What can be accomplished in just 10 minutes each day on LinkedIn?

Quite a bit!

In this article, I will discuss how you can become a LinkedIn Rock Star by investing just 10 minutes everyday. I have broken this into 10 ACTIONABLE STEPS that you can do everyday to get the maximum out of your LinkedIn Profile:

Ready?

Enjoy!

LinkedIn Notifications

LinkedIn notifications

Check on any new notifications (on the top right hand corner) you have received, especially direct messages.  The others are mostly just notifications of new posts, etc. which are not going to be your highest priority when you are short on time. The direct messages however, will be important as they are messages sent directly to you from your connections that could potentially lead to a sale.  Be sure to check these first.

Connection Requests

LnkedIn connection requests

Take a peek at your new connection requests.  Are the names or companies familiar to you? Accept those you know and wish to connect with.  Has someone sent you a personalized request that may be worth reading? Accept the ones you’re comfortable with. You can discard all others. I usually accept 99% of my connection requests.

Make New Connections

Growing your LinkedIn network should be a priority. After all, we live in a connected world.

Search through the recommendations offered by LinkedIn to connect with. If you recognize anyone as a previous client, colleague, childhood friend, or otherwise, it may be a good idea to send a personalized connection request. Don’t just click on connect and send the standard LinkedIn message – no one likes that, customize the message.

Birthday and Anniversary Notifications

LinkedIn anniversary

LinkedIn will notify you if any of your connections has a birthday, work anniversary or a new job. You can like that status or add a personal comment. I usually skip the birthday notifications unless the individual is a friend or colleague. Always look for work anniversaries and send a personalized message to congratulate them and reconnect. You never know if it might lead you to a new sales opportunity.

Scan your News Feed

LinkedIn news feed

Scan your news feed to find any articles you’d be interested in reading later. If there is an article or update that your connections might find useful then share that with the network. We find that following interesting or useful companies on LinkedIn and scanning their updates is a great source of content to curate and share across the other social channels (especially Twitter).

Participate in LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn groups

Search for, join, and engage in a few groups you were interested in to become more well-known to the people in your field or interests. The more you contribute, the more your name will show up.  Again, networking is important. You will be perceived as an authority in the group the more you engage in thoughtful discussions.

Make Profile Updates (Once a Month)

LinkedIn profile updates

Know the top five strengths for which you want to be recognized and use them in your profile – repeatedly. If your top skill is project management, describe your project management proficiency in your summary as well as in multiple experience descriptions. This will help the right audience find you.

Request Recommendations

Ask your contacts to recommend you for only your top skills. Having the highest number of recommendations for your signature strengths will influence those who are looking at your profile. Have the courage to delete or reject the recommendations that aren’t central to how you want to be known. Do this once a week.

Give and You Shall Receive!

Give and Receive

Give recommendations and endorsements to those whom you genuinely admire. When you recommend other people, their reputation is seen an extension of your values.  You should receive the courtesy of connections providing recommendations and endorsements for you as well.

Show Gratitude

Thank you

Did anyone comment or like your article or updates? Don’t forget to show gratitude – thank them publicly by commenting back. Did anyone give you a recommendation? Write them a thank you direct message.

Conclusion

Anyone can use LinkedIn to their advantage if they are willing to spare about 10 minutes of their time every day and follow the steps above. It will expose your profile to a wide audience and will establish you as an authoritative voice in your niche which will ultimately lead to more leads and sales for your business.

Need help generating leads from LinkedIn or to optimize your LinkedIn profile? We have helped several people turn their dead LinkedIn account into a lead generating machine. Learn more about our LinkedIn Profile Management service where we manage the whole campaign for you or call us at 1-800-379-2829 to speak to us today!

Super Bowl 50This year’s ‘golden” Super Bowl featuring the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos is set to break quite a few records. And, no, there will be no mention of Peyton Manning’s possible broken records in this article.

Record-Breaking Commercial Costs

One of the most heralded and talked about aspects of the Big Game are the Super Bowl commercials. For the most part, advertisers come out swinging and try to bring out their best, freshest ads with the most impact. This year’s Super Bowl 50 will be no exception to that rule (see greatest Super Bowl commercials).

The price of a 30-second Super Bowl spot has been steadily rising since Super Bowl XLIII, which had a minimum price of $2.4 million. By Super Bowl XLIX, that number had almost doubled, costing a staggering $4.5 million.

This year, the coveted spots have the hefty price tag of $5 million a pop, up 11% from the previous years. While one could potentially calculate that the NFL made $300 million on the spots, there are usually repeats and some mainstay brands, such as Budweiser, that have contracts with the NFL that allow them to get into the Super Bowl commercial lineup.

Either way, there are quite a few companies that will be showing their wares during the game. Looking over the list, many would never expect that these commercials would be in the same event. Ads will range from mobile games (Mobile Strike) to toothpaste (Colgate) to avocados (Avocados from Mexico).

The Social Media Storm

Super Bowl 50 social mediaThe fans are even more invested, and companies have quite a bit riding on that fact as well.

The Marriott has played their hand since before the big game, racking up nearly 54 million impressions on social media for fans to win a suite at the Super Bowl.

For the game itself, Twitter and Facebook have been a part of the hype, with 70% of news seekers on Twitter seeing Super Bowl news and Facebook’s at 55%, and will continue to be driving the game forward. Twitter is offering special emojis and Facebook will be introducing the Sports Stadium, which will give Facebook users a place to find game news and events in real time.

Denny Keens, the Head of North American Sports Partnerships, has predicted big things for the Super Bowl, saying that it will likely be the most popular event of 2016 for Twitter users.

Companies large and small are capitalizing on the nation’s Super Bowl fever. After all, it’s a great way to spread a brand and invigorate a business during one of the biggest events in American life.

Black FridayAs the 2015 holiday deals season gains momentum, everyone looks to your website for deals on products and services you offer. Millions of small businesses around the world do not have a physical location to visit, requiring them to sell goods and services via their company website. However, with the increase in holiday hits, can your website handle the extra web traffic?

Events, blogs, images, and videos are great for your website.  But what about high value shopping days (Black Friday, Cyber Monday)?  Both holidays bring a big test e-commerce websites. The Google Webmaster Central Blog says “[This] can cause a rapid increase in traffic to websites that provide relevant information, and may even cause sites to crash at the moment they’re becoming most popular.”

Prepare a “Lightweight” Version of the Website

Everyone knows if your website requires more than a few seconds to load, either a large influx of visitors will overload your server’s ability to deliver resources to each inquiry, or will simply leave.  It’s a good bet to have a “lightweight” version of your website prepared with lower density, leaner graphics and applications. This will allow your website to load faster and with fewer resources, while still being fully operational.

Have a Capable Back-End

Admin panel for WordPressIf your website is hosted in the cloud, congrats, you’re strides ahead!  But if your website is supported exclusively on your company servers, you might be inviting trouble.

If a great influx of visitors visit your website at the same time, it can overload the local server on which your website is hosted. If you website is hosted on a cloud server, the data is spread out over several servers, all sharing resources to support the extra traffic.

Prepare Your Website

Fact: a sudden surge in web traffic can cause your website to crash.

Let us help you get ready for circumstances like these. Your website is a tool that helps your business grow, and it needs to shine when it’s needed most. A website that frequently freezes or crashes at the moment a new visitor visits is a surefire way to ensure they never return.

Call eBizUniverse at 1-800-379-2829 for more information about our professional website services today.

SnapChatIn a day and age when social media is known for how long information is archived, SnapChat is becoming more popular than ever, and now even businesses are growing into SnapChat. People do not share photos as often if they are worried about them being permanently available to anyone that comes across them.

With SnapChat, users send photos or videos that are erased in 1-10 seconds after they are viewed. This anonymity has quickly made SnapChat one of the fastest growing social media platforms.

Great spur of the moment advertising

Spontaneous advertising can be a great way to gain customers. For example, you might send a fun photo of what is going on at the office or that gives customers insight into how a product is produced. Sometimes great promotions do not need to take a lot of time or cost a lot to be great.

Flash sales

If there is one thing that will get a customer using SnapChat it is a great deal. For example, a business might occasionally send out an ad with a code for 10% of a purchase or give users an opportunity to purchase select merchandise first.

Incentive

SnapChatIn a competitive industry, it is essential to give people as much incentive as possible to utilize your business. Some firms have run marketing campaigns that encourage users to send a SnapChat photo of themselves using a product. In exchange, the customer gets sent a SnapChat photo that contains a discount. This can create two sales out of what would have been one.

Eliminates Frustration

When you have a discount code for a product or service, the code often is posted for much longer than it is good for. When a customer tries to use a code that is expired, they can become very frustrated because they do not understand it is old. With SnapChat your code is only available briefly and far less likely to be stored.

Send Videos with Ease

SnapChat is not just for sharing pictures. Short videos can be sent to customers and potential customers. Videos capture a lot of attention and can be educational as well as promotional. For example, a home improvement contractor may send out a daily short video with a tip for home maintenance. A self-help expert could send out a positive message once a week. Contact us today to get started with SnapChat.

LinkedIn iconLinkedIn showcase pages are a feature that stems from the company page users can create allowing employees, clients, and others to follow news and updates. Showcase pages share similar features with the company page including: posting company and sponsored updates, see analytical results, and send sponsored InMail. With these similarities, it might make you think twice if showcase pages are really necessary. The answer would depend on the size, type, and structure of your business.

Microsoft Office Showcase PageAccording to LinkedIn, showcase pages were created to highlight a brand or specific project. This is useful for a business with multiple product lines targeting different market segments. For example, if you have a business that offers shoes for men and swimwear for ladies, you can create and maintain separate showcase pages allowing you to connect with specific segments that would be interested in these products.

For more specific examples of companies who have effectively used showcase pages, see Adobe, Cisco, Pepsi, or Coca-Cola.

Utilizing LinkedIn Showcase Pages

Here are other ways to use LinkedIn showcase pages:

  1. Target specific customers.

If you are a multi-brand company, you can use Showcase Pages to directly communicate with the customers of a particular brand. This would allow you to segment your audience and deliver the right messages at the right time. You can post about product updates, campaigns related to the product, and testimonials among others.

  1. Better organized.

If you have a busy Company Page, you can create Showcase Pages to organize the activity and messages you are receiving through the Company Page. For example, you can have a separate Showcase Page for recruitment, your products and services, and customer support.

  1. Specific marketing strategies.

Creating specific marketing and communication strategies would be easier, now that you have a dedicated page for a particular product or service. Again, this means that only your target audience for a specific brand would receive your messages.

Consider the benefits of LinkedIn showcase pages and see how it can help your business. Get help from digital marketing experts like eBizUniverse.com to create LinkedIn company pages and showcase pages that work.

Republican debateAs the presidential debates pick up steam and the 2016 election draws near, the American public can hardly contain their excitement about the upcoming debates. Yes, the fever is on, as the most powerful country in the world will have to choose their next president— the most powerful office in the world.

Presidential aspirants from both Democratic and Republican parties will try to impress the voters over the course of several debates covering issues that they hope capture the desire of the people. Determining the issues that the American public feels strongly about is the main factor in this election.

Enter YouTube and Twitter.

The Pulse of the People

Twiter trendIn the social media era, if you want to know popular public opinion, you don’t need to conduct a survey anymore. All you have to do is open your Twitter and YouTube accounts and see what topic is trending. Unlike in the past, the people now have an easy venue to publish their views. Social media is now the venue to know the pulse of the people.

Naturally, politicians will look through the social media to find the issues to bring to the debate arena.  This should keep Presidential candidates up to date on trending issues that are important to the American people.

Alternative Debate Arenas

YouTube politicsAside from the televised debates, the internet is another venue where presidential candidates can continue their arguments. As the internet becomes more intertwined with the daily lives of Americans, it is not surprising that the exchange of ideas and arguments can extend through Twitter and YouTube. Social media is a good platform for debates, because it can reach a wider audience or almost any age and social status.

This is an exciting time for American politics. With the line between conservatives and liberals more solidly drawn, people are turning to social media to explain and defend their beliefs. This means aspiring leaders will have a better venue to find the issues that the people really care about. Digital marketing agencies like eBizUniverse can help leaders create social media campaigns.

 

 

 

Arlingon Heights PoliceWhen an emergency arises and you need help, you would want your fire personnel or police to be there as soon as they can. Thanks to the rise in popularity and ease of use of social media, local police and the fire departments have a very efficient method to receive the information and alert the public.  Agencies are now tracking social media statuses full time to track emergencies.

There are also other ways police and fire personnel are using social media for the benefit of the public they promise to serve and protect.

Public Announcements and Warnings

Facebook warningIn the past, if there was a dangerous criminal on the run, police departments would have limited methods to immediately issue warnings (i.e. interrupting regularly scheduled television programming or 24-7 news radio stations).

With the ease of use of social media, its easy today to warn thousands of people within seconds as people are more glued than ever to their computer screens and mobile phones.  Social media announcements are a quicker way reach to many people. Fire departments use social media the same way too, especially now that forest and brush fires are becoming more common with droughts.

A Venue to Interact with People

Elgin policeThe trust between law enforcement and the public is important. That is why police departments are using various social media platforms in order to interact with people.  This includes Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Better communication between the police and the public encourages trust, which encourages compliance. In the same way, fire department personnel also use social media to talk to people about fire safety, what to do when a fire breaks out, and basic CPR practices.

Dealing with Controversial Issues

With the increasing number of reports about police abuse, law enforcement is using social media to share their side of the story that the mainstream media may have missed. This is very important to restore the people’s faith in law enforcement.

With social media, police and fire personnel are able to provide additional service to the people they serve. Digital marketing agencies like eBizUniverse.com can help police and fire personnel create effective social media pages that connect with their audience.

 

Never get boredhttps://www.pinterest.com/pin/393924298635154002/

“The play button is the most compelling call to action on the web.”–Michael Litt

 

That Michael Litt guy is a genius.

Mr. Litt is the CEO of Vidyard (a software company, headquartered in Canada that creates software to host and analyze video performance). And he’s right. Nothing is more inviting online than a play button.

Did you notice not too many people watch much TV anymore?

2010

Here’s an excerpt from an article written very recently (Sept 2) by Mr. Litt himself.

“Five years ago, if someone had asked marketers about their use of social media technology, only about 20 percent would have said they were invested there, too. Look how far social has come. Just about every company now has a person, if not a team, dedicated to social. We’re already starting to see the same thing with video, and adoption is hitting an exponential curve.

Video is poised for huge growth in both B2B and B2C marketing. That’s what I see in all the other data and anecdotal evidence about video. My own company has seen 1,000-percent growth in customers using video platform technology in the last two years. Last year, a joint report from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs found that video ranked higher than white papers, infographics and research reports for content marketing, and was up 6 points over 2013.

And that doesn’t even take into account the big picture statistics on online video. Internet prognosticator extraordinaire Mary Meeker predicts that, by 2017, 74 percent of all internet traffic will be video. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have all made bets on video recently.”

Complete article: http://venturebeat.com/2015/09/02/marketing-clouds-and-video-a-relationship-just-beginning-to-bloom/

It seems Mr. Litt is confident that online video use will continue to surge.

Stats in 2011: The YuMe Report

YuMe, a digital video brand advertising company, headquartered in California, wrote this study in 2011:

Comparing statistics between the number of people watching TV and watching online videos, it is apparent that more people, in all possible demographics, have started to watch videos more online than on TV.

YouTube is King

YouTube infographic

Infographic excerpt from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/515662226055287403/

In this infographic (released in 2013), we can see that the popular online video platform YouTube had viewership increased by 3.8 hours per American. Even in mobile video, it seems that YouTube has won people over cable television. These statistics are of course understandable given that internet availability and accessibility surged as well in the last five years.

How Severe Is Our Screen Addiction?

Here’s a question for you: how much time do you think we really spend with our eyes transfixed on a digital display?

Go ahead and think, we’ll wait.

Have your answer?

According to the infographic below from PGi, most people spend five hours on their computer or laptop each day, which is a noticeable upswing since 2010 when the average was three hours.

The typical person also spends four hours watching television and just over two hours on their smartphone or tablet. Nearly 50% of the time spent on these electronic devices is dedicated to entertainment, such as streaming TV shows and movies or listening to music.

Article source: http://mashable.com/2013/10/08/screen-fiends/

Another interesting note in the stats above is that almost 85% of people who subscribe to cable and satellite services also like watching online videos. This means that these people like to have an option to watch the shows that they want, whether they are at home or when they are mobile.

Stats in 2013: Adults Vs. Teens

Younger internet users are twice as likely to post and share videos online than their older counterparts. Pew found 41 percent of 18- to 29-year-old internet users and 36 percent of those aged 30-49 post or share videos online, compared with 18 percent of those over 50.

“Online video consumption continues to be concentrated among the youngest online adults, and those with higher education and income levels, but over time it has grown substantially among virtually all groups of online adults,” report author Kristen Purcell said in a statement.

As of 2009, comedy and educational videos are among the most widely viewed video genres, with more than half of online adults saying they watch those categories.

Music videos showed the largest growth in viewership between 2009 and 2013, from 32 percent to 50 percent.

Some 12 percent said they watched adult-themed videos — 25 percent of male internet users and eight percent of females.

Among those who post or share videos online, 35 percent said hoped or believed this would go “viral.” Just five percent of those who have posted said they had regrets about at least one of the posted items.

Complete article: http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/us-survey-reveals-surge-in-online-video-use/

It is perhaps predictable that teens watch more videos online than adults. Having more free time on their hands, teenagers can easily get their phones and watch their favorite YouTube music video or movie online.

Study in 2014: Desktop Vs. Mobile

Hulu and Netflix users are streaming content across an array of devices, with the PC still being the most popular. But it’s otherwise sobering to see the array of devices being used to watch video content.

Source: Nielsen

Nielsen also reports that “84 percent of smartphone and tablet owners say they use their devices as second-screens while watching TV at the same time.” These ‘power’ users can do a wide range of things while watching TV — all of which begs the question of the continued impact and effectiveness of TV advertising.

Complete article: http://marketingland.com/nielsen-time-accessing-internet-smartphones-pcs-73683

Social Media

Social media

https://twitter.com/aqeelhawaj/status/639629352926228480

Anyone with a Twitter account would remember that earlier this year (January), Twitter has sent a notification that they can now capture videos via their Twitter account. Twitter has realized the value of posting videos.

2015: Which Social Media is the Best Platform for Posting Videos?

Facebook gives you the ability to target consumers like we’ve never seen before in digital.

And Facebook knows: they’ve added features in the last few months that point out they are increasing the amount of attention they give video: view count, embedding options, video for website conversions. This means there is more to come.

Much more.

Funny videos

https://www.facebook.com/BestFunnyVideos2013

But while Facebook should be an enormous priority, don’t ignore the other social channels that might be more in-tune with your brand. There are a ton of other social channels to be creating video content for that offer what marketers love — reach and attention.

I’ll go into a couple of the biggest ones.

Video on Twitter is for Engagement: Direct, Social, & Real

Twitter’s new video product that was released late January has changed the way I use and consume the platform. Video on Twitter truly is social and the best way to use Twitter video is by connecting and engaging, rather than just pushing. As Twitter has grown in size, it’s become a listening platform. Five years ago, I could send a tweet and get more engagement on it than I do now. I had less of an audience, but the audience was paying closer attention. It was more serious. Now the amount of information and users on that platform has gotten so intense that it’s hard to have that same engagement. It’s hard to get anyone’s attention.

That’s why in this game, the real way to win with Twitter video is through engagement – using it as a “pull” rather than a “push.”

The truth is, people respond to effort. When a celebrity favorites your tweet, you get excited. Someone you admire likes a photo of yours on Instagram, it makes you feel good. Because, in reality, it’s not about the 100th of a second it takes to double tap that photo — it’s about the fact that they looked at your profile. They chose a photo. They saw it. And they “liked” it. That interaction, which takes all of 5 or 6 seconds, really touches people in a way that is unique to the powers that be on social.

With Twitter’s new video feature, they’ve been able to take that feeling to the next level.

All you have to do is log in and engage. Reply to a tweet using the camera option, select video, and start talking. It takes me nine to twelve seconds to make a video and reply, but those extra seconds hold a lot of meaning. Not to mention it’s more personal, visual, and we are living in a world where the visual is often regarded as a better engagement than the written.

There’s also more room to set the tone. A lot of things can get lost in a tweet. I might say “thnx” but that person isn’t 100% sure what my tone really was. But with Twitter video, the message comes across loud and clear.

It’s fifteen seconds of your attention on one person instead of two seconds. Do you know how much that means? Time is so incredibly precious to people. We are in control of it and we hate when it’s wasted. But you know what we value more? When someone else decides to lend their most precious asset to us.

That is what excites me most about Twitter video. Giving time to people. More time. Personalized time. And that is awesome.

Snapchat Video is the Hottie at the Gym: It’s All About Attention

Snapchat is huge right now.

More than 60% of U.S.13 to 34 year-old smartphone users are Snapchatters.  They now have more than two billion video views a day.  And there are a few interesting things about Snapchat as a platform when it comes to how it works.

Snapchat gets your undivided attention because, in order to view a video, you have to have your finger on the screen. (edit: since this article, Snapchat has changed this feature. Read more about it here.)

It’s also one of the only platforms in which you can draw creative on top of the video, making for some awesome Snapchat exclusive artists like Shonduras.

Most importantly, videos have a maximum life of twenty four hours, or less if the users chooses to make it so. A video can last down to a second. The urgency to see something before it disappears can be a huge factor. I had a very successful start on the platform by Snapchatting users telling them to screenshot the snap before it disappeared and post it to Twitter to get a reply from me. People respond to that urgency.

And now, marketers are getting really serious about Snapchat as a platform to reach an enormous number of people due to some key changes Snapchat has released. Earlier this year, Snapchat launched the Discover section of the app. It’s a feature that allows users to receive content provided by media companies. Current participants include National Geographic, Vice, ESPN, and more. Eleven participants in all. It’s a very serious play on the company’s part because it puts it in a very aggressive place with the overall user interface of the app. It completely changes how the app is both perceived and used.

Complete article: https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/video-content-marketing-facebook-twitter-snapchat-youtube-socialmedia-1195996975.html

It’s a pity the author of that article didn’t comment more regarding Instagram. Instagram can also store 15 seconds of video, so perhaps that short video can also provide the same experience as Twitter.

But it seems that more celebrities are more likely to comment or favorite your video tweet than like your video on Instagram, based on the article above.

Instagram is very popular among teens but in reality, it’s more of a photo platform than video.  However, according to this very recent news (Sept 3), it is apparent that Snapchat is going to be the winner.

In just three months, Snapchat has doubled the number of video views it gets per day to 4 billion, a spokeswoman for the social media app said.  That puts Snapchat on equal footing with social media giant Facebook, which announced it hit 4 billion daily views in the first quarter of this year.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-snapchat-video-views-20150903-story.html

Question for you: are you using social media to keep in touch with friends and family, or are you utilizing the platforms for lead generation tactics?

If you’re using it for lead generation tactics, then we have a treat for you. Below is an infographic (courtesy of Wishpond) that’s been created to visually show you the different social media platforms and how they stack up against each other.

Enjoy!
Lead Generation

Social media confusion

Do you keep forgetting the passwords to your company’s various social media accounts? Are you tired of copying and pasting the same content across multiple pages? Do you know the difference between Pinterest and Instagram, and understand the unique value of each one?

If not, continue reading this article for help understanding and managing the dozens of unique popular social media platforms.

Understanding Each Platform

Having a Facebook business page or business handle (Twitter) may no longer be enough to connect with the audience you want. You may be well-versed in both, but how well do you know other social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram? If those names still sound familiar, how about a few of the platforms that Forbes predicts could explode before 2016, including SlideShare, Ello, Hyper, and Wanelo?

Each of these sites has a distinct purpose, audience, and benefit. Expand your reach by utilizing the unique services that each site has to offer. For example, Buyable pins on Pinterest make it possible for users to purchase items directly from their feeds. SlideShare users can easily develop and share professional slideshow presentations while Instagram users can share photos as well as short videos.

Managing Your Social Media Accounts

Depending on the size of your company, you may need to designate an employee position for social media marketing and management. Another possibility is outsourcing, but either way the individual in charge will likely make use of a third-party social media management website or system.

Before launching a new social media campaign, spend time with your advertising and marketing teams to develop ideas and fresh content. Have personnel ready to engage with consumers and respond quickly to both compliments and complaints.