LinkedIn is the social site on which many professionals interact. It is more about networking, sharing professional information and tips and talking business than is Facebook. When you’re on Facebook, chances are you’re showing photos of your cat, sharing recipes, venting about local goings-on and sharing memes. Ever wonder how to get found on LinkedIn and whether it can help grow your business, we have tips.
If you’re looking for a job, looking to stand out, seeking new clients and opportunities, LinkedIn is the platform on which you want to share your skills and comments and insight.
How To Get Found On LinkedIn
If you’re looking for clients and are on LinkedIn, here are ways to make the best impression:
Have a professional profile photo. Don’t share a photo of you on the beach on your last vacation. Keep that photo on your Facebook page. Your LinkedIn page photo should be warm, professional and approachable. Smile. Wear professional clothing – ditch the hoodie and bedhead. Do not leave your photo blank.
Add relevant skills (think keywords and headline) in your bio.
Summarize your experience with bullet-point type sentences in mind. Highlight your contribution to a project. Let a potential client know what you bring to the table.
Ask for recommendations and referrals for your profile.
If you’re reaching out to a potential contact, know who they are and what they do. Don’t do a blanket, “Hey, I saw your profile and thought we should connect.” Be persona, “Hey, John I saw your profile and notice we share a few contacts and that we are both in the XYZ field. I’d love to connect!”
Build relationships before you start to “sell.” Speaking of this, if you automatically send out email messages in LinkedIn when someone connects with you – stop. It’s annoying and it’s automated. You’re not fooling anyone.
Video rules. We have written about that before and it seems to be even more true today than ever before. Why? Because that is how many people consume information. They are watching videos on their phones and tablets more than they re watching television. Should you be vlogging? Maybe… if you have it as a part of your overall marketing strategy.
If you want to become a video blogger aka vlogger, here are some tips to start yours and to help you stand out.
Should You Be Vlogging?
Make the first 15-seconds count. It’s like needing to capture a reader’s attention in the first couple of sentences. If you don’t capture the attention of the person viewing your video in the beginning, they will move on. Don’t give away all your best information in that first 15-seconds, but tease it enough that they need to stick around.
Prepare an intro to your video. An intro will enhance the professionalism of your vlog.
Choose your thumbnail wisely. If you use the same thumbnail every time, a new viewer may not give your video a second look. A different thumbnail is intriguing and also lets your viewer know you have new content.
Tell a story. Regardless of the length of your vlog, make sure you’re telling a story. The art of content creation needs to carry over into your vlog. Have a script. Have bullet points. Tell a story that has a beginning, middle and end.
Edit the vlog. Hire a video editor. Invest in video editing software and edit your own. Edit out the ums and ahs and the dog barking in the background.
Be consistent in your vlogging schedule. You want your viewers to know they can expect a new video blog from you on X day of the week at X o’clock.
Talk about trends. If your vlog lends itself to current topics and trends, work that in. Be timely.
Share your vlog on your YouTube channel, your website and your other social media platforms.
Use hashtags and titles wisely to help your vlog get found in a search.
Are you using video in your marketing plan? Do you need a strategy for blogging and video blogging? If you’re just starting out or if you’re a long-time entrepreneur looking
If you’re writing blog posts and website content simply to rank in a Google search, you are likely hurting your chances. People who write just for SEO seem to write content that is so laden with SEO terms that the content itself is unreadable (keyword stuffing). Conversely, you don’t want to kick SEO to the curb, right? We have 4 ways to up your SEO game without lowering content readability.
Did you know that consumers who are doing a Google search, won’t usually go beyond page 1? They type in the search terms, scan the first page and typically choose their service provider or the product they’re going to buy based on page 1. In fact, they may not even look below the first five organic (not ad-based) businesses on that first page. Mind-boggling, right?
4 Ways To Up Your SEO Game
You can certainly rank and up your SEO game and we have tips.
Know what keywords fit your business. If you find the keyword, “swimming pool” is trending, but you’re a service provider for business consultants you certainly don’t want to try and use “swimming pools” in your content – readers and search engines are savvy to keyword stuffing and business owners and bloggers writing to trendy keywords. Instead, perform keyword research and plug that into your content in a way that makes sense and highlights who you are and what you do.
Use title tags, headline tags and meta descriptions. You can use plug ins on your site to help you determine whether you’re writing content that is SEO relevant. Yoast is one of those plug ins to consider. Your “title tag” is what shows up in a search result and is just that – the title of your blog article. Your meta description is the tag that comes under the title in a search. Create your meta descriptions wisely. The H2 and H3 headlines in your article should support the title. If you don’t know what these are, reach out to Rex Richard and he can explain what they are and how to effectively use them.
Make the content readable by adding in bullet points or numbered lists and subheadings. Images in the content also make the content readable for those individuals who skim – and that is most readers.
Don’t forget to use internal links and external links. An internal link can take a reader to another of your blog posts or your services page to keep them on the site longer. An external link is just that – something that will take the reader off your site. You can use external links to your advantage by linking to relevant sites and to your social media pages.
If you’re taking time to craft content, craft it with an eye toward eyes on the page. If you are struggling to get readers to your site, or keep them at your site, reach out to Rex Richard and he can offer insight into how to make it happen.
A business plan doesn’t have to be so daunting that you decide you might not want to go into business for yourself if you have to craft one. Even if people aren’t talking about business plans – and it seems entrepreneurs are popping up across the country during this pandemic – but they’re not saying what’s in their business plan. They may not even have written a business plan but we’ll bet they have some sort of a roadmap aka business plan, but we have 5 reasons to write a business plan you may not have considered.
5 Reasons To Write A Business Plan
Here are some of the very good reasons the most savvy entrepreneurs – new and established – put together a business plan.
As mentioned – it’s your roadmap. How will you know you have “arrived” if you don’t know what the final destination is? What is success? How will you measure it? This is something your business plan will help you determine.
What will you make and sell or deliver? Knowing that and knowing what your profit margins may be will help determine whether you’re over- or underpricing your services and products. Remember, you need to set a value for your time and that may seem harder to do than setting a value to a product.
If you’re seeking financing or if you’re building a team or working with a team, your business plan will keep everyone on the same path. When you take the time to write it down, you will be more productive and will truly understand the intentions of your business.
When you are in the process of writing down your business plan you may have that “lightbulb” moment and find a way to open the door to more opportunities. When you are doing a deep dive into your customer base and the industry you may find new options you hadn’t identified previously.
Your business plan is your origin story – your business story. The business plan can highlight and help you share the story of your brand and that counts for a lot when connecting with potential customers.
We work with new and existing entrepreneurs and when we are talking with them, we find that having a business plan makes them feel more hopeful for the future of the business and that’s why we are proponents.
Are you a sales person? Trick question. If you’re in business, you ARE a sales person whether you call yourself one or not. Swimming pool contractors, dog groomers, writers — all sales people. If they weren’t they wouldn’t be in business. How to make a sale is something we talk with our coaching clients about all the time.
What is eye-opening for many of our clients is that with the right attitude, sales are easy. Sales, in fact, don’t have to feel like sales calls when you know you’re addressing a pain point and know that you are offering high quality solutions. Believe in yourself and what you do and you will be authentic.
How To Make A Sale
Here are tips to encourage prospects to listen to you or to call you back.
Answer your phone during working hours. If calls always go to voice mail or if a prospect has to wade through a menu, they will give up.
Answer the phone with a smile in your voice — it shows.
When you leave a message, speak clearly, remind the person of who you are and why you’re calling and leave your phone number and email.
Be succinct when you leave a voice mail. You don’t need to go over all your points. Instead, leave the message and wait for their call bacl. Don’t use all their voice mail space.
Don’t feel you need to name drop to make an impression. Be yourself — that will mean more than a star-studded client list.
Wrap up the call in the timeframe you’d promised.
End the call with a call to action — I’ll follow up with you in five days, for example.
LISTEN.
LISTEN.
Did we mention, listen? The best way to make a sale is to listen to what the prospect truly needs — it may be different than what you think it is.
With any sales call it is about the prospects pain point — not about you touting the benefits. Need help perfecting your sales pitch? Reach out to Rex Richard, he can help.
