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Making Google+ Work for Your Business

October 3, 2013 by Rosemary Leave a Comment

By Brittany Thorley

Google+ is fast becoming a vital part of social media marketing for businesses of all sizes, yet still many professionals are unsure about what the social platform can do for their company and how they can get started with a business-focused profile that gets their name and ethos out there.

Despite launching in 2011, Google+ has surpassed the active user numbers of Twitter making it the second largest social networking site in the world. Back in May 2013, Google+ reported a total of 500 million registered users worldwide and with 235 million of those users actively updating their circles and looking for interesting information on a personal and professional level, businesses that aren’t utilising this platform are inevitably missing out!

But for those unfamiliar with this platform, how can you get started? We have compiled the essential steps for getting started with Google+, plus a few more top tips on how to make the most out of the platform to boost business, extend your customer reach, and get your company noticed by the people who matter.

Getting Started

Setting up your business page with Google+ couldn’t be easier! But before you begin you must create a personal profile; from here you can create a page for your business by simply clicking ‘create a page’ in the right hand corner of your profile. Setting up a personal profile will also enable you to claim authorship to enable you to gain influence and build authority.

Google+ will take you through the process of setting up a business page step-by-step. You can add your business type, tagline, profile photo or logo, website URL, social links and company details to personalise your business profile and make it identifiable to your target audience.

Posting on Google+

Once you have completed your profile, you can start adding existing contacts and posting to your profile. Like Facebook, you can share pictures, videos and links to let potential customers and clients get to know your business. When posting always think about what you want to achieve and how you want your brand to be portrayed in the public domain and your specific industry. Ensure all posts are as engaging as possible and convey your business’ unique selling propositions (either directly or indirectly) as well as occasionally promoting your products or services. In addition to this, keep posts personal and authentic.

Know Your Customer

When it comes to launching any social media marketing campaign, how well you know your customer can make or break your efforts, so make sure you are prepared and incorporate your customers’ wants and needs into your social media objectives. Before you start posting, devise a few ideas about what images, videos and links will be of interest to your customers and what offers and information will get them talking about your business.

Get Your Timing Right

It’s not just what you post that can affect your campaign’s success, it’s also when you post to your Google+ account. The peak times for sharing on Google+ are from 11am to 2pm and 7pm to 10pm Eastern US time, so focus your efforts on posting at these particular periods.

Use #Hashtags

Like Twitter, Google+ supports the use of hashtags to give you the exposure you need to the right followers. Insert simple and relevant hashtags in every post to ensure your social media interactions are targeted and sharable – who knows you may be trending very soon!

Author’s Bio: Brittany Thorley handles the social media and marketing activities for a range of businesses, including the Personal Statement Service, a student-focused company that provides writing advice and personal statement examples.

Thank you Brittany! Those are some great tips.
I’d add that the Google+ community, in particular, tends to reward exclusive content and well-thought-out articles, rather than simply posting a link to your blog posts or other social media updates.

Rosemary

Filed Under: Community, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, SEO Tagged With: bc, Google, social-networks, tools

Online Marketing Mentors to Follow on Quora

July 12, 2013 by Guest Author Leave a Comment

By Jessy Troy

Marketing has always been a core necessity of the successful business. But as the Internet has become the primary form of shopping for most people, the need to market in a web-specific fashion has increased. While the old and new way are similar, there are differences that have to be accounted for. Not to mention principles that are completely separate that have to be learned and utilized.

Quora is one of the best professional networks on the web. It is full of experts who really know their way around the online marketing field. Since Quora is, by nature, a Q&A site, it is a great idea to follow some of these experts. But who are the best?

That point could be argued, and everyone has their own opinion on who the true experts are. This is my personal list of must-follow Quora profiles in the world of online marketing.

Michael Lazerow

Michael Lazerow on Quora

You might not have heard his name, but you have probably come across his companies (of which he has had several) more than once. His first venture, University Wire, was a network of more than 700 university newspapers that were bought out by CBS. GOLF was bought out by Time Inc., and he has worked for big names like Saving Star. He doesn’t always update, but his answers are always worth reading.

Peter Hershberg

Peter Hershberg on Quora

Specializing in online advertising/marketing, Peter Hershberg is a powerhouse who funded many startups in his day. He is currently a successful angel investor, business owner, company adviser and a handful of other impressive titles that all trnaslate to him knowing his stuff. His answers are always incredibly informative and in depth.

Robert Scoble

Robert Scoble on Quora

Perhaps best known for his time at Microsoft, he is now the startup liason officer at Rackspace. He is also a video blogger, text blogger and technology genius. His Quora profile is well used, and he answers questions all the time. This includes online marketing, of which he is well versed on both a professional and personal brand level. This is one of the must-follow people for anyone interested in either marketing, or technology as a whole. There is a reason this guy is a celebrity in the tech geek world.

Gayle Laakmann McDowell

Gayle Laakmann McDowell

Less an expert in online marketing on a business level, Gayle is more of a personal branding and self-marketing guru. She teaching people how to deal with branding themselves on a busy and crowded market, including selling yourself in an interview. She also answers questions unrelated to the field, and is just a personable and interesting person. Well worth following for both her advice and her personal stories about her life, she balances information and experience well.

Joshua Stylman

Joshua Stylman on Quora

A business owner and angel investor, Joshua Stylman doesn’t answer very often. But his communications are always worth following, and he is just a good guy to have on your network. Experienced, successful and an overall down-to-earth guy, he has a simple way of thinking that still holds enough personal experience and opinion to take you outside the box in your own thinking. He is also a habitual upvoter on other people’s answers, and a proud New Yorker. What’s not to like?

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel on Quora

President of Twist Image, a company dedicated to digital marketing, Mitch Joel is one of Canada’s most influential social media users. He knows all about leveraging the web for marketing, and he is more than happy to share that expertise. He is one who is worth following of various social media sites, as he is more active on places like Twitter than he is on Quora. But keeping an eye on his answers is also a good idea. If you want a good read, check out his Six Pixels of Separation. It is part of what has made him such a beloved marketing guru, and launched him into industry stardom.

Do you know of anyone who belongs on this list? Who do you follow on Quora for online marketing advice? There are plenty to choose from. Let us know in the comments.

Author’s Bio: Jessy Troy is the self-made marketer blogging for VIP Realty, privately-owned business based business in Dallas. You can follow Jessy on Twitter as @jessytroy.

Filed Under: Community, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, marketers, Mentors, Quora

Writing a Company Profile in LinkedIn – Make It Short and Effective

June 20, 2013 by Rosemary 2 Comments

By Leslie Anglesey

LinkedIn is the leading social networking site for professionals. With over 200 million members (and growing), it is an excellent place for you to promote your products and services, find talent and share news and updates. If you’re in business, you should be taking advantage of this business-to-business resource.

If you want to motivate viewers to follow your business, you need to create a compelling profile. Here are some tips that will make your profile stand out from the pack.

Update your LinkedIn profile

1. List your most important product or service first.

Don’t make viewers hunt through the listing to determine what your company is all about. Make it clear from the outset exactly what your company sells, makes, offers, distributes, or does.

2. Avoid writing with jargon.

Write a draft of your company description. Go back and read it from the point of view of someone who has just clicked on the profile and who knows nothing about your company. Is the description clear and easy to understand? If you are left scratching your head wondering what it really means, then you need to go back and do some editing. For writing use short, simple language that talks directly to the person reading the profile, not above the person’s head.

3. Add an image to grab visitors’ attention.

The cover photo appears at the top of the home page of your LinkedIn company page. Make sure that you choose one that is visually appealing and appropriate to what your company does. The idea is to entice viewers to learn more about your business. Be sure to include a message in the image that describes what your company does in a few words; your summary doesn’t appear until the bottom of the home page.

4. Give your description from a unique angle.

The “About Us” portion of the LinkedIn profile will be at the bottom of your home page, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take care to present your company in an interesting manner. What sets your business apart from your competition? Share something about how it was founded or a noteworthy accomplishment. Let your visitors see the human side of the business. People like to buy from people, not corporations, and if you can let them get to know your company, they are more likely to become customers instead of browsers after reading your profile.

You want your company profile page to be found through relevant searches, so be sure to use appropriate keywords in your About Us section.

5. Fill in your products and services tab.

This is the section of the profile where you can include product images and descriptions, as well as links where customers can buy from you online. Fill in this part of your profile to highlight what your company has to offer. By writing your advantages you can show potential customers the benefits of your products and services directly from your LinkedIn profile.

6. Add a career information page

LinkedIn is a great resource for finding talent for your business. If you are currently looking to expand your workforce, add a Careers page to your LinkedIn profile. Job seekers are using this resource to find opportunities and you could be missing out on some great candidates if you don’t have a way to connect with them.

7. Include company updates.

Give people a reason to check out your company profile by writing some interesting information. You will want to create some content that your followers will find noteworthy. Has your company reached a sales goal, won an award, or introduced a new product? Write it on the LinkedIn profile page! These are the kinds of events that you will want to share with your followers.

You can also write testimonials from customers or product or service reviews on the profile. Feature them on the profile page so that new visitors can see your company in a positive light from the beginning. You’ll want to make a positive impression, and it’s a way to fill in space without having to keep creating content yourself.

Writing your LinkedIn profile should be an ever-evolving process. Don’t let it grow stale. Feature different pages so that your visitors can see some fresh content when they visit, you’ll be able to use this resource to help your business grow.

Have you buffed up your company LinkedIn profile lately?

Author’s Bio: Leslie Anglesey, PhD, is an affiliate professor who loves to dedicate all her free time to writing. She is an editor at http://www.essaytigers.com and is always helping others to bring passion to their writing.

Image: Ideagirlmedia via Flickr CC.

Filed Under: Community, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Personal Branding, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, LinkedIn, profile, social-media

The Official Liz Strauss Fundraiser is Finally Live

June 11, 2013 by Rosemary Leave a Comment

We’re happy to announce that the official fundraiser for Liz Strauss is finally live! We think we’ve put together some unique items and consultations for you to bid on. The fundraiser will run from 6/11 until 6/25. It will run in two parts with a new set of auction items each week. This week’s auction items include:

  • Signed Guitar by ALL 5 Members of Twisted Sister
  • One Ticket to the SOLD OUT World Domination Summit
  • One-on-one consultations donated by: Jonathan Fields, Gary W. Goldstein, Chris Brogan,Lewis Howes, Jeannie Walters, Andy Crestodina, and Terry Starbucker

Next week we’re featuring such items like a consultation by Steve Farber and a business library put together by Scott Stratten! The auctions on those items will start 6/18. More details soon!

Want to help but would like to donate directly to Liz rather than bid? You can do so directly through Paypal here: Donate

Please help us spread the word about the fundraiser by sharing this post and using the hashtag #LizFund on Twitter.

Again, thank you all for the support and know that Liz appreciates all the many kindnesses that have been sent her way in the last few months. Thank you so much for participating and helping us give back to Liz. Have fun and good luck with the auctions!

Filed Under: Community Tagged With: bc, Community

Call for Donations for Liz Strauss Fundraiser

May 30, 2013 by Rosemary Leave a Comment

Earlier this month, many of you had the opportunity to attend the tenth SOBCon event in Chicago. It was a fantastic weekend, and we were thrilled that SOBCon’s co-founder Liz Strauss could join us. As many of you know, Liz has been dealing with throat cancer for the last few months. So it was wonderful to see her out and about, proving that Liz doesn’t back down from any challenge.

Following that event, a group of SOBCon folks and other friends who couldn’t be in Chicago had an idea. Liz has given so much to so many in the community, what if we did something for her?

Liz’s diagnosis of Stage 4 cancer last fall came with both physical, emotional, and financial burdens. To fight the cancer required extensive chemo and radiation. On top of her treatments, Liz also suffered a fall that broke her hip and shoulder. As a result, Liz was confined to the hospital from December through March. She has been through the crucible.

So while a recent CT scan and laryngoscopy both showed no signs of cancer, Liz is still dealing with the fallout of cancer treatments and broken bones. Liz’s ability to travel and speak professionally, her primary source of income, has been placed on hold as she continues to heal. For the next few months, Liz finds herself in the incredibly frustrating situation of needing to work, but not yet having the physical strength to do so.

So when we asked the question, what can we do, here’s what we came up with. We can’t help Liz heal faster, but we can ease the financial stress. To that end we’re creating an auction fundraiser with all proceeds from the fundraiser going to Liz.

We’ve received some wonderful and generous donations. In fact, a few items that came in were so generous that it just confirms how much people love Liz and want to show their support. And based on the response we’ve gotten to our initial request for donations, we wanted the community at large to have the opportunity to participate and show their support, too.

If you have an item that you’d like to donate for the auction fundraiser, please fill out this form on Podio.

The auction will launch in early June, and we’ll provide more details shortly on when and how you can participate. We’ve also received requests that we make an option available for people to donate directly. That donation link will go live in early June, too.

Again, thank you all for the support and know that Liz appreciates all the many kindnesses that have been sent her way in the last few months.



Our webform is powered by the best tool to manage projects in the business: PODIO.

Filed Under: Community, Motivation Tagged With: bc

Five Lessons Small Businesses Can Learn From Liz Strauss

May 17, 2013 by Rosemary Leave a Comment

By Shonali Burke

Like many bloggers in the PR and marketing realm, I’ve been in awe of Liz Strauss ever since I became aware of the “name bloggers” in my professional world. When I started my own blogging journey, four years ago, Successful Blog was one of the first to become a regular stop; always for inspiration, and sometimes as I asked myself the question, “Will I ever be able tolike that?”

I met Liz fleetingly a few years ago, when she spoke at a DC-area event. Our meeting was brief. She was standing outside the event venue and, spying her in a rare moment of solitude, I couldn’t help but go up to her and tell her how much I admired her. She didn’t know me from Eve (probably still doesn’t), but that didn’t stop her from graciously thanking me. Later, she was kind enough to connect with me on various social platforms, even though the benefit was certainly skewed towards me.

As Liz recuperates from her illness, I couldn’t help but think of five lessons small businesses could learn from Liz Strauss.

1. You’re only a stranger once.

This is the tagline of Successful Blog, but is applicable to your business if you approach your customers as people first. Sure, customers come and go. But a successful business will convert first-timers into repeat buyers, and repeat buyers into evangelists. I don’t care how large or small your business is, this is possible and applicable…if you treat them as people first.

How do you start doing this? By using today’s myriad two- and multi-way communication channels to build relationships instead of email lists.

2. Building relationships takes time.

Especially with the number of (how many? I don’t know! Too many to count!) social media/self-help/gurus shilling their wares, I am not surprised at how many small businesses that think the way to use social media is this:

The path to social media failure

After all, once you have a presence, the rest will fall into place, right?

Wrong.

Connecting – i.e. following/being followed back – on a social network does not automatically translate into a relationship. All that that first connection means is that a door has been (slightly) opened to you; how you now conduct yourself will determine whether that door opens more fully or slams shut in your face.

How do you start doing this? Be a human super-collider. Find out what makes the people you meet, whether they are customers, or prospects, or business professionals you come across at networking events, tick.

3. When you build relationships, your community steps up when you most need it to.

Look at the way this blog has been running for the past several months. Liz’ health situation was announced at the beginning of 2013. The last post I read, as I drafted my own, was dated May 10, 2013. That’s a full five months later.

Had Liz not spent several years genuinely building her community via real relationships, do you think she would have had people like Rosemary O’Neill step up to manage the blog in her absence?

No way, Don Juan.

How do you start doing this? Part of the answer is in #2 above, so first I will say, “Read above, lather, rinse, and repeat.”

4. Educate and empower your community.

The second part of the answer is to educate and empower your community. Tell them, as you engage with them over time, what’s important to you… and why (and if your business is community-centric, chances are it’s what’s important to them too).

How do you start doing this? As you continue to engage with them, find people who can become your de facto or de jure community managers, and empower them with enough know-how – such as your engagement goals and guidelines, and your content needs – so that they can step into the breach if and when they need to.

The great thing about this approach is that you may never need them to fill a void in your absence… but if you do, they are ready and willing to do so.

5. Focus on what works.

A recent Constant Contact survey reported that 66% of small business owners use mobile technology. Continue reading, though, and you’ll see: “… it’s important to note that, of the 34 percent not using any mobile device or solution for their business, a resounding 65 percent have no plans to do so in the future, mainly citing a lack of customer demand.”

I don’t think this 65% of the 34% is necessarily behind the times. Being a small business owner myself, I know the conflicting demands placed on small businesses.

What will you pay attention to? When? How? Who’s going to do it?

It isn’t a question of never paying attention to technological advances, it’s a question of being attuned to the technologies your customers are using or expect, and providing the appropriate platforms, while planning for the future. Just as Liz does here on Successful Blog, by maintaining a framework visitors are familiar with, but by keeping an eye on what’s to come.

How do you start doing this? Stay on top of technological and industry developments. But don’t jump on the bandwagon until your business can sustain and recoup the additional investment… and don’t let anyone pressure you into doing so either.

I’m sure there are many other lessons you have gleaned, on a business level, from Liz’ incredible contribution to the blogosphere and our time. Would you share what you have learned, so that we can salute her collectively?

Author’s Bio: Shonali Burke takes your business communications from corporate codswallop to community cool™. She also blogs, teaches, and cooks. You can find her on Twitter as @shonali.

Thanks for the shout-out, Shonali! I was honored to be able to give back a tiny bit to Liz, who has shown her generosity and kindness to so many over the years. She is the nougaty goodness at the center of this amazing community.

Rosemary

Filed Under: Audience, Community, Motivation, SOB Business, Successful Blog Tagged With: audience, bc, communication, Community, relationships

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