Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Getting Started with LinkedIn



Up until a few years ago, LinkedIn was only seen as the place where professionals networked. Today, LinkedIn is a powerful tool for B2B marketers with some of the deepest ad targeting capabilities in the social media universe. Read on to find out if marketing on Linkedin is right for your business.


What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with 250 million users to date. The site takes pride in its niche - allowing professionals to build their identities online, stay in touch with other professionals they’ve met, discover new job opportunities and gather content that matters to them.


Why would businesses use LinkedIn?
LinkedIn company pages allow businesses to post statuses and update their audiences with thought leadership material and news about the company. LinkedIn is used heavily for recruiting new employees - so if your business is growing, make sure you have a well-rounded presence on LinkedIn with a company page.


In addition, LinkedIn is an extremely valuable tool for B2B marketers. According to Social Media Today, half of LinkedIn’s members are decision makers - that means the audience you need to sell products and services is already gathering on LinkedIn. Hubspot also reported that almost 70% of B2B companies have acquired a customer through LinkedIn - those are some pretty great odds.


How can I get started?
1. If you haven’t already, sign up for an individual profile. Regardless of your profession, having a presence on LinkedIn requires little work and offers a vast opportunity for professional networking. You can sign up here.


2. Build out your personal profile. Your profile is much like your resume. Rather than having your last job as your headline, write a little something about yourself. “Business professional and entrepreneur” or “Mom by day and business owner by night,” write whatever makes sense to you. Make it witty to attract a little more attention.


3. Create a Company Page. As I mentioned above, company pages help other LinkedIn members, job seekers and people in your network learn about your business. Active company pages often gain a following and can help you build another audience for your brand.


4. Create a content strategy. Decide how often you’re going to post, create a schedule and stick to it. On LinkedIn, I would post once every day or two to start and see what kind of engagement you get. This can be anything from interesting articles that relate to your industry to news about your company.


5. Invest in a following. If gaining a large audience on LinkedIn is important, you should invest in LinkedIn ads. Advertising on LinkedIn allows you to target all the way down to a single person you’re trying to connect with, which makes them an amazing business investment.


We’ll discuss LinkedIn ads and advanced strategy in the new year! If you have any questions, please feel free to browse my website at jackiesteinmetz.com or email me at jackie@jackiesteinmetz.com.



Friday, December 13, 2013

Getting Started with Instagram




Many people believe that the power of Instagram for business can only be harnessed by consumer brands with a product to sell. However, in addition to sharing photos about your business, Instagram can be used to show that you’re an expert in your field, run contests and giveaways, and more. Read on to learn about Instagram and how you can use it to grow your brand.


What is Instagram?
Instagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them, and share them on a variety of social networking services, such as Facebook and Twitter.


Why would businesses use Instagram?
If you sell goods directly to a consumer, you should most certainly be on Instagram. The platform can be a simple way to build a following, share photos of your product and more. However, as I mentioned above, it’s important to consider whether businesses that provide services or sell B2B should in on Instagram. Here are a few examples of businesses that are successful on Instagram (and some, you wouldn’t necessarily choose the platform for them):
  • Oracle uses Instagram to build community behind their brand. They showcase events they attend, volunteer opportunities and more to give their business a personal voice.
  • General Electric posts about their research to pique interest in the company.
  • Oreo posts mostly about their brand and products (which is not a best practice) but keeps a strong following by incorporating tips and recipes.


How can I get started?


1. Sign up. Visit instagram.com, and sign up for a free account.


2. Build a profile that’s consistent with your brand. Make sure your username is the same as other social media accounts, make your avatar the same, use a similar description. You could also start by uploading brand photos you use on other sites to your page.


3. Understand how to use Instagram for business. Take a few minutes to look around the Instagram for Business blog. They share a lot of great tips that will help you understand how the site can best be used for your business.


4. Create a content strategy. Decide how often you’re going to post (I would post one to three times per week to start), create a schedule and stick to it. For most businesses, it’s best to post a mix of fun photos to personalize your page and photos of your products, business and activities you take part in. Don’t put the same - or for that matter, any - filter on every single picture. Mixing it up makes your page more fun to look at.


5. Follow people. Go out and find friends, family, business contacts, competitors, industry experts and anyone else whose posts may interest you. Just like on other social media platforms, when you have more followers, more people see your posts. Follow those who follow you back.


If you’re interested in learning how to run contests, reward followers and grow a strong brand on Instagram, keep an eye out for my advanced Instagram techniques blog in a few weeks. If you have any questions, please feel free to browse my website at jackiesteinmetz.com or email me at jackie@jackiesteinmetz.com.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Getting Started with Facebook Fan Pages



Facebook is regarded as the most popular social media platform - according to Forbes, it’s used by nearly 9 of 10 businesses today. However, engaging users on Facebook is quite a bit different than the other platforms we’ve covered. Read on to discover what Facebook is, who should use it, why and how.


What is Facebook?
Facebook is a powerful online networking site that enables both users and businesses to communicate with their audiences en masse. You’re probably familiar with the personal profile - studies show that there are about 1.2 billion active monthly users on the site alone. It’s important not to mix the two, so Facebook allows businesses to create fan pages (or Facebook for business) that users can like and follow updates from each business.


Why would businesses use Facebook?
Much like Twitter, Facebook is used successfully by businesses to communicate with other businesses (for those that sell B2B) or with end consumers (for businesses that sell B2C). However large your business and whoever your audience may be, a Facebook fan page is really the first step into the social media for business world. Here are some compelling statistics:
  • 700 million people use Facebook every day
  • An average Facebook visit lasts 20 minutes
  • 25% of Facebook users check their account over 5 times per day
  • Each active user spends over 8 hours on the site per month


How can I get started?


1. Sign up. Visit facebook.com/pages/create, and walk through the steps to set up your page. Facebook will ask you to define what kind of business you are, upload an avatar and cover photo, write a few sentences about your business and fill in other important details.


2. Build a profile that’s consistent with your brand. Make sure your username is the same as other social media accounts you have so your business is easy to identify. Upload the same picture and use the same description (or a shortened version if necessary). If you have a cover photo on Twitter, it may make sense to use the same or a slightly different version to help with brand recognition.


3. Create a few powerful posts. Prior to promoting your page, make sure all of the important information is filled out and you’ve posted a few updates. Updates between 100 and 200 words are shown to get 60% more likes, so keep it short. Visual updates also get quite a bit more love, so be sure to post photos when appropriate as well.


4. Invite people to like your page. Chances are you’re already a Facebook user. Start by inviting your friends, and asking friends and family to share your page, encouraging their audiences to like it. You may also invite contacts to like your page via email. You should hit a good number of likes in no time!


5. Create a content calendar. Decide how often you’re going to post and stick to the plan. The only thing worse than no Facebook presence at all is one that’s completely stagnant. Start with posting 2-3 times a week, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Do some testing to see what times and types of posts engage your audiences best.


6. Consider running a Facebook ad to increase likes and engagement. Facebook advertising is a tool that’s substantially different than typical pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Whereas traditional PPC mines for information based on user behavior, Facebook advertising can actually target people based on the demographics they provide. For as little as $5.00/day, you can run ads that will get a more diverse fan base on your site. Here is a quick guide to getting started.


There’s so much more to dig into on Facebook - be sure to leave a comment with your questions and I’ll follow up in my advanced Facebook techniques blog in a few weeks. If you have any questions, please feel free to browse my website at jackiesteinmetz.com or email me at jackie@jackiesteinmetz.com.














Monday, December 2, 2013

The Basic's of Google+





When Google+ was first released, the joke was that everyone stayed on Facebook except Google employees. While that may have been (somewhat) true then, Google+ today is becoming a powerful social business machine. Find out the what, why and how below:


What is Google+?
Google+, much like Facebook, is a social networking and identity service. However, unlike Facebook, Google+ acts as a social layer on top of Google’s powerful search engine - in other words, Google+ users are able to affect search result rankings on the most popular search engine in the world.


Why would businesses use Google+?
User-generated and user-shared content can gain some real traction in Google’s search results, which is a big Google+ selling point for businesses large and small. Businesses don’t have to be SEO geniuses to rank well. In addition, Google+ has over 350 million monthly users, which presents a large captive audience for those who know how to take advantage of it.


How can I get started?
It takes a little bit of time to get through these steps, so sit down when you have an hour or more to spare. Going through each of these steps to the full extent will help you have the most meaningful presence on Google+.


1. Sign up for Google+. If you have any Google account, this is super simple. If not, sign up for a universal account that will give you access to all of their tools.


2. Build a whole profile. Not part of a profile or half a profile. The more information you add about yourself, the easier you will be to find. As usual, make sure you represent your brand in the same was as on other social networks: use the same description, the same photo, etc. Make sure you link to your other social networks, website and any other web presence you have.


3. Find industry experts and connect with them. Whatever your industry, there are surely people to follow on Google+ that are well-versed in your realm. Follow them and keep an eye on what they post - they curate content so you don’t have to do it all yourself. Connect with your friends, too, because the larger your network, the better.


4. Choose your circles. Start with a few easy circles like close friends, acquaintances, customers, prospects, or whatever makes sense for your business. That way, you can post about whatever you want to certain circles and really target your content to your audience.


5. Have fun. Show your personality. Post a mix of content that’s interesting to you, your own content and promotion of your business. Make sure you ask a question or state your opinion to encourage interaction.


Do you currently use Google+ for your business? I’d love to hear your unique strategies and stories. And as usual, if you have any questions, please feel free to check out my website or email me at jackie@jackiesteinmetz.com.