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In today’s corporate world, you’re not somebody until you can be found in LinkedIn. As more and more professionals and business owners create an account on this site, getting noticed requires a deep well of connections and some site-specific SEO magic.

If you have already created a profile on LinkedIn, you might want to revisit it and refresh your presence. Here are some tips to improve your visibility and get the most out of the world’s largest professional networking site.

Fill out your profile completely

When other users land on your page, they’ll see a box that displays your profile highlights. If you are a business owner or a professional, you wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to build a relationship with potential clients, customers and partners. This is your chance to make a great impression. So, make sure that the information in your profile box is complete, up-to-date and optimized.

Include relevant search keywords

If you want people to find you, you need to apply effective SEO techniques. This is especially important on the “Headline” field. Instead of just describing your current position, it would be best if you could optimize your job title slightly and include relevant keywords.

Expand your network

LinkedIn is the perfect platform for connecting with colleagues. So go ahead and connect with people, especially those who share your professional interests and qualifications. It’s also a good idea to connect with your past clients, managers, co-workers and other colleagues. You can further improve your LinkedIn search presence by doing this step.

Be an active participant

Like major search engines, LinkedIn rewards users who actively engage with others. Joining and participating in groups is beneficial as it not only helps in expanding your network, it also improves your profile’s SEO.

LinkedIn allows users to join up to 50 groups, but if you do, you’ll have a difficult time keeping up with all the conversations. Focus on 3 to 5 groups and make it a point to participate in group discussions. Otherwise, you’ll be missing out on opportunities to build influence.

 

 

 

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Not long ago, writing a Facebook post and asking people to share, like or comment is all it took to maintain an active business page. But with Facebook’s algorithm changes, capturing the attention of your target audience becomes increasingly difficult.

If you’ve given up hope of ever reaching your target audience, then we’re here to help you out. Read on and we’ll show you how to increase fan engagement on your Facebook page.

Use visual content

Like the old adage says, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. But for a business owner like you, it’s worth more than that.

Survey revealed that visual contents get 180% more engagement as compared to other types of content on Facebook. This is because they are easy to digest, clear and concise. Post infographics, quotes, memes, tips, people, places etc.

Post more often

If your goal is to reach more people, then you have to be active on social media. We suggest that you post at least 4 times a day. This way, you’re giving your fans 4 chances to see your posts.

Feel free to post photos, talk about news, ask questions etc. Also, publish useful content with a consistent voice that your community knows.

Post interesting content

The simplest yet most effective way to capture the attention of your target audience is to publish great content and entice them to engage.

Make use of your knowledge and experiences by giving helpful tips to your fans. You can use past blogs or newsletters and turn them into quick tips. You can also share your knowledge by creating video tutorials and sharing them on Facebook.

Include call to action

Most people would browse quickly through their news feeds. Always include a call to action if you want them stop and take action. Sometimes, all you need to do is ask, but try to be as non-salesy as possible.

 


BIMS_4.28.2“Making money costs money”. While there is some truth to it, you do not necessarily have to spend a fortune just to get the word out about your business.

Marketing your business is not all about spending money. It’s about coming up with creative ideas and implementing them properly. So the question is, how do you promote your business and get your name in front of potential customers while working on a shoestring budget?

Here are 3 low cost yet high impact methods to advertise your and promote your business.

Social media

Social media is undoubtedly the one of the most affordable and effective ways to engage with yours customers. Millions of people from all over the world are using social media on a daily basis. So, you should include that on your marketing strategies.

An effective social media marketing starts with defining who your best prospects are and creating contents that anticipates their needs. Establishing strong relationship with your customer base is also important.

Search engines

Creating a website can be comparable to building a house. Your family and friends won’t know you’re building one unless you tell them. Also, they’ll never find it unless you give them the address. The same goes with your website.

You can’t expect people to visit your website unless they know it actually exists. Submit your website to search engines. Also, use keywords and key phrases that your customers will be searching for so it will be easier for them to find you.

Content is king

Everyone knows this, but I’d be neglectful if I do not include this on the list. I cannot stress enough the importance of creating great content. If writing isn’t your strong point, you can always hire someone to do the writing for you.

Write articles that demonstrate your expertise in your field. To increase your reach, you can submit these articles to websites that accept guest posts. Be sure that your name and business name is included in the article.

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Social media marketing is one of the most effective methods of growing your brand. However, it goes beyond creating an account, posting occasional updates and special offers.

To make an impact to your target audience, you need a steady supply of quality content and get them in front of as many leads as possible. One way of doing this is by connecting with influencers in your industry. Even a single tweet from a well-known name in your industry could give you 1,000 visits as compared to the usual 100.

There are several tools you can use to find your desired influencer. Here are some of them.

Keyhole

This tracking tool helps identify influencers and content, especially related to events using a hashtag.

It develops that context by analyzing users who are engaging with your competition and gives you an idea as to who is leading in the conversations at industry events.

Klout

Klout is one of the most popular influencer discovery and engagement tools.

Just type in your desired keyword on the search bar and it will generate a list of top influencers. Here, you will notice a number adjacent to their profile image. This serve as their Klout score. The higher the score is, the more influential they are.

Follower Wonk

Follower Wonk is a strong Twitter analytics tool that can be used for several things. The key feature I recommend is the “Search Twitter bios”. All you have to do is to type in the keywords and it will give you a list of all the Twitter users with the specified keyword in their bios.

You can also track who is following you, analyze and sort followers and compare users by the number of followers they have. You can also add a location filter to find Twitter users within a specific region.

 

 

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Most business owners dream of driving relevant traffic to their site. Unfortunately, dreaming about it won’t get your there. You need hard work, consistent effort and high quality content to give yourself a boost.

Let’s take a look at some effective ways for generating high quality, organic search traffic to your website.

Content is king

Search engines are rewarding businesses that are generating high-quality consistent content.

To make your content appealing to different kinds of readers, it would help to vary the format and length of your articles. List blog posts also get more traffic than any other kind of post.

Write articles frequently

The longer you are in business and producing quality content online, the more likely are you to succeed. This will also increase your chances of showing up in search results.

Be sure to post articles on a regular basis so your readers know when to expect new content. Also, add fresh content a few times a week to keep your readers coming back for more.

Work on your headlines

Headlines are the most important parts of your content. When your blog posts are shared via social media, they are typically the first thing readers see. That said, it is important to create a headline that would pique the interest of your target audience. An effective headline would get you more views and shares than usual and will definitely drive traffic to your website.

Be social

It’s not enough to share your content across different social channels; you also need to participate actively in the community. Mind you, social media is actually intended to interact with your followers. So be sure to engage with your readers and respond to their questions and comments. Nothing turns people off faster than using social media merely as an advertising channel.

 

 

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Social media marketing is essential for small businesses, but is considered as a double-edged sword. Use it the right way and you can attract potential clients and grow your business. Use it the wrong way, and it will definitely hurt your business and could easily wind up alienating much of your audience.

If you are running an active campaign for your company on social media, make sure you never do these things.

Yelping back at customers

Every single feedback given by your customers can be of value to your company’s growth and development. If a customer gave you a negative review, you need to deal with it in a professional manner and learn from it.

Of course, it is natural that you want to defend yourself, but make sure to do it calmly. Also, say sorry and admit that you have done something wrong. There has to be some reason why the complaint was made in the first place. Yelping back at customers is definitely a no-no.

Sharing political views

What you share on social media is a reflection of who you are and your business. So, you have to be very careful what you share.

While a bit of controversy may be beneficial for your business, sharing your political views on your company’s profile is a recipe for disaster. Politics tend to stir up controversy rather than discussion.

Borrowing other people’s content

Blogging is a great way to drive traffic to your site, but writing your own content may take time. So you have decided to copy and paste articles from another site.

Search engines know that you have copied someone else’s content, and this can get you in trouble.

Angry statuses or comments

It is never a good idea to write an angry comment or status about someone else. As much as you think that you are entitled to say whatever you want on your own page, remember that people are watching what you write on social media. This can spark a backlash that will surely melt your reputation to a sticky puddle.

 

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The number of tasks a social media manager is expected to do can be quite overwhelming. Not only are they expected to engage with current and new followers, they also update several social media profiles everyday, monitor the effectiveness of their social media campaign and more.

While every social media manager would approach his or her job differently, successful social media managers share a few habits. Focus on these habits to reach new levels of social media success.

Reciprocate

Genuinely strive to help others succeed on social media. This attitude will help you build camaraderie, it will also help you stay on top of the game.

When you like or follow someone, they are more likely to reciprocate the gesture and like or follow you back as well. Alternatively, when someone shares your content, do the same for them.

Work with your team

As much as you would like to handle things on your own, you can’t do it alone. Do yourself a favor and build a team consisting of loyal and trustworthy people.

Collaborate with your team and harness a relationship that encourages partnership. This will help you build a strong social media presence and reach your business goals.

Prioritize

Prioritize your week’s plan based on priority rather than urgency.

Every business needs leads, traffic and sales in order to thrive. While having thousands of twitter followers can be beneficial to your brand, it would be a good idea to start by creating a webpage where you can create leads and connect it with your social media account.

Quick on your feet

A lot of things are happening on social media. Most of the time, it is happening pretty fast. Here, you have to be quick on your feet as you are not always given the luxury to take your time.

Negative comments, for instance, requires some quick, critical thinking. You should act quickly and know how to address the issue in order to avoid any negative repercussions.

Unplug

Some social media managers run ragged in an attempt to keep up with the “always on” medium. That said, you need to give your mind a break from time to time.

This may sound counterintuitive, considering that you don’t want to be inactive on your accounts for too long. However, unplugging at least once a week can help you recharge your social media spirit.

 

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YouTube might try to wow you with the latest statistics by revealing that 48 hours worth of video are being uploaded every minute. By the time you finish reading this article, we’re guessing 3 days’ worth of videos have been uploaded on the site.

With the competition getting tougher, you’re probably thinking if someone would be interested enough to watch your videos. If you are doing this to capture the attention of your target audience, you have to make sure that your videos standout from the rest and focus on conversion.

Here are a few tips to help you get the most from your Youtube marketing campaign.

Keep it short

Whether it’s in TV or the Internet, no one is interested to watch ads anymore.

Most Youtube ads allow users to skip the ad after 5 seconds. Majority of the users would take advantage of this option and click on the “skip ad” button immediately and proceed to watch the video they came to Youtube for.     That being said, you only have 5 seconds to capture the attention of your target audience and get your message across. Otherwise, it’ll be out of the picture. Make sure to keep your ads short and watchable. Don’t go beyond the 60-second mark.

Selecting the right keywords

Youtube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world. And the fact that Google owns Youtube cannot be overlooked.

Videos appear on search engines. To make your video more findable, you have to make sure that it lands on top of the search results page. To do that, you need to select the right keywords and use them in the first few words of your title, description and tags.

Create compelling videos

When individuals are searching online, they are looking for quick information. That said, each one of your videos should be relevant, valuable and educational to your prospective and current clients. Create content that addresses your audience’s needs.