LinkedIn is about building relationships through LinkedIn, not about how many connections you have. If you don’t have a face-to-face relationship with that person on LinkedIn, you shouldn’t have one on LinkedIn either. LinkedIn can be a tool to reach out to new connections but make sure you follow up with a face-to-face interaction whether it is just for coffee or meeting up at another event or association meeting.
2. Using the “friend” option to connect.
NEVER, EVER, EVER do this unless you really consider them a friend! This is one of my biggest frustrations on LinkedIn. Did you know that if someone ignores your request and then selects the “I don’t know this person” option, LinkedIn will take away this “Friend” privilege from you? Keep your friends on Facebook.
3. Auto updating with twitter statuses.
LinkedIn and Twitter are two different platforms and should be treated as such. Two reasons, this is a huge no-no. For one, you’re basically showing that you don’t care enough about Linkedin to go and update it yourself. Secondly, it is streaming your RTs and other twitter lingo you might not want to share with potential business connections on Linkedin.
4. Not linking to your business website.
Seems like a no-brainer doesn’t it? You would be surprised as to how many people on are on LinkedIn and have either no website listed or a former company website in their profile. Have you checked yours lately?
5. Complete it and forget it.
LinkedIn gives you all sorts of ideas on how to enhance your profile, but once you do this is that it? NO! You must stay visible and active on LinkedIn in order to make it efficient and useful for you and your company. Just accepting invitations is not enough!
The best way to connect with someone is to give them a reason why they are connecting with you. Have you met them at a recent networking function? Maybe you both know someone in common? Think of LinkedIn connections as how you would introduce someone in person, are they your friend, former or current colleague, or have you done business with them at your current or former company?
Have more questions about the do’s and don’ts of LinkedIn? Contact me – I want to hear them.
Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. George Eliot
It’s The Most Fabulous Time of the Year!
It’s fall, my most favorite time of the year. The weather is changing, things slow down a bit, and it is the season of BUSINESS PLANNING! Ok, so maybe all of you don’t get excited about a strategic plan, but I sure do.
What’s so great about business planning?
Taking Stock – I find it extremely satisfying to look back over the year and measure all a firm has achieved. What did we do well, what could we have done better? Completing a thorough assessment of your company will set a strong foundation for the future.
Wishing Big – There is an excitement to brainstorming all you and your firm can be. The time when all you have is potential, and the task in front of you is to set goals to get you to the next level. I wish I could bottle the collaborative and creative juices needed in this step and drink from it on days when I feel defeated.
Laying out Tactics – Taking each goal and breaking it down into individual steps makes achieving your goals less overwhelming is the key to accomplishing your goals.
Moving Forward – Working together to implement the tactics necessary to achieve your firm’s goals, checking off the list as each task is accomplished, and seeing your hard work payoff. This is the ultimate satisfaction in my book.
Helping companies grow strategically is my passion. I look forward to bringing a leadership team together to assess who they are, where they are going and how they are going to get there. In reality, 90% of my job is facilitating the process, helping team members to dig deep to find the answers that lie within and then layout a plan they can achieve.
“Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.” Og Mandino, Author, The Greatest Salesman in the World
The a/e/c industry has been struggling with getting started with social media. Now that more and more firms have implemented social media into their marketing strategy, I’m noticing that not everyone knows the proper etiquette of each platform. Here’s a brief list of rules to know about Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Twitter – very quick, real-time messages under 140 characters or less. Twitter is a little something like this; think of standing in a large, crowded room yelling out your message. The only people who are going to listen to you are the people that it is relevant to.
Add your avatar/photo and have a bio complete. If you don’t, you look like spam.
Know the language – if you don’t, ask.
Don’t duplicate tweets from personal/company accounts at the same time. You WILL get unfollowed.
It’s not all about you – it’s a conversation. ENGAGE with others.
Quality over quantity – it’s not about how many follow you, it’s about the quality of tweeps that follow you.
Keep it short – 140 characters are allowed, but what if they want to RT your tweet? Make it easy for them.
Facebook Page – place to connect with people and now other businesses. Share your company and services with other facebook users. If they “like” you, your updates will appear in their Home news feed.
Complete your profile – add your website, address, and adding a description adds to SEO.
Customize it to your Brand.
Photos, photo, photos. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Incorporate your blog, twitter feed and other social media platforms.
Do not link Twitter updates to automatically go to Facebook, these are 2 different platforms.
Is your facebook avatar getting cropped off? Scale it to FIT.
LinkedIn Profile – a place to manage your professional identity including your company, associations, groups and to show off your skills! Use it to build your professional network online.
Complete your profile and include a photo.
Add your company profile page and link it from your profile.
DO NOT link every tweet into your status updates – these are 2 different platforms.
Keep it professional – remember you’re representing your firm.
Get recommendations – referrals are key to new business.
It’s not a popularity contest – only connect with people you REALLY know and have met in person.
To sum it all up, what works in one medium might not work in another. Just like networking, the conversations you have are dictated by who you are having them with and where you are having them. A cocktail party conversation is much different than a one-on-one meeting. Also, trust and authenticity are of the utmost importance. If you have more suggestions, please feel free to add them.
To many people think a brand is a logo and some colors; to others, it may also include a brochure and maybe a website too, when in fact, the brand of a company is the entire essence of that company. I like to describe it to people as A BUNDLE OF PERCEPTIONS. When someone recognizes your logo on a sponsorship banner, meets a member of your team or hears your name in conversation what do they think and feel about your company? What do you want them to think and feel about your company? That’s your brand.
While most people think of branding as the part you see that is just the beginning. It’s demonstrated in every way your company communicates and functions. Below are some examples of the many avenues you have access to for branding your company. Are you utilizing these to tell your story?
When you look at the commercial below, do you think that Coke-A-Cola is just telling you to drink their soda because it’s the best or trying to evoke a feeling of the extra special care and imagination that they want to be associated with their product?
So, not everyone has the budget to get your brand across as Coke-A-Cola does but you can use the outlets above to represent a personality and values of your brand. One of the best places to start is social media. You have the opportunity to tell people who your company is, what you’re values are, what kind of things you’re working on and position yourself as the expert in your field. The best part is that it’s free! Happy branding!
Project photos all over the place? Adobe Bridge can help! Easily organize and browse through your photos, assign key words, rate your photos, filter by photo quality and much more! http://www.adobe.com/products/bridge.html
Small Giants recently announced that their firm is one of only six marketing agencies in the nation to be accepted into SMPS Approved Provider Program. All educational programs and seminars offered by Small Giants can now provide Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) continuing education units.
1. Connecting with everyone at once.
