Self-employed? LinkedIn is for you!

Recently, someone who is “self-employed” asked me how he or she could best use LinkedIn for his or her business ventures. Many self-employed people ignore LinkedIn because they believe that LinkedIn is only for people looking for a job, but that isn’t the case. LinkedIn is a great way for someone to promote his or her own business, find and be found by prospective clients, and connect with others in similar businesses. Here are a few LinkedIn steps for the self-employed:

If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile yet, click here for a brief tutorial to get you started.

Step 1. Optimize your LinkedIn profile.
This will ensure your profile is displayed as a top result for searches related to your skills. To optimize your profile, determine what key words potential clients might use to seek out your service. Use these words throughout your profile to guarantee yourself a spot in relevant search results.

Step 2. Create an eye-catching headline.
Your headline should be a brief description of what you do. It should include your key words for optimization, as well as caption of your unique selling point, or what you have to offer. If your business is based in a certain location, include this in your headline and in other areas of your profile so potential clients looking for business in your area can find you first.

To add an extra air of professionalism to both your business and profile, I highly suggest you create an identity for your business and brand it. For example, who would you rather hire, John Smith – Unemployed, or John Smith – Smith Consulting?

Step 3. Include a “call to action” in the Summary section.
Chances are potential clients will read your profile summary to get a general idea of the business you do.  Including a request for action from these clients will create a better chance they will contact you for your services. Remember to also include the key words throughout your summary to increase profile optimization.

Step 4. Use the Experience section effectively.
This section of your profile allows you to fully showcase past works. List past projects or clients, in detail, in this section. There is the option to upload sample works, this can be helpful for those who’s business creates tangible items, or even written works.

Step 5. Add value for your connections.
As you connect to potential future clients and others in your professional network, it is important to have something to offer them on LinkedIn. Create posts that pertain to your line of work, this will not only show professionalism but also work to build your credibility. If you have a blog or website that is relevant to your business, you can link it to your LinkedIn account so that visitors to your profile can also visit your other pages. Follow this link to learn more about connecting a WordPress blog to your LinkedIn account.

Following these easy steps will help you professionalize your self-employed LinkedIn page, and optimize your page so potential clients find you first. In turn, you will watch your brand popularity and client base grow. If you are self-employed and having success with LinkedIn, leave your tips, or LinkedIn information, in the comment section below to help and connect with fellow business owners.

Pinterest for Your Business

 New to Pinterest I started thinking about how a small business could utilize the site to gain traffic on their website, to generate interest in their brand, to attract new cliental or give current clients a new way to get involved with the company.  Pinterest’s highly visual platform allows for a unique way to market and brand your business.                         

Think Visuals

You want to build a visual plan for your business and Pinterest is the perfect platform to do that in.  Keep in mind an image creates an immediate appeal or disinterest.  You want your images to create an immediate positive reaction with the user.  Your visuals should be immediately captivating because you want to generate interest in the user.  According to Forbes magazine social media posts with strong images attached to them get three times more user engagement in comparison with posts with no images.  The traffic your image will get will keep your current followers engaged and hopefully attract new followers. 

Get your followers involved

Pinterest like other social media sites is great for automatic feedback.  To generate this feedback create a space for your followers to share their interests and involvement in your business, you can do this through creating guest pin boards.  Guest pin boards are a place where followers can show their interest in the brand and feel involved in the business.  These guest pin boards can be a great way to learn how followers see your business. 

Real people real business

Pinterest is a great space to use to show off the personal side of your business.  Create a page that serves as a bio page about your employees.  On this bio page post image of your employees with interviews with them.  The bio page can let followers see the faces behind the business.  By putting faces to your business you create a personal connection with followers. 

Promotion! Promotion! Promotion!

Use your Pinterest account to promote deals and sales. Use interesting graphics to promote what’s going on in your business.  Translate boring numbers into interesting and attractive visuals. 

Key things to remember

–          Make sure your account and boards are branded and organized.

–          Include descriptions of boards this will help you show up in searches.

–          Include an eye catching profile picture.  One that makes your brand recognizable.

–          Show the real side of your business.

–          Most importantly have fun!

 

Four Big Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Facebook Fan Page: Case Study

*For this post I will be using Radius Café + Urban Casual Dining (Hamilton, Ontario) as an example of effective use of Facebook for business purposes.

I am an avid explorer of small and local businesses. Unfortunately, I don’t always have the time to stop by every interesting store or café I pass by.

When a local business catches my eye, I either search for it on my smartphone right away, or send myself a reminder to search the name of the business when I get home. If the business doesn’t have a website, Twitter account, or Facebook page where I can find more information about it, I’ll likely forget about it or lose interest in it.

One business that I’ve come across that made superb use of online promotion, and Facebook in particular, is Radius Café + Urban Casual Dining.

Radius opened in Hamilton, Ontario in the spring of 2012. When the café first opened for business, they didn’t even have a sign above their door yet. I found out about the business through their effective use of online promotion. Upon my first visit, it became my favourite café in Hamilton.

Below are four ways that Radius effectively makes use of their Facebook fan page, and four reasons why you should be doing it for your business too.

Sure you can press capture….But will anyone “like” your picture?

Step 1

Content: When taking a picture to post on your Instagram account is important that it is tasteful and unique, or at least represents a positive message for what you’re trying to express through your Instagram picture.

Step 2

Lighting: It is ideal when taking the picture that you have enough light in the picture. Try to avoid using flash because it will take the clarity out of your picture.

Step 3

Angle: It is important to optimize your angle. Try choosing something that will get your whole object in it, or at least a unique angle to capture the object from.

Step 4

Grid: It is important you use a grid on your phone to align your picture properly. Use the grid to make everything in your picture somewhat symmetrical.

Step 5

Take your picture: When taking your picture, use your actual camera not Instagram’s camera, this will allow you to take more then one picture so you will have options as to what picture to choose.

Step 6

Filter/ effects: Instagram offers 20 unique filters and effects to spice up your picture. There is also a brighten button, a border button and a fade button.  Choose which one ads the most to your picture! I personally use outside filter aps, like PicFX and VSCO, which are excellent for getting that fresh film look.

Step 7

Caption: Make sure the words you choose for your picture are tasteful and do not offend anyone.  You may tag you friends in posts by either putting an @ symbol before their username, or by pressing the “add people” button. Avoid using too many hastags, or hastags that do not apply to the subject of your photo.

Step 8

POST YOUR PICTURE! Watch the likes go up and the followers increase!

@trashhand

@rbw @trashhand

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Twitter is the future, so make it your present: How your business can reap the benefits of Twitter

In a world where new applications and technologies are being invented every day, it can be intimidating to venture into the unknown and incorporate these new developments into your company’s action plan. Ignoring them, however, is not the route to take.

From increasing customer interaction to marketing, there are many  benefits to using Twitter for your business.

After setting up an account, it’s time to start reaping the benefits of your new social media tool, and here is how.

Broaden your audience 

You already know your followers care about what you have to say – that’s why they followed you. However, to broaden your Twitter scope and get your message out to more people, use hashtags. Hashtag common topics or themes so that users can find your tweets and take in your message.

Another tip –  incorporate trending hashtags in your area into your tweets. By following an account like @TrendsOttawa, you can see what people are tweeting about and incorporate this into to your tweets in a creative way.

That being said, don’t simply use a hashtag just for the sake of using a hashtag. Using too many hashtags is not visually appealing and it can also cause the key message behind the tweet to be lost.

 

Interact with your followers

When a customer takes time to personally contact you through Twitter, you should respond. If it’s a positive comment, retweet it, favourite it, or simply send a reply saying thank you. If it’s negative, send the individual a direct message to discuss what has been said. Replying in a respectful and professional way is a great way to show your customers that you care and that you value what they have to say.

On the other hand, if you want your followers to respond to  your tweet in a certain way then tell them! If you want them to retweet your tweet, then ask them to do so. But be careful how you phrase it…

Link to your website

Customers may have questions about your product or brand that can easily be answered by checking out your website. Make sure there is a link in your biography to your site, and don’t be afraid to tweet the link every so often.

On that note, it’s very easy to provide a link on your website for your Twitter account, as well as other social media accounts. Linking the two websites can increase traffic in both directions.

Promote your brand

Twitter is a great, cost-effective tool to be able to promote your brand, as well as anything associated with it. Keep your followers up-to-date on what is going on so that they too can reap the benefits of following you on Twitter.

If you’re hosting an event – tweet about it! If a sale is going on – grant your followers the first opportunity to hear about it. This way, your message gets out, but it also gives your followers a reason to keep following you.

Know when to tweet

People are more likely to click on your tweet if you tweet on weekends and if you tweet later in the day. If you find this a challenge because you don’t want to have to worry about tweeting after leaving work, set up an account on Hootsuite or Buffer. These applications allow you to easily schedule when your tweets will be published.

This Twitter venture may seem intimidating at first glance, but companies like Dell, who increased profits by $6.5 million, are proving that when done effectively, it is very worthwhile. Whether it is as an interactive, promotional or traffic-generating tool, Twitter is the future and should be incorporated into your business’s present.

If you have any real life examples of businesses who are really reaping the benefits of Twitter, or any tips you and your business use, we’d love to hear about them in the comment box below!

If it didn’t happen on Facebook, did it really happen? – A Guide To Creating Your Personal Image Through Facebook

Although Facebook allows you to post your job information, it’s not useful or practical to use it as a professional online resume like LinkedIn. But that doesn’t mean it can’t also serve as a tool to show off how awesome you are.

Meaning, you should take advantage of Facebook’s encouragement of personal over-sharing to demonstrate how put-together and well rounded you are in your personal life (even if you think you’re not). Potential employers are looking!

Below are tips on how to make the most of Facebook’s various features to create your personal image.

Sharing Pictures:

Posting pictures on Facebook is a great way to form your personal image, because they give your Facebook friends a way to visually interpret who you are.

Your Profile Picture and Cover Photo:

On Facebook, you can be a bit more casual than on Twitter and LinkedIn. Your profile picture doesn’t need to be a professional-looking headshot. Feel free to use a family photo or a picture of you and your friends. Just make sure it reflects an aspect of yourself that you want others to know about you, and that it doesn’t include anything that could be considered inappropriate (examples: nudity or alcohol).

Similarly, your cover photo should reflect a positive aspect of yourself or your interests that you want others to know about.

Your Photo Albums:

Uploading appropriate photos from various vacations or outings and events you attend will show your Facebook friends where you like to go and who you hang out with in your spare time.

 

Keep in mind that there are some memories that are better preserved offline. Pictures from your 21^st birthday party at a strip club, if you must keep them, should be kept on your hard drive.

Reminder: If you’ve linked your Instagram account to your Facebook profile, the pictures that you post and like on Instagram will show up on your Facebook Timeline and on your friends’ News Feeds.

What to Include in Your ‘About’ Section:

• Work and Education: Include.
• Birthdate: If you choose to include this information, don’t include your birth year.
• Relationship Status: Not necessary, but use your own discretion.
• Contact Information: Only include if you want to be contacted through those means.
• Political views: Probably a bad idea, especially if you’re young. Your politics are likely going to change and develop as you go through life. Only do this if it’s also relevant to your professional life.
• Religious views: Not necessary, but use your own discretion.
• Favourite Books/Movies/Music: Include, but make sure they are reflective of the image you want to portray.

Posting Status Updates:

Facebook status updates have a huge character limit, which gives you much more space than Twitter to post a lengthy heat-of-the-moment rant about how much you hate your:

• significant other
• family member
• teacher/professor
• coworker
• or boss

Don’t do that.

If you need an outlet for your thoughts and/or frustrations, write them out in a journal (or word document if you prefer to type!) or call a friend.

Use the Facebook status update tool to post about your (mostly positive) thoughts on an event you attended, an occurrence that you witnessed, or about exciting things that have happened to you.

You should also every so often share links to articles that you think your friends will find interesting, and that will also make you look interesting.

Clicking the Like Button and Commenting On Your Friends’ Posts: 

 

Always keep in mind that the posts that you like and comment on can show up on your friends’ Facebook News Feed.

So don’t like your friend’s ‘go make me a sandwich’ post (delete this friend instead), or comment on a post about Rush Limbaugh saying that you agree with everything that Rush Limbaugh has ever said.

Instead, show how supportive you are of your friends’ successes and life happenings. And like posts about jokes that are actually funny and clever.

General Tips: 

• Be consistent with the image you’re portraying.
• Use proper spelling and grammar. 
• Be sure to not post any information about yourself wouldn’t want your boss (or your professors!) to know, even if you believe they’ll never see it.
• Try to wait five minutes and read a potential post over a few times before submitting it.

And, of course,

• Absolutely do not ever post anything that is in any way racist, sexist, homophobic, or elitist.

Do you have any additional tips on how to create or improve your personal image on Facebook? Let us know in the comments below!

Get Pinning: A Users Guide to Pinterest

Pinterest

Are you an avid social media user? Do you enjoy browsing online for the latest trends in food, fashion, interior decorating, or travel pictures or ideas?  If you think you would be interested in a site that combined all of this Pinterest might be up your alley.  Pinterest is a growing social media site, combining social media with photography.  Individuals and companies can spread images of what they love or what makes them unique through the use of words and appealing photographs.

Source:http://fortunebrainstormtech.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/pinterest_visitors.jpg?w=340&h=294

How to get started

First you need to get a Pinterest account.  Pinterest is unique to other social media sites in the sense that you must receive or request an invite.  These invites can come from a current user or from the website.  Invites from users are instant.  Invites from the site usually take about a week.  The idea of an invite may make you change your mind about signing up.  People who love Pinterest swear it’s an addictive site full of great ideas so, if you want to continue, creating your own account is very simple.

Once you’ve received your invite click on the link in your invitation email to launch Pinterest’s account setup page in your web browser.  During the original setup of your account Pinterest requires that you use either Facebook or Twitter.  Once your account has been created you can opt to link your other social media accounts or drop them.  Next, you enter your username, email and password.  Finally, click “create account” and you’re done.

Once you have successfully joined the Pinterest community you can start Pinning!

What’s Pinning? 

Pinning is centered on your boards.  You have the option to create individual boards within your account. You choose the topics of each board.  On the boards you pin images of things that interest you.  Think of your pins as bookmarks.  With each pin you are flagging something that you may want to have access to later.  Each time you pin something you are pinning!

Source: http://www.seo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Pinterest-Boards.png

Don’t want everyone to see your boards?

Say you and your friends are planning a surprise birthday party.  You can use Pinterest as a secret place to plan your event.  The option to have a secret boards is available.  The secret board will only be visible to those you’ve allowed access to, here you can pin ideas for cakes, decorations, party games or anything else you may think of.

Need fresh, new and exciting ideas?

In your home feed you’ll find many inspiring new ideas, in other user’s pins.

Want to pin quickly while browsing?

Pinterest offers users the use of the ‘Pin it Button’.  This button appears on your toolbar and allows you to pin things easily without having to navigate to a different window.

Source: http://about.pinterest.com/assets/img/en_US/basics/basics_1.png

What I Think About Pinterest’s Accessibility

I’m a new Pinterest user.  Many of my friends and co-workers are avid Pinterest users.  I decided I would find out what all the hype was about.  I found the invite idea not to have a purpose.  Maybe when the site was first introduced in, March 2010, an invite may have made the site different from others.  Now that the site is one of the most popular social media sites out there being invited to it along with thousands of others seems irrelevant.  The concept of Pinterest is easy to grasp and the site is easy to navigate through.

I’m interested to learn about other new users experiences.  Post any comments you may have about your first experiences with Pinterest?

Five easy steps to get you started on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is growing in popularity as a recruitment tool. Whether you are a student preparing for the world after graduation, new to the workforce, or looking to return to the workforce, LinkedIn can help you. LinkedIn will filter jobs tailored to your skills and education, and notify you of open positions. LinkedIn will also allow companies looking for people with your skillset find you for recruitment. Don’t you think its time to put yourself out there?

More recruiters use LinkedIn than any other social media site.

Getting Started

Step 1. Go to www.linkedin.com and register for a profile. This will require an active Email account. Once you have done the initial registration, you can begin tailoring your professional profile. Ensure your profile is set to public so that recruiters can find you.

Step 2. Pick an appropriate profile picture. Your photo should be of only you and reflect professionalism. It can directly relate to your profession or be a simple headshot. If you’re a student or recent graduate your profile picture should reflect this in a professional manner.

Step 3. Write a good headline. Say who you are and what you’re interests are in 120 characters or less. Your headline should be simple and not too personal.

Step 4. Write about your education. List your majors or minors, classes taken, or skills learned. If you are currently a student, list skills you are learning as well as those you already have.

Step 5. List your experiences. Write about past and present employment, achievements or honors, and volunteer initiatives.

Once you have set up your LinkedIn profile you can start connecting to other people you know on LinkedIn. The more connections you make the more people see your profile, which leads to better chances of recruitment. You can also join groups, and follow pages, pertaining to your profession on LinkedIn. This will also help filter your connections and put your profile out their for others to explore.

You can also acquire recommendations and endorsements from your LinkedIn connections. Have professors, managers or mentors write about, or verify your work. This gives the second opinion most recruiters are looking for.

Now that you have your LinkedIn account set up your options will be unlimited. Remember to keep your LinkedIn account up to date as you develop new skills and experiences, and to check often for new recruitment opportunities.

Have other tips for new LinkedIn users? Are you a recruiter using LinkedIn? Have you been recruited on LinkedIn? Leave a comment in the area below and let us hear about it!

Starting up Instagram: Your claim to photo fame

Instagram is a great way to share you photos and videos. You get a real look at what people are seeing in real time. You also get to choose what you share and see what others are sharing all around the world. This is truly one of the more fun forms of social media.

Starting your Instagram account.

Step 1: Download the Instagram application. You can do this by going into the application store on your phone and type in the search button “Instagram”.

Step 2:  Launch Instagram application. The Instagram Icon is a picture of a camera lens with a rainbow going through the top left corner.

Step 3:  Create your account!  Create and appropriate, relevant and creative username (nothing inappropriate), and fill in your Email and your password. Fill out your “about me” section and incorporate something brief and interesting about yourself. You can use your profession, what you’re studying in school or even things that you may be taking pictures of.

Step 4: Find your friends! You can sync your Instagram account with friends from some of your social media sites, i.e.: Twitter and Facebook, as well as your contact list from your Email account. You are able to add people at any point on Instagram by just clicking the “follow” button located underneath their following, followers, and picture column.

Once you have done all the startup steps its time to explore Instagram. There are five buttons located at the bottom of the screen when Instagram is opened.

There is a logo that looks like a house. This is your HOME FEED; this is where you can see what people that you follow are posting by scrolling down. To “like” what they are posting you can double tap on the picture or press the “like” button. You may also comment on the picture by pressing the comment button.

The button next to the feed button is the EXPLORE button where you can search through Instagram to look at trending hash-tags or to search for friends. This also loads the “popular page” which is a page that showcases people’s pictures who have reached over 400 likes.

The button with the picture of the camera is your camera this is where you can take photos or videos to post. You also have the option to use a photo from your photo gallery. There are a number of filters to add to your photo once you have chosen your picture to add more character to the photo. This is by far the most important button because this is how you can share your experiences and get people to take interest in your work.

The button with the speech bubble with the heart in it is where you will observe your activity. If switched to the “News” tab, this button will tell you who started following you, who liked your photo, who commented on your photo and if one of your friends on Facebook has joined Instagram. If you switch tabs to the “following” tab it will show your friends recent activity, from whose photos they are liking to who they started following.

The last button is your profile button, which gives you an overview of what your profile looks like and can allow you to edit your bio and profile picture, and check your photos, followers and who your following,

Well I hope this was a piece of cake my friends, Tune in next week where we will go farther in depth on the do’s and dont’s of Instagram.

THANK YOU!

Classing up your Twitter act: 5 steps to creating a professional Twitter account

Twitter is a very powerful social media tool that grants you the ability to connect, network and promote yourself or your brand. However, in order to achieve all of these positive results, it’s important to make sure you are using Twitter in a professional and effective way.

Take it from us –  it’s much easier to start your account off on the right foot!

If you are using Twitter for the first time, here is an excellent video to get you started.

After getting a general idea about Twitter is all about, or if you have experience with it already, follow these 5 easy steps to professionalize your account from the get go.

Step 1 Create an appropriate twitter handle

Chose your Twitter handle using:

• Your name
• Your brand
• Your company name

Don’t forget, you only have 14 characters! Get creative, but not to the point where your handle cannot be associated back with you or your company.

Step 2 Pick a professional photo

Use a professional looking headshot. By professional, we don’t mean taken by a professional photographer. We mean one that makes you look like someone who can be taken seriously.

Step 3 Write a biography

Your bio is an important place where you can tell everyone who you are and what you do, so that they know what kind of tweets they can expect when they  follow you. It’s also a great opportunity to do some self-promotion by adding a link to your personal or company website. If you don’t have a website, set up a LinkedIn account and use that.

Step 4 Pick a niche

There are several ways to make your make your Twitter account stand out. One of them is to pick a niche and stick to it.

If you are creating an account for your brand or company, it would make sense to only tweet about things relating to that said brand or company. The same thing goes for a personal account. You yourself are a brand as well, so decide on a topic or two that interests you and focus the majority of your tweets on those themes.

Step 5 Be active!

If you want your account to be effective, you can’t be idle! Start following people in your field or who share the same interests as you. There are two different types of tweets: informative and me-formative. Stick to informative. Your professional followers are sharing helpful information with you in the hopes that you will do the same.

Finally, start using #hashtags so that people who are tweeting about the same topic can find your tweets, check out your profile and network with you.

These tips are all ones us, from Creating Conscious Content, have experience with first hand. Since applying these tips to our personal accounts, we have begun to contribute to Twitter conversations in a professional and effective way, gaining many followers and increasing our presence in the field of public relations. By starting off your account in this way, you can begin to take advantage of Twitter’s many uses right from the start!

If you have any other helpful tips for creating a professional Twitter account, either for yourself or your brand, we would love to hear them in the comment box below!