Most of us have profiles on Linkedin and Plaxo, but what other directories do you find effective? Which are the best for recruiting? Networking? Are there any GOOD directories that are industry-specific? Region-specific? I need your help on this one. Please share which directories have given you results. Thanks!!
Many thanks to all who attended and spoke at the Social Media Primer last night in Herndon, VA. Many thanks to Jill Foster, Shashi Bellamkonda, Ken Fisher and Mayra Ruiz-McPherson for bringing such dynamic information to the attendees.
It was quickly obvious that there is a lot of interest in social media in this region and a growing need for more info. We had a packed house with a wonderful panel and loads of questions from the audience. Here is a down and dirty summary of my presentation on “Creating an Effective Social Media Profile”. Please feel free to ping me with any questions or comments. Can’t wait to connect with you all in the social space!
Also, please enjoy these outstanding photos of the event ala Shashi!
Examples of good and bad Twitter profiles…
GOOD Business Profile - @quickenloans (Profile is complete. Interesting background image.)
GOOD Personal Profile - @chrisbrogan (Great profile and follows all the guidelines!)
MY Personal Profile - @gooddogzbeth (Good profile. I hate that iPhone uses coordinates - need to fix that. Planning to fix my background image to something other than my happy hamster.)
BAD Business Profile - @BBC (Irrelevant and ugly background image. No bio. No location.)
Examples - it was tough to get examples of Facebook profiles due to privacy settings. Here is a link to my Facebook profile which follows most if not of the guidelines below. You be the judge!
DOs
DON’Ts
This is a great example of how to improve your LinkedIn profile as provided by Guy Kawasaki.
BEFORE - LinkedIn Profile Extreme Makeover
AFTER - Guy Kawasaki’s LinkedIn Profile
My LinkedIn Profile (feel free to critique)
I will admit that I am a bargain hunter and will ask for freebies every chance I get. Yesterday, I noticed that LinkedIn had a special for $60/year on presumeably their Business Account. It was noted at the bottom of the page that shows who’s viewed your profile. I clicked through to the subscription page but there was no $60/year special offer. So I emailed LinkedIn’s customer service.
I was very politely told that this was a typo and that their IT department would be removing it immediately (btw - it’s still there). So, me being the cheapskate that I am, asked if they would still honor the pricing since it WAS listed on the site and I quickly brought it to their attention. I was even more politely told no. They did offer me a free month trial that I would inevitably have to call to cancel after a month because there was no way I was paying $200 for a year’s worth of LinkedIn. I can hear the conversation now -
BB: “I’d like to cancel my LinkedIn business account.”
LI: “But you’ll miss out on all of the huge business benefits that our paid service offers.”
BB: “No thanks, I want to cancel my account.”
LI: “What if we give you an extra month at the end of the year?”
BB: “Seriously, I want to cancel my account.”
You get the idea. What happened to the days when being a good online citizen was rewarded or when business’s honored their mistakes in order to keep their customers happy? Apparently those days are long gone and I’m personally going to use this experience as a reason to be more accommodating to my own clients (and to check my own work for typos).
I am in the process of writing a social marketing plan for GoodDogz.org. We launched our new website about 2 weeks ago and, without any type of promotion, started immediately receiving blog comments, new NING community members, new LinkedIn group members, etc. It was truly amazing to see how quickly the new social aspects of the site snowballed. Adding these tools to a non-profit site was easy, cheap and effective. Here’s what we added:
That’s it. By adding those 4 tools, we were able to quickly gain more interaction with our audience, more interest and ultimately better resources for our users.
The next step is to create a strategy for promoting and using these tools. Although we were lucky enough to have “built it and they came”, a strategic plan is important to not only establish engagement but maintain an audience of loyal users who will come back often and participate in the conversation. More to come on that and I would love to hear the ideas of others on getting the word out.
As you may have noticed, I’m going through all my old emails and blog feeds this morning. It’s the holiday - aren’t holidays for playing catch-up?
Here is a little nugget that was sent to me and I think it does a great job of summing up LinkedIn. I have been fortunate enough to truly grow my network through LinkedIn and have not only met some great people but have made some beneficial relationships. This article helps justify why you should be there and even gives a some tips to those who are already using the service. Thanks CreativePro.com!
So you’ve set-up your social network - Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Fickr, Twitter - now what? One of the critical paths to success within a social network is participation. Social networking does not to adhere to the “if you build it, they will come” mentality. You must engage your audience and participate in the conversation. Blog regularly. Comment on the blogs of others. Comment on Facebook “walls”. Comment on the photos of others. Reach out to your constituency and understand their needs. Then, do what you can to support them through regular discussion. Share your ideas. Spend a little time everyday feeding and tending to your network. Social = human interaction. People want to be seen, heard and be part of something bigger than them. By talking with your audience, your social network is sure to thrive and grow.
Beth consults with businesses and non-profits on social media tool selection and strategy and helps her clients find effective ways to leverage these new mediums to meet business goals.
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