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Polish your Profile

Make sure your profile is complete and up-to-date. Your profile is what gives viewers their first impression of you. The key elements are displayed towards the top of your profile so you want to make sure all the critical information about you is displayed in those fields. Business people are busy people…they don’t have time to read long naratives. If they don’t find something of interest immediately, they probably won’t take the time to scroll through your entire profile.

For 10 Tips on Making Your Profile Work for You, download our free guide.

Incorporate your most relevant Keywords

Having the right keywords in your LinkedIn profile will determine whether or not you are found when someone is performing a search on LinkedIn.

It is important to consider all the terms and phrases that someone might use in their search.  For example, if you are a “mortgage banker,” others may use the term “lender” or “broker” instead of “banker.”  Including all of these alternatives in your profile will increase the number of times you appear in search results.

There are many places you can include keywords in your profile.  Consider using them in the following areas:

• Headline
• Current & past titles
• Summary
• Experience
• Skills
• Recommendations

Remember it’s all about Relationships

Keep in mind that your LinkedIn profile is not your sales page. The saying goes that people buy from those they know, like and trust. Think of LinkedIn as a tool to engage people so they can get to know and like you. By offering assistance, engaging in a discussion, providing valuable information, or introducing them to beneficial contacts (before asking for the sale) you gradually build a trusting relationship. Once you reach the trust level, the sales transaction can occur.

For more tips on using LinkedIn, check out the How to Use LinkedIn section of this blog.

Finding just the right proportion of marketing “ingredients” is absolutely critical for small business owners. Unlike their larger counterparts, they are not able to hire massive teams of experts and spend millions on a 30 second commercial. While it seems the odds are stacked against the “smaller guys,” they are actually at a huge advantage. They stand for quality, consistency, and community.

Here are a handful of basic staples that belong in any marketing plan – large or small:

Direct mail: You can save time and money by narrowing down a specific target audience. Make your mail stand out by hand writing addresses and using real postage stamps. If the recipient doesn’t feel you put thought or effort into mailing your piece, they won’t put thought or effort into reading it.

Telemarketing: Call recent customers to check in and make sure all their needs were met. Remember something unique about each person, to show you truly value them. A personal phone call doesn’t have to be a nuisance if you, or your staff, don’t treat it as a nuisance.

E-mail: Here is your chance to reach those busy clients who may not want to chat on the phone. Personalize the message as much as you possibly can. Keep your message brief and to the point, and always include links so they can explore freely at their leisure.

Online social networking: Just as with any relationship, you cannot just rush into any social media outlet and expect too much too soon. Engage people with thoughtful posts, pictures, or links that they will find interesting or helpful. Monitor their comments, and respond to them as much as possible.

For the frustrated business owner who feels overwhelmed and understaffed — enlist the help of family and friends to start. Perhaps hire a virtual assistant, or a part time staff member. The key is to find the right recipe for your company’s marketing success.

• Have a pool party (minus the pool). Imagine the smell of burgers, brats, and BBQ chicken on the grill. Add in some potato salad, fresh fruit, crisp veggies with dip, and you have a recipe for an amazing office lunch your employees will savor. If your business does not have the resources to supply everything, make it a potluck and assign each person a small portion to contribute.
• Join a (non-competitive) summer league. Pick a fun sport anyone can play such as kickball, softball, or sand volleyball. Hold a contest to come up with a name for your team. Create a logo and/or tagline and some creative t-shirts. For those who do not wish to play, include them as your cheering section.  
• Establish Popsicle breaks. Have employees bring in a box of their favorite popsicles or ice cream treats to share with everyone. Set aside 15 minutes where everyone can take a break, socialize, and indulge a little. 
• Take your laptops outside. If you and your workers are able to sit in the sun while typing your reports, do it! Why be stuck inside while the sun is out and the birds are singing? If you do not have laptops, then hold all face-to-face meetings outdoors.  
• Create flexible summer hours. Find a way to give your employees flexibility to ensure they have more time off to enjoy with their families. Let them work four 10-hour days so they can either have Friday or Monday off; or let them work 8.5 hours each day, and take a half day on Friday. Create teams or staggered schedules to ensure you still have employees available on days/times you absolutely need them.

The most important thing is that you find a way to enjoy the summer while still meeting your bottom line. Think outside the box and include your employees in your brainstorming process. You will create an extremely desirable team-oriented environment that will ensure you retain top-performers for years to come.

Automatic broadcasts are useful if you are currently searching for new opportunities and/or connections. The more active you are within LinkedIn, the more your name will appear in e-mails to your connections.

You may not want automatic broadcasts enabled if you are currently employed and do not want your employer to know you are updating your LinkedIn profile (suggesting that you are seeking a new job). It would also be helpful to turn off this feature if you will be making many updates to your profile and do not want your connections to be notified every time you make a change.    

The following steps will guide you through the process of managing your settings and adjusting your privacy controls.

1. Place your mouse over your name in the upper right side of the screen. A drop down menu will appear. Click on “Settings.” 

2. On the next screen, click “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts.”

3. If you wish to turn off activity broadcasts, make sure the box is unchecked and then click “Save Changes.” If you want to turn the activity broadcasts back on, simply check the box and save your changes.  

4. You will see the confirmation of your changes on the next screen:

Peak Profits is hosting a free webinar on July 19^th on Maximizing the Effectiveness of Your LinkedIn Profile. Register now at: http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=E953D9868349.

Skillshare: First of all, you have to love that Skillshare states the #1 reason why you should teach on their site is, “Because you are awesome.” Unlike many of the other social learning platforms, you must teach your course in-person on a specific date/time at a location in your city. Skillshare helps you develop your course outline and lesson plan, and provides tips on selecting the best venue. Some courses are free; however, they do allow instructors to set their own prices. Skillshare will keep 25% of the revenue earned through tickets sales (15% during their beta testing phase).

Learnable: Learnable differs from Skillshare in that all courses are available online and on-demand. Students can purchase a course and watch each lesson immediately, or start and stop lessons at their leisure. Courses remain in each student’s library for one year from the date of purchase. Instructors may charge fees for their courses or they can provide content for free if desired. Learnable splits any profits from each course with the instructor 50/50.

Udemy: With Udemy, instructors have the flexibility to create on-demand courses with specific lessons, or they can hold a live online course at a specific time. Also, like the other platforms, Udemy allows instructors to set their own price or keep their content free. Instructors keep 80% of the revenue from each course they create. Udemy also allows you to create private courses that are accessible by invite-only. They can provide coupon codes and discounts for you to distribute to target groups. They also have a new feature coming soon that will allow you to publish your Udemy course on your website.

Sophia: Sophia is Wikipedia, YouTube, and Facebook rolled into one online learning experience. All courses are free. You can create invitation-only content, which is convenient for study groups. It is a great tool for teachers who are looking for new and exciting ways to supplement their lesson plans, or for students who need a little extra help in a certain subject.

AnyMeeting (formerly Freebinar): For those who want to host a free webinar quickly and easily, AnyMeeting may be a great solution. There is no cost to use AnyMeeting and it includes many great features to assist you with running your webinar like a pro. You may invite up to 200 attendees per webinar. Other features include recording, screen sharing, video broadcasting, text chat, surveys, and more.

There will no doubt be many more social learning websites popping up over the next few years as we all seek new ways to share our knowledge with each other. These are just some of the current tools you can use to build a reputation as an expert in your profession, and perhaps generate more leads or develop a new stream of revenue in the process.

Click here to view training opportunities and/or upcoming events hosted by Peak Profits.

A blog is a window to the inner workings of your business where consumers can take a sneak peak without feeling pressured, and hopefully stop for some lively conversation if they like what they see. When done right, it can become a powerful marketing tool, without making people feel like you are marketing to them. Here are some quick tips on how to get your blog up and running, or revitalize your current blog:

• Start small. Post as frequently as you can and remain consistent in your timing.
• Create an editorial calendar. Have an idea of topics you want to cover for at least the next six months.
• Do the research. Make sure your topics have not already been covered in numerous other forums.
• Keep posts short. Use bullets or numbered lists, and experiment with bolding and underlining key phrases.  
• Show off your personality. Humor is the quickest way to your followers’ hearts and minds.
• Encourage two-way communication. Ask a question your readers will feel welcome responding to or create a quick poll.
• Use a call to action. It can be as easy as offering the opportunity to sign up for your newsletter.

Think of your blog as an extension of your office or store, whether you have a brick and mortar company or you are based completely online. The conversations you would typically have face-to-face, on the telephone, or through e-mail can now be done with a much wider audience and attract even more potential customers. Those conversations build relationships and increase trust. Your blog is a valuable asset worthy of any investment you are able to put into it. 

If you are suffering from writer’s block, click here to revisit Cathy’s blog post on ways to develop new content.

As a business, how do you establish a plan so you do not get lost in the web? It’s easy to be detoured or distracted. Just as in any journey, you need a vehicle – with an owner’s manual, a driver, a navigator, and a map.

While it sounds simple, of course it is not. It’s the actual road map that tends to cause the most anxiety, as there is no universal map that will provide all the directions you are looking for. It is best to start by focusing on the foundation of your social media plan:

·        Select your vehicle — whether it is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, You Tube, etc. Focus on one at a time. 

·        Develop written guidelines for the vehicle to ensure all involved conform to your style, your brand, and your voice. Consistency in communications is critical. The more detail you can provide in your guidelines, the less room for your brand identity to be compromised.

·        Choose the driver. This is the person you entrust with not only the operation of your vehicle, but also the precious cargo it contains (your reputation).  

·        Choose the navigator. Your navigator keeps the driver on track. This person must be aware of the small details of the journey and how they are affecting the big picture at all times.     

These basic components make up the foundation of your plan. The road map you create will be based on this foundation. The end result of your efforts is to reach a certain target audience and gain more exposure for your business along the way. As long as you maintain a consistent voice, stay true to your identity, and trust the system you have put into place, you will not get lost.

In order to turn your followers into fans, you need to add value to your network. Engage with your followers and show them that you care about them and not only their business.

• Visit your profile every day and post an update.
• Content is King – give your fans information they find useful.
• Comment on other’s posts.
• Ask questions of others in their area of expertise.
• Share links to quality content found on other sites.

You also need to earn credibility and trust. People buy from the people they know, like and trust, so it is very important not to lose that trust. Take the time to show interest in your followers and work to show that you want to help them.

• Be respectful.  Do not argue or disrespect anyone.
• Be aware that anything you do on social networking sites is public and becomes part of your credibility.
• Don’t make pitches too quickly.
• Provide valuable content from reputable resources.
• Uphold a high level of integrity.

The highest compliment a business can receive is a referral from a fan. Work to turn all your followers into fans and your business will grow exponentially.

1. Lust. When visiting the front pages of many company websites, it is not uncommon to find an overwhelming amount of links. Minimize links in order to funnel potential customers where you want them to go so they do not get lost and lose interest.  
2. Pride. While you may already know you are the best of the best, simply repeating how wonderful you are will not convince anyone. Writing a few articles on your area of expertise gives others confidence in your abilities. 
3. Sloth. Take the initiative to create a product to market on your site. It could be an e-book you’ve written, an article available for download, a CD from a lecture you gave, or another affiliated product.     
4. Envy. Gather testimonials and showcase them on your front page. Having a satisfied customer or five is good for business. Show your strengths through recommendations of others. 
5. Greed. Building trust and brand loyalty requires time and a solid strategy. If you offer a newsletter, engage with customers after they sign up to show an interest in them and their needs. 
6. Anger. When someone signs up to receive your newsletter or e-mail updates, it is much friendlier to have a double opt-in so they must use e-mail to confirm their choice to receive your communications. This is your chance to stay on their radar by offering them an added incentive for confirming. 
7. Gluttony. Don’t ask for the world when a customer registers on your site. You do not need the full five-course meal all at once. Start with an appetizer, such as their first name and e-mail address, and build the relationship from there.