Category: Social Media

Some Tips For Getting Traction on LinkedIn

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I’m often asked by colleagues—and sometimes even competitors—where I find my clients. There are probably three primary channels that work best for me: referrals, speaking engagements, and LinkedIn.

I have used LinkedIn myself for a number of years to establish myself as a thought leader in the marketing/digital marketing space and to generate leads and new clients. Many of my clients come through connections I’ve made on LinkedIn, or by showing up in search results from people/companies looking for marketing assistance. I also help various clients use LinkedIn for their own lead generation or thought leadership efforts. For those in the business-to-business (B2B) space, it truly is a valuable tool—if it’s used effectively.

Continue reading “Some Tips For Getting Traction on LinkedIn”

Social Media and Your 2020 Marketing Strategy

There have been plenty of notable changes in the social media landscape as of late. New channels (like TikTok) are popping up. Legacy channels (like Facebook and Twitter) are cracking down on users and APIs whose approaches have been more spammy than strategic. Continue reading “Social Media and Your 2020 Marketing Strategy”

Communication Channels Don’t Work in Isolation: Be Strategic!

A lot of questions I see related to digital marketing tend to compartmentalize, or silo, various types of communications. For instance, questions about social media or even about specific social media channels. Or questions about blogging. Or questions about website performance. Continue reading “Communication Channels Don’t Work in Isolation: Be Strategic!”

Best Practices for Business Building on LinkedIn

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I’ve had a profile on LinkedIn for a number of years now. LinkedIn and Twitter are two of my favorite social media platforms. Most business people would agree with me that LinkedIn is a great tool for building a strong network and engaging with others. Most would likely not agree with me that Twitter can also be a great business-to-business (B2B) business-building tool. We have, though, definitely found that to be the case for ourselves and for our clients. (More on that another day.) Here we want to focus on LinkedIn. Continue reading “Best Practices for Business Building on LinkedIn”

Don’t Slack With Your Social Media Marketing

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Social media marketing should be a key component of the marketing mix for virtually any company. Not only is social media marketing relatively inexpensive, it also provides a greater level of engagement than mass marketing efforts because it’s targeted at those who have some connection with your brand—shared interests, common connections, etc. At the same time, many companies pay lip service to social media marketing. They are technically doing it, but they aren’t putting in as much effort as they could, or should. Continue reading “Don’t Slack With Your Social Media Marketing”

How to Reach Out to Potential LinkedIn Connections

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Having the right connections—whether investors, customers, partners, suppliers or employees, etc.—can make a huge difference in company success. LinkedIn, the Facebook of professional networking, was purposely built and marketed as a great way to develop and maintain these connections. And it works if used effectively. Continue reading “How to Reach Out to Potential LinkedIn Connections”

No-Cost, Low-Cost Ways to Boost Your Brand

We’ve previously discussed the challenges many companies face when trying to calculate an ROI on their marketing efforts. For small and medium-sized businesses, this can make it difficult to justify increasing spend on marketing efforts.

But, just because you feel like you can’t spend more money on marketing doesn’t mean you can’t invest in your brand. Continue reading “No-Cost, Low-Cost Ways to Boost Your Brand”

Three Big Buckets of Effective Social Media Strategy

It’s hard to succeed at anything if you’re not focused. Whether you’re golfing, driving, taking an exam or giving a presentation, losing focus on your objective can be disastrous. The same is true of your social media activity. Granted social media marketing is a longer-term activity than golfing or giving a presentation, but the importance of focus is no less important. In particular, we’ve selected three key elements marketers should keep their focus on when engaging in social media. Continue reading “Three Big Buckets of Effective Social Media Strategy”

How Social Media is Changing Advertising and PR

(excerpted from 21st Century Secrets to Effective PR: Tips and Best Practices for Gaining Media Exposure)

In the “old days,” there was advertising and there was PR. Advertising was paid communication that we created about ourselves. PR was communication that we earned through creating relationships and clever pitches to the media gatekeepers who would then share information about us on our behalf. Social media represents a new communication option that has had, and will continue to have, a marked impact on both advertising and PR. Continue reading “How Social Media is Changing Advertising and PR”

Leveraging Big Benefits From Micro-Influencers

Marketing is key to not only getting the word out about your products and services but also for convincing potential consumers that your offerings provide the best quality, best value, are the trendiest, etc. Influencers can be a huge benefit in this respect. Influencers are individuals or organizations that have the ability to influence the beliefs, attitudes and actions of others. An influencer might be a popular professional athlete who touts the efficacy of a particular shoe, supplement or clothing brand. Or it could be a celebrity who shows up on the red carpet wearing a particular fashion brand—one that carries your label.

These are examples of large-scale influencers. Small businesses typically don’t have access to such individuals unless by pure good fortune. But in an article for Forbes, Dinah Wisenberg Brin writes that some businesses have found success using “micro-influencers” to achieve similar effects, albeit on a smaller scale. Continue reading “Leveraging Big Benefits From Micro-Influencers”