Stay In The Loop: Get Linked Up on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the most popular professional networking site, boasting over 100 million users worldwide, and one of the top four social media platforms, along with Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

LinkedIn is simple to manage and doesn’t require the time commitments for Facebook or Twitter. Once you’ve completed your profile with a photo, your work and education experience, and basic personal information, there is very little maintenance required other than seeking out connections. Simply sign up at www.linkedin.com, confirm your email, and begin filling out your work experience. You can directly upload your resume from a word document to make this process easier. Be sure to include your company website, Facebook page, etc. under the “Websites” section of your profile. Choose a professional photo for your profile picture. Then, begin seeking out connections via the “search” feature.

LinkedIn IS:
-A great way to seek out professional connections, ask for recommendations, find potential employers or employees, find interns, etc.

-The go-to online source for professional networking.

LinkedIn IS NOT:
-The place to post photos of your dog, family, or what you made for dinner. Keep this kind of info limited to Facebook and Twitter.

A word to the wise: If you link your LinkedIn and Twitter accounts, all of your tweets will appear on your connections’ newsfeeds on LinkedIn. In short, if you plan on linking these sites, make sure you are only tweeting things you’d want your boss to read!

To link your Twitter account to LinkedIn, go to www.linkedin.com/twitter and click the “Get Started” button. You will be directed through the steps of this process. Note that you must have “public” settings on your Twitter account (and not “locked” or “private” settings for your tweets) for this feature to work.

Next week, we will be touching on some of the changes that are coming to Facebook and the new “Timeline” profile design that will be rolling out in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Facebook 102: Growing Your Facebook Fan Base

So now that you’ve got the basics of Facebook down, you’re probably wondering how to get the word out about your new, customized fan page. There are a few tried and true methods for growing your fan base, but be advised that fan acquisition is an ongoing effort that can take time. Below are some of the methods for speeding up the process:

“Like” us on Facebook: Your New Favorite Phrase

We cannot stress this enough! People have to know about your fan page in order to “like” it! Create your Vanity URL (refer back to Blog Post #2 for details on how to do this) and make sure that you’ve got your page URL everywhere. Ask your website programmer to add a Facebook “Like” button to your website, post status updates tagging your page, tweet about your page often, and add your page link to any of your marketing collateral (business cards, flyers, etc.), your LinkedIn page, and your esignature on your email.

Old Fashioned E-Mail

One of the best methods for growing your fan base is to reach out to your business contacts via email. Consider sending out a mass email or “eblast.” First, you’ll need a distribution list (a list of your customer/clients emails that you’ve acquired over time). Please note that it is illegal to send mass emails to people who have not provided their emails to you voluntarily! In other words, make sure that your distribution list consists of legitimate contacts with whom you or your company have done business.

There are a variety of sites that can help you with the process of creating an eblast, such as MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com) or Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com). These sites enable you to send out an eblast that is as simple or as elaborate as you want, and provide a legitimate platform so that your emails are less likely to end up marked as spam. Additionally, these sites allow you to track your eblast results, including the number of people who open your emails and/or click on your hyperlinks (links to your website, FB page, etc.).

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, or simply don’t have the time to commit to growing your page, ISM offers eblast and newsletter services as well as customized content management packages for reasonable monthly fees. In later posts we will go into detail about more in-depth methods for growing your fan base such as promotions, contests, Facebook advertisements, etc. As always, feel free to contact us at info@instantsocialmediaco.com for more information.

So How Do I Tweet, Anyway? Twitter Basics

Twitter is essentially a miniature blog that consists entirely of 140-character-or-less status updates, or “tweets,” that are displayed in a rolling feed. Twitter can be a useful tool for keeping people informed of news, activities, events, promotions and much more without having to craft a time-consuming post on the subject.

While networking via Facebook consists of acquiring friends/fans, Twitter connections are called “followers”. When you sign up for Twitter, you will be prompted to choose a unique username or “handle.” You have up to 15 characters (no punctuation, use an underscore for spaces) for your name; your handle is an important piece of the puzzle if you plan to use Twitter to promote your business. Choose a clear, relevant handle that people can easily identify and find in the search function.

Twitter allows for a bit more customization than Facebook does. You can choose a Twitter background and a unique color scheme, as well as upload a profile photo. To change your page design, sign into Twitter and click on your username in the top right hand corner, then select “Settings” from the drop down menu.

Under “Design,” you can select a pre-designed background and theme, or create your own. For a customized background, you might want to consider one large, high-resolution image, a tiled logo, or search for designs on www.twitrbackgrounds.com.

We will be covering more in-depth Twitter strategies, including tips for growing your following, in upcoming ISU posts. Stay tuned and make sure to follow ISM on Twitter at @InstantSocialMe!