Best of the Web - Linkedin
Best of the Web - LinkedIn

Tips on Using the LinkedIn Status Bar for Marketing

Written on September 18, 2012 by in Best of the Web, Blogging - Content, LinkedIn, Social Media

BrandLove LLC     brandlovellc.wordpress.com

Tips on Using the LinkedIn Status Bar for Marketing

There are several ways to use the LinkedIn Status Bar for marketing:

1. Share a blog post. If you have a blog for your organization – or a personal blog – you can write up a quick summary of the post and attach a link to it on the Status Bar. It will then be shared on your LinkedIn network and Twitter (if you want to do so).  Remember, your network can then share your latest update, like it and comment on it. This will help propagate the message even further.

Thoughts on Twitter and LinkedIn 

I’m not really a fan of linking Twitter to LinkedIn. You’re dealing with two entirely different audiences, with different personalities, writing styles and lingo. On LinkedIn, you may have some important work-related intel to share with like-minded connections. While those in a directly related field may express interest, it will likely go over the heads of all those on Twitter.  Twitter is designed to be more of a casual, conversational format. You may want to gain followers by posting a tweet intentionally designed to get a reaction. While random people may love it, your business contacts may get turned off by the “unprofessionalism” of your tweet. Remember, not everyone uses Twitter, so your colleagues on LinkedIn may not know how to read some of the special characters and abbreviations on Twitter.

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BusinessLink: The Status Bar – LinkedIn’s Hidden Marketing Gem!

Written on August 27, 2012 by in Best of the Web, LinkedIn, Social Media

Chuck Hester     socialmediatoday.com

When I consult on LinkedIn marketing I cover four features of LinkedIn essential for marketing: Groups, Company pages, Answers and the LinkedIn Status Bar.  The last two in particular are probably the most underutilized features on LinkedIn for marketing.

If you held my feet to the fire, and told me I could only choose Answers or Status Bar going forward, I would pick the Status Bar in a heartbeat! It is truly an amazing marketing tool – if used properly.

Inadvertently, the Status Bar made the tech news recently with Twitter announcing they would no longer allow tweets to be posted back to LinkedIn. But what you may not know is that LinkedIn still allows for integration of their Status Bar messages into Twitter.

 The LinkedIn Status Bar – What is It? Why Should I Care?

Right at the top of the LinkedIn homepage – next to your picture is a box that says: “Share an update.”  It also has a Twitter icon on the lower right hand corner that has a checkbox next to it. This is the LinkedIn Status Bar.

At 140 characters the Status Bar allows you to share quick updates with your networks on LinkedIn and Twitter. If you decide you don’t want to share on Twitter, uncheck the Twitter box and you can share a longer message.

With the Status Bar you can also add a link to an article, blog post, press release – whatever you want to share. Starting to see where the marketing aspect of this comes in to play?

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5 Ways Sales Professionals Can Get More Leads From LinkedIn

Written on August 7, 2012 by in Best of the Web, LinkedIn, Social Media

Melonie Dodaro     topdogsocialmedia.com

Finding specific LinkedIn training for lead generation can be difficult when there is so much out there to read and study. Many sales professionals have no idea how to use LinkedIn as a tool for lead generation and to bypass gatekeepers. Thankfully, LinkedIn is easy to learn and implement once you understand the 5 ways as a sales professional that you can get more leads from this social media powerhouse.

Maybe you have tried to use LinkedIn for connecting with prospects in the past, but you felt lost in a sea of thousands of connections and groups. Perhaps you aren’t even sure whether LinkedIn will help you find and attract ideal prospects. As of March 2012, over 161 million business professionals from around the world were using LinkedIn, so the massive power that marketing can have by using the site is incredible. Not to mention 68% of the users are business decision makers. Isn’t that who you want to connect with?

If so, first you must to learn how to utilize these five powerful LinkedIn strategies.

LinkedIn Training: Five LinkedIn Strategies For Sales Professionals

1. Your LinkedIn Profile Is Crucial To Success.This is one of the biggest mistakes that sales professionals make when signing up for LinkedIn. They either don’t complete their profile in full or they create a boring, bland resume like profile. No one wants to read a dull resume unless they are hiring you for a job, and even then you are likely to get lumped in with a bunch of other people since you aren’t standing out. A professional and compelling profile will go a long way to building credibility and positioning you as a trusted advisor.

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10 + 1 LinkedIn Tips for Channel Professionals

Written on August 6, 2012 by in B2B, Best of the Web, LinkedIn, Social Media

Mike O’Neil     visibli.com

Channel professionals can do lots to help themselves, their companies and their partners by using LinkedIn. In layman terms, channels refers to the process of having companies and individuals, not employed by your firm, represent your products, sell your products and deliver/install your products.

Best Buy is a channel partner for HP.  Bob’s computers may be a channel partner for HP as well. Tech Data is a channel partner for HP.  So – Bob gets the HP computers he sells to his customers from Tech Data who gets them from HP.  Get it?

When we say channel professionals, there are many variations on the term:

  • As a manufacturer, on the “host” side – HP, Verizon, Microsoft
  • As an “OEM” on the “supplier” side – Intel, Seagate, Samsung
  • As a distributor “in the middle” – Tech Data, Ingram Micro, Westcon
  • As Channel Partner “at the end” – Best Buy, Statera, Bob’s Computers

Below are some simple things that ALL channel professionals can do to get going with LinkedIn, to get ahead and to stay ahead.

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Social Metrics: The Return On Amplification

Written on August 4, 2012 by in Best of the Web, Blogging - Content, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Social Media, Twitter

Nick Kellet     nickkellet.com

I’ve been thinking a lot about amplification recently. That’s what social media enables. Everyone and everything in social media is there to amplify. Your success is a function of how well you engage with people. The friendships and collaborations you create will make a huge difference. The tools you pick is also a critical part of your success in social media.

Every social media tool or service provider or consultant claims to be an amplifier. They aren’t lying! That’s the bonus and the challenge. We need to get a firm grip on amplification. Understanding amplification will help us define our strategies and be more effective.

Tools Amplify…

  • Triberr amplifies by letting you collaborate with other bloggers.
  • BufferApp amplifies by spreading your communications over time.
  • Blogs let you amplify by creating SEO findable content.
  • Twitter amplifies by being a network and by simplifying sharing and finding new friends.
  • Facebook amplifies your content among individual friend networks.
  • Listly amplifies your content by sourcing new content and driving traffic and engagement inside your blog.

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LinkedIn Tips – 7 Things You Are Doing Wrong

Written on July 29, 2012 by in Best of the Web, LinkedIn, Social Media

Tom Searcy     Inc.

Most professionals use the social networking site in some capacity–but one expert says they’re making a lot of mistakes. Today, LinkedIn is the No. 1 social media platform for professionals. Estimates of professional participation in LinkedIn are as high as 83%. But when I talked to one of my friends–social media expert Alexandra Gibson from OttoPilot Media–she told me that she sees too many professionals making a lot of mistakes. LinkedIn tips are included to help and below are the seven mistakes she sees most often.

1. You only use it if you need a job. I can usually tell when my friends are on the job prowl because all of a sudden, a barely existent LinkedIn profile is revived. The truth is that you’ll be much better served by keeping your profile and connections current, rather than just reaching out to people when you need something.

2. You have an incomplete profile. A bare-bones profile does not do you (or your company) any favors. Add all important companies and a description of the results you achieved in the past. Don’t forget to optimize your profile for search–creating a keyword rich profile will help people find you and your company.

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LinkedIn Etiquette For Businesses and Professionals

Written on July 26, 2012 by in Best of the Web, Business, LinkedIn, Social Media

Casey Hines     Social Media Delivered

LinkedIn has reached a pinnacle in online networking for professionals. With over 100 million users, it has fostered a space for businesses and individuals to connect, search for both employers and employees, join groups, and discover meetup and networking events. But the context of LinkedIn is very different from more casual social networks like Facebook and Twitter: it’s an instant broadcast of who you are and your accomplishments as an individual in the work force. The language is more formal, and how to communicate with your fellow LinkedIn users can be tricky. These tips on LinkedIn etiquette are just a few guidelines for navigating LinkedIn. It’s an extended community and network that can be incredibly fruitful, if you know the correct etiquette.

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