linkedIn

5 Reasons Linkedin is Boring in a Good Way

Posted on 03. Apr, 2012 by Anthony Juliano in Blog, Guest Posts, linkedIn, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, social media marketing, social networks

Anthony Juliano is the Vice President of Marketing and Social Media Strategy at Asher Agency, a Midwest-based marketing strategy firm. Anthony speaks and writes about a variety of social media and marketing topics, with a specific focus on LinkedIn. Connect with him at AnthonyJuliano.com.

LinkedIn has a reputation for being… well, a little dorky. In fact, if social media sites were high school kids, Pinterest would be the prettiest girl, Facebook would be the most popular kid, and Twitter would be the cool, edgy dude with a knack for setting trends.

What would LinkedIn be? Remember the nerdy kid who got straight A’s but who didn’t go to the prom, mainly because it was on the same night as chess club? Yeah, that’d be LinkedIn.

This has certainly been perpetuated in the media. Tech Crunch has called LinkedIn “the boring social network that won’t find you a date but may land you a job.” CNN’s Victor Hernandez said on Twitter that “LinkedIn is boring’ is fast becoming its corporate motto.” And Business Insider took things a step further by saying that “LinkedIn’s lousy sex appeal could end up killing it.”

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LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman: too sexy for this post. 'Reid Hoffman' by jdlasica on Flickr

So, are they right? Is LinkedIn boring? The honest truth is that it can be–certainly as compared to the likes of Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. But is LinkedIn’s lack of “sex appeal” a bad thing? In reality, the fact that LinkedIn is boring may actually be one of its greatest assets. Here are a few reasons why.

1. LinkedIn’s audience is focused on work, not play.

If you want to talk about shopping, books, movies, hobbies, or you personal life, you won’t find much of an audience on LinkedIn. Most LinkedIn users, you see, are laser focused on their professional life, looking for resources that can help them grow as professionals or help them grow their business. That makes LinkedIn a lot like real-world business networking events–which can be, admittedly, a little boring (especially in comparison to the pool party that is Facebook). The advantage, though, is that if you focus your efforts on LinkedIn on how you can be a resource to your connections, your approach will likely be well received.

2. No photos or videos means more focus on words–including your words.

If you look at what generates conversations on Facebook, you’ll quickly see that photos and videos get more attention than text-only status updates. On Pinterest, of course, photos are the whole point. LinkedIn is much different. The only photos on the site, other than those in ads and stories, are users’ profile photos. The only videos are the rare few you’ll find embedded in company pages or member profiles (like this one). That makes text dominant–and presents a great opportunity to keep the audience focused on what you have to say, if you say it well and make it relevant.

3. Less activity overall equates to less noise–and a better chance for you to stand out.

Because relatively few LinkedIn users update their status, the news feed is pretty quiet–especially as compared to Facebook and Twitter. That presents another opportunity for you to stand out simply by being willing to share what you know.

4. Unlike Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, LinkedIn won’t likely lead you down a rabbit hole.

I’ve heard friends talk about getting “sucked in” to Pinterest, and losing “hours” on Facebook and Twitter. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone make the same statement about LinkedIn. From my perspective, one of LinkedIn’s biggest advantages is that users log in, get what they need, and log out. There aren’t a lot of people using LinkedIn just to kill time, and that means they’re more action oriented and intentional then they are on other sites.

5. No “wall” and no “tagging” means you have control over your message.

The great thing about your Facebook profile is that it’s shaped by the people in your network as much as yourself. It’s all about interaction, and letting others define the terms of the conversation by mentioning your name in status updates, for example, and tagging you in photos. But what if you don’t want others to chime in, or what if what they say isn’t helpful to you? What if, for example, you want to focus your Facebook page on your profession, but your friends mention you in statuses and tag you in photos unrelated to your work? That’s where LinkedIn users have an advantage. There’s no wall, and no tagging, so the opportunity for others to publicly engage with you are limited. Pretty much the only way they can jump in is by liking or commenting on your status updates, and it’s unlikely they’ll say something wholly unrelated to the conversation you’ve started. That makes for less engagement–but a more focused message overall.

The truth is, LinkedIn does offer a lot of things that are pretty exciting. A great window into your contacts’ world and the chance to make an impression on them every day. The opportunity to understand–and leverage–the interconnections within your network. An unmatched conversion rate. And just like that nerdy high school kid, a lot of untapped potential.

So, if you’re looking to hang out with the cool crowd, LinkedIn may not be for you. But if you want to focus your efforts and connect with an audience that’s equally as focused, you’re likely to get exactly what you want out of LinkedIn–as long as you’re willing to put up with a few yawns along the way.

9 Social Media Hacks I Use Every Day

Posted on 26. Feb, 2012 by Jay Baer in Blog, linkedIn, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, social media marketing, social media tools

Social media isn’t inexpensive, it’s just different expensive. To do it well requires a tremendous time commitment, and regardless of what your life and lifestyle entails, the time you spend on social comes with an opportunity cost price tag. Thus, one of the characteristics that sets adept practitioners of social media apart from less successful adherents is wise use of time.

Using your limited social media time wisely is all about going beyond the obvious activities. If you’re doing the exact same things everyone else is doing in social, I can guarantee you will not have an advantage. But, if you do some things differently, you may find activities where the reward is disproportionate to the effort. These nine efficiencies — hacks — are what you need to embrace right now.

1. Listen to Podcasts

Sure, they’ve been overcome by newer and sexier social flavors du jour but podcasts are still the best way to spend time when you’re not in front of a screen. Driving to work? Listen to Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels of Separation or MarketingProfs’ Marketing Smarts with Matthew Grant . Working out? Put on the earbuds and embrace John Jantsch’s Duct Tape Marketing , or Chris Penn’s Marketing Over Coffee . I’d love to have your ears on my weekly Social Pros Podcast, where we focus on real people doing real work in social media. (you can put your eyes on it too, because we run full text transcripts here).

2. Take and Curate Photographs

I’m not certain if a picture is worth a thousand words, but it’s definitely worth 140 characters. This is the year that photos challenge writing as the lingua franca of the social web: Instagram; Pinterest; Path; Google + using large thumbnails in the news feed; face recognition technology. All trend lines point toward photography. If you’re not taking and posting pictures to dedicated photo networks and cross-posting (when appropriate) to Twitter and Facebook, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to grow your network and see the world through the eyes (or cell phone cameras) of thousands of new friends.

3. Read LinkedIn Today

It’s pretty safe to say that most people keep their LinkedIn shrubbery more closely pruned than their Facebook or Twitter trees. Thus, when content is shared in LinkedIn, it often has a better chance to have been shared by people you trust, or at least people with a modicum of business sense. That’s why when I’m looking for a summarized source of what’s happening in the categories I care about, I turn to Linkedin Today.

4. Buffer Your Links

One of the most insidious time sucks in all of social media — especially for content curators — is the “Oh, I found something cool. I should share this on a social network or four!” keyboard fire that spontaneously erupts a few times a day. This kills your focus and productivity. The better approach is to set aside a chunk of time first thing each morning to find the handful of truly interesting content bon mots that are worthy, and use Buffer to automatically share them across your chosen social networks at pre-determined, optimized times. While you’re at it, add the Buffer button to your blog too. (disclosure: I’m an investor in Buffer)

5. Use “if this, then that” Recipes

If This, Then That (IFTTT) is the best social tool nobody ever mentions. It’s like a virtual assistant social media robot, where you can create an almost infinite array of conditionally-defined, time-saving tasks. Create an account and hook up all of your social profiles, blogs, cell phone numbers, etc. Then sift through the mountain of existing recipes to find processes that will save you effort.

For example, want your Twitter profile photo to change automatically when you update your Facebook profile photo? Done. Want to have your favorited tweets automatically emailed to you? Done.Want to automatically store your Instagram photos in a Dropbox account? Done.Want to automatically post to your Pinterest board any link you add to Facebook? Done.

The opportunities are nearly endless at IFTTT.com.

6. Create a Stalker List

Grab a piece of paper, or open a new document and write down a list of the 20 people you most want to interact with in social media — people you don’t know, but want to know. Then, create a list for these people on Twitter and Facebook, and a circle for them on Google +. Where applicable, visit their blogs and bookmark them. Also subscribe to their feeds (via email, not RSS because you’ll check your email every day, but not your RSS.) Find them on Instagram, Pinterest, and LInkedin and connect in those places, too.

Done? Starting tomorrow, spend 15 minutes total per day interacting with some of these 20 people. Not in a yucky way, and not in a pandering way. If you have something interesting and relevant to add via Twitter, blog comment, or elsewhere, do it. If you don’t, keep your hands to your sides. But pay attention to your list of 20, and find ways to interact with and help them. In short order, they will recognize you and you’ll have grown and leveled up your network of social contacts. Make a new list every three to six months.

7. Interact on Google +

Let me make this clear: If you’re reading this, you should be on Google +. Not for the SEO benefit — although that’s not insignificant. Not for the entertainment value — although the large number of videos and GIFs there can be a hoot. Do it for the opportunity to interact and engage with industry professionals in a comparatively quiet and efficient location. You want to get on Chris Brogan’s radar? Or Mari Smith’s? Or Brian Solis’s? Google + is the place to do it. It’s Twitter before Oprah; Quora for the masses; blog comments but easier to use. It may not last, but for now Google + is the place to interact with people that no longer answer every tweet.

8. Blend Personal and Professional

Quit worrying about showing your real self in social media. If your social media bios talk only about who you are at work, you’re leaving attention on the table. The reality is that unless you’re a sword swallower or an astronaut, your personal life is more interesting than your professional life. You’re a marketing director for a B2B software company? Yawn. You’re a marketing director for a B2B software company, and you happen to grow prize-winning roses? That, I’ll remember. What you love makes you memorable in ways that what you do cannot. There’s a reason most of my bios say I’m a tequila lover.

9. Quit Obsessing Over Case Studies

How much time do you spend reading case studies, trying to find evidence that social media will work for your company? Case studies should be used for ideation, not ratification. Beyond the fact that case studies are often strategically irrelevant because the company profiled is in a different industry, with different goals, competitors, and customer expectations (among other variances), perhaps the biggest problem with most social media success stories is that the measures of that success are largely without real merit.

Even in the best possible scenario, where the case study in question is extraordinarily applicable to your business goals, social media situation, KPIs, budget, timeline, customer personas, and more (which is a rare alignment indeed), you are placing significant influential value on one outcome. Worry less about what some other company is doing, and worry more about doing your own work.

Social media is too complicated for you to be wasting your time, spinning your wheels on activities and behaviors that won’t make much difference. I know these nine hacks will save you time and propel you forward, because I use them all consistently. But I’m sure I’ve missed many terrific ideas. What are you doing to save time and boost your social media efficiency?

(post originally written for iMedia Connection)

What Do You Know? Examining the Big 4 Online Answer Sites

Posted on 07. Feb, 2012 by Arnie Kuenn in Arnie Kuenn, Blog, Blogging and Content Creation, content marketing, linkedIn, Quora, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Arnie Kuenn is the president of Vertical Measures, a search, social & content marketing company . He is author of Accelerate! Moving Your Business Forward Through the Convergence of Search, Social & Content Marketing.

An ideal connection between social media and search might just be “Answer” sites. The essential concept behind an answer site is that visitors can post a question eager to get it answered by someone considered an expert, who is knowledgeable in the subject matter. The response could also be powered by public knowledge with consensus determining the “best” answer. Answer sites offer users the capability to be both the inquisitor and the expert. More often than not, in basic human interaction, we can answer each others’ questions based on our own personal familiarity. We can achieve this on a massive scale using these Answer Sites.

Create Content That Answers Your Customers’ Questions

People can ask questions of all kinds on nearly every subject imaginable, and as you analyze what visitors are asking, you can more easily spot trends. From a market research perspective, this means that you’ll focus on the people that have been asking questions concerning your industry and your niche market. This way, you can obtain constructive market data about the people who are looking for solutions to their problems.

If you find a widespread theme, you can create content that answers those questions and touches closely to the specific subject matter. You might even phrase your content’s title in the form of the same question people are asking. This gives your content the greatest chance to be discovered when someone types that inquiry directly into a Google search. We have found that a rising number of people use that type of search method (question format).

On top of observing the current trends, you can get real time feedback about your industry from the consumers that are engaging with it using these answer sites. Ask a question on an answer site that relates to your product, and see what type of response you get from the community. These raw answers can give you very useful, and informative marketing data.

Let’s take a look at the “Big 4″ Answer Sites, and how to conquer them.

Yahoo! Answers

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Yahoo! Answers

Yahoo! Answers is one of the most popular answer sites, and has accrued millions of questions and answers. The site gets a huge (and sometimes bizarre) assortment of questions, ranging from homework to dating to home and garden. Because of its popularity, during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, and John McCain submitted questions to the site, leveraging their campaigns on the Internet and generating a huge response from the public.

The way Yahoo! Answers works is pretty straightforward: participants will submit questions to be answered by the community; when asking a question, the participant categorizes it by topic, making it easier to search and easier to answer. As an incentive to ensure that answers are accurate and free of spam, Yahoo! developed a point system. Answers are ranked by other users, and the “best answers” are given the most points. Users that accumulate points have proven to be highly regarded, and are granted certain privileges, such as the ability to ask, answer, vote, and rate on a more frequent basis.

Yahoo! Answers allows you to browse by category and see what types of questions are most popular, newest, or have received the fastest responses. You can get very specific, too; every user has to categorize a question by topic before submitting it. So, it’s much easier for you to research inquiries that are relevant to your market. You can search keyword phrases to browse questions that are being asked, either within subcategories or among all categories.

Answers.com

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Answers.com

Answers.com marries the best of community-driven questions and answers with hundreds of respected and trusted editorial reference books. The site knows the best answer to give you, whether it summons the extensive collection of community answers from WikiAnswers, or it taps into its ReferenceAnswers database – a comprehensive set of editorial, licensed reference topics.

If you have a specific, unique, complex or more social question, and you are seeking a to-the-point answer, WikiAnswers is the best place to ask your question. Anyone can ask, answer, edit or collaborate on answers in thousands of categories and subject matters. It’s another great place to see what your customers are asking about.

Simply enter your keyword phrase and look to the right for various questions people are asking. Or browse through categories related to your specific market.

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LinkedIn Answers

LinkedIn is primarily a social networking site aimed at business professionals. With more than 100 million networked individuals, the site boasts the capability for linked professionals to collaborate on projects and develop their ability to communicate across their industry through LinkedIn Groups. LinkedIn offers an Answers channel as one of its tools for collaboration. The Q&A feature offers the ability for industry experts to show off their expertise to a network up to three degrees deep (your contacts, your contact’s contacts, and your second-level-contact’s contacts). Depending on how wide each level is, this could amount to a very extensive network.

The driving force in Q&A is similar to Yahoo! Answers, as the motivation for answering is driven by a user rating system for credibility. Here the recognition is professional, where the best answers demonstrate a working knowledge of the industry. LinkedIn further rewards members by recognizing the top answerer in a weekly ranking. The motivation for making this list is industry-wide exposure as top expert in the field.

LinkedIn Answers has predominantly good data for Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing. You can find questions your potential customers are asking about as they try to solve their toughest questions. By spending time in LinkedIn, you’ll get an insider’s view into the problems that your business can solve for your customers.

Quora

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Quora

Quora connects you to everything you want to know about. Quora aims to be the easiest place to write new questions and share content from the web. They organize people and their interests so you can find, collect and share the information most valuable to you.

When you want to know more about something, Quora delivers you answers and content from people who share your interests and people who have first-hand knowledge — like real doctors, economists, screenwriters, police officers, and military veterans. On Quora, it’s easy to create a personalized homepage of everything you want to know about by following topics, questions, people and boards.

Like the others, Quora is meant to be a useful knowledge-indexing tool, a database of information provided by users. However, Quora is a continually improving collection of questions and answers, reviewed by users, edited by users, flagged as useful or not by users, and organized by everyone who uses it. The creators’ goal is to have each question page become the best possible resource for someone who wants to know about the question.

Question Yourself

By using Answer sites for research, you can quickly develop a list of content development ideas helping you through one of the biggest challenges of content marketing.

To learn more about boosting your content marketing efforts, check out Vertical Measures’ 8 Steps to Successful Content Marketing, a free guide that features actionable ways to create an implement a content marketing plan using popular (and often free) industry tools.

What Do You Know? Examining the Big 4 Online Answer Sites

Posted on 07. Feb, 2012 by Arnie Kuenn in Arnie Kuenn, Blog, Blogging and Content Creation, content marketing, linkedIn, Quora, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Arnie Kuenn is the president of Vertical Measures, a search, social & content marketing company . He is author of Accelerate! Moving Your Business Forward Through the Convergence of Search, Social & Content Marketing.

An ideal connection between social media and search might just be “Answer” sites. The essential concept behind an answer site is that visitors can post a question eager to get it answered by someone considered an expert, who is knowledgeable in the subject matter. The response could also be powered by public knowledge with consensus determining the “best” answer. Answer sites offer users the capability to be both the inquisitor and the expert. More often than not, in basic human interaction, we can answer each others’ questions based on our own personal familiarity. We can achieve this on a massive scale using these Answer Sites.

Create Content That Answers Your Customers’ Questions

People can ask questions of all kinds on nearly every subject imaginable, and as you analyze what visitors are asking, you can more easily spot trends. From a market research perspective, this means that you’ll focus on the people that have been asking questions concerning your industry and your niche market. This way, you can obtain constructive market data about the people who are looking for solutions to their problems.

If you find a widespread theme, you can create content that answers those questions and touches closely to the specific subject matter. You might even phrase your content’s title in the form of the same question people are asking. This gives your content the greatest chance to be discovered when someone types that inquiry directly into a Google search. We have found that a rising number of people use that type of search method (question format).

On top of observing the current trends, you can get real time feedback about your industry from the consumers that are engaging with it using these answer sites. Ask a question on an answer site that relates to your product, and see what type of response you get from the community. These raw answers can give you very useful, and informative marketing data.

Let’s take a look at the “Big 4″ Answer Sites, and how to conquer them.