Are LinkedIn Groups the Missing Piece of Your LinkedIn Marketing Strategy?

15May

With over 225 million users, my guess is that if you are reading this right now, you are probably have a registered profile on LinkedIn. You have already filled in your details and maybe even registered your company. You have been building your connections and networking, but still haven’t found the key to open the door of opportunity for your business on LinkedIn.

But with between 1 and 800,000 members – are us using LinkedIn Groups?

As I say with social media marketing campaigns, the key is to have a blog on your website. The key with LinkedIn success is being actively involved in LinkedIn groups. Simple as that.

If you have seen LinkedIn groups, joined a few and still not sure what the fuss is about, here are my 5 tips to making a lasting impression, building hits to your website and increasing your visibility with one of the most active markets on LinkedIn.

1. Use Keywords to Find the Right Group. Once again, I’m bringing up the power of keywords. Take your keyword list that you use online to target your consumers and do a “Group Search” on LinkedIn. Take a look at the results and choose the “Very Active” groups with higher group member numbers. This will ensure that you are in a fast moving group that is influential and, well, active. There is nothing worse than being in a group of 1,000 members where no one is talking or engaging.

2. Start Discussions that Link to Your Blogs. If you have a blog on your website, share a sample of the blog as a discussion and link to your blog to read the rest of the article. Make sure that the article is relevant to the group, is not overtly promotional and has value. If you are starting a discussion in a highly active group that is about your latest sale or product promotion, get ready for some backlash.

3. Comment, Like and Share. This is “social” media after all. Make sure that you find articles where you can express YOUR expertise and comment. By commenting, liking or sharing a discussion with your LinkedIn connections you will be getting in front of more people than you can imagine.

4. Use the Group Email Updates. When you join a group, the default setting is to get a Daily Group Digest. When you post a new discussion or comment on an existing discussion, you have the option to click “Send me an email for each new comment”. The wonderful aspect of LinkedIn is that you can follow and respond via your email inbox. This will save time when you don’t want to constant login and logout and then search for the discussion when it gets active or a new topic pops up you want to jump into.

5. Follow Influential Group Members. By clicking on the “Members” tabs within a group you are a member of, you will be able to see “This Week’s Top Influencers”. See who they are and click “Follow” to receive their updates. Watch which topics they post, comment on them, message them privately. Getting in front of influencers will help you gain support while also increasing your visibility.

The capabilities of LinkedIn groups don’t stop there, but it is where we will stop today. By using the above, you can take your LinkedIn marketing to the next level and generate more interest in your company, visibility for your profile and hits to your website. Join our LinkedIn group, The Go! Healthcare Marketing Insider by clicking here!

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Why Your Boss Doesn’t Understand the Value of Social Media Marketing

By Christopher Tompkins

8May

Social Media, Uncategorized

Like me, I’m sure that you have an interest in social media marketing – whether active or passive. You are eager to learn more about how it works and learning the value it would have in setting your own marketing plan alight!

You are seeing how your direct competition are using social media effectively and feel a bit left behind. You feel like your company is cutting-edge is every other marketing category, but see yourself as a dinosaur in the social media sphere.

If any of these reactions are ones that you have had – rest assured that you are not alone. For example, when potential clients call us convinced that our social media marketing campaign will elevate their status online, their boss is always the one sticky point in getting the campaign off of the ground.

What’s funny about this scenario is that I have been on both ends of the table: the employee trying to convince the superior, and the superior trying to be convinced by the employee. I’ve experienced how my intent has shifted when I crossed the desk and had to make smart decisions about risk for my company.

What I have learned about this change from marketer to CEO is there are different aspects I am more focused on when one of my employees presents a marketing idea. For example, if they tell me that we need to create promotional magnets for my company, they need to really sell me on the value.

Which brings up a great point. ROI. This is something that the boss always wants to hear about. I’m in a different position though due to my marketing background. I know that ROI has many different implications and definitions. For example, the ROI on a direct response advertising campaign versus the ROI of a promotional magnet. Measuring these two against each other would be seemingly impossible for many organizations, no matter how sophisticated their systems are.

What you need to do is show the boss the true ROI of social media. It is more than a dollar for dollar comparison. The outcomes that you get from this investment is more than your boss will be able to grasp. So make it easy, make it solid and make the case!

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Your Social Media Prescription

By Dale Griffen

25Feb

Healthcare Marketing, Uncategorized

Recently, I was honored to be asked to write an article about social media marketing for Doctor’s Life Magazine. You can learn more about Doctor’s Life Magazine by clicking here.

Also – you can view article as it appears in the magazine by clicking here!

As I thought the information in the article could be useful to you, I am sharing the article below. If, after reading, there is anything that I can help you with – contact me directly: dale@gosalesandmarketing.com or toll free: 866-926-2636.

I hope you enjoy!

———————–

Sometimes our patients put off (or are afraid of) a visit to the doctor or dentist’s office. They know they should do it, but they procrastinate for one reason or another. Are you doing the same by putting off your ‘appointment’ with social media?

If you think it’s a passing fad, or may not be relevant to the healthcare field – think again. Here’s a test – think of the top 5 influencers or hospitals out there in your field. Now type in a search for “(Their Name) on Facebook (or Twitter)”. I bet you find almost all of them there, AND I bet that they have a decent following, as well as daily activity on their account. Let’s take that a step further – go and search for your competition on Facebook and see what they’re up to – you may be surprised.
But….how can you market yourself and your practice on social media? How can it help your business? How much time do you need to devote to it? Is your client base on social media?

If you would like answers to these questions, read on!

Channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, and even Pinterest can have exponential benefits for your practice, give you the ability to educate your peers and patients, gain trust and approachability, and be positioned as a thought leader in your field.

Social media is a 24/7, worldwide, online, professional cocktail party. To effectively “work the room”, you need to show up to the party with a goal: perhaps of meeting potential referral sources, patients, or other revenue streams. Then proactively introduce yourself to lots of targeted people. You need to approach them with a sincere interest in them, asking them questions – not approaching them with a ‘pitch’ about yourself (because people like to hear about themselves first!)…then keep them engaged, make them laugh, give them something to remember you by. After the party you need to follow up and continue the conversation after the party.
Social media is very much the same – to be effective, you need to know what your goals are. Develop a list keywords and phrases that your potential referral source or patient would type into a search to find you. Then go out and ‘Like’, connect, and follow individuals, companies, or groups that you feel would be of benefit to you (or lead you to a potential client).

Next, start the conversation. Depending on the platform(s) you decide to use – ‘Like’ their page, comment on a post, or feature they have that you truly like. Talk about what they do first. Share a post of theirs on your social media channels, if you feel it would be of benefit to your followers. Be sure to thank or return the favor to anyone that does the same for you. And remember, just like a cocktail party, it doesn’t all have to be business…a cute picture on a Friday, an invitation to an event you may be hosting, or even talk about a community event if you’re posting locally.

It’s SOCIAL Media – so be SOCIAL! Your goal is to continue the conversation offline in order to get them to remember you and your services when they, or anyone they know, may need them.

Use your social media channels to their full extent. Use any applications that may help your use of these platforms easier. For example, link your Twitter account to your LinkedIn account so that what you post on one, it will automatically post on the other. Be sure to join the max of 50 groups on LinkedIn and post discussions in each group. If a LinkedIn group isn’t very prolific, leave it and join another, until you get to that “perfect” 50. Follow the people that you respect in your industry on Twitter, follow your ‘competition’ to see what they’re up to – stay ahead of the curve, and dominate your digital presence and recognized as a thought leader in your industry!

Now, where do you start? If you don’t have an account with these social media channels – visit their site and sign up. Claim your name before someone else does. Then optimize your profile – fill it out completely. Next, set up a schedule to do your online marketing consistently. Consistency is the most important action you could do with social media marketing!

In terms of the time it takes you (or your staff) to do the marketing, start with a goal of an twenty minutes a day. Maybe start with Facebook, as people are generally comfortable with how this platform works. It’s best to create a business page on Facebook, rather than use your personal page so that you’ll be able to operate it completely separate from that personal page. Then start getting connected! Post content that is educational, entertaining, and engaging. Ask for ‘Likes’, ask people to share the content you post.

What is content? Social media is PR – plain and simple. It’s not sales. Think of it as you would a billboard, but a billboard with muscle! It’s recommended to have less than 10 words on a billboard, and people spend about 3 seconds whizzing by it on their commute to work, before they start to ignore it (and that’s if they even notice it to begin with). Those with Facebook accounts, on average, spend nearly 8 hours per month on the site, much more than they spend looking at a billboard. Some other key differences are that the messages you post can be changed several times per day, have as many words as necessary, include images, links, your hours and directions to your office. Also, the messages are portable. So if a reader sees something they think would be valuable to someone across the country (or the world) they can share it with the push of a button! You can also get a pulse of what people want to hear about by listening and observing your competition, your peers, and respected industry leaders, and also by asking!

“But my client demographic isn’t on social media”. Wrong! It’s not just Generation X, Y, and Z that use social media! The largest growing users of social media are the 55+ group – the Baby Boomers and many of them are using it for their parents (incidentally called the Silent Generation) to find out more about everything from healthcare to what their peers think…and you know that people like to talk! Social media allows them to praise you, or show you where you may need improvement.

“What if someone says something nasty?” Not to worry, you being active on social media won’t increase any negativity, they’re going to say it anyway. But by being present on social media you’ll be able to see any negativity and address it. Having a presence allows you to spin it to your advantage, rather than just leaving it out there to fester. Also, don’t forget your privacy settings! You have the ability to approve posts before they go live on many of the channels.

Afraid of patient privacy, HIPAA, and other regulatory issues? With a simple disclaimer and common sense approach to your social media policy you’re covered! The Mayo clinic has a simple 12 word social media policy: “Don’t Lie, Don’t Pry, Don’t Cheat, Can’t Delete, Don’t Steal, Don’t Reveal”.

“I don’t have time to do this!” That’s where a social media marketing firm may be of assistance. Spending the time doing it yourself does take you away from what you do best. Having an entry level person do it can be tricky, as it IS your reputation they’re handling. Dedicating a higher level person or marketing manager may take them away from other marketing, and sales opportunities. Although social media works in conjunction with your operations and marketing team, having them do the day-to-day activities may be more costly than outsourcing it.

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The Importance of the Facebook “LIKE”

By Dale Griffen

20Feb

Facebook, Uncategorized

When it comes to the wonderful world of the Facebook “LIKE” there are two big differences. You can either click the ‘like’ button on a businesses or person’s page vs. clicking the ‘like’ button below a post, event, or photo. Here’s why both of these are important and have value to the page in question.

Clicking the LIKE button on the upper right-hand side of a Business Page serves two purposes. For a business, this is very important information to them, as it allows them to show the number of followers that they’ve gained utilizing social media, thereby tracking their Social Media ROI (Rate Of Influence). Secondly, although with Facebook’s new algorithm it’s not a guarantee, it most likely will boost the chance that you’ll get updates, event notifications, and a deeper connection with that person or company.

When you ‘like’ a comment or post, you are acknowledging that you saw, read, empathize, or agree with what someone posted. Doing so makes the poster feel good, knowing that their comment has impacted someone, and it lets that person know that you are interested. People and businesses that pay attention will then post more information based on what people ‘like’ or comment on. It’s all about engagement here.

The other two things you can do to help are to ‘comment’ and/or ‘share’ their Page or Posts with your followers. As ‘likes’ aren’t always shown in your news feed – shares and comments are. This is the Social part of Social Media. If you know someone that might like, benefit, or be able to help the person or business you’re following – click those little buttons! You can also share privately. Don’t be a social media ‘lurker’ – let people know what you think! (But make sure to be courteous!)

While we are talking about “likes” another topic to throw out there is two surefire ways to make sure that you see all of the posts from the pages that you HAVE liked in the past.

The first is clicking the “get notifications” button. To get ‘notifications’ (where the little globe at the top right of your page lets you know the number of new notifications to your Facebook account) make sure you ‘like’ the person or page – then hover over the name, then the ‘liked’ or ‘friends’ button and click ‘get notifications’.

The second way to keep abreast with your liked pages is to create an interest page – go to the ‘Add Interests’ button at the very bottom of the left column of your home page (you may have to click the ‘more’ button). Click ‘create list’.

Either click people, businesses, or categories you want on that list (or enter them in the search bar) and click next – then name your list, select a privacy setting, and then ‘done’. So that your list isn’t living at the bottom of the page – hover next to the named list, and click the pencil – then click ‘favorites’. Your list is now up at the top of your home page under your picture.

P.S. – Although this article is about ‘the power of ‘like’ you do not have to ‘like’ a person or page to subscribe to them in a list.

You can share your lists with your followers by going to the list, click ‘home’ > ‘interests’ > ‘more’ > , then ‘share’ up top.

And finally – on your own page or profile, don’t be afraid to ask people to share, comment, and/or ‘like’ your posts. Sometimes we all need a reminder!

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Social Media 101: Where Do I Start?

By Christopher Tompkins

9Jan

Social Media, Uncategorized

As someone who specializes in the online marketing arena, I meet and chat with people everyday who are interested in using social media to market their business. Not a big surprise right? But what you might be surprised to learn, is many of these medium-to-large firms have a major problem: they don’t know how to start.

While social media marketing advice can be found on every corner of the internet, most of it doesn’t address this problem or offer ways to enhance or “reinvigorate” an existing campaign.

So in this article I want to push aside the “Go Get ‘Em Tiger”s and technical mumbo jumbo and provide you with a fool proof step-by-step 101 list to get your social media marketing campaign underway in no time flat!

Let’s dive right in:

Step 1: Write Down Your Objectives

The first thing you’ll want to do is really identify what you are trying to achieve through using social media to market your company. Keep in mind that more leads is not your only goal. Think about possible objectives such as; engaging your current customers/clients, offering better customer service, building brand recognition, getting more local exposure….these are the types of objectives that you should be looking at.

Step 2: Know Who Your Target Market Is

A social media marketing campaign that is laser focused has the ability to reap better results than a broad shoot campaign. You don’t want to waste time here wading through unqualified leads….you want the real deal. Make a list of 5-10 target markets that you want to hit and keep it handy throughout your campaign. Having this list will help you keep your “eye on the prize”.

Step 3: Look at What Your Competition is Doing on Social Media

Many of us do a competitive analysis when we put together our marketing plan….so why don’t we do one when we are developing our social media marketing strategy? Usually the easiest way to begin this exercise is to go to their website and follow their social media links from there. If you can’t find the links there, login to sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and search for their company name. When you find them, see what they are doing and if it is successful. Are they getting lots of comments? Do they use lots of graphics and design elements? Are they posting often? Taking a look at these items can even give you good solid ideas of what you need to do…and what you don’t need to.

Step 4: What Are You Going to Say?

This is one of the trickiest things to come by as many organizations don’t have a wealth of available info to share. If your company does – the battle is nearly over! If not, it has just begun. Make sure that you are able to come up with content that is timely, engaging, entertaining, thought provoking and educational…or one of those 5. Also, think out of the box! If I was a healthcare organization, I would go to the website for the medical association that is within my niche and share some of their updates and tips, as they would be relevant and interesting to my audience. Sharing is caring….not stealing! But content is king folks.

Step 5: Choose Your Sites

Once Steps 1 thru 5 are complete, it is time to choose the social media sites you want to start using in your marketing campaign. Every business is different and some will find success quicker on one site than the next. There isn’t a hard/fast rule on this (while many say there is). All of the sites are constantly evolving and making it easier for businesses to get involved everyday. The playing field has changed greatly over the past years (and even months!) and there is a spot for everyone on all of the social media sites out there.

Step 6: Find a Good Support Site

Search and find a site to help you manage your accounts. There are free sites out there such as HootSuite, TweetDeck, SocialOomph and others that allow you to track, search and even schedule profile updates on the fly. When you create your plan, these sites will make it a little easier for you to manage your overall campaign.

Step 7: Create a Daily Plan to Ensure Consistency

Plans save time and money and ensure consistency, which is key in a successful social media marketing campaign. Your daily plan should contain a combination of Steps 1-6 and have daily time constraints attached. Also make sure that you identify who will be the touchpoint for the communications that you get as a result of the campaign. For example if you have a marketing team of 5, decide beforehand who will be in charge of delegation and qualification of the leads, information requests, comments, etc.

Step 8: Create a Form of Measurement

This is tricky, so I would suggest waiting until after your first month of social media marketing. At this point you will be able to see what sorts of results come in: website hits, likes, comments, messages, leads, etc. Once you get a handle on this, you will begin to understand what gives you the best results. Create a quick spreadsheet and track these measures on a weekly basis. As all of the sites have wonderful archives, it makes it a cinch to go back through the week’s activity to find what you need. If you are going to use your website to track effectiveness, make sure that you have an analytics program installed that can monitor where your traffic comes from. If you don’t, Google Analytics is a free and easy option to use (and the results are tracked wonderfully).

And you are on your way! The best part about social media marketing is that it is an organic process that can change from time to time. Don’t forget to audit your campaign monthly to see if any of your measures or activities need changing or updating. Staying consistent, organized and informed will help you not only launch effectively, but promote your brand successfully.

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Pinterest 101: The Top 10 Ways to Get Started (Part 1)

By Christopher Tompkins

bb6ec8dcea15643283afe386156af82e704233411-300x211

9Jan

Pinterest, Uncategorized

If you are not familiar with Pinterest, let me give you a quick explanation. Pinterest is a cork board-style photo sharing website allowing members to create theme-based image collections which other members can view, share and comment on. If you think: “That doesn’t sound business related…”, read on!

An easier way to understand what Pinterest is and how it works, is to think about it in terms of your Facebook Profile.

Imagine that your photo albums were the first (and only) thing that was visible on your Facebook Profile. Other Facebook members would be able to see your albums, look through your photos and view updates to your account. If a member liked one of your albums or photos, they could comment and/or share it with their own network.

Pinterest is really as simple as that.

That’s all great, BUT the best thing about Pinterest, and the biggest difference with the site, is that when you post a picture, you are able to hyperlink it to your website, online point-of-sale, blog…whatever. Thus, when people click on any of the pictures that you’ve posted, they will be transported to the link where it lives and to all of the additional information you have on the subject in order to bring people closer down your sales funnel. Also, if people share your photo (or “pin”) you will receive valuable back-links to your site, which in turn builds SEO.

So Pinterest is essentially an interactive photo sharing site where people can choose to follow a single board you have, or all of them – and get updates whenever you add to, update, or change a board. So the more you share, the better the opportunity you have to take advantage of its benefits.

While in its initial growth stages, the majority of the audience was women (at 83%) in the United States. But things are shaking, and now men are joining in droves. Outside the USA, in the UK for example, 56% of the users are men. At the end of the day, the ratio of male to female is fairly balanced.

Now – how can you and your business get started?

Here are my 10 essential ways for you to get jump-started on Pinterest so that you can begin to build your following and enjoy its benefits. These are the first 5 with the final 5 following next week.

1. Stake Your Claim Now! I usually suggest researching a social media site before creating your own business account, but as so many people are latching onto Pinterest so quickly – you need to get in there now to set up your branded account and stake your branded real estate. Go to Pinterest.com and you will see towards the top of the page “Request an invite”. If you will be using Pinterest for your company, add your company email address. Usually they will get back to you within 24-48 hours for you to complete the registration. When you get your invitation, go and sign up and register in your company’s name. Fill out your profile, add your company’s logo as your profile picture and add anything else to the profile that is necessary.

2. Plan and Organize Your Boards Before Creating Them. Setting up your Pinterest boards can be time consuming, so I suggest identifying what boards you want to create first. Although your new Pinterest account will come with a few standard ‘board topics’, you will want to edit them for your specific needs. I find the easiest way to think about this is in terms of your products and services. For example, if you were a doctor whose owned their own ear, nose and throat practice, you should create a board for each specialty area (ear, nose, throat). Then fill each of these boards with helpful information on each topic in visual form (“pins”). For example, perhaps you have a diagram of nasal passages, a chart of nasal afflictions and another graphic explaining preventative measures for sinus infections. Add each of these to the board pertaining to “Nasal Information”. Planning will help set you up for growth on Pinterest and save you precious editing time.

3. Add Hyperlinks, Hashtags and Keyword in Your Descriptions. First off, every organization who is marketing online should have a keyword list for their company. When you are sharing “pins” or pictures in your “boards” or albums, each one will need to contain a point of origination on the web (where the picture actually lives online) but also a description. Use #hashtags just like you would on Twitter to make the title of your ‘pin’ more searchable within Pinterest. For exmpale in the ENT example above, using #tinnitus would allow people searching for information on that affliction to find your ‘pin’, and thus a link to your website! Make sure that each description is packed with keywords and contains a hyperlink to the content you want people to see. The best way to do this as a rule is….

4. Add Images to Your Blog Posts, Web Pages and Landing Pages. Every page on your website should have a few images on it. If you do not use pictures on the pages of your website or on your blog….now is the time to start! This is the key method of pulling content from your website to Pinterest and linking it back for added SEO punch. No pictures on your website could equal no web hits generated from Pinterest. Remember that this is a visual site – so make sure that your pictures are eye catching, easily seen, and visually descriptive.

5. Connect With Your Existing Contact Base. The best way to build an instant network on Pinterest is to see who you know that is already a member. You can do this through the “Invite Friends” function where you can connect using your Gmail account, Facebook account or simply manually invite people by entering their email address. You can also send an announcement to your email list, or make an announcement on your website, etc. Connecting with those that already support you is crucial in social media! These people are comfortable and familiar with you, and they can make for the best brand evangelists on social media sites like Pinterest.

Those are my top five ways to get started. Look out next week for part two of the series when I will discuss how to easily share information on Pinterest as well as show you how to get over the hurdle of not having enough pictures and content to share.

If you enjoy this article, please feel free to share it with others who you think could benefit from it!

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Why Bother With LinkedIn? Because Others in Your Industry Are!

By Christopher Tompkins

7Jan

LinkedIn, Uncategorized

CC BY: Nan Palmero

If you are on LinkedIn already, you may be familiar with the following information. But if you are still trying to figure out how LinkedIn is relevant to your company (or just want to know if your marketing is a little off the mark on LinkedIn)….read on.

You may know that LinkedIn is one of the premier social networking sites for professionals to connect, share, discuss and hobnob with one another. What you may not know is how many professions and professional categories that LinkedIn currently services.

While you may be in a niche within a niche inside of a niche professional category, chances are that there are many other professionals networking on LinkedIn just like you.

But as always, the proof is in the pudding. Here is a comprehensive list of all of the professional categories that have vibrant LinkedIn communities. Scan through and see if you find the one that best describes your organization, and THEN make sure that’s the one you categorize yourself under on LinkedIn. Without further ado, here is the list:

Legal

Law Practice
Legal Services
Legislative Office
Judiciary
Law Enforcement

Government

Defense And Space
Aviation And Aerospace
Research
Military
Legislative Office
Judiciary
International Affairs
Government Administration
Executive Office
Law Enforcement
Public Safety
Public Policy
Political Organization
Nanotechnology
Think Tanks
Mechanical Or Industrial Engineering
International Trade And Development
Government Relations

Consumer Goods

Cosmetics
Apparel And Fashion
Sporting Goods
Tobacco
Supermarkets
Food Production
Consumer Electronics
Consumer Goods
Furniture
Retail
Electrical And Electronic Manufacturing
Wholesale
Wine And Spirits
Luxury Goods And Jewelry
Packaging And Containers

Arts

Design
Arts And Crafts
Music
Photography
Graphic Design

Organizations And Non-Profit

Environmental Services
Individual And Family Services
Religious Institutions
Civic And Social Organization
Consumer Services
Non-Profit Organization Management
Fundraising
Program Development
Political Organization
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Security And Investigations
Think Tanks
Philanthropy
E-Learning
Renewables And Environment

Recreation, Travel And Entertainment

Sporting Goods
Entertainment
Gambling And Casinos
Leisure And Travel
Hospitality
Restaurants
Sports
Food And Beverages
Motion Pictures And Film
Broadcast Media
Museums And Institutions
Fine Art
Performing Arts
Recreational Facilities And Services
Newspapers
Publishing
Printing
Libraries
Writing And Editing
Computer Games
Music
Health, Wellness And Fitness
Media Production
Wine And Spirits

Corporate Services

Management Consulting
Accounting
Marketing And Advertising
Market Research
Public Relations
Program Development
Staffing And Recruiting
Professional Training
Translation And Localization
Events Services
Logistics And Supply Chain
Outsourcing/Offshoring
Commercial Real Estate
Import And Export
Human Resources
Business Supplies And Equipment

Agriculture

Railroad Manufacture
Farming
Ranching
Dairy
Fishery

Transportation

Leisure And Travel
Hospitality
Package/Freight Delivery
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad
Warehousing
Airlines/Aviation
Maritime
Translation And Localization
Import And Export
International Trade And Development

Manufacturing

Food Production
Consumer Electronics
Consumer Goods
Furniture
Retail
Aviation And Aerospace
Automotive
Chemicals
Machinery
Mining And Metals
Oil And Energy
Shipbuilding
Utilities
Textiles
Paper And Forest Products
Electrical And Electronic Manufacturing
Plastics
Mechanical Or Industrial Engineering
Business Supplies And Equipment
Renewables And Environment
Glass, Ceramics And Concrete
Packaging And Containers
Industrial Automation

Construction

Real Estate
Construction
Building Materials
Architecture And Planning
Civil Engineering
Commercial Real Estate
Glass, Ceramics And Concrete
Industrial Automation

Service Industry

Restaurants
Food And Beverages
Recreational Facilities And Services
Package/Freight Delivery
Individual And Family Services
Events Services
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Security And Investigations
Facilities Services

High Tech

Defense And Space
Computer Hardware
Computer Software
Computer Networking
Internet
Semiconductors
Telecommunications
Biotechnology
Pharmaceuticals
Airlines/Aviation
Information Technology And Services
Venture Capital
Nanotechnology
Computer And Network Security
Wireless

Education

Primary/Secondary
Higher Education
Education Management
Research
E-Learning

Media

Entertainment
Motion Pictures And Film
Broadcast Media
Museums And Institutions
Fine Art
Performing Arts
Marketing And Advertising
Newspapers
Publishing
Printing
Information Services
Libraries
Design
Writing And Editing
Computer Games
Arts And Crafts
Online Publishing
Media Production
Animation
Photography
Graphic Design

Medical And Health Care

Biotechnology
Medical Practice
Hospital And Health Care
Pharmaceuticals
Veterinary
Medical Device
Health, Wellness And Fitness
Alternative Medicine
Mental Health Care

Finance

Banking
Insurance
Financial Services
Real Estate
Investment Banking/Venture
Investment Management
Accounting
Venture Capital
Capital Markets

So, as you can see, there are absolutely TONS of categories represented on this professional networking site. I’m a firm believer in LinkedIn networking and LinkedIn marketing – so I hope this list will give you that extra push to dive into LinkedIn and either renew your efforts on the site, or if you haven’t already – see what sort of outcomes you can achieve for your own company!

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Are You Tired of Trying to Figure Out What a Blog Tour Is? If So…You’ll Love This

By Christopher Tompkins

1Jan

Uncategorized

In the online marketing arena, my peers and I tend to get sucked into using lingo that can sometimes be a bit too “exclusive”. Much like other industries where the terminology can not only be off-putting, but can cut you right out of the conversation, the online community can be a bit tricky sometimes to navigate.

For me, I really hate it. I think there is nothing worse than reading an article with the goal of getting actionable tips….and then finding yourself Googling ten of the terms in the article in order to make sense of it? Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve been guilty of this in the past as well. That’s why I try to be as clear and to the point as possible. Our time is precious, so let’s just get to it, right?

This brings me to “Blog Tours”. I’ve seen this broadcasted far and wide, but never really saw an explanation that I thought hit the nail on the head.

Basically, toss the “cool” terminology out the window and think of this as a “blog comment” strategy. I’m sure you have gone onto a blog (or even a website) and read an article that at the end allows you to put in your comments. A simple idea, but it packs a punch!

Commenting on blogs is a wonderful way to build more links to your online point of sale, or your company website. In terms of SEO (search engine optimization) – it is definitely a golden child.

But how do you do this? Here’s my rules of blog commenting:

If you are using blog commenting for SEO purposes, before you even take time to read the article, scroll to the bottom of the page to make sure that there is a place for you to key in your website when you comment. If this is not here….there is no way to link you (unless you register to the blog or community which can be time consuming).

If you have to comment via Facebook, it will not pack the SEO punch that you are looking for. Again, having a spot to key in your website is the best option.

Once you’ve decided to comment on a post, first read the full article to see that it’s message is in line with your brand. You can disagree, but make sure that your comment is not vulgar in any way.

Think of the next three ideas as a “compliment sandwich”. Begin your comment by agreeing with a few points made in the author’s article.

The second part of your comment (the ‘meat’ of your activity here) should be you sharing your expertise. If you agree with the whole article, maybe share a quick story of something that has happened to you in this arena.

Round off your comment with a note of thanks for the article or something similar. ou don’t want to sound too canned, so make sure to make it personal.

Then after you post your comment (or sometimes before) there is a button you can push to have all future comments sent to you via email. Click this, as you want to see how people react to your comment as well as have the opportunity to jump back in if needed.

It’s that simple. I suggest to help you FIND these blogs (which is the most time-consuming effort), use a site like StumbleUpon, Zite, Scoop.it, Trap.it, AOL Editions, or even Google Currents to find random blogs within your company’s niche category. This site is easy to use and very straightforward. You can also use sites such as Alltop or even a simple Google search for keywords.

My final piece of advice is to make sure you do this on a consistent basis. If you comment on one blog a month, the SEO impact will be non-existent. I say shoot for two comments a day and keep up with it. After a week you will get in the groove and it will become second nature. Also there is a wonderful side-effect that I’ve found in searching around the web – you might learn something new!

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