Category Archives: Social Media Marketing

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.

So you decided to take the advice of thousands of Internet marketers and create a Twitter account for your business. After picking the perfect Twitter user name, and tweeting your heart out about your business, you’ve noticed that your Twitter followers aren’t increasing. In fact, you lost a few followers since the last time you checked. You were tweeting (Twitter terms explained here) interesting information about your business and products, so where did your followers go? Unfortunately, the problem is, you probably weren’t engaging them through interesting and informative tweets. Remember, if all of your tweets are sales-y or promoting your business, you won’t keep your followers’ attention. When done right, Twitter can increase brand awareness, customer loyalty, help improve your business and convert followers to customers. So how do you do this? Here’s 5 steps to improving your Twitter following and getting the most out of Twitter.

1. Use keywords in tweets. Think about your target audience. What keywords would they use to search for your business? If your business is a Mexican restaurant in Long Beach, CA, then use the keyword “mexican restaurant long beach.” Or focus on other long-tail keywords like “best happy hour long beach,” or “best chicken street tacos long beach.” These are things your potential customers might be typing in to find your business. Tweets are now indexed in Google so when people type keywords in the search engine, your tweets may show up. This gives you the chance to gain more followers and boost your SEO.

2. Appeal to people who don’t already know who you are. If you want to gain new followers and turn them into customers you need to gear your tweets (and keywords that you use in those tweets) toward people who don’t already know who you are. That means you shouldn’t only use your business name; describe what your business is. Make sure your Twitter profile makes it clear what your business does. Tweet coupons or promo codes for new followers so they can come to your business location and receive a discount or giveaway.

3. Reference other industry professionals. Another point of view will breathe refreshing new life into your tweets. Retweet an industry professional (not a competitor) to show that you’re paying attention to what’s going on in the industry and you aren’t threatened by other expert sources; you’re simply trying to ensure that your followers stay educated.

4. Use a link and a call to action in every tweet. Use ow.ly or bit.ly (websites used to shorten links for Twitter) to make links that lead to pages on your website or other reliable sources (not competitors). This will direct people to your website and help to convert followers to customers. You can also track clicks on ow.ly’s and bit.ly’s so you will know which tweets enticed followers to click in order to write more like them.

5. Be creative. Tell stories, share YouTube videos, share tools and tips that can help your followers, tweet about news and trends and share quotes. Just remember to write something worth reading. If your tweet were to end up on a billboard tomorrow, would you be 100% proud of it? If the answer is no, don’t post it.

Following these tips will help you gain more followers and get the most out of your Twitter experience. Engaging your followers will help turn them into customers who will then recommend your business to others.