6 Steps to Social Marketing Success with LinkedIn

1. Social Networking

Few contact databases search and obtain results without social interaction. LinkedIn gives your business the tools to deepen current relationships and learn about new ones, including business opportunities.

LinkedIn is continually keeping you aware of changes in your connections and alerts you to new links being made. These indicators often signal opportunities to congratulate colleagues, help them find new strategic positions, or learn about new connections.

This constant flow of social information is helping you to actively manage and expand your potential social marketing audience. Important components in a LinkedIn marketing strategy.

2.Contact Management

LinkedIn is centered on the theory of social networks. These relationships start with a core database of contacts and can quickly evolve into a powerful LinkedIn marketing strategy. The secret is activating that initial base of relationships.

LinkedIn allows you to quickly import nearly any digital address book and match that with existing LinkedIn members. This immediately starts your engagement campaign. You can use LinkedIn to manage your contacts, routinely communicate, and trigger opportunities.

Share news on events you are holding or attending and share with your connections. Utilise events to engage clients. Invitations can also be sent to your LinkedIn network, which will give you an opportunity to meet face to face if they decide to attend.

3. Opportunity Research and Indexing

Opportunities are really the main aim of LinkedIn. It is designed to facilitate opportunity research. LinkedIn gives you easy tools to search and segment not only your network, groups but also the community at-large.

Peering into specific industries, companies, and niches is as simple as an advanced search.

LinkedIn also allows you to make your own profile information available for search engines to index. LinkedIn profiles receive a fairly high PageRank in Google, providing a very effective way to influence what people see when they search for you.

4. Social Marketing

Building connections in LinkedIn is about constructing a premium audience for your business marketing. Your profile and activities with LinkedIn are immediately available for all LinkedIn users to see and have the potential to attract enquiries and buyers to your business.

Some clever strategies to fully leverage your marketing with LinkedIn:

• Responding to LinkedIn Questions, as well as posting your own
• Visiting targeted profiles with privacy settings off, it is like leaving your business card behind
• Request connections and referrals from your existing network
• Always reply to an invitation to connect and offer to help in anyway you can. Or why not offer to meet face to face
• Use Groups to connect with people, professionals really enjoy networking and it’s a good way to share your expertise and learn best practice

5. Lead Management

Every connection in your LinkedIn network is a potential lead. Actively managing them becomes much simpler with a tool like LinkedIn. Connections themselves are opting in, updating their contact information, and guiding you, with their activity, to what really motivates them to action.

Watching your LinkedIn dashboard is like being a fly on the wall as your network of opportunities work to find answers and solutions to their challenges. Think of it more as an opportunity dashboard. This concept allows for you to wait for the perfect opportunity to gain new business and this is your social marketing strategy in action.

6. Lead Nurturing

Not every connection or contact is ready to buy. That is why LinkedIn is so important to your social marketing strategy.
Traditional internet marketing can eat into your budget very quickly through regular activities promoting your latest offers and incentives. LinkedIn allows you to keep in constant contact with everyone in a steady lead nurturing campaign, trickling your social marketing presence, and then alerts you to researching or buying behaviours.

How is LinkedIn working for you and your business? Share your sucess and comments here.

Related articles

• Who’s viewed your LinkedIn profile? (customerthink.com)
• LinkedIn to Let Marketers Use Slide Shows in Ads (socialtimes.com)
• Here’s What LinkedIn Can Do With Pulse (allthingsd.com)
• Don’t Get Too Personal on LinkedIn (hispanicbusiness.com)
• Social Media Newsfeed: LinkedIn SlideShare Ads | Social Ad Disclosures (socialtimes.com)

Top PR & Social Media Trends for 2013

Here are 6 big trends set to shape PR, marketing and brand communications in the year ahead.

1. Personalisation

If there’s one keyword for communications in 2013, it’s personalisation. This is not just about customisable product options or dialogue-driven social media streams but real one-to-one communications thanks to the mass generation of sophisticated measurable data that is now available.

What does this mean? that communications can offer relevant content delivered to the right target audience, increasingly in real time. It’s about being more precise with messaging off the back of greater understanding of who your consumers are, what they’re looking at, where they’re going and ultimately what they want.

A recent study by Accenture states that; 61% of shoppers say they’d swap privacy for personalisation, and this is the year to jump on that. Add other words like “mobile” and “context” and it’s a trend that feeds through all of the rest of this 2013 list too.

Burberry is an example of a brand already experimenting with personalisation. It sent personalised invitations to consumers for them to watch its spring/summer 2013 show, then embedded a panel of their Facebook friends alongside the live stream to encourage further sharing. Expect more of this to follow, but with greater focus on automation, behaviour triggers and ever-increasing real-time relevancy.

 

2. Social sophistication

In 2013 consumer engagement via the social space is likely to be more sophistacted than ever before.  The rise of sites like Pinterest and Instagram over the past year, not to mention Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn have all heavily impacted every industry. There are still some who are lagging behind, but there is no doubt those who are not engaging within the social space by the end of 2013 will be missing out.

It is expected that this will be the year that social media is met with greater consideration from the boardroom (if it’s not already), alongside the more experimental approach that’s often taken. That’s not to say spontaneity will be by any means irrelevant, but that content strategy will be fine-tuned across the platforms that actually achieve results.

For some that might mean streamlining social presence, for others it will be about treating each platform more distinctly. This will not only maximise scale but enable meaningful brand KPIs (key performance indicators). Either way, integration will be the keyword in this space as social gets increasingly weaved throughout the user experience, across web, email and mobile channels, as well as in-store. The result will see more effective campaigns with higher engagement and longer-term consumer loyalty.

3. Big data

Behind the increasing call for personalisation is of course the data that enables it. As insight and analysis becomes more cost-efficient, not to mention more sophisticated, companies are gaining deeper understanding of how their consumers engage across all touch points. No longer is the term “big data” just about volumes of numbers and statistics, but details that can actually be tied to individuals.

The amount of global digital information created and shared grew nine fold to nearly two zettabytes (that’s two trillion gigabytes) in the five years to 2011, according to market intelligence firm IDC. That figure is expected to be just shy of four zettabytes in 2013, and nearly eight zettabytes in 2015. 2013 looks set to be the year companies figure out what to actually do with the information, and accordingly place it more centrally in their communications strategies.

The focus therefore is on process and action, and due to newer technologies, on real-time responses too.

4. Real-time bidding

Data is also enabling greater audience targeting and automated (or programmatic) buying of online display ads. Known as real-time bidding (RTB). This is where ad impressions are bought and sold one at a time, based on the user and their browser, and within the time it takes to click on a page. The result creates an efficient and important way to create relevancy for consumers.

In other words, marketers such as Amazon and eBay (both big users of RTB already), are no longer just buying banners on specific sites but targeting consumers across the internet based on their profiles and behaviours. It’s about personalisation and scale again.

Backing from both media buyers and publishers (including Facebook with its new ad exchange, FBX), is leading to enormous growth. According to a report from eMarketer, RTB accounted for 13% of all US display advertising spend in 2013, more than triple that of 2010, and a 98% increase on 2011. Growth for

2013 is expected at 72.4%. By 2015, it will account for a quarter of the display market in the US. The inclusion of mobile and video in this space is also expected to significantly increase spend.

5. Pictures

The rise of infographics, photo sharing, and visual storytelling will push PR pros and their clients to deploy messages visually in order to compete in a crowded content market. All Things D reported that in August, smartphone users spent more time on Instagram than on Twitter for the first time since Instagram launched in 2010. This is indicative of a broader shift toward visual content in the digital space. As the old saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words”; more important, it might also be worth your customer’s attention.

6. Reputation and Crisis Management

As everything social grows, crisis management and online reputation management are key areas of focus for business. The past year was riddled with examples of organisations/businesses with no clue on how to conduct themselves during a crisis situation. Reputation and crisis management is not new, but with brands adopting social media as a large part of their communication with customers and audiences, corporate mishaps that could once be hidden or buried on the back pages of newspapers, can now trend as hashtags on Twitter.

A lack of preparedness and a propensity to outsource scheduled, canned social media posts can land a business/organisation in very hot water. Handle your brand with care. People expect businesses/brands to have a handle on the temperature of topics affecting popular culture. If high profile events have caused distress or irreparable harm, people do not want to see brands ignorant or unaware of current affairs. Nor do people want to see brands trying to capitalize on vulnerable parties. Empathy and sensitivity are proving essential for smart brands going the distance these days.

What about you?

Are any of these trends among your communications plans for 2013? Is your current website, blog or online store able to be viewed on mobile platforms?
Have you secured your Instragram name and account? Do you have a crisis communications plan?

Have you got any examples of brands already promoting their brand or service in a personalised way?
Are you still ignoring Twitter and hope it will go away?
What trend intrigues you and how can you tap into that in 2013 that grows your business?
Look forward to hearing your stories in the comments below.

3 Changes To Expect From Linkedin’s New Look Personal Pages

Have you seen LinkedIn’s new look company pages? Well they’ve also thrown in a new look for personal pages too. Over the next couple of months everyone should have a new look profile. I was particularly eager to make the change so requested to be placed on the waiting list for the roll out and loving my new look!

So, what’s new?

Well, the changes aren’t massive – arguably the profile components are the same, however the new profile is more organised, and put together in a slicker and simpler visual layout putting greater focus and emphasis on content and connections – two elements that are the basis of Linkedin’s overall success.

However, one thing I noticed straight away and missing already is the elimination of a link to your Blog. For me, LinkedIn was a really effective way of driving traffic to my blog. This doesn’t stop you updating your status with blog posts though and driving traffic this way.

Here are 3 changes you will notice to your profile:

#1 Telling Your Professional Story

The new design will helps you make a much more powerful first impression – which in business, on or offline is incredibly important.

The layout allows you to showcase your skills, accomplishments and current projects you are working on, as well as added endorsements from your connections in areas they find you most competent.

Including current projects adds a valuable dimension to your otherwise static page; allowing connections to really see what it is you ‘do’ and how you do it. This is not only vital for potential recruitment opportunities; but for the ultimate in networking and showing off not just your company, but your own skills and creating new business opportunities.

#2 Discovering and Finding New People and Opportunities

The new profile provides members with a stunning visual depiction of the people and companies in their network.  Gone are the days of combing through your connections to see if you have anything in common with the prospects that you are trying to reach. The new profile shows far more rich and visual insights on not only the people, but the companies in your network.

This not only will increase engagement with those in your network; but these insights make it easier and simpler to discover people outside of your network, quickly establishing a common ground to make more meaningful and profitable connections.

Finding this ‘common ground’ is a fantastic first step in building not only personal contacts; but professional ones too – heading in the right direction of making long term connections with mutual interests.

#3 Engaging with Your Network

Finally; the new Linkedin Page has increased opportunity to engage with your community, with recent activity displayed at the top of your profile allowing you to stay current with what everyone (company or contact) has been sharing or doing.

Edit your news feed with exactly what you want to see, and tailor stories and updates to your specific interests.

The newly redesigned profile page gives you much more ways to customize and showcase your professional identity.  The new Linkedin Profile is overall very well designed in providing an improved social networking experience all round.

Related articles

• Xactly Named One of the Best LinkedIn Company Pages of 2012 (prweb.com)
• Meet the New LinkedIn Profile: A Better Way to Connect and Build Relationships (linkedin.com)
• SocialMotus Social CRM tool Announces Integration With LinkedIn Groups and Company Pages (prweb.com)
• How to use LinkedIn (kapilchoudhary.com)
• LinkedIn Makes it Easy to Add Video in New Profile (gloriarand.me)
• New LinkedIn Profile Lets Users Visualize Relationships & Gain Better Insights (marketingland.com)
• New LinkedIn profiles take cues from Facebook (nbcnews.com)
• LinkedIn revamps profiles with personal branding in mind (zdnet.com)

Measure You Social Media Efforts

Businesses everywhere are still grappling with how to measure their social media efforts. So, 2Communicate have produced a short publication Measure Your Social Media Efforts to help businesses effectively measure their ROI and effectiveness of their social media efforts.

Overview 

Virtually every business today acknowledges how important social media is for business whether it be generating brand awareness, offering a customer service tool or keeping in touch with customers and particularly brand influencers. It is also all to familiar that many businesses acknowledge how difficult it is to measure its actual ROI and quantifying its effectiveness. According to a CMO survey in March 2012, social media spending by business is reaching new highs. As a matter of fact, in the next five years, marketers said they expect to spend almost 20% of their total budgets on social media. That’s triple the current level.  The business world understands it has to start to understand how to measure social media’s ROI and its effectiveness if it is to really embrace it as part of its Marketing strategy. With over 900 million users on Facebook, 100 million on Twitter, and LinkedIn approaching 120 million and Pinterest, became one of the top ten social media sites in less than a year. So looking at these stats businesses just can not afford to ignore the power of social media.

Hootsuite or Tweetdeck

Both Hootsuite and Tweetdeck are regarded as two of the most popular social media management tools. My clients are constantly asking me which is the best one. I do have a favorite, but what works for one, doesn’t always work for another and I think you have to decide what you want your management tool to do for you.

Both offer excellent easy to use features, but in order to find out which might work best for you I thought it would be useful to identify the pro’s and cons of each management tool by going through some of their features.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a web-based application and a Social Media dashboard tool, which allows you to integrate various social networks including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Foursquare and WordPress.

Hootsuite has over 300 million users, boasting several awards including “Best Twitter app”.

Hootsuite offers free versions where users can manage up to 5 profiles and it doesn’t limit you to one account per network. Hootsuite also has a free mobile app which is very easy to use.

Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is a Social Media dashboard tool, which allows you to integrate various  social networks. Tweetdeck is a software programme that you can download onto your desktop.

Tweetdeck is currently the most popular Twitter application. Tweetdeck also offers a free mobile app.

Cost

One of the benefits of social media is that’s its free, so bringing cost into the equation can often put many off. Social media management tools offer a helping hand in managing your accounts so if cost is the deciding factor over which one you choose its important to understand what cost is involved.

TweetDeck is completely free to use, whereas HootSuite offers both a free version and a paid pro version for just under £4.00 per month.  Both free versions offer almost identical benefits, whereas with HootSuite Pro the cost per month provides you with significantly more useful features including bulk scheduling, Google analytics and Facebook Insights.

Multiple Accounts  

Both TweetDeck and HootSuite will allow you to add multiple social media accounts so you can manage everything at once. TweetDeck combines all of your accounts into one window whereas HootSuite provides a tabbed interface with a tab for each account you add.

The special feature you will find with HootSuite is that you can also add multiple users because of it’s browser based interface, allowing you to create posts from multiple users and even allowing them to add a signature to each of their specific posts.  This is particularly beneficial if you are using social media as a customer service tool.

Scheduling

Having the ability to schedule update is a real advantage for anyone utilizing social media. It offers you the satisfaction that you are proviign your auidnece with regular updates and information, however you will not be answering any questions or comments.Scheduling is often one of the main reasons for people wanting to choose a social media management tool, and particularly something my clients often identify as something that would help them.

Both TweetDeck and HootSuite (free version) allow you to schedule posts in advance. HootSuite Pro (paidf version) allows you to bulk schedule updates using an imported CSV file (comma separated values). The bulk scheduler allows you to import 50 updates at once but is rather tricky to figure out how to use it.

Tip. Use the Ctrl+F/Replace function in Excel.

User Interface

User interface is one of the most important features for anyone when choosing a social media management tool. If you can’t use it and it’s not nice to look at, then you just won’t use it. Both Hootsuite and Tweetdeck are very easy to use platforms and both pleasing on the eye. Both take a bit of getting use too, but once you have familiarized yourself with the features you should be up and running in no time. TweetDeck allows you to see everything all in one window, but could prove a bit overwhelming. I personally think the interface could be better suited for personal use.

Hootsuite has a browser based interface downloadable for Mac, Smartphones and Tablets. Hootsuites Social media profiles are viewed in tabs, rather than all in one window, so you can. The tabbed interface might be more suited to a social media manager who is managing multiple accounts that would need them to be separated for organisational purposes.

Update Multiple Social Networks

Both Hootsuite and Tweetdeck allow you to update your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles regardless of whether or not you are using the free or paid version.  However, HootSuite’s features allow you to update your Facebook Business and Brand Pages , Foursquare and WordPress.com accounts.

The verdict…..  

In my opinion,from a user ability perspective Tweetdeck is easier but the functionality offered by Hootsuite is better.

Having the ability to load Tweetdeck direct from your desktop is very appealing as is having everything all on one screen where you need it. However in my opinion Tweedeck is geared more towards personal use. If you are managing multiple accounts Tweetdeck just doesn’t seem to cut the mustard and offer that extra insight that I look for when managing my clients social media accounts and identifying their ROI.

Both versions of Hootsuite, have almost all the features that TweetDeck has. However Hootsuite offers some basic social analytics, to see the impact of your messages and Tweets and for me, this is a very powerful advantage when managing social media for business use. HootSuite Social Analytics provide you with a better view of your social spaces with  powerful analytics tools, more ways to measure, and customizable reports, all of which are designed to track campaign success and help you understand the return on your social media investment.

I don’t personally think one is better than the other and there are pros and cons for both, but I think depending on your preferences and needs one might be better than the other for you.

Do you use either of these apps and which do one do you use and why?

Sarah Michelle Willis 

Follow me on Twitter: @SarahMWillisPR 

 

 

Related articles

• RPM Announces Hootsuite Partnership (rpmgr.com)
• Twitter’s API Crackdown May Be Bad For Users, Even If They Never Notice (techcrunch.com)
• Hootsuite acquires Seesmic as Twitter shifts focus to the enterprise (zdnet.com)
• Seesmic has been acquired by HootSuite (seesmic.com)
• The Future Of Social Media : Contextualizing Tools, Campaigns And Mobile [Editorial] (thetechnologycafe.com)
• Twitter tools used by the world’s top brands (royal.pingdom.com)
• TweetDeck comes to the iPhone (reviews.cnet.com)
• How to Use Twitter Hashtags for Your Business (openforum.com)
• It’s All About The Money: Twitter Partners With HootSuite (programmableweb.com)
• 16 Desktop Apps to Help You Tweet (blogworld.com)

How To Promote Your Business

Whether you are selling a service or a product, just by having your own website or shop alone won’t bring you customers and business through the door. You need to promote it.

Business promotion is an essential part of running any successful business. You should spend at least an hour a day on business promotion or planning how to promote your business (and more is better, if you can fit the time in.)

So where do you start?

There are potentially hundreds of different ways you could promote your new business but many can be timely and costly, so it’s a good idea to decide which ones will work best for you and achieve the desired results for your business. Marketing and Promotions is not a ‘one size fits all’ and what works well for one business, may not necessarily work effectively for yours.

This article aims to help you get started and help you grow your business/ service by deciding what might work best for you.

16 ways to promote your business: 

1. Have you got a website?

For those with no idea about websites, this suggestion might seem extremely daunting. However a website is one of the most fundamentally important tools you should have to promote your business. One thing you do need to remember though is that just by having a website, it doesn’t mean that everyone is going to start flooding through the door as you need to direct your target audience to your site. There are a number of ways you can do this via some of the further steps below.

Aim for a clean easy to navigate design that tells people what you are offering and emphasises your professionalism and skill. Give your potential clients as much information as you think they will need. Remember, this is most likely going to be your first point of contact with a potential client, and could determine right away whether or not the contract goes to you.

2. Tell everyone you know about it. 

Tell everyone you know about your business; what it does, what it offers and who it will benefit. I’m sure family, a few friends and friends of friends will also benefit in some way from your business. Is there anything you could offer them for free as an intial introduction? By offering this sort of introduction, word of mouth should then follow. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways of promoting any business. As long as its positive! If you have made a marked change to their lives or their own business somehow through your business, then they will definitely share this with their friends and family.

3. Buisness Cards, Leaflets, Brochures, Postcards…

Many may think business cards are a bit old hat now when we have so many different social media sites to choose from that we could promote our business through, but there is nothing more engaging and personal than meeting with a potential customer when out and about at a chance meeting and ending the conversation with ‘here take my card, if I can be of any help in the future, please get in touch.’ Far more professional than scribbling down your details on a piece of scrap paper that they kight just throw away in error when they get home. It also demonstrates how serious you are as a business and a professional.

Get your business cards into the hand of anyone who can help you in your search for new clients. Call your friends and relatives and tell them you about your business. Visit local business and community centres and leave a stack behind.

You could try and be original and creative with your business cards to. Offer them something a bit different to stand out from the crowd. Take a look at these Top 100 really creative business cards.

Leaflets and brochures are also still very much welcomed when providing an extra source of information to someone looking to find out more about a product or service. Customers are much more savvy these days before they buy and want to go away and think about whats on offer. If you have a leaflet, brochure or something that they can take away and look at that appealing and eye catching that they aren’t just going to throw away then you have an ample opportunity to tell your audience what your business can do for them. With any of your messages or communications, always think about the ‘whats in it for me’.

4. Social Media Networks

Facebook, Twitter, linkedIn, Instagram, PinInterest… the list goes on. But make sure your business is on at least one. They all offer different ways and different advantages to promoting your business. You will need to think about whether you want to sell things, offer a service, share ideas, and provide content or advice or whether you want to just update your customers on your business success.

Put videos of your product or service on YouTube and other video-sharing and slide-sharing sites.

Here are some great tips on getting started with Social Media networks and deciding what might work best for you.

5. Talk to all the vendors from whom you buy products or services.

Give them your business card, and ask if they can use your products or service, or if they know anyone who can. If they have bulletin boards where business cards are displayed (printers often do, and so do some supermarkets, hairdressers, etc.), ask if yours can be added to the board.

6. Attend meetings of professional groups

Attend groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Clubs, or civic associations. Have business cards in a pocket where they are easily reachable. Don’t forget to ask what the people you speak with do, and to really listen to them. They’ll be flattered by your interest, and better remember you because of it.

7. Pay for membership in groups that attract your target customers/ join free groups on LinkedIn.

If the group has a website and publishes a list members on the site, make sure your name and website link get added. Once it is added double check to be sure your contact information is correct and your website link isn’t broken.

LinkedIn offers thousands, if not more, professional groups that you can get involved with and spread the word about your business and its service. You must get involved for them to be of any value, however don’t just ‘sell, sell, sell.’ Share a bit of your personality, what you do and provide guidance where you can. accredit yourself as a professional within your area. People buy from people, not business.

8. Look for something unusual about what you do, and publicise it. 

Send out press releases to local newspapers, radio stations, cable TV stations, magazines whose audiences are likely to be interested in buying what you sell. Be sure to post the press releases on one or more online press release services, too, being sure to include links to your website. To increase your chance of having the material published, send along a photo (but not to radio stations) with your press release.

9. Blog or write an article that demonstrates your expertise in your field.

Send it to newspapers, magazines, and websites in your field that accept submissions from experts. Be sure your name, business name, phone number, and a reference to your product or service is included at the end of the article. If the editor can use the article you get your name in print, and possibly get your contact information printed for free, too.

10. Publicise your publicity. 

Whenever you do get publicity, get permission from the publisher to reprint the article containing the publicity. Make photocopies and mail the copies out with sales letters or any other literature you use to market your product or service. The publicity clips lend credibility to the claims you make for your products or services.

11. Offer to be a speaker.

Industry conferences, volunteer organizations, libraries, and local business groups often need speakers for meetings. You’ll benefit from the name recognition, contacts and publicity.

12. Offer a free, no obligation consultation 

Show people what you can do before they buy to people you think could use your services. During such consultations offer some practical suggestions or ideas and before you leave ask for an “order” to implement the ideas.

13. Free gifts, otherwise known as merchandise 

This method does take a little investment to start with but can yield good results if it’s done properly and is correctly targeted. Invest in some branded sweets, pens, USB sticks, fridge magnets etc to promote your business. The advantage of these items over traditional business cards is that they are more likely to be kept, plus your contact/business information generally remains on open view, as opposed to being in a wallet, purse or filing system somewhere.

This will help get your company name and details out to your target audience, and will hopefully get your name and details seen by the right people.

14. Hold an open day or event

Can you hold an open house or event to promote your business? Invite some other local businesses along including press and journalists and tell them all about your business. Provide them with some entertainment and feed them and let them try your business if possible so they can see it for themselves. They will remember you for this and could be the start of a long term working relationship for future positive and ongoing PR opportunities.

15. Create your own app

This isn’t all that difficult to do and there are a number of companies out there already offering this service. You don’t necessarily have to offer an app that actually sells your service or product but perhaps uses it in some way to remind customers of it. An example could include a game which uses your product as part of that game.

16. Competitions 

A really age old, great way of promoting your business and giving something back to potential customers. It is also a great way of building up your customer database with their details, as with their permission you can then go on to send them future communications about further services or products.

These have only touched the surface on the many opportunities you can utilise to promote your business, but these aim to get you started and get your business out there into the big wide world.

Related articles

• How to Make Professional Business Cards (answers.com)
• Networking Tips for Business Owners: 5 Ideas for Promotional Products That Will Get You Noticed (amsterdamprinting.com)
• Why Business Card is Important to Every Business? (businesscardsizes.wordpress.com)
• Small Business Marketing Magic – 10 Ways to Use Customer Testimonials (amsterdamprinting.com)
• 5 Top Offline Marketing Tips for Online Businesses (firmology.com)
• The Advantages of Making Business Cards Online (ruralstops.blogspot.com)
• 3 Creative Ways to Market Yourself Without Social Media (thesocialschoolhouse.wordpress.com)
• 10 Commandments of Correct Business Card Marketing (printrunner.com)

Want to be front page news?

Ever wondered why some businesses are always in the news and others are not? Why did they get that interview instead of you?

Well it is not necessarily anything to do with you or your business, your knowledge or your ability. It is your approach.

So many of us think it’s as easy as just picking up the phone to a journalist/ blogger or magazine and telling them our story. It’s not.

Here are 50 Top Tips with ways you can increase the likelihood your business will be in the news, and perhaps front page:

1. Don’t just build relationships with the media when you need them. Start now. Invite them along to your company and tell them who you are, and what you have planned over the next 12 months. Find out what they have planned. Use Social Media to widen your contacts. Connect with potential reporters on Twitter and LinkedIn.

2. Use Social Media as a research tool and monitor the Twitter hashtags of your community. Often reporters chat with the public on Twitter, and you can respond to comments they make or provide them with information they might be asking for.

3. Compliment a reporter via Twitter on a story he or she did.

4. Introduce yourself to reporters at big public or chamber of commerce events. Pass along your card, but don’t try and sell them the idea on the spot. Just be helpful, friendly and memorable.

5. Invite reporters out for coffee, and find out about what interests them and what they want to write about. Ask them what stories work well and what stories don’t.

6. Comb through Muck Rack to find regional or national reporters on Twitter who cover your industry.

7. Congratulate them on their birthdays, or other personal news they post.

8. Leave comments at the end of online stories/ blog a reporter did. How did it make you feel? Was it useful?

9. Sign up to Response Source or Gorkana (there is a subscription charge.) E-mail notifications are sent to your inbox daily, full of reporters needing experts for stories. Jump on those that fall within your expertise.

10. Visit city council meetings in your town. Typically there’s a reporter sitting around bored, that you can build a relationship with.

11. Have you got your own company blog? Why not write a positive blog post on your blog highlighting a story of theirs, and e-mail them the link.

12. Search publications with smaller and more targeted readerships, such as a local business weekly publication. These media outlets are often run by just two or three people, and they will often welcome a guest column or article by you because it will save them the time of tracking down a story on their own.

13. I would always reccomend spending some of your PR budget on an online press release site early on in your campaign. Online press release systems are more useful for building inbound links, or if you’re already a recognised expert with a track record, and there is a major news event breaking that you could discuss.

14. Listen to radio stations and watch the news, especially on weekday mornings or on Saturdays. Try and connect with one of the regular show hosts. Often they will highlight an event or camapign a buisness is doing if the public might find interesting.

15. Ask reporters if they wouldnt mind you adding them to your email list. Then provide them with education-based content marketing to sell them on doing a story about your business.

16. Point reporters to blog posts you think they would be interested in, whether on it is your own blog or others. It validates you as an expert.

17. Always say yes without fail if a reporter wants to interview you that day, even if it has to be over the phone or while you’re on holiday. Reporters work 24/7 so its important to remember this and be flexible.

18. Offer occasional suggestions of angles you think would make great follow-up stories, especially that don’t have anything to do with your business. Nearly all stories are parts of a long-running issues, so reporters always need additional story follow-up ideas.

19. Be a source for stories that fall within your expertise by letting reporters in your industry know you’re available when they need a source. This can lead to regular spots on the news.

20. Be freindly and be helpful. Remember reporters have a job to do.

21. Offer to connect reporters to experts you know . If the reporter sounds interested, follow through with the offer.

22. Always keep a camaera handy for photo opportunities. However shoudl you be taking picture of people you will need to ask permission if you are looking to send these out.

23. Offer to write a column on your specialty for the online website of a media site, or for a print publication in your area.

24. Define the story in just one sentence, so you can easily explain it to the media in 10 seconds.

25. Provide visuals…a story comes alive with pictures.

26. Focus on selling the benefits to viewers, listeners or readers first. It’s about their perspective of what you’re selling, not about how wonderful it would be for you to sell your product or service.

27. Include people in your story pitch. Many owners try to pitch their company’s achievements, but stories that sell normally have people involved, not just the company.

28. Create a video of your story and post it on YouTube. Pormote it via twitter and LinkedIn and send a clip or a teaser to reporters. It could become viral.

29. On occassion you could provide ‘exclusivity’ to a story. Some reporters want to have stories first.

30. Always porvide releavtn contacts and interviews for anyone concerned in your story, it will add value to your story.

31. Provide actual users of your service or product for the media to interview. Their testimonials will boost your credibility.

32. Use survey results and highlight trends where your business could be included or relevant. Nearly every trend can be turned into a story.

33. Can you get a customer or client to reccoemnd you and provide an interview?

34. Always include quotes in any story. Dates are also useful, however can often mena a story is time senstive.

35. Copy relevant documents for the reporter, to provide at the interview, or prior to it.

36. Always include a summary/ the hook of what the story entails int he first paragraph of your press release.

37. Give reporters notice before a story or event (2 weeks is sufficient.)

38. Have relevant background research at the ready (just in case). Reporters will ask for it if they need it.

39. If your story concerns a location travel to it and make the reporter aware of this, you coudl even offer to pick him up?

40. Choose to meet in person if an option, because the journalist will then get to know you better, and you’ll have more time with him or her.

41. Hop onto current/ breaking news relevant to your industry as a chance to put yourself in the local news. Act as a thought leader/ expert.

42. Pitch local stories to local reporters. National attention typically springs from local attention first.

43. Act enthusiastic. If you don’t seem excited about the idea, neither will they.

44. Express why this story is of value to your community. If it’s a story you wouldn’t bother reading yourself, no one else will.

45. Avoid pestering reporters keep trying every few weeks to pitch an idea, until a reporter gives a straight yes-or-no answer to your idea. Or ask them what they want or are currently working on, can you tailor your story?

46. Write short e-mails to reporters and provide bullet points. Your e-mail is much more likely to get read by busy reporters if it’s short and to the point.

47.  Ensure your e-mail subject line doesn’t just state ‘press release’ provide a question that will make them want to read your email. Always think about the ‘whats in it for me’.

48. Hold a fundraising campaign and provide a story for the reasons for your cause.

49. Propose being on a local talk show, early morning or drive time show, which often gives you 20 minutes to highlight your business or a campaign you might have.

50. Do not just cold call reporters and do not leave voicemails if they do not answer. Warm up the reporter by sending an e-mail first, with a paragraph spelling out the bottom line of the story idea, then follow up with a call a few hours or a day later, depending on the urgency of the story.

After reading all of these tips you may be wondering about your return on investment. Keep in mind that the value of news coverage can be tied to any of your key performance indicators, including sales, memberships, referrals, website traffic and so on. You just need to make sure you set appropriate objectives at the outset and incorporate a way to measure success.

Do you have an example of something your organization did recently that successfully attracted the media attention?

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LinkedIn for business

Social Media is a powerful tool. LinkedIn is just one of many Social Media tools out there that you can use to build and extend your professional network.

LinkedIn is a dedicated online network for professionals and an extremely resourceful tool for job hunters, recruiters, professionals and business owners. Users create profiles (essentially your own personal website, within the site) and connect with other users. Inviting them to be a contact. A contact who accepts is called a ‘connection’. They can communicate through messages, create groups and company profiles, and ask other members of the community questions.

Quick Facts

• As of August 2, 2012, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network  with more than 175 million members in over 200  countries.
• 62% of LinkedIn members are located outside of the United States
• LinkedIn members did nearly 4.2 billion professionally-oriented searches
• Typically users are aged 30 upwards
• Professionals of any industry and entrepreneurs use LinkedIn as a powerful resource for both information and business.

I have put together a list of Top Tips for you to utilise LinkedIn more effectively, enhance your profile, increase your profile optimisation and increase your business.

How LinkedIn Can Help You as a professional

LinkedIn allows you to:

• Get online recommendations for your professional abilities and your character
• Get introductions to potential clients, employers, partners or colleagues in your field
• Post and search available job postings placed on the LinkedIn website by members.
• Join various groups that align with your interests and participate in discussions. Having a group in common with another LinkedIn user is one way you can invite others into your network.
• Create an online resume that can work for you all the time. LinkedIn will help promote you as a professional in your field and sector.
• Act as a CRM tool where you can tailor your communications according to your audience. Sending specific information to specified connections accroding to how you choose to ‘tag’ them.

Top Tips 

1. Always use a photograph, it puts a face to a name.
2. Use a persuasive headline. Something that captures who you are in a short sentence using key words so you show up in key word searches. Don’t just use your latest job title.
3. Fill out your profile completely to earn trust and offer as much information about yourself as you can
4. Get recommendations. This will also increase your chances of being found as well as give people more reasons to chose you.
5. Use widgets to integrate other tools, such as importing your blog entries or Twitter stream into your profile.
6. Do market research and gain knowledge with Polls.
7. Share survey and poll results with your contacts.
8. Answer questions in Questions and Answers: show expertise
9. Ask questions in Questions and Answers to get a feel for what customers and prospects want or think.
10. Be sure to list ALL of your experience and skills.
11. Publish your LinkedIn URL on all your marketing collateral, including business cards, email signature, email newsletters, web sites and brochures, so prospects learn more about you.
12. Grow your network by joining industry and alumni groups related to your business.
13. Update your status examples of recent work.
14. Link your status updates with your other social media accounts.
15. Combine your social media approach: when someone asks a question in Twitter, respond in detail on LinkedIn and link to it from Twitter.
16. Use the search feature to find people by company, industry and city.
17. Start and manage a group or fan page for your product, brand or business.
18. Research your prospects before meeting or contacting them.
19. Share useful articles and resources that will be of interest to customers and prospects.
20. Always introduce yourself when making new connections, don’t just use the standard template. You wouldn’t just hand someone a buisness card and walk off. Use the same principle as you would if you were meeting them in person.
21. Write honest and valuable recommendations for your contacts..
22. Post your presentations on your profile using a presentation application.
23. Check connections’ locations before traveling so you can meet with those in the city where you’re heading.
24. Use the notes section on each of your connections profiles. You can’t possibly be expected to remember every detail about all of your connections and this provides you with a way to remember why you are connected and prompt you to follow up with them. These are totally private and only you can see these notes.
25. Ask your first-level contacts for introductions to their first-level contacts.
26. Interact with LinkedIn on a regular basis to reach those who may not see you on other social media sites.
27. Set up to receive LinkedIn messages in your inbox so you can respond right away.
28. Link to articles and content posted elsewhere, with a summary of why it’s valuable to add to your credibility.
29. List your newsletter subscription information and archives.
30. Find experts in your field and invite them as a guest blogger on your blog or speaker at your event.
31. Post discounts and package deals.
32. Need a hard copy of all of your connections contact details? Use the import connections tab and produce a CSV file. You will never have anyone’s contact details out of date.
33. Import vCards and contacts from other applications to find more connections.
34. Export your contacts into other applications.
35. Buy a LinkedIn direct ad that only your target market will see.
36. Post job listings to find qualified talent.
37. Look for connections related to a job you want.
38. Generate sales, find vendors, develop partnerships and grown your business through connections.
39. Tag your connections accroding to their sector, skills or industry eg. estate agents, press or accountants.
40. Stay active. Your profile should not sit still.
41. Oh and stay safe… change your password on a regular basis and avoid security breaches!

When joining networking sites such as LinkedIn, you have to take the time to create productive profiles and pages. Put the time and effort into all the above enhancements and your LinkedIn profile will be much more effective.

Staying connected with the outside world isn’t the only benefit LinkedIn has to offer. Learn how to use LinkedIn and you might find yourself more connected than you could have ever imagined.

Let us know how you get on!

Related articles

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