Posted by Stephanie on Apr 15, 2009 in
Small Business Marketing 
Guest post by Jackie Nagel, Synnovatia
Your approach to LinkedIn is going to be as unique as you and your business. To demonstrate what an effective LinkedIn plan looks like, allow me to share my plan based on my objective.
The Java Jolt
Before my first cup of coffee has time to chill, I log onto www.linkedin.com to see what’s happening with my 3,737,700+ nearest and dearest friends.
If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn, you know you can easily burn through your day and never leave the site … or your office. The maximum amount of time I dedicate to LinkedIn/social networking each day is 30 minutes. A timer keeps me honest!
Given my LinkedIn objective to position the expertise of Synnovatia™ with business owners involved in start-up and development, and a finite amount of time, I get busy.
‘Da Plan – ‘Da Plan
1. Check the Home Page - the location of the latest updates of connections, questions, answers, and recommendations from my network.
- Rolling your mouse over the links provides insight into who is joining your network.
- Extend an invitation or craft an Inmail (the LinkedIn email system) to those in my network with whom I want to connect directly. (Networking online is no different than offline in that building relationships must be the priority.)
2. Proceed to the Answers Section – the place where those seeking additional information will post questions.
- Select the Answer categories that best fit my objective.
- Peruse my pre-selected categories to locate one question to answer that satisfies my objective.
3. Identify and seek one recommendation.
4. Identify and invite one contact to join my LinkedIn network.
Focusing on one connection, recommendation, and/or answer each day allows you to fulfill your time commitment with your name appearing on the home page of everyone in your network, leveraging that valuable ‘real estate’ known as the Home page.
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Jackie Nagel, Founder of Synnovatia™, energizes entrepreneurs that are stuck, stalled, starting up, or stretching with a pioneering coaching approach that drives profits, productivity, and performance.
Photo credit for stopwatch: Stopwatch
Tags: jackie nagel, linkedin, Planning
Posted by Stephanie on Apr 14, 2009 in
Small Business Marketing 
In a world awash with spam, advertisements, and tons of direct mail crap, word-of-mouth advertising still reigns supreme as the factor that influences consumer shopping and buying habits.
If you are a small business owner, here are some amazing facts about word-0f-mouth promotion that you will definitely want to know (thanks to Bazaarvoice for this very cool collection of stuff).
Read on! You’ll be surprised how these facts might alter the way you look at your business, your interaction with customers, and the way your promote.
Facts About Word-of-Mouth Advertising You’ll Want to Know
For instance, here are just a few of the facts you can find on the Bazaarvoice website:
“Person like me” still most trusted source for information about a company and, therefore, products. (Edelman Trust Barometer, November 2007)
Recommendations from family and friends trump all other consumer touchpoints when it comes to influencing purchases, according to ZenithOptimedia. (AdAge, April, 2008)
According to a global Nielsen survey of 26,486 Internet users in 47 markets, consumer recommendations are the most credible form of advertising among 78% of the study’s respondents. (Nielsen, “Word-of-Mouth the Most Powerful Selling Tool”, October 2007)
86% of consumers read online business reviews before making purchasing decisions; 90% of whom say they trust these reviews. (Kudzu.com survey of 600 users, December 2008)
84% of consumers earning more than $150,000 annually visit sites where customers review and rate products and services including restaurants. (The Luxury Institute, April 2007)
83% of online shoppers would make purchases if sites offered increased interactive elements. (Allurent, January 2008)
Consumers were willing to pay between 20 to 99% more for a 5-star rated product than for a 4-star rated product, depending on the product category. (comScore/Kelsey, October 2007)
These are just a FEW of the many facts that Bazaarvoice puts out. Plus they have a killer blog. Check ‘em out … your small business will definitely benefit:
Bazaarvoice
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Photo credit: takomabibelot
Tags: small business, word of mouth advertising, word of mouth facts
Posted by Stephanie on Apr 13, 2009 in
Small Business Marketing 
Guest post by Jackie Nagel, Synnovatia
Social networking is springing up like weeds on the web. LinkedIn. FastPitch. Twitter. YouTube. Facebook. Biznik. Plaxo. Ping. Schmoozii …
The prospect of reaching the world with your message is intoxicating. Equally, the amount of time spent forging through the plethora of websites with their unique designs and features can overwhelm the most organized individual.
Make Your Time Count
As simple as it may sound, the first step in establishing an effective social networking plan is to set a clear intention for your approach.
For those who are shoppers, spending time at www.linkedin.com, without a clear objective is much like shopping without any idea of what you need. You wander from store-to- store, aisle -to- aisle, wasting hour upon hour only to leave the premises unfilled and disappointed. (Gosh, that does sound like the LinkedIn experience, doesn’t it!?)
However, armed with a clear picture of your desires, you zoom directly to the aisle that contains what you need. Although the shiny objects at the ends of the aisles may still catch your fancy, your time is wisely invested.
Set Your Objective
What is your objective for the time invested on LinkedIn? Do you want to position yourself as an expert? Build partnerships and share clients? Find a new career? Connect with a company that up-to-this-point appears to be clandestine? Whatever the reason for your social networking activity, you want it to contribute to your over-arching professional objective.
Time used on www.linkedin.com cannot be recaptured or resold. Whatever you desire, a reason that is clear and succinct ensures the productive use of your time.
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Jackie Nagel, Founder of Synnovatia™, energizes entrepreneurs that are stuck, stalled, starting up, or stretching with a pioneering coaching approach that drives profits, productivity, and performance.
Tags: jackie nagel, linkedin, social media
