Linkedin Archives - DayngrZone Media

15 Tips on How to Build Authority on LinkedIn

{ March 2, 2016 } - Ragan Chambless

Each year our team attends Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Success Summit. Today we’re sharing LinkedIn expert, Melonie Dodaro‘s, insights on How to Build Authority on LinkedIn and Stay Top of Mind. Here are some of the key parts any LinkedIn user who is serious about becoming an authority should know.

Content is Key

If there’s one thing you should take away from this article, it’s this very important concept: Content creation is key. High-quality content should be specific to your target audience; it should be focused on things that they find value in. Ask yourself, “What are their problems?” Then be ready to create content with the solution. Some other tips for creating high-quality content are making sure that whatever you’re posting is thought-provoking and original.

I bet you didn’t know that 94% of business-to-business marketers are using LinkedIn to distribute their content (wait, seriously?). So with that kind of competition, you’ve got to learn to do it better than everyone else in order to stay top of mind. Let’s look at some of the ways you can share your content (and do it well) using LinkedIn:

Share Status Updates – Think daily updates, originality, and relevant content.
Create Engagement Opportunities – Think about asking thought-provoking questions to get your readers talking and providing feedback.
Increase Engagement – Think links, videos, and pictures to grab people’s attention. Tag connections when appropriate.
Give Perspective – Think of sharing your perspective on posts you share and why your followers should read it.
Keep It Short – Think 1 to 2 sentences for status updates since LinkedIn doesn’t allow formatting.
Take Advantage of Groups – Consider joining and contributing to groups that are specific to your industry and interests.
Reach Out to New Connections – Consider sending a welcome message to people you connect to in an attempt to get to know them better.
Stay Connected – Think of sending them useful articles and relevant content. Really cater to their interests!
Be a Business Matchmaker – Consider introducing your contacts to others with similar interests to increase your value.

So you’ve got your content, and you’ve shared it. Well, what’s next? Melonie stressed the importance of keeping in touch with your potential and existing prospects and here’s how –

Get Personal

Share Articles – Send articles to specific individuals or groups that you think they’d value. And really focus on personalizing what you send (because nobody likes a Spammy Tammy).
Set Reminders – LinkedIn also allows you to set daily or weekly reminders to keep you from getting complacent when it comes to networking among your connections.
Use Tags – You can also use tags to put people in certain categories as well as adding notes to people’s profiles.

By utilizing all of these tools, you can stay on top of maintaining relationships and ensure that you stay top of mind. Because if you’re not actively following up and building relationships with people, “business isn’t going to just magically find you”.

Follow up and build relationships. Business isn’t going to just magically find you.

Click To Tweet

Experts Are In Demand

So we’ve talked about the importance of creating original content. Did you know that 82% of consumers reported feeling more positive about a company upon reading that company’s custom, original content? Content that you’ve curated from others is great, too, (we can’t all be experts on everything) but if you really want to establish yourself as an authority or that go-to person in your field, originality is the way to go. Once you’ve spent time creating original content, you obviously want to be sharing it and getting feedback on it. LinkedIn Publisher is a great tool for this since it’s perfect for long-form content, similar to a blog post.

Here are a few reasons why you definitely want to be using LinkedIn Publisher:

Your articles published with LinkedIn Publisher are showcased at the top of your profile, increasing value to prospects who view your profile. They can easily click and view your recent posts and discover what you’re about and how you can help them.
Your connections are notified each time you post. But if a lot of people are getting random notifications, you still need to make sure your posts have strong titles to draw them in.
Your network is able to share your posts which opens you up to a much larger audience. This gives you the opportunity to be seen among your second and third-degree networks.

To increase the sharing of your Publisher posts, you should add a picture and address a specific problem or topic. You should also be posting regularly; once a month isn’t going to cut it if you’re serious about becoming an authority on LinkedIn! Additionally, posting one to two status updates a day and one LinkedIn Publisher post once a week is the best ways to see results. Most importantly, the key is to be consistent in what you do. If you can only post two articles a month, then be consistent in actually posting twice a month. Another cool tool to check out is LinkedIn Pulse! It’s basically LinkedIn’s news section, and it will actually email your connections weekly updates on articles they may be interested in. Your articles are usually shown to your connections, so that’s going to help with staying top of mind, which is the ultimate goal here.

Last Minute Tip

One last thing worth mentioning is company pages versus personal pages. It’s great to have a company page, but the real results are going to come mainly from your personal page. Since LinkedIn limits the capabilities of a company page, you’re going to need to use your personal account for sending messages and building relationships with your connections. You should absolutely still be using your company page to post status updates and drive more traffic to your blog posts. Happy Linking!

Are you currently using LinkedIn to build your authority on a specific topic or in a specific industry? We’d love to know your tips in the comments below!

Interested in digital marketing, advertising or social media for your business? DayngrZone Media is digital marketing boutique, specializing in marketing, advertising, website design and development and social media.

5 Tips for Etiquette Across Social Networks

{ August 31, 2015 } - Trish Forant

Etiquette across social networks, like social networking itself, is not much different online than it is off. Good common sense can take you far. But social media etiquette is a bit subjective. Each of us has our own way of doing things and what feels like second nature to one person may feel incredibly awkward to someone else on the same social network. The beauty of this is that it is alright. We’re human and we aren’t always going to agree on every nuance when it comes to etiquette across our social networks.

However, there are some social media etiquette basics everyone should know (LIKE KEEP THE CAPS LOCK OFF).

Regardless of whether you’re on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ or a Blog, always use your common sense. If it isn’t something you would say to someone face to face, it is safe to say you should not be saying it from behind the computer screen. Be respectful of others and conduct yourself appropriately.

Bring value. Make sure you’re taking the time to share the things you find interesting. You don’t need to play to an audience, that isn’t natural. That new social sharing site, adorable photo, clever video and that article you loved – share the tidbits you come across with your friends and followers and you’ll probably attract like-minded individuals.

Create conversations, ask questions and dive in. It shouldn’t be all about self-promotion all the time. Use your status updates to invite conversation. Get to know the people in your stream or news feed. Find out what projects they’re working on and if you’re interested, how you might be able to participate. Take the time to promote others more than you promote yourself. That’s always good etiquette! One example of someone doing this right is Becky McCray. She does a Brag Basket on her blog “Small Business Survival” and it is a big hit.

Keep automation to a minimum. As a general rule, Auto DMs are frowned upon. Can you get away with them? You might be able to, but there’s a fine line. A good rule here is if you’re going to use them, they’d better be about the person following you and not about promoting your stuff. Also, if you plan to use Auto DMs you should also use Auto Follow and a platform to help you control it all. Psst… It’s a dead giveaway when someone tries to respond to your Auto DM and they can’t because you’re not following them back.

When is it OK to use automation? It’s OK to schedule posts some of the time but don’t make that the rule, keep it as the exception. For example, if you’re in the Atlantic time zone and you’ve already said good morning, it’s acceptable to schedule a few good morning tweets to catch people coming on and starting their day in other time zones. The key is to be ready to engage and follow-up once those automated posts go out and people begin to reply. No point in scheduling a discussion point to post at 3 AM if you aren’t going to be around to discuss it.

Review before you retweet. Heck, review before you tweet. This doesn’t just apply to twitter, this goes for all sharing. Make sure what you’re sharing is actually something you want to share. Take the time to click through and visit the link or read the article, etc. to determine if it is something you really want to share with your community.

Also, double check your status update before you hit send or share. Can it be taken out of context? If you aren’t sure, have someone else review it and give you their opinion. When it doubt, don’t send it out.

Keep a cool head. I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve been guilty of breaking this etiquette tip when it comes to customer service. If you have an issue with a company, rather than attack them, reach out to them for resolution. Remember, there’s a person behind that logo. Nothing is going to get resolved if all you’re doing is venting. If you’re truly looking for resolution, take the time to reach out and explain the issue you are having. Then, be ready to take it to private messages or offline altogether if necessary. The same can and should be applied for discrepancies with individuals!

What do you think? Do you agree with these social media etiquette tips or do you take a different approach? What would you add to this article?

{My article originally appeared on the Radian6 / Salesforce Marketing website.}

You’ve Got to THINK When it Comes to Social Strategy

{ January 24, 2014 } - Trish Forant

You’ve heard it a thousand times – sharing is caring, and when it comes to social media – it’s true. Make creating and sharing content a big part of your social strategy. What should you create and share? Let the acronym THINK be your guide.

T

Create and share content your community will find thoughtful and thought-provoking. Ask questions. Get their minds racing and show them that their opinions matter.

H

Create and share content that your community will find helpful. It could be information directly related to your industry – How To’s, FAQs or tips.

I

Create and share interesting and/or innovative content. Remember, it doesn’t always have to be brand related, maybe it’s a cause that’s near and dear to your heart.

N

Create and share the things your customers and prospects need. Discount codes, coupons or even information – share whatever it is that your brand’s community would find beneficial.

K

Most importantly, share your knowledge. From webinars to whitepapers and everything in between, share your brand and industry related knowledge with your community.

THINK

If you want to be the brand people look to for great finds, creating and sharing great content must be a key factor in your social strategy. Remember, fight the urge to give customers and prospects the messages YOU want to share. You’ll do better by giving them content they can use to make their lives/jobs easier. They’ll love you for it. Build this into your overall social media plan and let THINK be your guide.

What acronyms would you come up with to help brands be more relatable? What advice would you offer to organizations looking to use social media to solidify their customer relationships? Add your thoughts in the comments.

How Martin Luther King, Jr. Would Use Social Media

{ January 20, 2014 } - Trish Forant

Martin-Luther-King-1964-leaning-on-a-lectern

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Social media can be used to bring people together to help a cause, to unite protesters, to aid a revolution and even to support an uprising. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man ahead of his time. He had an amazing vision, that through hard work, perseverance and the ultimate sacrifice – came to fruition.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., I thought it would be fitting to think about how he would have used social media and social networks if they existed during his time:

He’d follow you based on the content you share, not on what your avatar looks like.
He’d use YouTube to share his sermons and speeches and grow his community.
He’d use Twitter to share motivational quotes and spread love.
He’d use FourSquare to note which establishments had the best service.
He’d use Instagram to share photos throughout his travels.
He’d encourage people to upload relevant photos to his Civil Disobedience Flickr group.
He’d connect with his peers on LinkedIn and write recommendations for them.
He’d be listed in WeFollow, tagged with minister, activist, and civil rights.
He’d be influential on Klout for topics like Civil Rights, Activist, Leadership & Georgia.
He’d share all his favorite books on GoodReads.
He’d use Plancast and Eventbrite to share his events and find events he’d be interested in attending.
He’d use Pinterest to show that we have more things in common, than we don’t.
He’d use Google+, Facebook and Twitter to crowdsource, share thoughts, spread his message, gather followers and rally people together.

Most importantly, I truly believe that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would want us to use social media to lead the change, and go forward in helping to heal the divisions of the past.

How do you think Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have used social media? Which platforms do you think would have been his favorites? How do you think social media will continue to play a part in shaping the history of the world we live in? Add your thoughts in the comments below.

This is a repost of my article which originally appeared on the Salesforce Marketing Cloud website.

Build Your Social Network and Get More Followers Now!

{ December 3, 2013 } - Trish Forant

It’s not a gimmick. If you’re looking to build your social network, start a community and get more followers now, there are a few simple things you’ll need to know and a few steps you’ll want to follow. Try these 3 tips today.

Be a Part of the Conversation

Start talking! Join conversations because you’re interested in the subject matter or because you have something beneficial to add – not because you have an agenda or want to push your material. Use social media monitoring to find relevant conversations or industry chats and add them to your weekly schedule as you would a business meeting. Follow the people you find sharing the most beneficial information, and keep the conversations going. Do this regularly and you’ll start connecting immediately with others who have the same interests you do.

Become a Regular

In other words, make social networking a part of your daily routine. Make it a habit to come online at the same time every day and say hello when you do. It’s a nice way to start your daily time online and encourage conversation. It’s also a great idea to let people know when you’re heading offline since no one likes to be left hanging in the middle of a conversation. If you do this consistently, your community will come to know when they can expect you to be available.

Be a Connector, Make Introductions

Connecting people together is a great way to be social online. Take the time to introduce like-minded individuals and help others build their networks. When you help connect others, you’ll get the same in return. Facebook has a nice “Suggest Friend” feature, but since the feature doesn’t allow you to indicate why you’re suggesting these people connect, you’ll want to send a short email introduction to help facilitate the connection. You can do this just as easily on LinkedIn and Twitter, too.

Don’t forget good old-fashioned (yet, still in style) email. For example, you can use email to connect two or more like-minded individuals by leading with something they have in common, as a conversation starter for them. Like this, “Bob, I’d like you to meet Joan. You both work in the non-profit sector and have an interest in using social media for causes. I think the two of you will have plenty of ideas to share with each other.”

Just remember, if you are going to use email for introductions, be sure that you have permission to share the email addresses of the people you are connecting. These days, sharing an email address is like giving out a telephone number. Be sure both parties are on-board before you share.

If you enjoyed this post, I’ve got three more tips on how to grow your social network in this post: 3 Simple Tips for Building Your Social Network Now

What tips would you offer to help businesses and individuals grow their social networks? Is your social network large or small? What are some of your favorite resources for cultivating a community?