New LinkedIn “Mention” Feature

It is here! I am able to MENTION my connections in my status updates.  What does that mean?

Few weeks ago, LinkedIn added another great application beside the “Contact” App, it is the ability to mention your connections as you can do on Facebook and @ mention/ reply your contacts on Twitter.

The application is being rolled out as we speak to all English speaking members first.  I remember I requested it to be added the beginning of April from LinkedIn customer service and has been active since last night yay!

So did I say that I am a LinkedIn fan and has always been since 2006? May be not enough.

Now, let us dig a bit in the mentions application now that I have used it firsthand I can share a real experience with you, let us also explore why we should care about it

You can now mention other LinkedIn members or companies in status updates, likes, and comments and that will generate an instant notification sent to that user or company’s profile as it happens on Facebook and the mentions/ Interactions on Twitter.

All what you have to do on LinkedIn, is simply start typing the name of the LinkedIn connection or company in the status update field; a drop-down menu with matches will appear with matching names, you click on the chosen name and once you post, not only other names will be a clickable link that will take others to their profiles/ pages but also that user or company will see your status update appear in their notifications list.

Now this added to the “Contacts” application will make it easier to build and nurture relationships on LinkedIn and will keep the LinkedIn members engaged longer n the site which is the main focus of LinkedIn.  It will enable you and your contacts to respond in real-time when someone starts a conversation which brings LinkedIn to web 2.0 of two way real time conversation (Thank God for little favors that LinkedIn does not have instant messaging)

The Mention capability will extend to mention others LinkedIn members that are not a first degree connection as long as they are part of the same comments/ discussion; I personally haven’t seen this yet so will keep you posted.

LinkedIn is also working to expand it to all over the world, expand it beyond the status updates and homepage comments

Why should you care? Because all these new additions will help increase your online visibility and increases your digital footprint since Google loves LinkedIn and ranks LinkedIn profiles/ discussions higher than anything else I have seen.

When you use the mention and contacts application while engaging better your contacts make sure that:

• You are thinking about your keywords since they can help rank you and better your SEO
• Always keep in mind that LinkedIn is a professional network and it is not Facebook so keep your posts/mentions/ presentations. Videos on the professional up and up
• Your conversations/ comments and mentions are public so keep that in mind.  So if you are looking for a job while still in your position I would be careful.
• I would also watch anything that can remotely look like spamming, self-advertising or inappropriate content
• As anything else as the Hashtags (#) on Twitter do not over use them

This is a screen shot of when I tried to mention my friend “Mary Lascelles” or Relo Mary as we know her on LinkedIn.  One thing I also noticed you need to start typing the name with a Capital letter if not it doesn’t work the same way

An awesome feature on the mentions also is that mentions of individuals’ names will automatically translate to their Twitter names within Twitter when you chose the broadcast of your status updates on both LinkedIn ad Twitter

As soon as I get the Advanced Search feature I will blog about it as well after I try it.

So did I say yet that I was a LinkedIn Fan? See you next time

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh Diversity, Inclusion Consultant- Social Media Strategist T: 818 861 9434 • Sahar Consulting, LLC • www.saharconsulting.com

        

Contact me:  saharconsulting

New LinkedIn Contacts Application

Among all the new applications released by LinkedIn positioned to keep its members as long as they can on the site (Now I can see how they will do it), LinkedIn released The “Contacts Application” on April 25, 2013.

Though there is a lot of buzz about other new features on LinkedIn like “advanced search and mentions”, I decided to blog about them when I get these features as I like to blog about firsthand experience always

The “LinkedIn Contacts” application is both a mobile and web solution to build, nurture and maintain relationships which are the core principle around which LinkedIn is built on, though many do not use LinkedIn thinking about that and they miss the best part of LinkedIn.  The service is based on technology from Connected, a content management startup LinkedIn acquired end of 2011.

“Have you ever wished for a personal assistant who reminds you when your colleagues are celebrating new jobs or birthdays? Or have you wanted to quickly pull up the last conversations you had with people before you head out to meet them” said Sachin Rekhi on the LinkedIn Blog.

LinkedIn realized that their members were missing a tool to network properly with their contacts to keep track with their contacts’ updates, news, the last time they connected, when they first connected or even when to wish them Happy Birthday like on Facebook.

LinkedIn started with LinkedIn updates, but drove it home in a personal manner with the LinkedIn Contacts application.

The new tool integrates your email platforms (Gmail, yahoo, Outlook), your mobile address book, and calendar creating a ONE stop where you can see when was the last time you were in contact with another member or exchanged messages. (As seen in the screen shot below). 

The application will also show calendar entries from your own calendar as well as calendar entries involving our contacts when you bring their profiles up as seen in the screen shot above between the two white {parenthesis} at the top of the shot

The application will help you keep in touch with your contacts,

• Will remind you if you have not contacted a connection for a while and will suggest that you drop them a note
• Can remind you of your contacts’ Birthdays
• Notify you when your contact changes a job
• Set reminders at specific times to stay in touch
• Suggest who to reach to in different cities if you are planning a trip (Courtesy of Tripit Application)
• Will create a form of note to the local members in different cities you are visiting ready to be sent

So far it is only an invite only service; you can join the waiting list by clicking on
http://contacts.linkedin.com
and only for the United States members.  It is being rolled out slowly to all members worldwide.

So far it is a web and an iPhone application, LinkedIn is working on an android version

Get yourself on the waiting list, get the application, start working with it, it is a lot of fun and will increase the value of your relationship to others.

More news coming soon!

Cheers.

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh Diversity, Inclusion Consultant- Social Media Strategist T: 818 861 9434 • Sahar Consulting, LLC • http://www.saharconsulting.com

        

Contact me:  saharconsulting

Age Diversity: Generational Gap: GEN Y

In the previous posts, I discussed the Matures, continuing the sequence; we met the Baby Boomers, Generation X or GEN X, and now I introduce Generation Y or GEN Y.

 

This is about Generation Y, otherwise called GEN Y, Millennials, Generation Next. They are 25 to 34 years old, and are 70 to 80 millions in the United States.

Gen Y, are shaped by their early experiences which created filters through which they see the world, and directly impact how they navigate their worlds. Events like the 9/11 attacks, The Columbine high school attack, Oklahoma City bombing, Iraq and Afghanistan wars wrought their world. They see themselves as extension of technology; Reality TV is also a way of life for them.

They were brought up in small families, one in four of Gen Y parents are college-educated. More than 50 percent of Gen Y in the United States are immigrants, or children of immigrants. They shaped the face of politics in the 2008 US elections through the use of social media. They are recognized as playing a major role in electing the nation’s first black president.

They are witnessing corporate greed, exposure of Ponzi schemes, and industry bailouts, and worldwide economic crisis.

The Y’ers have been defined by some as narcistic, self absorbed, and not reliable. Their heroes are not political figures or movie stars but regular people in their circles as teachers, family member or the firemen and police men like the ones that responded to the 9/11 attacks and risked their lives. .
• They are the fastest growing demographic at the workplace

• Famous examples of Gen Y: Zuckerberg, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, and Michael Phelps.

• Musical Era: Back street boys, N Sync, Black Eyed Pea, Rihanna and Lady Gaga.

• Workplace: Work for deadlines not necessarily schedules, they value blending that is why they prefer working in open spaces and hate the closed door offices. They like to shop for both employers and vendors they remain connected 24/7, not your typical nine to five employees. They are multi-taskers, tech savvy, but they need immediate constant feedback, as well as mentors. They are socially responsible; believe in good causes and the environment; prefer to work for companies with the same values. They are critical of the ethics and morality of business.

• Family: Gen Y is comfortable living with their parents, maintaining close ties with their families. Friends are global and can be online. Gen Y has been the busiest generation of children, parents and teachers micromanaged their lives, leaving them with little free time. It is very common to hear them say my mother or father is my best friend.

• Leadership: They are redefining the rules; they value autonomy, and are restless. They are individuals with group orientations. They don’t look for leadership positions.

• Culture Ethos: They see education as important, but also expensive. They are participative in nature, embracing diversity. They have liberal attitudes toward issues such as gay marriage and interracial dating. They believe in volunteerism and service to communities. They are more involved in politics; and youth-driven activist organizations build grassroots movements for various social and political causes.

• Loyalty: They value personal freedom and autonomy, they are loyal to people either they work with or play with.

• Communications: Casual, instant, personal and direct; eager to please. They rather communicate with text messages and IMs. They will not listen to voice mails. They are connected online all day through their laptops, and cell phones.

• Recognition and motivation: They have high expectations and clear goals. They prefer individual public recognition, as they like attention and exposure. They like to be valued for their opinions; they will work hard to have opportunities to broaden their skills. They connect their actions to their personal and career goals. They get motivated by setting them up to work with other bright creative people, and by allowing them enough time and flexibility to live the life they want.

• Technology: They’re the first generation to grow up surrounded by digital media. 2/3 of them used computers before the age of five. They are connected 24/7. They are seen as the driving force behind the recent revolution in American political campaigning. They created new sites, and used existing ones as YouTube, and Facebook, to rally voters and raising money.

• As a customer: Gen Y wants to use the same tools as their peers but with a unique twist. They will consider a company’s products if the company is known for their humane attitude. They like technology-based products and look for more advanced tools to help them. They don’t trust companies’ marketing materials and check with online peers before making purchasing decisions.

The challenges and opportunities as well as solutions to the Generational gap links are attached.
Diversity starts at home,

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™
http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

 Let’s connect on:        

Contact me:  saharconsulting

Age Diversity: Generational Gap: GEN X

In the previous posts, I discussed the Matures, continuing the sequence; we met the Baby Boomers, and now I introduce Generation X or GEN X.

Gen X is between 35 and 45 years old, their lives shaped by Watergate, fall of the Berlin wall, the challenger explosion, 1st Gulf war, the Iran hostage crisis, and the Reagan Presidency. They witnessed the inception of home computers, video games, cable TV, and Internet.

Gen X grew up in families where the divorce rates were the highest ever. They were raised mostly in single parent homes, and called ‘latchkeys kids.’ They might understandably exhibit a suspicious attitude and tend not to trust others easily. Change is more or less the rule of their lives rather than the exception.

They feel that the government, church, military, and major corporations deserve their skepticism. The Xers’ attitude is: “There is nothing we can count on in the future, so we’ll focus short term and make sure each day has significance.” That is why they might have difficulty making long term commitments.
They are different from the matures and baby boomers to whom institutions still mean a great deal; Gen X sees institutions as deserving nothing but cynicism.

The Xers have been defined by some as spoiled and characterized by others as unmotivated, self-indulgent and impertinent, but just because they are skeptical about authority and seek work-life balance, doesn’t make them bad. Do you blame them? They have been told that they wouldn’t be as successful as their parents. They are the junior executives, directors and managers in the workplace.

• Famous examples of Gen X: Sarah Palin, Gavin Newsome, Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong and Alex Rodriguez.

• Musical Era: Madonna, Ricky Martin, U2, Whitney Houston, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Guns and Roses, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi and heavy metal bands. They saw the rise and fall of Disco. Gen X is sometimes called the MTV generation.

• Workplace: Reject the die-hard work ethics of their parents, the boomers. Respect talent and achievement over tenure. Value control of their time. They look for a person in whom they can invest loyalty, not a company. They question authority, see rules as flexible, protocol is second as they try to find the fastest ways to results and solutions. They tend to replace face to face meetings with emails to save time.

• Family: Mainly two income families; women entered the workplace in high numbers. Soccer Mom/Dad are expressions used to describe Gen X as parents. They value work-life balance as well as freedom and responsibility. They are cautious with their money and tend to save it.

• Leadership: Rules are flexible, cooperation is more important. They do challenge authorities.

• Culture Ethos: They are the highest educated generation. They accept diversity, being diverse in such aspects as race, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. They try to have fun, avoid stress and burnout. Their loyalty is to their individual career goals. They change jobs an average of every three years.

• Communications: Want open communication regardless of position, title, or tenure. Communication is casual and direct. They use electronic gizmos. They see long meetings as waste of time, and may be answering emails on their Blackberries during a meeting. Time is money.

• Recognition and motivation: A balance of fair compensation (immediate) and ample time off as rewards is the best way they feel recognized. They can be more motivated if they are told to forget the rules and do things their own way.

• Technology: They started the Internet and are very familiar and comfortable with their PDAs, BBs, smart phones, and laptops. They embrace technology as a way to control their lives

• As a customer: They believe in “prove it to me” and they don’t trust the traditional sales techniques, hard sell or marketing gimmicks. They want options and choices to suit their preferences. They rely more on peer to peer referrals than any other generation. As customers, Gen X are very loyal.

Next comes Gen Y, Diversity starts at home,

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™
http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

 Let’s connect on:        

Contact me:  saharconsulting

LinkedIn and the New Design- Part II

This is part two (2) of the LinkedIn New Design post; in part one we visited what we thought to be positive change.  We are discussing here the NOT so positive changes.

I have seen a lot of confusion and frustration the last couple of weeks by members in the Q&A forum of LinkedIn (That by the way is still a hidden Gem under MORE at the top of the LinkedIn Page).

I realize that LinkedIn is a free site and that it is the ONLY professional site that really adds value to members either as advancing their careers or finding a job or expanding their business, but important to say that LinkedIn without its free members cannot offer the value it does to recruiters and sales professionals who pay for their memberships on LinkedIn and why advertisers pay to put ads on LinkedIn due to the immense number of members (190+ Millions to date)

Here are the features causing the frustration

1. The three (3) web resources that LinkedIn allows member to post on their profile to be found; are NOW hidden and unless you really know where to find their location.

Solution: You can find the web resources under the little rolodex card Icon with the “Edit Contact information” link on your Edit profile page.

Under this link you will find your websites, your email address, your twitter handle and if you want to add any other personal information like a phone number or IM

1. The Network Statistics are no longer available, LinkedIn took it away.  I was never really crazy about it as either it didn’t work nor wasn’t accurate most of the time though many members seem to really miss it.
2. The LinkedIn profile URL or link that is specific to every member and used to be found next to “Public Profile” location has also been changed

Solution: It is found next to “IN” that is on the left hand side in the profile page in a darker grey box.  Make sure that your URL is customized before you use it.

1. The “VCARD” download also disappeared.  It made it easier to add new contacts to an existing mailing list or database.

Solution: It has also been hidden.  It can be found when you move your cursor on your connections’ name.  A window opens that has the name and the tagline and 3 links on the bottom one of them is “Download VCard”.

1. To add a contact to your network that is not on LinkedIn, you have to go through a couple of loops.

Solution: Click in the green link “Add Connection” then click on the Add Any Email ICON; then click on the link “Add individual email”.  Just be aware that the invite that will be sent can’t be personalized, and will be sent generic.

1. The recommendations that could be seen on the profile pages are now hidden.

Solution: The easiest way is to click on Profile at the top of the page, then click on recommendations from the drop down menu

LinkedIn also has added a new feature which is Endorsing Skills, the function has been hiccupping, your first degree connection can endorse your skills and expertise and vice versa. You just scroll to skills and experience section of that members’ profile, click on the skill or the + sign next to it.  Your name and picture will appear next to that skill.

The newest feature is adding a picture or an image banner to your company page on LinkedIn; it is a bit tricky and will take few tries but looks really good kind of the timeline image banners on your Facebook page where you can add your website URL though.  The maximum size is 2MB, can be PNG, JPEG or GIF; with dimensions of 646 X 220 pixels.

LinkedIn keeps rolling out new features without letting anyone know as they just publish on their blog; so I would highly suggest that you keep looking at the LI Blog to be aware of all the changes.  The link of the blog is at the bottom of the page

Hope this can help you using LinkedIn better as again it is the ONLY professional network worth your time IMHO.

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™
http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:        
Contact me:  saharconsulting

LinkedIn and The New Design

A couple of weeks ago LinkedIn rolled out a new design for the site.  LinkedIn is the only professional network to date; has more than 175 Million members and went IPO last year.

Since I am a daily user of the Q&A forum on LinkedIn I noticed more confusion than relief about the new format.  Members that are new or not very proficient on LinkedIn are trying to find their way.

The new design looks like this:

 

LinkedIn new format managed to have some positive changes like the navigation headline color, group activity feed, news updates but also had few negative changes where members feel that they need to go on a treasure hunt to find basic important feature like Printing Vcard, the website links, PDF printing etc.

Let us see what are the positive changes:

1. LinkedIn made their homepage more dramatic by adding Black color to the top of the navigation themes.  The navigation bar is fixed at the top of the [age as you scroll up and down the page, and now includes more features:  Home, profile, Contacts, Groups, Jobs, Inbox, Companies, News and More (that has a drop down menu for the learning center, Q&A forum and the free applications on LinkedIn)
2. They actually added a link to the “LinkedIn Help Center” at the bottom of the page that has been buried during a previous format and design update
3. The Feed updates from your connections are more visible and easier to find as they appear at the top of the screen- which lead to the question if LinkedIn will care more about “Sharing” than actual functionability
4. LinkedIn Today Design also changed and is easier to scroll as the new format has larger images that could be visually appealing (Pinterest influence?) though has a lot more noise than before but some find the news update a great feature that offers better engaging experience
5. The page background color changed to different degrees of grey and that makes the page a bit more plausible to navigate
6. Since LinkedIn bought Slideshare, LinkedIn advises that you can upload videos on the application and show it on your profile (But what they do not tell you is that to upload videos on slideshare you need to have a paid membership on slideshare of at least $19.00/ month).  One more point, since them Google Presentations that used to host videos on the LinkedIn profiles stopped functioning.  You can still use the free application box.net that you can find under MORE at the top of the page in a drop down menu as long as the video format is in FLV format.
7. The Twitter feed can no longer be seen on the LinkedIn Profiles which in my book is a positive change as many didn’t know when to stop tweeting or how to control their tweets on LinkedIn and flooded their connections updates which was really annoying

Tomorrow, I will discuss the NOT so positive changes in the new LinkedIn new design and some ways to maneuver around the new changes

Till then,

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™
http://www.saharconsulting.com 

(818)861 9434 

 

Let’s connect on:        
Contact me:  saharconsulting

Eight LinkedIn mistakes to avoid

LinkedIn is the only professional B2B networking site that exists today, with more than 165 Million users worldwide.  I have been for six years on LinkedIn; the core of my business is generated through LinkedIn.

I am one of the daily users of the Q&A LinkedIn forum; after seeing the same questions in the “Using LinkedIn” category asked few times every single day; I decided to write about them so they could help the new LinkedIn users

1-    Avoid creating duplicate accounts:  LinkedIn allows users only ONE personal profile.  A very common mistake that new LinkedIn members do is creating duplicate profiles without even realizing that they did that.

The results is the dilution of your brand and scattering of contacts and information over two or three profiles

The solution is simple: Make sure to add all your email addresses on your profile, including your business profile.  Make your primary email address a personal one in case you leave or change jobs.

You will also need to delete your duplicate profile and keep only one profile.

2-    Importing email address book: After new members sign up to LinkedIn, LinkedIn suggest that they import their email address books contacts to add as connections on LinkedIn.

This can be very tricky as in fine prints LinkedIn by defaults invite every single person in your address book, and then sends two invite reminders.  This can have a couple of negative repercussions

a-    The people that are invited get annoyed

b-    Some might even IDK (I Don’t Know) you; five of these will restrict your LinkedIn account.

c-     The only solution is to manually and individually withdraw, NOT delete these invites one by one and that might be very strenuous and time consuming

3-    Web Resources: LinkedIn allows you to add three web resources to your profile.  Many members just leave the generic “My website” or “My blog”.  It is highly suggested that you customize your web resources not only it does increase SEO to your sites but also help increase traffic to your sites as intended.

4-    Personal profile VS. Business profile: Many new LinkedIn users add their business name as their profile name.  This is against LinkedIn Terms of Service (ToS).  All LinkedIn profiles have to be personal with a first and last name.  If not LinkedIn can and will suspend the account.

Members can always add a company page based on their personal profiles as long as they have an email address on their domain name.

5-    Professional photo: Only a professional headshot is allowed as a profile photo.  There are some guidelines for the photo used.  Logos, QR codes, Family pictures, Pet pictures, or any other form of pictures are against LinkedIn Terms of Service (ToS) and the account can and will be suspended if found or flagged.  If LinkedIn removes your photo three times you will not be able to add any photos ever on your profile

6-    Vanity profile URL: It is important to customize or personalize the generic profile URK or link that LinkedIn assigns to your profile not only it eases the search for your name but also increases SEO as well.

7-    Not optimizing profiles: Using the proper keywords are a MUST to be found on LinkedIn and on the internet as a whole.  Placing the right keywords is the difference between having a LinkedIn profile and having a great LinkedIn profile.  There are five places to add your keywords on a LinkedIn profile:

a-    Tagline or the line under your profile name that acts as your brand message or USP

b-    Present job titles

c-     Past job titles

d-    Summary

e-    Skills

8-    Adding website or email address in the tagline: It is against LinkedIn Terms of Service to add your website address or email address in the tagline and your profile can be suspended.

Also adding LION or linking yourself to LinkedIn in any overt or covert way can get your profile suspended as well.

These are common missteps new LinkedIn users usually do, this blog is also a part of my upcoming social media eBook series; so stay tuned.

Cheers,

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™
http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:        
Contact me:  saharconsulting

Social Media For Business Marketing

Social Media marketing is an extremely powerful tool for business marketing especially small business, though it is not a stand-alone solution or a silver bullet, but is highly efficient if the social media marketing is used as part of the overall marketing business plan.

 

Some companies and businesses are still skeptical about the use of social media marketing, some think that:

1.  “It is a waste of time.”
2. “It is a fad and it will go away.”
3. “My clients are not online.”
4. “Only people with too much time on their hand use social media.”
5. “We will lose control of our brand.”
6. “Our confidentiality will be jeopardized.”
7. “Only my children are on Twitter and Facebook.”
8. “Our employees will have a license to play online.”

* I will start with the following figures and statistics about social media usage by the audience to show why businesses should care about social media:

• 45% visit social networks to find out about product sales or discounts
• 47% will go to social networks to download a free gift or coupons
• 73% of active online users read a blog, 120,000 new blogs are launched daily
• 22% would read or write a product review online or in a blog, 1.5 million posts per day, 45% have started their own blogs
• 39% subscribe to an RSS feed
• 57% joined social networks- LinkedIn has 150+ members; Facebook over 750 million users increasing by the minute, Twitter exploded to a 1382% growth rate.
• 10% of all internet traffic is generated by Youtube, which ranks with Wikipedia among top brands.
• The 5 top 10 websites ever are social
• The Internet users’ ages of 70+ jumped exponentially

(* Sources are Compete, Alexa, MSNBC, Nielsen &Technorati)

To simplify the process of using social media for business marketing, it is important to define their segment markets the business need to reach, set goals, define a strategy, then execute.

Social media marketing is no different than planning any other marketing aspects of a business, and should be a part of any business’s overall marketing plan.

The first step in setting goals, before even thinking about filing any social media channel profile, is for a business to ask itself the following basic questions:

• Who is the audience they are trying to reach and what is the individual persona in that audience?
• Where do they hang out online?
• Are they a part of any online communities that the business should join?
• What do they expect from a business like theirs: solution providing, unique products, customer service?
• How should they engage the audience emotionally and appeal to their sensitivity and senses?
• How do they approach the audience, in what format, and with what content?  Also, most importantly what are the keywords used by the audience to discuss the aspects of their industry or business?
• Who will be assigned to engage in the online discussions with the audience and how will they channel the leads, inquiries, comments and to who?
• How will they measure the results?

Then you are ready to proceed in the first steps of your social media marketing for your business

1.  Identify:

• Your audience and key influencers and know where they hang online.
• Protect against brand hijacking.
• Where is more demand for your products or services?
• What kind of problems does your audience have in your field, and what solutions they are looking for?

2.  Listen:

• Use Google alerts, RSS feeds, Twitter, email analytics, social buzz, Backtype, Trenderr, Board Reader, then learn the proper keywords they use

3. Engage:

• Become a contributing member of Q&A boards like LinkedIn, Google and ask.com
• Have your own blog that shares valuable content about your industry and solutions that can help your audience and not focused on your business or products
• Comment on blogs and articles
• Add to groups on Facebook/Yahoo/LinkedIn/ Google
• Offer specials/promos on Facebook/Twitter

4.  Promote:

• After establishing relationships, PULL your audience to your services by constantly adding new, relevant and fresh content, instead of pushing your products on them.

Social media is an interactive tool built on communications and two way dialogs.  Using social media, your business audience may be exchanging notes about your products, companies and services at this very second — knowing and participating in those exchanges will impact your bottom line, either by generating leads that will lead to sales and revenues, or by reducing or elimination your brand hijacking or negative comments, or by offering better customer service which in turn will increase your revenues by referrals or return customers.

Social media for business marketing is a necessity and is no longer a luxury.  Till next time

 

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™
http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting

Blogs For Small Business

I am back from my dormant phase, I took a break from blogging to recharge my batteries, I am so happy to re-connect with all of you again.  This year will be the best year ever, it is the year of the “Dragon” prosperity will reign! So here we go:

Blogging is one of the most under-estimated tools to enhance small businesses in their marketing plans.  Many have come to realize the value of blogging as a means to promote expertise, and establish credibility with their potential customer audience base.

A well-maintained business blog can out-perform a traditional, static business web site in search engines.  In more direct terms, this means that a well-maintained blog can provide a smart business person and his/her business with a competitive advantage online that will translate to more traffic i.e. increasing potential revenue.

From a marketing stand-point, business blogs, in general, have demonstrated that they can:

1. Generate ways for consumers to discover old and new businesses and their respective products/ services.
2. Act as a communication medium that offers marketing visibility opportunities for businesses well beyond the search engines.  Business blogs have, in some instances, been known to generate buzz and word of mouth marketing for their businesses (let’s see a static, business web page do that).

 

Benefits of Blogging for Small Business:

• It tends to be cheaper for a small business to keep up a blog than to keep up a website.  For small business owners without the time to learn web HTML or the money to hire a web designer/developer, blogging offers an inexpensive method to get their company’s name out on the Internet.
• Having a well-maintained blog may provide small businesses with a powerful edge vs. larger, “blog-silent” businesses pursuing the same customers in the market-place.
• Blogging has shown time and again that it can be a great marketing tool that boost sales, provides a perfect opportunity for product promotion and helps brand a small business and its products.
• It tends to improve the customer experience since it allows for public, two-way business/customer conversations (value: customers who feel like a company is listening to them and responding to their needs have been found more likely to develop an emotional connection with that company — something important for a small business seeking to build customer loyalty and generate repeat buyers).

Some Words of Warning about Blogging for Businesses Large and Small:

A well-maintained business blog does involve a significant investment of time.  Also, it tends to communicate best when its writing is humanized and personal-sounding rather than cold and robotic (avoid using corporate jargon that can turn your audience away).

And although a business person may find it challenging, s (he) must take the time to respond to all non-spam comments left on his/her company’s blog — particularly negative comments.   Keep in mind, however, that if these comment responses satisfy an angry customer, that same customer can potentially turn in to an evangelist for the same business down the road.

Once you start a blog, as a business you need to be consistent and start an editorial calendar meaning that you need to maintain your presence by writing regular blogs on your blogging site.

As they say “Content is king”, add useful, clear content that can help readers to become your loyal evangelists or customers waiting for your next blog.  Blogs should never be about the business itself abut about what solutions this business offers, what issues it helps overcome, and what advantages it offers to the readers that look for (WIIIFM: What Is In It For Me)

With all the noise in the social media sphere the people’s attention span is extremely short, you need to grab it from the get go, starting by your title using attracting keywords.

Some free resources for blogging:

-        www.wordpress.com

-        www.blogger.com

-        www.tumblr.com

They are free and paid versions, I would suggest that you start with the free version and see how comfortable you are, then down the line you can shift to a paid version or host one on your website.  You can export your blogs later on to your paid blog version if you decide to do so.

Happy Blogging

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™
http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting

7 Tips For Job seekers – Part 3

This  is the final post of Christmas for job seekers, offering job tips for job seekers.  The previous posts discussed Finding a job through Personal branding for job seekers, using  personal branding  for job search , using LinkedIn for job search,  networking for job seekers, resume for job seekers,  7 tips for job seekers – Part 1, 7 tips for job seekers – Part 2.

 

Habit 5 – Seek First to Understand
then be Understood

Concentrate on what the hiring managers and recruiters are looking for in their candidates not what you think you understand what they need.

Human nature migrates towards the desire of being understood, so all our actions, thoughts and words try to convey our message so others can understand where we are coming from, as a result we spend most of our energy wasting time.

This habit is an important key that puts different dynamics to the conversation that should exist between job seekers and hiring managers and recruiters.  Try to get to the bottom of the qualifications they are looking for which will affect your chances to get called in for an interview and hopefully ace the interview and get the job.

By sincerely spending the time and effort to understand the prospective employer’s position, they become more open, more understandable, reachable, and more interested in what you may have to offer.

 

Habit 6 – Synergize

Synergy means: the interaction or cooperation of two or more people, organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.  It means putting two heads or more together to brainstorm and come up with better and broader creative solutions that will be win-win.

It can only be done successfully if you have first practiced habits 4 and 5. The well-known definition of synergy is as follows:  It is “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”.

Win- win solutions can be reached only if we understand the other party position, if we believe that we can change a bad situation to a better one, if we visualize where we want to go.  It is like a pyramid or like a domino effect once triggered properly everything falls in the proper place.  It is the sequence of events that start by applying and executing the habits properly; synergetic solutions will be an inevitable natural product of your efforts.

 

 

Habit 7 – Sharpen the Saw

The last habit of the 7 Habits is - Sharpen the Saw. In this habit, you are the saw; and to Sharpen the Saw is to always be at your best game, find ways to sharpen your skills, increase your knowledge, become better, keener and more effective.

Always take the time to Sharpen your Saw. What is meant by Sharpening the Saw is to regularly engage in the exercise of the three dimensions which make up the human condition: body, mind and spirit.

Because of the nature of job-hunting, you will face ups and downs and sometimes even some potholes, but by trying to stick to the positive attitudes on the 7 habits you may also find some great corners and crossroads that you have never expected.

Take the time to breathe in, look at the silver lining because it always gets better no matter how long it takes, the sun always rises after a long night; just be prepared to change your attitude and do adjustments on the way.  Celebrate your progress, rest when you need then jump back on the wagon.

Always remember that your next interview might be starting now, so always be on your best tip top shape mentally and physically.

 

Best of luck in your job search

 

Thank you Santa for the jobs you brought throughout 2011- We need a lot more jobs in 2012 and please start very early-like right after you rest from New Year’s Eve,

Happy New Year

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™

http://www.saharconsulting.com 

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting