your listing can get in the Google results, the more business you will receive. As locals are searching for your services or products, your business will appear above your competitors and you will soon dominate the market in your area.

Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of all the link building strategies available to you? Here are the top 5 ways you can boost your back link numbers this year:

1. Write press releases. Writing and submitting press releases about your company’s announcements, events, new product offerings, accomplishments, etc. will not only let your target audience know what’s going on with your company, but it will also get you quality back links that last. It will cost your company some money to distribute your press release ($200-$300 at least) depending on which sites you choose and where you press release will be sent, but it is well worth it for the SEO boost press releases provide.

2. Utilize social media networks. Putting a link to your Website on your social media networks (Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, LinkedIn profile, YouTube videos, Foursquare, etc.) is a great (and free) way to boost your links. Also taking advantage of social bookmarking Websites such as Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Google Bookmarks, etc. also allows you to build links for free. Make sure to submit any press releases or videos to social bookmarking sites to maximize your SEO opportunities.

3. Get listed in quality directories. Local Splash submits your business listing to a variety of directories such as Google Places, Merchant Circle, SuperPages, Yahoo! Local, Yelp, etc. There are an endless amount of quality directories to list your business and most of them are free. Local Splash will also submit our clients to industry specific directories. For instance, Vast is a directory just for businesses in the auto and travel industry. Each directory your business is listed in provides one quality back link to your Website. Remember more quality back links equals better SEO and higher rankings.

4. Create a blog. If you don’t already have a blog for your business, it’s time for you to create one. Not only does a blog help you connect with your target audience and establish credibility within your industry, but it also helps with link building. Use keywords when writing and link those keywords to relevant pages on your Website. About 80% of blog visitors are first time visitors who found your blog when in search of specific information. That’s a lot of first time visitors that could potentially check out your Website and in turn, become clients. The fact that blogging helps with link building is simply an added bonus.

5. Write and submit articles. Article writing and submission helps with creating an online image, building credibility for your business and link building. Write expert articles that deal with tips and tricks of the trade or industry news and include a short description summary of your business complete with URL at the end of every article. Then submit your article to directories such as Ezine Articles and Article Dashboard to boost your permanent links.

If you haven’t begun working on link building for your Website, 2011 is the year to start. New Internet marketing techniques are developed every day and the power of marketing online is unlike any other. With the help of Local Splash, your business will be able to reach the top of the search engine page rankings in no time.