If you’ve ever been a child, you know that making a mess is far easier than cleaning one up. Which is to say, we’ve all been guilty – at one time or another- of putting off the thankless task of cleaning up after ourselves. Cleaning, however, often exposes things previously hidden by clutter and makes it easier to use what you have. Your Internet presence is no different. Having a social-media presence for your business requires maintenance. Here are a few tips, hints, and motivations for an end-of-the-year social-media house cleaning … Google Yourself: It won’t make you an … (7 comments)
linkedin: The Top 4 LinkedIn Applications For Business
- 11/11/11 02:41 AM
Everyone likes a bonus. Whether it’s an extra check before the holidays or the surprise in a box of Cracker Jacks, getting something for nothing is always a welcomed development. When it comes to social media, most sites offer bonuses in the form of applications, or apps. Apps provide extra function and are, in most cases, free. Here are four free apps available on LinkedIn that will add function to your professional profile … SlideShare: Any application that counts The White House, IBM, and the United Nations among their users must have something to offer. SlideShare is the world’s largest … (1 comments)
linkedin: Simple Steps To Help Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile For Business
- 09/12/11 02:23 PM
If it helps, think of social media the same way you would your refrigerator or kitchen pantry. There are some things you should always have on hand since you’d be hard pressed to cook anything edible without them. And if you don’t cook, we’re talking eggs and butter, sugar or salt. The essentials. In the same way, there are certain social-media sites that are more essential than others. Due to its popularity and functionality, LinkedIn is one of those sites. Niche sites devoted to your profession or preferences have their benefits but can’t compete with the sheer number of users … (5 comments)
linkedin: How To Drive Traffic To Your Website And Be Found On Search Engines
- 07/06/11 09:53 AM
On the freeway, traffic is something to be avoided at all costs. On the Internet, traffic is the only way to generate leads and grow your business. Driving traffic to your website, whether through pay-per-click advertising or keeping a blog, means more potential customers visiting your website, learning what you do, and paying you for your services. So how’s it done? The easy answer is by making your business more readily found by search engines. How you do that, though, is up to you. Here are a few strategies to help you start driving up your numbers … Blogs and … (4 comments)
linkedin: Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn: Finding The Social Media Site That Works For Your Business
- 06/30/11 05:28 AM
If you were opening a restaurant or shoe store or even a lemonade stand, finding the right location would be among your top priorities. After all, a spot on a popular street with a lot of pedestrian traffic would be more beneficial than, say, holding your grand opening 100 miles from any recognizable sign of civilization. And though that seems a rather obvious point to make, many businesses begin social-media campaigns with little thought to where they’re likely to have the most success. And, make no mistake, there are choices. The Internet is ever-expanding and, depending on your business, you … (4 comments)
linkedin: The Secret of Social-Media Success and Branding Your Business Online
- 06/22/11 03:56 AM
Advertising is about grabbing attention. It’s the reason fashion ads feature so little clothing, which – when you think about it – doesn’t make all that much sense. But a photo of fully dressed models won’t grab nearly as much attention as bare skin. The same is true on the Internet – though no one’s suggesting you resort to nudity. Branding yourself online, whether it’s through a blog, a Facebook business page, or a Twitter account, is about grabbing online attention and getting people to take notice of your page … and then your business. Very few television ads spend … (3 comments)
The biggest mistake most businesses make when beginning a social-media campaign is believing they know how to begin a social-media campaign. Knowing nothing more than it’s easy and takes no more than 10 minutes to get started may get your page up and your phone number in the right spot, but then what? Unfortunately, like anything else, to be successful requires a little advance planning, research, and know how. No, you don’t need a degree in computer science. But it helps to familiarize yourself with the terminology, the concept, and what has worked for others. Here’s a quick three-step … (5 comments)
linkedin: Social Networking For Business Or How To Kick-Start Your LinkedIn Profile
- 05/18/11 03:35 AM
It’s easy to mistake social media for a semi-frivolous, Internet-based time waster and give it half an effort. After all, how can you be serious about your business and spend any part of your day tweeting? So, if you can’t yet bring yourself to try and reap business benefits from Facebook or Twitter, try LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the most popular business-oriented, social-media site on the web and offers a way to focus on business while making connections online. Unfortunately, it also requires a little more attention to detail than it does to tweet what you had for lunch. Here are … (5 comments)
linkedin: The Do’s and Don’ts of Email Marketing, Social Media, and Blogs
- 05/13/11 04:53 AM
When doing anything for the first time, it’s important to know where to begin. You wouldn’t, for example, start a race three feet from the finish line. And, if you did, you’d likely be disqualified. Online marketing is no different. Following some basic do’s and don’ts can be the difference between a successful social-media campaign and giving up before you even begin. Here are some tips and hints for kick-starting your online efforts … Your Blog: In a lot of ways, the blog gave rise to what we now know as “social media.” Without blogs, and the communities that arose … (2 comments)
linkedin: Three Common Social Media Mistakes To Avoid
- 04/14/11 02:07 AM
Doing something well requires practice. And practice requires patience. After all, it’s going to take a while to get good at whatever it is and, in the meantime, you’ll have to grow accustomed to the feeling of failure. The same goes for starting a social-media campaign. There’s no reason to expect you’ll have more fans than Oprah within a week of setting up your first account. Take your time and don’t get discouraged. To help you get started, here are a few common mistakes to avoid … Keeping Quiet: It’s easy to fall into the trap of only promoting your … (8 comments)
linkedin: Content Creation or How To Put The Media in Your Social-Media Campaign
- 04/06/11 04:39 AM
Fortunately, all you need to know about social media is contained right in its name. It’s social, meaning you’ll have to participate and engage your community. And it’s media, meaning it’s a form of communication no different than a radio or television station. The difference is it’s your radio or television station. And that’s where it gets confusing. Content creation is the key to a successful social-media campaign. It’s also what leaves the Internet littered with abandoned Facebook pages and tweet-free Twitter accounts. Here are some tips for creating content that will attract an audience and build your business … … (5 comments)
linkedin: The Top Business Benefits of Social Media Marketing
- 03/31/11 10:23 AM
If your idea of social networking involves a handshake and a business card, it’s time to upgrade your marketing efforts. The surging popularity of social-media sites has changed the way businesses interact with their customer base and market their services. Increasingly, businesses turn to blogs and sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to generate leads, gain exposure, and brand their business. And recent surveys show social media’s use is expanding, along with its effectiveness. Here are the top three business benefits of social-media marketing … Exposure: According to the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 85 percent of surveyed businesses … (4 comments)
linkedin: The Basics: A Beginner’s Guide To Social-Media Strategy
- 03/17/11 02:40 AM
Think of setting up social-media profiles the same way you would buying a phone. Sure, finding the phone that best fits your needs is important. But after that, you wouldn’t, for example, expect to get any calls without giving out the number. And you wouldn’t return the phone if it didn’t make calls for you. And you certainly wouldn’t expect that, when you did call someone, the phone would do the talking for you. In other words, too many businesses sign up for a Facebook page or Twitter account and expect the wonders of the Internet to do the rest. … (15 comments)
linkedin: The Basics: LinkedIn Tips for Realtors and Mortgage Professionals
- 03/02/11 10:33 AM
LinkedIn claims to register a new member every second. Which means, in the few minutes it’ll take to set up a profile on the popular social-networking site, there will be hundreds of new prospective partners, customers, clients, and connections available to you. In other words, if you’re looking to take your business online or just looking for another opportunity to meet people and market your services, LinkedIn offers plenty of professionals and potential business to the social-media minded mortgage or real-estate professional. Here are some tips to building a more productive profile … Write a Summary: Writing a short professional … (11 comments)
linkedin: Fact or Fiction: The Truth Behind Four Common Social-Media Myths
- 02/18/11 02:16 AM
There are always those that are slow to adopt new technologies. There were likely a stubborn few who insisted that the horse-and-carriage was, in fact, a much more effective means of transportation than the early automobile. Then there are those that fundamentally misunderstand the medium, like those that thought television would be a passing fad. In other words, innovation can lead to myths, mistakes, and misconceptions. Below, we tackle some common social-media myths in an effort to better understand the benefits and best practices of any online effort. It’s Not For Business: Social-media marketing is good for any business, despite … (5 comments)
linkedin: Social Media: How To Find Friends, Fans, and Followers Online
- 02/09/11 06:41 AM
It’s been said that it not what you know, it’s who you know. And these days, who you know includes your Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and LinkedIn connections. So how do you meet more people online? Here are a few ideas to help you build a bigger online network of friends, followers, fans and connections … Import Your Contacts: Increasingly, social-media sites offer their users the ability to import contacts from their other online profiles. In other words, if you’ve got 121 connections on LinkedIn but your tweets are going unnoticed, you can locate your LinkedIn contacts through Twitter’s … (1 comments)
linkedin: 5 Essential iPhone, iPad, and Android Apps for Realtors
- 02/03/11 02:39 AM
It used to be that telephones were just for making calls and only Bill Gates and NASA had computers. These days, however, technology has become increasingly affordable, mobile, and handheld. With smartphones, such as the iPhone and Android, and Apple’s iPad, it is easier than ever to access and transmit information from wherever you are. With that in mind, here are 5 real-estate related apps to boost your mobility and your efficiency …
Realtor.com Real Estate Search: This iPhone app allows you to search homes for sale, open houses, and nearby rentals. It also allows you to save listings, … (30 comments)
An update of The Ibis Network’s previous list of social-media terms … New terms in bold. The Internet is an incredible resource for real-estate and mortgage professionals but keeping up with an always-evolving online world can be a challenge. Sometimes the lingo alone can stand between successfully implementing a social-media strategy and being overwhelmed by widgets, avatars, and hashtags. Active Rain – The largest social network for real-estate professionals. Launched in 2006, Active Rain has nearly 200,000 members. Aggregator – A web-based tool or desktop application that collects syndicated content from across the Internet. API (Application Programming Interface) – A … (10 comments)
linkedin: 5 Ways To Grow Your Mailing List For Real-Estate and Mortgage Professionals
- 01/06/11 02:42 AM
Finding ways to keep in touch with potential referral partners and prospective clients is one thing. That means offering interesting information that will ensure your emails don’t become unwelcome inbox clutter soon after reaching their destination. But, before you have the chance to dazzle the members of your mailing list with a monthly newsletter, new listings, or neighborhood events, you’ll need to have a mailing list in the first place. Here are some ideas for growing a mailing list that will boost your business and your reputation … Use a Newsletter: If you have a newsletter that you forward among … (5 comments)
linkedin: Social-Media Marketing: Promoting Your Online Efforts Offline
- 12/02/10 02:42 AM
To prevent your social-media profiles, posts, and online efforts from retreating into the forgotten corners of Internet obscurity, you’ll have to give them a push into the real world. Sure you can garner some search-engine attention for having consistent content and a presence on all the major networking sites, but, unless you’re delivering your information to the people most able to take advantage of it, you may have fans and followers in Finland but you won’t have clients in your own community. Here are a few ideas for getting your business blog and online info into the right hands … (2 comments)
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