Hello and Welcome Back:
I recently attended a webinar put on by the Social Media Magic University [www.socialmediamagicuniversity.com]. Stephen Jones, the instructor, made the following comment, which serves as the basis for my tips this week: “People buy from those who educate them.” This has probably always been true to some extent but never as much as today, as social media is becoming a more prevalent part of our marketing and branding efforts. Why, you might ask? This is because the entire premise of any of the social media tools is based on building online relationships in which we “share and help.” Then when the time comes, those same people you “shared with and helped” will remember you and what products and services you offer and purchase them from you or recommend you to their friends and associates. This takes some time to get used to, especially for those of us who are not from the “Facebook generation.” We were taught and have experienced a much more “in your face” type of branding and marketing, like run an ad and see what you sell.
So, if you believe my starting statement, “People buy from those who educate them,” you will want to make sure that your efforts on LinkedIn help you to educate others. I want to show you some of the tools and features, along with an explanation of how you do this and why it works.
• Status Box. This is probably the one that most of you thought of right away, but let me add a bit of thought and strategy for this. You should use this as your daily marketing punch to your network, and it is a great vehicle to carry educational information to those people in the form of links to websites, articles and events. Be sure to use a URL shortener like budurl or tinyurl so that you have more of the 148 characters to talk to your audience. Get in the habit of posting something every day, and you will be surprised at the number of comments, replies, notes, phone calls and attention you will garner by this easy daily “to do.” People do read these since it shows up right on the top of everyone’s home page. Just a reminder – the more connections you get, the more people who see these; so keep looking for those trusted professionals.
• SlideShare or Google Presentation. You are an expert at things that can help other people. Use Power Point to help educate them on these things. Any Power Point or video (both can be inserted into these two applications) that you post will be on your profile for them to read and/or download 24/7. Make sure the title is very descriptive so they will be intrigued to open it and get the information. You can also reference these documents in your Summary with more explanation, in hopes that they scroll down and open the Power Point or video. I am in the office furniture business, and people in our industry are constantly studying the changes in the way people work. I have slide shows showing the types of buildings and furniture that relate to these changes in the workplace environment.
• Box.net files. The reasons for using Box.net files are similar to those I mentioned for SlideShare and Google Presentation, but the documents for this section are pdf files, Excel files, and Word files. A new feature on LinkedIn is that you can rearrange your profile. So, if you want to move the applications (sorry, but you have to move all of them, not just one of them) to the position right below your top box (blue box on the top of your profile) because you feel they are really important, you now have the flexibility to do that. My recommendation is to leave it the way it is since I think that having the Summary positioned just below the top box is the best way for you to “talk to your reader.” However, that is your call, and it is a nice option to have. I currently have two documents in this section that I see many people have downloaded. One is “Checklist for Moving Your Office,” and the other is a white paper from a local architectural firm on research they did on “Great Places to Work.” You will be notified when someone downloads any of your documents that you have loaded into Box.net files. You will not be told who downloaded this unless you subscribe to the Box.net files paid service, but many times you will be able to guess who it was based on some of your latest conversations and contacts.
To be continued next week.........
Miscellaneous News and Notes--
Some of the other resources I provide are:
• Customized corporate training classes
• Keynote and workshop presentations for conventions and association meetings
• Corporate social media strategy consulting
• For Sale: LinkedIn training DVDs for beginners and intermediate users
• For daily tips, follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/WayneBreitbarth
Here is my upcoming schedule for teaching/speaking so you can share with friends, relatives and business associates. Follow link or paste into your browser for additional details and registration information.
Wed Sept 29, 2010
Wayne's Power Formula for LinkedIn Success Training for Beginners
M&M Office Interiors; 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
http://budurl.com/hnfh
Sat Oct 16, 2010
Wayne's Power Formula for LinkedIn Success Training for Beginners
M&M Office Interiors; 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM
http://budurl.com/kkat
Mon Oct 25, 2010
Wayne's Intermediate Power Formula for Linkedin Success Training
M&M Office Interiors; 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
http://budurl.com/xq2a
Think "education" this week when thinking about your customers; they will buy from you!
Wayne
Wayne C. Breitbarth
President
M&M Office Interiors, Inc.
W233 N2833 Roundy Circle West Suite 100
Pewaukee, WI 53072
office 262-781-2600
cell 414-313-7785
