According to news reports, LinkedIn has seen major revenue earnings increases and that leads me
to believe there are more business professionals taking advantage of this professional business social media site.
LinkedIn profiles can help you stand out from the crowd when you’re looking for a job or if you’re an entrepreneur seeking new clients. If professionals are flocking to use this site, that means that you should make certain you not only have a professional presence, but you should have a complete profile as well. Here are my tips to making certain your LinkedIn profile is not only complete, but compelling:
Working from home as a solopreneur is something that brings with it the luxury and freedom of
setting the schedule (and wearing the wardrobe!) of my choosing. There is also the isolation and void of having no one to bounce ideas off of and no one to be accountable to. I don't have a boss hanging over my shoulder expecting resutls by 5 pm. Of course, I have clients that expect results, but as long as they're delivered in a timely fashion, it doesn't really matter if I perform at 6 am or 6 pm or midnight, right? Wrong... if I want to have any kind of a lifestyle.
Last week I made the leap and "got" an accountability partner. My partner,Anne McAuley, is involved in the same field of expertise that I am and that's a boon as we know the obstacles faced in that career path and we can help each other brainstorm and our connections feed off of each other. We sent messages to each other of the items to which we wanted to be held accountable and when we got on the phone we hashed them out, set goals and planned for another talk. I think it's going to work!
Google, it sometimes seems, is the be all and
end all for business owners looking to be found on the Internet. While the
rules change, sometimes before you’ve even implemented them, there are ways to
remain relevant, be found and up your Google rankings when you write a blog
post.
Always write original content. Don’t be
redundant – even if you write and post on more than one website in the
same niche market. While you don’t have to recreate the wheel with your
posts, you do want to make certain the content has been rewritten even
though the ideas may be the same.
Do you read blog posts because you want to learn something from the blogger? Chances are, that is why you read. In a world crammed full of work, life, spending time with family and pets, giving your time to a blogger and her blog post is a gift. If you like to walk away from a blog post having learned something or if you write blog posts and want your readers to walk away having learned something, writing a great how-to article is the way to go.
Has anyone ever asked you: How do you blog? That question was asked of me recently during a
blogging seminar I was leading, prompted me to go through my blogging process to try and break down the process. This is what I came up with:
Write the post aimed toward a “you.” What this means is when you write a blog post use the word you not “we,” “them” or “I”. Your blog posts should make the reader feel as though he is sitting in your kitchen, sipping coffee, and hearing the information you are imparting.
Is blogging a "passing fad"? Has it run its course? Do you wonder whether it's worth the effort to keep putting your fingers to the keyboard? Do you wonder whether people read what you write? Okay, I've tossed a lot of questions out in one paragraph, but the bottom line is: Yes, you still need to be blogging and if, for some reason, you haven't started blogging yet, what are you waiting for?
Got passion? Personally, I'd rather "got passion" than "got milk" but that's for another post. I was pondering the other day what I might be passionate about. I mean chocolate and coffee and my Diva Poodle Henrietta are givens, but what about my work? My life calling? Do I have a life calling? I think I am still figuring that out, but if you're not sure if you're following your passion, here are five questions to ask yourself:
Are you an expert at what you do? The more you know about your job, the better you will perform it and the better you will feel about what you do. Be an expert in your field.
Do you incorporate your hobbies into your work or your outside life? Make certain you pursue your hobbies and passions outside of the office as a way to make the rest of your life more enjoyable, especially if there is no way to work them into your daily 9-5.
I was talking with a client the other day who was lamenting the fact that her friends, likers and
followers continued to grow each week but that she wasn't seeing any direct connection between that and an influx of business. She felt that it was her face-to-face networking that was paying off the most -- a fact that I wholeheartedly agree with.
There are times when I feel that social media is like shouting into a crowded room. Your voice gets carried away in the crowd of people that are also shouting. Yes, we know that social media is a "necessity" because the competition is doing it. With the proliferation of social media sites: Facebook, Google+, BranchOut, LinkedIn, Klout, Tout, YouTube, industry specific social media sites, etc. You get the picture. Whew, how can you keep up? And more importantly how do you get your voice heard? Truthfully? Who knows.
There are some small business strategies that are just common sense but there are times in the life of an entrepreneur when it's nice to have a quick refresher in what those business-growing steps are. Here are my quick business renewal strategies:
Don't worry (too much) about the economy. Sure, it may be a fact of life that you don't want to completely ignore, you don't have any control over it so continue to forge ahead doing your best and providing your clients service and products that are above and beyond.
Set goals. How will you know if you've arrived if you don't know where you have to be? Is your goal a specific number of clients? A certain number of sales made? A particular monthly income? Whatever the goal, writing it down and setting milestones to reach it will help you achieve it.
I'm planning to attend a seminar sponsored by the Rochester Professional Consultants Network tomorrow and whenever I go to a meeting I wonder about social etiquette. I've been to many social media seminars in which attendees are Facebook-ing and Tweeting away and it got me to wondering... are we paying attention to the speakers or are we too busy and too connected to our smart phones and other devices to truly pay attention?
In-session tweeting gets me to wondering... are we too socially connected? If I am in front of a group going through my well-prepared speech do I want your undivided attention? Yes, I do. Will I get it? Probably not. In some cases, attendees are urged to tweet-out info while they're in-session. We are supplied with the hashtags to use. Does that mean then, that we are obligated to tweet? Are we in violation of some social media ordinance if we don't tweet? Are we truly paying attention to the speaker if we're frantically tapping away on our smartphones? Great questions. Anyone have the answers?
When I'm standing in front of the room, while I may not have your rapt attention, I would certainly like to think some of my ultra-fascinating information is making an impact. (lol... kind of) If you're spending the time on your smartphone are you really tweeting or are you checking your email, texting your friends, family and business colleagues or simply surfing the internet? Is what I am talking about valuable? Boring? So fascinating that you can't wait to share the info with everyone you know? How is a speaker to know?
Do I have any answers? Nope? Just wondering how you, as a speaker feel?
