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Tips for Creating a Powerful LinkedIn Profile

Creating a Powerful LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn is the biggest social network for professionals. Statistics show that 2 people join LinkedIn every second. Many of them are looking to supercharge their career or business. Now, do you realize how many people you are up against?

Whether you’re networking, generating leads or job hunting, having an eye-catching professional profile on LinkedIn will increase the odds of potential clients, partners or employers getting in touch with you.

In this blog post, we have put together some tips that will help you amp up your profile. Use these tips to create a powerful LinkedIn profile that will get you noticed.

Have the right profile picture

Your profile photo is one of the most important parts of your profile. Why? It’s because people base their first impression on the photo they see on your profile.

Studies show that you’ll get 14 times more views than the competition if you have a great profile picture. Remember that LinkedIn caters to professionals, so choose a simple, professional shot. Reserve those selfies for Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Make your headline standout

At the top of your profile, you are given 120 characters to tell the world what exactly it is that you do. Rather than just putting your job title, you want to use that space to showcase your specialty and value proposition. This is especially beneficial if you’re looking for jobs.

Create a killer summary

Your LinkedIn summary should be impressive, engaging and interesting to your reader. This is where you sell yourself and showcase your accomplishments. This is your chance to show the world how good you are and that you deserve their attention.

Include keywords

Optimize your profile by incorporating keywords that people are using to find someone like you. Place them in various sections of your profile such as the job title, headline, summary and specialties. This will ensure that you’ll get found by your target audience and your profile will perform well in search engines.

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New Webinar: What’s all the buzz about with Twitter?

Learn How to Use Twitter for Your Business

With over 500 MILLION tweets being sent each day, it is important you know how to use Twitter correctly so you see a return on your investment!
In this webinar, we will review the components of a profile and talk about images, tips, and tools to manage your Twitter profile!  RSVP today!

In this webinar, you will learn how to properly use Twitter for your business and WHY it is SO important! 

Join Amber Irwin, CEO on September 27th
3:30 MST for this FREE webinar!

When:
September 27th, 2016
Where:
Free Webinar – Details provided to RSVP’s
 Time:
3:30-4:15pm MST

Anyone with a computer and internet connection has the ability to manage a social media account. When done right, businesses can see huge boosts in brand recognition and sales. If managed poorly, social media can be the downfall of your business.

The BIMS Team prides itself on keeping on top of the best practices of digital marketing and Amber is excited to empower you to feel confident in showing you how to use Twitter for your business!

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Tips for Writing an Effective Email Marketing Copy

EmailMarketingTipsYou’ve spent a significant amount of time writing an email that people will hopefully open and read. You’ve racked your brains for the best subject line. You’ve polished each sentence. Now, you’re finally ready to hit “send”. For some reason, you aren’t effectively grabbing the attention of your audience. You’re not getting a response from them either.

This blog post looks at strategies to help you craft an effective email marketing copy that converts. Follow these tips to ensure that your email is effective, clear and successful.

Write a meaningful subject line

Most professionals receive 50 to 200 emails a day. With that volume of email, it can be easy to overlook some important messages. If you want your email to be opened and read, then write an informative subject line that will give recipients an idea about the content of the email.

A clear subject line will capture the attention of the receiver and give busy professionals a concrete reason to read the message. Take a moment to write a subject line that accurately describes the content before you hit “send”.

Keep it simple

People are more likely to read short and concise emails. Keep messages clear and brief. Use as few words as possible, but make sure that it contains all the important information. Also, focus on one particular subject per email. If you need to talk about a separate topic, then write another email.

Be personal

Email is usually the way professionals communicate, but that doesn’t mean that you should sound like a legal document or a spammer. The content should feel as if it came from actual human being, not a machine. While it’s good to keep the message short and brief, including a personal note can help warm up the conversation.

Proofread

Your emails are a reflection of your attention to detail, values and professionalism. The last thing you want is to send an email that contains embarrassing spelling mistakes, horrible grammar mistakes, lack of proper greetings or one that is written in bright colors. Make sure you edit and proofread your email for grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes before sending it.

 

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Simple Ways to Generate Leads from Your Blog

Simple Ways to Generate Leads from Your Blogs

Your business’ blog can do a lot of different things. Blogging does more than let your followers know about upcoming events or recent news. Rather, it can help you develop better customer relationships, position your brand as an industry leader and generate leads.

If you’re not happy with the leads you’re getting from your business blog, then we urge you to keep reading. Use these lead generation tactics to drive more traffic and attract more high quality leads to your website.

Pen a killer headline

Make sure your title is interesting enough to capture the attention of your target audience and will compel them to click through and read your blog post.

Go social

Since you own a blog, you probably know how to write a blog post that that will generate leads. Now, your goal is to extend your reach to those people who know little about your business. Consider sharing your blog posts on social media so that people will come, learn something valuable and share them to their family and friends. This will help spread the word about your business.

Build a mobile-friendly site

A huge percentage of visitors use their tablets or mobile phones to access the internet. If they find it hard to read your blog posts or navigate your site through their mobile devices, they’ll leave even before they start reading your posts. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly or you’ll lose visitors.

Be consistent

Publish new content more frequently if you want people to visit your blog regularly. We know you’re busy, so you don’t have to write a blog every day. However, it is important that you keep up with your posting schedule.

Show up regularly and your readership will grow faster. You can’t expect people to return to your blog if you don’t have new content for them to read. Make sure you offer some valuable content to inspire them to keep coming back.

 

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SEO Mistakes You Need to Stop Making

SEO Mistakes to AvoidSo you have finally decided to incorporate SEO into your online marketing strategy. That’s great! You chose a keyword and started using it into your content. You have uploaded those contents one after the other, and now you’re hoping that your website will land at the very top of Google’s rankings.

If you want to increase your website traffic, it is important to have search engine optimization in mind when creating contents for your website. That plan starts by avoiding the mistakes most website owners make.

In this blog post, we’ll give you a roundup of the most common SEO mistakes people make. Most of these mistakes cause huge, deal-breaking, rank-destroying disasters.

Copying content

Google wants high quality, original content. If you think you can trick Google by stealing some pieces of content from your competitors, think again. Copying content is not only illegal; Google will punish you for it. In fact, it will push your site so far down no one is going to ever read your content.

Writing original, compelling content takes time and effort. But if you want your website to stand the test of time, then you need to work hard for it.

Bad content

Poor content will not only weaken your ranking, it won’t simply make an impact to your readers. For your content to flourish, we advise that you choose topics that are of interest to your target audience. Do your research and write articles that are informative, relevant and unique. Supply your audience with a steady stream of high-quality content and watch as your rankings improve over time.

Not using the right keywords

Some people use generic keywords such as health, weight loss, baking or love. These types of keywords are too broad. While they can help you reach a wide range of audience, chances are it’s the wrong type of traffic.

To improve your chances of landing on the top three spots, consider using more specific keywords. As an added bonus, this will help you attract prospective customers who might be interested in buying your products.

Keyword stuffing

This is a common mistake newcomers often make. While it is important to incorporate the keywords into your content, make sure you don’t overdo it. Otherwise, it’s going to sound spammy. You want the article to sound natural and not forced.

 

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Creative Ways to Repurpose Content into Something New

Creative Ways to Repurpose Content into Something New

Many of you have probably spent a lot of time creating those high quality blog posts. Despite the effort, most of your blog posts are aging like milk, not wine. Now, no one is interested in them because it has been years since you published them. The good news is that you can make your old content valuable and relevant through the process of re-purposing. The key is to spice up each piece of content and making it a bit different than the last.

Repurposing content can be beneficial for your business. It’s a second chance at content promotion. People who weren’t able to read your post will have a chance to read about it. It also ensures that great content is never forgotten. Ultimately, reformatting your content helps you reach a new audience.

In this blog post, we have listed 3 different ways to repurpose old content. Read on and we’ll breathe new life into your existing content.

Write an ebook

One of the best ways to repurpose old content is by turning it into an ebook. While writing an ebook requires a great deal of effort, they are often considered as high-value pieces. There are dozens of tools that can help you design and publish your ebook. Papyrus, for instance, can help you create a beautiful cover page within a few minutes.

You can either distribute it on the Amazon Kindle Store or as a free giveaway for those who would subscribe to your newsletters.

Create a video  

Online videos continue to grow in popularity with web users. A lot of people prefer watching a one-minute video than to read a 1,000 world blog post. Contents that you have previously published to your site can be a great jumping off point for a larger discussion. This allows you to open up a whole new way to connect with others, especially for your audience who prefers content they don’t have to read. You can post your videos on Youtube or Vimeo for maximum exposure.

Create an infographic

People love visual content. You can repurpose your content as an infographic and then share it on social media. Take boring information like statistics or raw data and turn it into an infographic. This is effective because it provides a fun and creative way to present complex information quickly and clearly.

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New Webinar: Building your Editorial Calendar

new webinar - editorial calendars for business

Creating an Editorial Calendar for your Business

Aren’t editorial calendars only used by magazines and journals as they pull together articles on different topics and match advertisers? NO! Your business can and should create an editorial calendar for your blogging, newsletters, and even social media posts. Editorial calendars for businesses work as a way to streamline content creation and help to ensure you stay ahead of holidays and other events that can be built into your promotion strategy.

In this webinar, you will learn what an editorial calendar looks like for your business and how to create one today:

Join Caitlin McDonald on August 30th 3:30pm MST

When:
August 30, 2016
Where:
Free Webinar – Details provided to RSVP’s
 Time:
3:30-4:15pm MST

Anyone with a computer and internet connection has the ability to manage a social media account. When done right, businesses can see huge boosts in brand recognition and sales. If managed poorly, social media can be the downfall of your business.

The BIMS Team prides itself on keeping on top of the best practices of digital marketing and Caitlin is excited to empower you to feel confident in creating an editorial calendar for marketing your business!

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Why Social Media Is Important for Businesses

Why Social Media is Important for Business Over the last decade, social media has helped a lot of entrepreneurs grow their company. In fact, it is now considered as one of the most powerful digital marketing tools for businesses. 92% of business owners reported that social media has played a big role in their business’ success.

Here’s a look at the top benefits of social media for businesses.

Brand recognition

Because social media is used by more than 2/3 of the population, this is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to introduce your brand to your target audience.

If used correctly, social media can help you build a strong social media presence and connect with your current and prospective customers. We can guarantee, it is worth the time and effort.

Save money

For small businesses that are looking to spread the word about their brand and promote their products without having to spend a lot of money, social media is your best option.

Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn allow you to share content to your fans and potential customers absolutely free.

Increased traffic

Sharing relevant and informative content on social media can help you generate leads. Here, you are not only limiting your content to people who are already familiar with your brand. Rather, your goal is attract people who may be interested in what you have to offer and encourage them to visit your website. Make sure you supply them with interesting content, so they’ll keep coming back.

Improved customer service

We all know that businesses have a dedicated customer service department that consumers can reach via phone and email. But because most people want a quick response, they still choose to connect with businesses through social media.

Here, you can see question, comments and complains instantaneously. Plus, answering questions and settling complains publicly adds a level of transparency to your business. Remember, all eyes are on you, so make sure you handle issues professionally, politely and in a timely manner.

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How to Get People to Promote Your Business

How to Get People to Promote Your Brand

Start-ups and small businesses are always looking for ways to get maximum exposure for their business with limited budget. Value is the most important word when allocating budget for your marketing campaign. But what if you could find people who are willing to write about your products and promote them to their friends for free? Yes, it’s possible.

Getting your customers to promote your business will likely spur some level of success. Here are some tips on how to get people to promote your business.

Find loyal customers

Keep an eye out on people with a history of buying from you. Now, you want to find people who are committed to your brand and loyal to you in more ways than one, and make sure you remember their names. These people are more likely to help you spread the word out about your business than those who made a single purchase.

You won’t be able to turn every single customer into an advocate, so you need to find those people who believe in your brand. Not all people endorse products for money. Some people do it because they like the product or they believe in the company.

Offer awesome customer service

If you want to get people talking about your business, then you need to go above and beyond their expectations. Meeting their expectations is good as well, but chances are, they won’t be singing your praises either.

Build a relationship

When it comes to building advocates, you should aim for ongoing engagement. You cannot just push people to do you what you want if they don’t trust you, so focus on the relationship first. Spend more time engaging them. Reach out and always respond to your customers. The closer they feel to you, the happier they’ll be to tell others how amazing your products and services are.

Referral program

Studies show that 83% of customers are willing to refer a product or service to their family and friends, but only 29% actually do. It’s because most businesses do not ask them to.

Referrals are the best form of advertising. In fact, they are incredibly well equipped to market and sell your products and services. All you need to do is ask. Don’t forget to say thank you every time a successful referral is completed.

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How to Build a Social Media Following

How to Build a Social Media Following

Most business use social media to generate leads. But in order to make social media marketing work, you’ll need to have an audience. This means having some fans and followers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media channels.

The number of fans and followers you have will give you an idea how big of an impact your message make. However, growing a social following can be quite frustrating, especially if you’re running a start-up business. But how do you build a social media following?

Here are some tips on how to get more followers on any social media channel.

Choose the right channels

One of the most important things you need to do is to decide which platforms are going to be right for your content. Twitter is an instantaneous outlet. LinkedIn favors professional content. Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook are more visual mediums.

Also, determine which social media networks your target audience use the most. There is nothing more frustrating than spending your time and resources, only to find out that you weren’t able to reach your target audience.

Interact with other users

Interact with your fans and follows on a regular basis. You can ask questions, answer questions, share some of their posts or encourage people to share yours. Also, take the opportunity to get involved in conversations. This will help you stay connected with your audience and not miss out on anything important.

Offer something unique

This is probably the most important thing you can do to acquire more fans and followers. Some people would post links to their work and promote their products in an attempt to get people to visit their site. But social media isn’t the place to advertise your products or services.

In order to capture the attention of your target audience, you need to make sure that you provide them with contents that are fresh, interesting and entertaining. Adding a picture to your posts can also make your posts standout and encourage people to follow you.

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