We all thought having a Facebook Business page was the most important social media presence to have for your business. But in a study from ROI Research, 59 per cent of respondents say LinkedIn is their most important account on social networks. But how do I use LinkedIn to promote my business you may ask?

Every day we hear about why it is important for a business to have a presence on Facebook. There are a few good reasons. Facebook Business Pages are public so easy to find them by prospects even if they don’t have a Facebook account.

If someone “googles” you, they are sure to see your Facebook Business Page Link. When someone does visit, they will see your “About” section and learn some facts about your business. Some businesses use it as a main place to showcase their products. Even replacing a website. But if you are hoping that if you post consistently that Facebook viewers will see your posts in their newsfeed, your chances are slim.

We are hearing that Facebook is continuing to minimize Business Page posts to people who LIKED their page. So, though there are some good reasons to have a Facebook presence, it is having less of an impact in organic growth. Facebook Ads may be the only recourse. That costs money, and if you are not good at it, your money may be wasted. But either way, that still puts the control in your prospects hand, not yours. You can’t control who will click on your ad.

Many big personal brands are now using LinkedIn as their go to for organic growth. So, if LinkedIn is now becoming a huge alternative for businesses, how can you use it to your advantage?

Welcome to LinkedIn. Let’s see if LinkedIn is right for you. First you have to get rid of the myth that LinkedIn is just for job hunting. So not true! There are over 500 million people worldwide on LinkedIn and every 2 seconds someone else is joining. Do you think all 500 million are looking for jobs!! Most people on LinkedIn are there because they are business professionals and they want to connect with other like-minded people.

Your prospective customers may well be on LinkedIn. It’s certainly easy to find out. Most of the LinkedIn audience are educated people with average incomes of $100K or more. If these are your ideal clients or as we say your perfect Avatar, this may be the place for you to be. 

Here are some really good reasons for being on LinkedIn that you may not have considered.

 

Organic Growth Still Available

People are still viewing your organic posts (unlike Facebook). So, you have a great opportunity to share all sorts of things so your “connections” can see what you are up to and if you play your cards right, they will want to visit with you offline.

 

Easy to Talk To

Once you have set up a profile, you can easily search for people you already know and ask them to “connect”. You can also send them messages in advance of connection, so they know why to connect. Or you can send messages to those you are already connected to. Start a conversation and lead them to meet offline either with a face to face or conference call, to continue the dialogue.

 

LinkedIn App

You can add the LinkedIn App to your mobile phone. This allows you very easily to create a video in the moment and post on LinkedIn. You can also upload photos on the fly as well. Just went to a meeting. Want some things to share. Before you are home your post is published and people are commenting.

How to Post Something on LinkedIn?

How do you post something on LinkedIn? You have two ways to post content.
The first is to create an article. It can be fairly long (like a mini blog) with a graphic. You can refer people to your article. Or if they go to your profile, they will see all of your articles that enhances their awareness on a particular topic. The other way is to post (just like Facebook) with a graphic or video and some text above.

 

SEO Opportunities

Your Linked In Profile is an awesome opportunity to get found online. It can help your SEO (search engine optimization). The first way is that your LinkedIn profile will show up if someone “googles” your name. The second is by using hashtags # in your posts. LinkedIn will offer you some choices. If they fit, use them. If not replace with what you think is more fitting. Make sure that the first 3 Hashtags in your post are what you want to be searched for. We wrote a blog post taking a deep dive into LinkedIn and SEO, you can check it out here: Using LinkedIn Profile Tips to Increase Your SEO

 

LinkedIn Live Available (in pilot mode)

Microsoft, who owns LinkedIn is supporting LinkedIn Live through its Azure Media Services, which provides the necessary technology to be able to seamlessly stream live videos. LinkedIn is also partnering with Brandlive, Wirecast, Wowza Media Systems, Switcher Studio and Socialive, to enable content creators to access experienced broadcasting streaming services. If you would like to be in the pilot prior to the full rollout, pick one of these services and then request to get started now.

“Like other live streaming services, LinkedIn Live allows marketers and brands to broadcast real-time videos and engage with large and small groups. Viewers have the ability to like the video during the broadcast and ask the host questions in real-time,” said Dave Gerhardt, VP of marketing at Drift.

 

Video Gets You More Bang for Your Buck

The introduction of LinkedIn Live illustrates that the platform is increasing its emphasis on video content because this medium generates the most engagement. According to Marketing Land, LinkedIn users are 20 times more likely to share a video than any other type of post.

Your Video Posts will get more views than regular graphic posts. The bonus is that your video will be displayed in your connection’s newsfeed, their connections, and even up to a third connection. This opens up your content being seen by people who don’t even know you. Yet!!

 

LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn will recommend groups for you in the “search group” field based on your profile. However, if you want to join a group of your choice, a suggestion is to go to someone’s company profile. If they have a group, you can request to join.

 

Networking Opportunities

Most of the people you will meet already are on LinkedIn. Think of the opportunity to ask those people to LinkedIn with them. Without creating a connection, you may cross paths like ships in the night. But making a connection with someone gives you an opportunity to cultivate a relationship through your posts, articles, and direct messages.

 

Networking Case Studies

Here are a couple of ideas showcased in these true stories.

Gillian went to a WordCamp conference recently. She made sure that she went online in advance to see who the speakers were. She connected with them on LinkedIn before the conference. The people were looking for her at the conference. One speaker even asked if she would sit in the first row and ask questions. Gillian became noticed at the conference by her connections.

 

Even if you don’t connect in advance, connect afterwards so you can start a conversation. Even if they are not your potential clients, you can easily then connect with theirs and expand your network.

I recently was a speaker at a Social Medial 101 Workshop. One of the attendees and I connected after. We met for a glass of wine and then she asked me to be a guest on her Podcast. That was an awesome connection.

Attending a conference last month, I was impressed with the speaker. I connected with him afterwards and sent him a message to see if we could get together. He lives 3 hours away, so I easily arranged a call on Zoom. We had a video conference and found out how we could send business to each other.

We now are able to create Powtoon videos for other people as we have the Agency level. Gillian went to the Powtoons company page and asked to join their group. Now she is LinkedIn with the Powtoons people. 

Here are a few tips that will help you whether you are already on LinkedIn or you are thinking of joining:

#1 You can have a personal profile and you can have a Company profile. Both free. You can connect them, once they are both created, by adding your personal profile as an employee of the Company.

#2 When creating your personal profile, always make sure your picture is professional looking. Don’t use a photo of you with your kids or your dogs. Have someone take a snap with your camera with you looking your best. If you have a professional one that is great.

#3 There is a space behind your picture that you can customize. Use it. The dimensions are 1584 x 396 pixels. Either use a landscape style photo or we recommend using www.canva.com to create a custom banner. Save it as a JPG to upload to LinkedIn, not a PNG. Here is an important tip of creating the cover image: Add a message, a call to action, tell them what you do, share your website address, or show your lead magnet. Don’t waste this valuable real estate.

Here are two random samplings. One is not taking advantage of his banner. The other one is. Make sure you create a banner that represents who you are and what you offer.

 

 

#4 Make note of the Header and make sure the words are Client Facing – meaning “what you do to serve your customers”. No one cares what your title of your firm is. They want to know why they should get to know you.

#5 Make sure your summary tells people what you do, who you serve, and the transformation you provide your customers. Whether it is coaching them to success, creating special evenings, helping them find the home of their dreams, or giving them peace of mind with the right life insurance product, this is the place to tell them that is the end result.

#6 Connect, connect, connect.  Spend at least 30 minutes per day using “My Network” and connecting with new people. If you can, send them a personal message. Here is a tip how to do that: Instead of just clicking the Connect button, click their profile, then click Connect. It will allow you to send a personal message. Even if they are not your “ideal” client, you will be able to connect to others they are connected to. Expand your connections, expand your reach.

#7 Once you are connected, you can send Messages suggesting that you and that person get offline and talk by phone, email, or a face to face meeting.

#8 Join LinkedIn Groups. Participate in those groups to learn and build relationships that can connect you to others.

#9 Use the Search Field to explore finding new contacts by a variety of fields.

#10 Add new posts every few days with interesting topics related to your services. Join in conversations of what others post. Do LIKES, shares or Comments. If you are a writer, post some articles. If you are into video, post some personal videos of what you do, maybe seminars that you are offering, or a course they can sign up for. Or share an experience that you provide your clients – add a link to your website.

LinkedIn offers a lot. Access daily on your laptop or with the LinkedIn app for tablets and mobile phone.

There are several premium options available with LinkedIn. There are many courses that explain how to really powerhouse LinkedIn. Down the road, you can see if those will be advantageous to you or not. My advice is to start off slowly with the free version. You may never need to upgrade. Get comfortable with LinkedIn being a part of your marketing process. Go find those connections that are looking to connect with you.

In conclusion I want to stress to you, that being on social media does take some time. So, our recommendation is always to “Pick One” and then work it. If after reading this blog you feel LinkedIn is for you, then focus on it. Get your profile right and then post consistently.

If you need to post on a couple of social networks at a time, you may want to look to a program like Hootsuite. They have a free version that allows you to post up to 3 networks at a time. This actually is an advantage. LinkedIn doesn’t offer you the ability to save a draft or schedule a post. Using Hootsuite, will give you that option.

If you want to start creating videos but don’t know where to start, you may want to sign up for our free 15 consultation. We can either tell you how to build your own, or we can create some for you. Link to consult…..

Or perhaps you want to learn how to create awesome posts but don’t know the first thing about what photos to use, etc. We got you covered. Its all in our Graphics Course.  Marketing Your Business With Graphics

Many people when deciding which social media platforms to choose for their business, often neglect choosing LinkedIn. They often associate it as a vehicle for resume building. If that is what you think, you are missing a great opportunity. Keep reading and learn why having an LinkedIn profile will optimize your SEO and will actually enhance your business. We will also share how to optimize your LinkedIn for best results. 

With over 500 million people connecting B2B or B2C, you are missing out on a great opportunity. Having an SEO strategy with LinkedIn is just as important as SEO for your website.

 

I will share why it is important and how with some LinkedIn profile tips, you will be able to optimize your LinkedIn Profile.

Your LinkedIn profile is a great way for people to know something about you, the owner.  People want to do business with those they know, like and trust. What better way for someone to get to know you or connect with you, than LinkedIn.

Let’s first discuss three great reasons for having a LinkedIn profile for yourself, as a person. By the way, you can also have a LinkedIn profile for your business. But we always recommend having one for yourself as well and first. This is as important as having social media platforms for your business:

First Reason 

When people check out your website, they often look to check your “About” tab. They want to know a little more about the person behind the business. Once they know you are the owner, they often will go to LinkedIn to see some more details about you. Curiosity, as well as to see your qualifications and whether you are legit.

Second Reason 

Or if they met you at a networking event or conference, they will often look you up later on LinkedIn to learn more about you or to connect. Without a LinkedIn site, there is little opportunity for you to network through social media. Not being able to connect with others is a huge missed opportunity. Conversely, if you are on LinkedIn you can make the first move to connect with others to network and build relationships.

Third Reason 

Lastly, if someone googles you or your business, often your LinkedIn profile will show up.  LinkedIn profiles are great for SEO optimization. The more they see, the more legit your business becomes.

Let’s Look at Some LinkedIn Facts….. 

 

Who’s On LinkedIn?

Let’s start off with what kind of people have profiles on LinkedIn. Here are some interesting statistics. Most of the people with profiles have an average incomes of $100K or more and usually college educated. 41% of LinkedIn members are millionaires. 

By the way many influencers and decision makers are on LinkedIn. With over 250 million monthly users worldwide and 40% of them daily, you have the opportunity to find people you would never find otherwise.

Business professionals are looking for interesting articles and videos to increase their knowledge. With a little effort you can post and educate your connections and use that to network. You will find some tips peppered in this blog article that will help you use your LinkedIn profile to gain more connections and expand your network.

 

LinkedIn Opportunities

If someone hears about you, the first thing they will do is “google” your name.  What better place for someone to quickly find information about you than through LinkedIn. They will learn what you look like, your background, who your customer is, how you help your customers, what you do, and how to find you. They will see your endorsements and be able to read your articles.  If you have done your homework right, they will immediately understand a lot about you. Your goal is to have people know you, like you, and trust you.

You can connect with people in all sorts of industries and related business fields. It is like having a huge file of business cards at your fingertips.  Even if you are an introvert, it is the easiest way to try and create a dialogue without worrying about someone “hanging up” on you.  You can get people to warm up to you through messaging and having people view your posts.  How easy is that! I will give you some hints on that.

 

Tip #1 SEARCHING Other Business Owners or Potential Prospects

You can use LinkedIn’s search feature and key words to find the people that you want to connect to for business. For example – realtors, insurance agents, chefs, lawyers. Whoever is your target market.  So, keep in mind that your ideal customer could be right there waiting for YOU to show up. Finding them is easier than you may imagine. If you are not sure your potential customer (avatar) is on LinkedIn, go online and do some searches. They are closer than you think.

 

LinkedIn Profile Tips

Here are some tips for making sure that when someone does land on your profile that it is polished and worthy of consideration of connecting or doing business with:

♦ Photo

There is a place to upload a photo in your header. It is a faux paux to leave it blank. Most people will think you are a robot or you are being scammy if there is not a personal photo of yourself. But since this is a professional site, best not to use a casual or family-oriented shot with the kids and dog.  Since it is a professional site, best to use a picture of you looking professional. A business suit if you have a business where that is normal wear. If you are a web designer, a chef, a hairdresser, something with your type of attire is perfectly acceptable. Clean and neat though. 

Upload a headshot, shoulders and above. Best size is 400 x 400 pixels, square. First impressions last. Make sure it is good quality. But you don’t need to hire a photographer. You can use a blank wall and take a nice one from your phone. Then just do a little editing if need be with photo tools on your laptop or mobile phone.

♦ Banner

This is the area behind your profile. This is the area that has a blue grid on it. This is valuable real estate to tell people who you are and what you do and whom you serve.  

Hint. Upload as a jpg. Don’t know why, but a png doesn’t upload.

You can add something as simple as a photo or graphic. Suggestions could be your town skyline, a fabulous dish, a person having their hair cut, a photo of the book you published, etc. Canva is a great tool to create a banner if you would like to add text to your banner.  Still save it as a jpg.

 

Tip #2 Photo Positioning 

Keep in mind that if someone sees your LinkedIn profile on a laptop, your photo is in the center bottom.  If you see it from a mobile phone it often shows on the left side. So, consider where you position your text so that it doesn’t get cut off.

 

♦ Header Section

In your header use lots of great keyword phrases that you would normally use in your website or blog content to describe what you do. Make it client focused. Not about you, but what you do for clients. Separate each phrase with a space or bullet. Google will pick up those keyword phrases. That could be a bonus to your SEO optimization.

♦ Profile Information

Be sure to include your business phone number, business email address, your website address in your Profile so people can find you and connect offline.

♦ About YOU

This is a great place to talk about how you help your customers with their specific problems relating to your business.  Don’t make it about you and your awards and education. Boring. Write about the transformation your business creates. How do you solve their problems?

I suggest you write this section in a word document and then copy and paste into LinkedIn.  You want to craft it carefully, so it really explains what your client’s issues are and how you help them. What do you do that will make their lives better by using your service or product? Not too wordy, but strong enough people will get the idea of your service.

♦ Experience and More  

Complete as many of these details as you can so people will get a good sense of you. People you went to school with you may be searching for others. Great way to meet them here and let people know what you are doing now. Could be potential customers. If you have special skills, this would be a good place to note them. 

Once your Profile is set up, the next step is to actually create some content. The point of your posting is to provide value to potential customers that will educate them or be of interest. Periodically you can have a little commercial that you can send them offline to your website, your lead magnet, your webinar, your open house, etc.

♦ Posting Hints  

You have two options to post content. First is creating some awesome posts and articles. The second is adding graphics and/or videos. This is when some of the SEO magic can come in. Posts are usually short and sweet and come with a graphic, photo, or video. Articles are longer stories. Sort of like mini blogs.

 

Tip #3 Hashtag Strategy 

When you write a post, LinkedIn will help you by suggesting some hashtags. LinkedIn loves hashtags, so feel free to use any they suggest they are applicable but also some of your own that you use regularly for your business. This will help people looking for content by a # to find your post.

 

Tip #4 Video Programs 

Absolutely use video for best viewing. If possible, we suggest you use captions as often people watch in silence. Second option is to run little PowerPoints that will have the text on the screen. We love “explainer” videos.  There are many kinds of programs out there to help you create videos. We love Powtoon, Loom, and Videoscribe. Videos are great for SEO. But giving you the tips for creating videos is another blog article altogether. The nice thing about learning about videos, is you can use them on any other social media you use and your website.

   

 

 

Tip #5 Video Viewing 

Every time you post a video it will show to your first, second and even third connections.  So, the more connections the more opportunity for your video to be seen.

 

♦ Building Your Connections

Focus on getting your connections up to over 500. Besides having a larger pool of people to network with, it will give you more credibility with LinkedIn. LinkedIn suggests people for you to connect with based on your current connections. Spend a little time going through the list and inviting people to connect. Also, every time you go to a networking event or conference and you get someone’s business card, next day go online search for them on LinkedIn. Ask them to connect while you are fresh on their mind. If you think you would like to get together, you can send a message while connecting or after they connect and ask them to have a conference call with you or meet face to face.

 

Tip #6 Connection Strategy 

When you are connecting, you can either just press the “connect” button or you can send a message. You can just ask someone to connect but I think it is much nicer to customize the invitation and send a personal message.  This is also important if they don’t know you. They will be more inclined to accept your invitation. Better chance of a successful connection.

 

 

But don’t grow your connections just for the sake of numbers.  Reach out to people who have synergy for you, partners or perspective clients or potential referrals. Connect with people you think will grow your professional network.

♦ $$ Membership  

LinkedIn is free. However, there are paid choices. The paid memberships are really for people who are committed to using LinkedIn as their primary prospecting tool.  If you are not planning that, you can get plenty out of the free version. You may never need to upgrade. You may be tempted with their trial but beware it is very expensive for the Sales Navigator or Premium version. LinkedIn also offers ads. But I think you can grow your value with LinkedIn organically if you give it a little time and energy.

 

Final Thoughts

Who would have thought SEO and LinkedIn go together but they do? Writing fresh content with appropriate keywords or posting a summary of your blog with a backlink to your website will aid in that strategy. We all want to get to page one of Google. LinkedIn is a great asset in that pursuit.

Having a great optimized LinkedIn profile will do much to help your SEO as well as set you up as the professional you are.  Hope these LinkedIn profile tips and LinkedIn SEO tips gave you some ideas to create one or fix the one you have. At the end of the day, SEO is all about being found by the right people whether on social media or your website so people will eventually hit that “buy” button.

Tomorrow start your LinkedIn profile or take our advice on the tips and enhance your profile and posting strategy. 

Using LinkedIn Profile Tips to Improve Your SEO

If you would like to know even more about optimizing your LinkedIn profile for SEO, we invite you to watch this webinar replay:

Do you have a Facebook Page for your business? Are you running Facebook Ads? Then you really need to consider installing the Facebook Pixel on your website.

Facebook Pixel? What on earth is that?

The Facebook pixel allows you track the actions of your website visitors’ actions.

 

Benefit #1

The Facebook Pixel helps you analyze the effectiveness of your Facebook Ads. When the Facebook Pixel is installed on your website, you can track traffic from Facebook to your website. In simple terms, it helps you track the actions of anyone that visited your website from Facebook. This conversion tracking lets you know if Facebook Ad “clicks” are converting into website sales or other website actions.

 

Benefit #2

The Facebook Pixel allows you to capture website visitors and later create a Facebook Custom Audience. Why is this important? Well, whenever someone visits your website they become part of your “warm market.” These folks are more likely to become prospective customers because they already know who you are. With the Facebook Pixel, you can capture that website traffic and then target your products/services to them with a Facebook ad. This clever little marketing strategy is known as retargeting.

While you may not be familiar with term “retargeting”, I’m sure you’ve already experienced it as a consumer. For instance, have you ever looked at a book on Amazon and then later saw in your Facebook newsfeed? It’s almost as if it’s following you. Well, that’s not a coincidence. You were tracked on Amazon’s website with a Facebook Pixel and then a related Facebook Ad is trying to lure you back to Amazon to seal the deal.

Okay, so now that I’ve explained why the Facebook Pixel is worth installing on your website, the next question is… how to get started? It’s actually easier that you might think.

 

Here’s what you need to get started:

 

1. Access your Facebook Ads Account by going to: https://www.facebook.com/adsmanager/

2. Click on the menu in the upper left corner.

3. Choose the Pixels section.

4. Click the “Create a Pixel” button.

5. Choose the “Install Manually” option and copy the pixel code provided. (This part looks scary, but it’s really not. Below, we’ll share an even simpler method.)

7. Paste the Pixel Code in the “header” section of your WordPress website. This automatically inserts the Facebook Pixel onto EVERY page of your website.

NOTE: Finding the “header” section of your website will vary depending upon which WordPress Theme you are using. For instance, we use Divi by Elegant Themes, which allows us to paste the code on the Divi Theme Options “Integrations” page.

 

Install the Facebook Pixel using a WordPress Plugin

 

If copying/pasting code feels a little too overwhelming, there are several WordPress Plugins that make the process easier. Here are two plugins that are both free and easy to use. If you have WooCommerce installed on your website, I suggest you use the WordPress plugin by Ads Espresso.

• Insert Headers and Footers By WPBeginner

• Pixel Caffeine by Ad Espresso

 

Additional Instructions & Tips from Facebook

 

Facebook also offers instructions on how to install the Facebook Pixel on your website. Here is a link to The Facebook Pixel support page. You will notice that there is a lot of great information provided.

Once you’ve installed the Facebook Pixel it’s a good idea to test and make sure it’s working. You can do this by visiting Facebook’s Pixel Helper Page.

As a final tip, keep in mind that It’s never too early to install the Facebook Pixel on your website. Even if you haven’t run a single Facebook Ad, if you think you will in the future, get the Pixel installed today.

A good marketing strategy requires having the relevant tracking and analytic tools in place. This helps you determine what’s working and what’s not. Installing the Facebook Pixel makes good business sense. Otherwise, when you run Facebook Ads you’ll be simply throwing money at the wall hoping something will stick.

Facebook Live for business? What on earth is that?

Let me explain.

As I’m sure you know, organic reach on a Facebook business page is pretty dismal these days. When we post something to our Facebook business page, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of likes, shares, or comments anymore. The bad news is that too many businesses are now having to buy ads if they ever want fans to see their posts. The good news is there is still one free post type that’s doing well – Facebook Live video.

Using Facebook Live for business is a great marketing strategy. It is free way to promote ourselves and our business.

Mari Smith, one of the top Facebook Marketing experts, recently confirmed that “Facebook is now favoring Live broadcasts, which tend to get more organic reach.” It turns out that most people love watching live video. As a result, Facebook Live video gets as much as six times the engagement over regular video.

According to Mari Smith, here’s how Facebook Live video engagement compares to other content you may be posting.

• Video posts on Facebook get the best engagement – with an average of 6% (up 2%)
• Photo posts get 4.81% (down 3%)
• Link posts get 3.36% (down 7%)
• Status posts get 2.21% (down 10%)

Facebook Live for business is a smart move for anyone that runs a Facebook business page. Unlike Facebook ads, which cost money, Facebook Live videos are free.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret… there are a few extra things you can do to get more bang for your buck.

Secret #1: Add Captions to Your Facebook Live Video

Facebook offers a free captioning tool you can use with your live videos. You can type or upload your own captions, or let Facebook generate them for you. The majority of Facebook users see videos in their timeline with the sound off. When they see captions on your video it will catch their eye and let them know what you’re talking about.

 

Secret #2: Upload Your Facebook Live Videos to YouTube

Facebook allows you to download your Facebook Live videos. Which means you can repurpose those videos. One idea is to upload your Facebook Live video to YouTube. This creates more content for your YouTube Channel, which helps with SEO. (Every business owner should have their own YouTube Channel. That’s a blog post for another day.) Always remember Google owns YouTube and having content on YouTube helps with your Google Search ranking. SEO baby.

Secret #3: Embed Facebook Live Videos on Your Website

After you’ve uploaded your Facebook Live video to YouTube, you can then embed it on your website. While you could embed a Facebook video on your blog or website, embedding a YouTube is better. We’ve been embedding YouTube videos on to our website for years and found YouTube to be so reliable. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it?

Not Using Facebook Live for Business?

If you’re not currently using Facebook Live for business, there’s no time like the present. Maybe you have a long list of reasons you’re not already taking advantage of this free and powerful marketing tool. You don’t have time. You don’t know how. You don’t know what to say. You don’t like how you look on video. You don’t like the sound of your voice. Yada yada yada.

“When you need an excuse, any excuse will do.” ~ Robert Vazquez

Please don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. ’ll be the first to admit that I have been riding the “excuse train” for quite awhile. However, I finally decided now is the time to jump in. For a few month now, I’ve have become inspired by a friend and business associate. Sue Clayton, the Serene Solopreneur, is just rocking it with Facebook Live for business. Sue runs a membership site for business women. To keep her members engaged and active on Facebook, she posts at least one (if not more) Facebook Live video each week. Whether she’s at home, at an event, or in her car, she never hesitates to whip out her cell phone and go live on Facebook. Following in the footsteps of my friend and colleague, this weekend I decide to whip out my computer and made my first solo Facebook Live video. For my first session, I decided to just relax and go with the flow. If I can do it… you can do it. The beauty of using Facebook Live for business is that you don’t need any special talent or equipment. Really. If you can write and publish a status post to your Facebook business page, you’ve got this. Plus, you can use any digital device – a computer, tablet, or mobile phone. To get started:

1. Visit your Facebook business page.
2. In the status box, click the Facebook Live button
3. Allow your digital device to access it’s camera.
4. Smile and get ready to go live – countdown 1-2-3
5. Start talking. It’s really not the hard.
6. Your Facebook Live session will be posted to your Facebook business page as you are recording.
7. Later, you can go back into the video post on your timeline and add captions, download the video, etc.

I would like to add a few extra tips:

• If you use your computer, it’s best to do so using Chrome Browser. I discovered that Facebook Live and Safari don’t play nice.
• It’s important to have a clear idea about WHAT to talk about. Have a specific purpose and stay focused. Try not to drone on and on. Nobody likes a rambler.
• Think about providing an overview of a specific product or service you offer. Do a quick question and answer session. Or, offer some tips and tricks your audience might find helpful.

Facebook Live videos are an awesome tool every business professional should check out. Try not to get hung up with being perfect. Instead, be yourself and let your unique personality shine through. People like to do business with those we know, like, and trust. Facebook Live videos for business are a great way for your customers to get to know you. So what do you think? Are you ready to start using Facebook Live for business?

It can be very challenging when you are away in another country and you can’t use your mobile phone without costing an arm or a leg.  Your choices are using it only when you have access to WIFI or purchase a local sim card. What do you do when you want to make a reservation for a restaurant or need to contact a local store and you didn’t purchase the sim card?

I wanted to have a manicure during my stay in Spain.  While in my apartment that has WIFI, I googled “Nail Places”.  Up popped a couple of places near me.  I saw one that looked appealing.  I clicked to their website.  Sounded good. I was able to see what services they offered, but if I wanted an appointment I had to phone them. Even though I did have a local Sim card, I was a little nervous about calling.  What if they didn’t speak English. After all, I was in Spain. Thankfully, they also had a listing for their Facebook Business Page.  I clicked onto that.  Now we are talking, I could send them a Facebook message.   With a message through Facebook, we could translate.

I sent a message through my Facebook message app.  Within a couple of hours, I had a response, an appointment, and was able to get my nails done.  You can even see the response time on this post, pretty quick.  Thank goodness for Facebook. It didn’t hurt by the way that the owners were Brits. Lucky for me.

This taught me a great lesson of the power of having a Facebook Page. We often relate to Facebook as having to focus on posting  to show up in people’s newsfeed.  We now know that will be a challenge.  But having a Facebook Page is still very relevant.  There will be times people will want to google you and if you have a Facebook Business Page and your template is “Local business” they will not only find you, they will be able to contact you via phone, email or text or directly through the Facebook Messenger.

Gillian and I went to a new start up restaurant for our Sunday dinner this week.  We did both a checkin and a review for this cute place.  Our comments will help them grow their business and allow other people wanting a good dinner to be able to know this is a good choice.

Traveling abroad can be an amazing experience.  But having apps like Facebook can make your lives a little easier.  You can use the mobile app to dial home via phone, video or text.  No charge as long as you are on WIFI.  Makes staying in communication really easy with your family and friends back home or business associates.

If your business doesn’t have a Facebook Page, you may want to consider it.  It is a powerful tool.  Free to build and free to use.  Now there is no excuses.

While recently helping a client with their Facebook Business Page, a staff member asked if she could post directly from her mobile phone instead of her computer.  I was a little surprised as she was very proficient on the computer.  Not sure why she wanted to do that, because you actually have more freedom to create varieties of posts from the computer.  But who am I to judge.  It’s what one is most comfortable with.  My answer to her was of course YES.

Since her Facebook experience has been limited to checking in with her friends, I had to give her a little more training on all the options available on her mobile Facebook app.  Which got me to thinking there may be other people who would like some tips on posting from their phone.

There may be a variety of reasons someone chooses to generate posts from their mobile device.  Maybe you are like this staff person or perhaps you are not always near a laptop, you are on the road, and prefer to create posts on the fly.  This blog post is dedicated to offering up a couple of good starting tips.

The first thing you will want to do is make sure that you have downloaded the basic Facebook app as well as the Pages Manager app to your mobile phone or tablet (see FB Apps graphic).

By the way, the Pages Manager app looks very different than the Facebook App.  It has an orange flag sitting on a white background.  It is the application to manage all your Facebook Business Pages whether it is just one or multiple Pages.  I like it because you can do your checking, editing and managing without having to be distracted by your personal newsfeed that you will find in your traditional Facebook app.

On your Pages Manager app you can manage your reviews, check-ins, shares, see new likes and most importantly create posts.  You also can check your Insights which are your analytics.  But this article is only going to address a couple of posting ideas.  We will save analytics for a blog post another day.

So now that you have your two applications residing on your phone, lets discuss some of the actions you can take.

Let’s start with the Pages Manager App.  You can create a post of text only or text with your own photo or graphic.  Make sure you have a place on your phone where you can find your photo or graphic, usually either your camera/photos or Dropbox.  Open the app, then go to PUBLISH on the Page you are working in (see Pages Mgr Post graphic).  Upload the pic you want and then write some text comments above it.  Press Continue.  Select Publish now or Schedule an actual date and time in the future.  You’re done.     

Another simple task you can do from the Pages Manager app is to go the More tab.  It is the one with the three dots (see Pages Mgr More).  Select “Stories from Pages Like Yours”.  Scroll through the posts and select something that would be appropriate to share on your Page to your customers.  Just click “Share.”  Click “Write Post”.  Make a comment.  Click Post.  Your done.  Isn’t that easy enough.

One last task.  This will be from your Facebook App because unfortunately you can’t do it from your Pages Manager app.  Darn it.  Maybe one day soon.  This is a tip to do a different type of share.  You can share a post from any Facebook business page that you like related to your business or not.  At the top in the search field, type in the name of the business page you want to see (see FB App Share graphic).  Scroll through their posts until you find one you like and is worth commenting to your audience.

Here are the steps to share.  Below the post, you will see “SHARE.”  Click it.  At the next window click where  it says “Write a Post”.  Important hint.  Before you finish, make sure that you are posting as your Business Page not as your personal timeline.  Otherwise the share will be in your personal newsfeed not your business page.  At the top of your app you can change from your personal to business page by the arrow.  Click WRITE A POST.  Write a comment over top of the share that explains why you are sharing it.  Then click PUBLISH.  Note that you are publishing in the moment.  You cannot schedule for a later time.

These three posting tips can be a great start in posting from your phone.  Simple and easy.  Once you get more comfortable with the process there are other applications you can use to sparkle up your posts.  But we will save that for another day.

Try and have a share or new post once a day.  The most important aspect of this daily communication is building relationships with your customers.  Have fun.  See you in a post.

With over 1.8 billion people on Facebook today, it seems it has become a part of our daily lives.  I read that 80% of women between the ages of 18-35 check Facebook before they even get out of bed in the morning.  I don’t know why the stat stopped at age 35 because I know a lot of my friends are checking Facebook early in the morning and I can tell you they are well over age 35.

One of my customers told me the other day that they checked their stats to see when their customers typically check Facebook.  This helps them know the optimum time to schedule their posts.  They said at 5:00 a.m.  Really!  So, see it has become a daily part of our lives.  Their customers are middle aged and senior.  Not the under age 35.

So why does this matter?  It matters because Facebook has become one of the leading methods for businesses to showcase themselves.  People are on Facebook daily looking through their newsfeed to read post messages.

So, what is the best strategy to tap into this market if you want to strut your stuff on Facebook for people to view?  Well a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs are using their Facebook Profile.  That might seem a brilliant idea at first blush.  After all, their friends and family will see their business posts and may even share some of those posts with their friends.  Great idea right?

Many businesses are using this strategy whether from skin care programs to real-estate.  Flood your friends and family with your posts and they will surely take action or refer your open house to a friend.

However, if a business owner shares too much and it’s looking very commercial, your friends might get tired of it and just want to dump you as a Facebook friend.  Yes, “un” friend you.

It’s one thing to actually share your success or share advice that would be interesting to your friends.  It is another story when you are outright commercializing to them.

I have heard and read many reviews of certain businesses that use Facebook to market their products.  The bad reviews include that they hate their friends that are constantly marketing their products on Facebook.  They are tired of it.  So, two things happen here.  They have a negative opinion of the product.  They stop looking at their friend’s posts.  So, either way, it is not a win-win.

So that is one way you are putting your Facebook Profile at risk.  But there is a worst one, if you can imagine.

The second is according to Facebook rules, you should not use your Personal Profile for commercial use.   Don’t believe me, here it is in print:  https://www.facebook.com/terms   Here is a screen capture of the specifics on commercial use. That is why they created Business Pages.  For businesses.

To sweeten the deal and encourage you to use a Business Page and it does make sense, they add a lot of features to a Business Page that are not available in your Personal Profile.  A Facebook Page provides analytics on visits and posts, allows posts to be scheduled in advance, and provides additional fields and tabs for your viewers to know more about your business.  They have various categories to help you find the right Page design.  Oh, and it’s free!!  You can link your Personal Profile to your Business Page so your friends can find it easily.  Let them make the decision if they want to see more about your business.

Once they are on your Page, they can “like” it.  Friending is only for Profiles.  It’s a different world in the Business land.  They “like”.  Once they “ like“ your Page, your posts will show up in their newsfeed just like your personal profile posts.

You can schedule your posts to coincide when you know your audience is on Facebook.  If one of your friends “likes” a post their friends will often see that post too.  Expanding your reach.

Potential customers can find your Page and “like” it without you being friends with them.  This is huge.  Your Business Page is 100% public unlike your Personal Profile where you can limit access to your stuff.  You can share your Facebook Business Page link via your website or email address and anyone even if they don’t have a Facebook Account can get to your Page.

Plus, because of the “like” strategy you won’t have to “friend” people that you would rather not be “personal” with.  I don’t want to share my personal interests and travels with strangers.  So, when someone you know in a business situation requests to be friends with you, gently decline and ask them to “like” your page.  Your Profile is for your friends and family, not customers.  Its personal and it should stay personal.  If your business associate has a Facebook Business Page, offer to “like” theirs.  Now you are networking.

Now you can ignore my advice here and just keep doing what you’re doing.  But what would you do if Facebook one day decided to shut down your Profile because you violated the terms of Facebook?  Your business would take a real hit.  We have heard of people having that exact experience happen to them.

So if you still want to occasionally share with your friends about what is happening in your business or your success, that’s ok.  But please make sure you set up a Facebook Business Page to compliment it and use that to actually do your business marketing.

Once you check out a Facebook Business Page you will be shocked at all the good stuff that is available to you that you won’t find in your Profile.

If every evening Facebook hosts over 100 million Americans in Facebook to both socialize and keep up with newsworthy information you want to be there.  But be there in the right way.

Don’t risk your Personal Profile by thinking you can do what you want.  You don’t own Facebook.  It is rental property.  If you don’t obey the rules, you can go to Facebook jail.  Not real jail of course, but I wouldn’t want to lose my status on Facebook, why would you

When Gillian and I first started our business, we had heard the buzz about Online Marketing but had no idea how important the internet and social media are to one’s business success.

First of all, no matter what business you own, whether it is a Hair Salon, a Pizza shop, or you are a coach or musician, if you want to market your business you need to use Online Marketing to get customers.  It’s a reality you must accept.  The first stage is having a Social Media Presence.  Let me explain.

In the old days, we would take out an ad in the local Pennysaver and then wait for people to call us.  Some of you may be scratching your head and thinking what is a “Pennysaver”.  It was the local newspaper and I mean local.  There would be one for each neighborhood, particularly in the suburbs of a large town.  In the Pennysaver, you would find out what was going on in your area and you would see advertisements for different businesses.  Believe it or not, we actually read it, because that is how you got your local news.

Nowadays, forget it.  Besides the fact that most people wouldn’t read an entire newspaper, it’s not how people want to receive the news. They want it in bite size chunks and usually they want to be in control of finding what they want to know.  Isn’t that amazing?  Controlling what you want to know.  So, the Pennysaver became obsolete.  With its obsoleteness businesses could no longer advertise.  At least no longer that way.

Fast forward to today.  Your business has to be where the people are….and surprise, surprise, it’s the internet and social media platforms.  News can be had through the internet in a number of ways.  Online newspapers.  Googling.  Platforms like Twitter or Facebook.  People may join Facebook groups where they can learn what is happening in their interest niche.

But how do businesses let people know about their services in this new world of internet and social media?  If you are a brick and mortar store, many people will use applications like Yelp.  They can research lists of hotels, restaurants, bars, health clubs, hair salons, nail salons, hardware stores, plumbers, insurance agents in their neighborhood or where they are visiting.  Plus, they can check out all those businesses before doing business.  They check reviews on Yelp.  Even Facebook that has a “services” type yellow pages.  Besides a business having a Yelp or Facebook Page, businesses can advertise on those same platforms to get first looks.  That might be easy if you are a brick and mortar business but what if you work at home?  What if your business is virtual.  How do people find you?

You certainly can’t sit around and hope they show up. You need to find your own way to these people through the internet.  Once you find them you need to put a stake in the ground so they can find you again and again.  Which means, shudder the thought, you need to use Social Media yourself.  I know, I know, many of you say, well I don’t like it.  I hate Facebook.  I don’t need Linked-In, I am not looking for a job.  Or any number of other excuses you may have.  But the reality is, that is where the people are.  So, if you want them to find you, that’s where you have to be.

The good news is that there are a lot of social media platforms, so you can choose the ones that are best for you.  Just select a couple and then see what happens.  Here are some suggestions for those that are novices to the social media world.  Find the one that fits best into your business world.  By the way, a lot of that decision making depends on your product and your audience.  Facebook for all ages, Linked-in for B2B networking, Twitter for Generation X & Y college grads for short comments.  Snapchat and Instagram for millennials. Pinterest for the hobby stuff.  Now I know I am generalizing here and there will be exceptions to the rule, but this is a good start.

My suggestion is first of all, pick one or two and sign up as a person, not a business.  Watch what goes on in that particular platform.  Find your circle of friends that are on Facebook. See what kinds of things they post.  Do a little research and see if you can find other businesses like yours.  See what they are posting.  See how many comments or reviews they are getting.  They are your competition.  Collect as much statistics as you can.  Secondly, check out the local chambers in your area.  They usually have a Facebook Page.  You may see members announcing workshops or events in the Chamber’s posts.

If your business model makes sense for you to network with others, sign up for Linked-In and then troll around and look up people that you know or people they know.  See what they are saying on Linked-In.  Are they posting articles?  Do the articles have any relevance to your business?  Or if nothing else, you can use it as a conversation starter, if you want to message them to be connected or talk offline.

Lastly, you could sign up for Twitter and then “follow” people you know or who you would like to know and see what they are up too.  If you like the essence of Twitter, which is short messages, you can create your own comments and see who follows you

Follow the same principals I mentioned above for Snapchat, Instagram, and Pinterest.  Be prepared to share pictures and videos.

Once you have done your research you can decide which platform might be good for you to host a Business Page for your business.  In time, you will develop some comfort and build a network within that platform.  With your research, you should feel more at ease every day about the right things to say.  Creating interesting posts with some eye candy graphics might take a little bit of time but it’s not difficult at all.  There are plenty of free graphic sites to pick from.  Also, if you find a relevant article share it.  You can share other Facebook, Linked-In or Twitter posts on your Business Page.

Once you have a platform presence as a business and start posting consistently, people will get to know you.  As they see what you are posting, they will get to like you.  And hopefully they will be able to trust you.  That is the objective.  By the way, no one is perfect so don’t worry about trying to be a top-notch professional.  Just relax and be YOU.

Lastly, if you are reading my advice and still feel you are kicking and screaming, you best accept it.  With pretty much everyone having some form of smart phone, every day more and more people are joining social media platforms.  I can’t imagine what the future holds. Who knows what that will look like but I can tell you, if you haven’t adapted, expect to be left behind.

You won’t be kicking or screaming.  You will be dead in the water.

So, let’s get social.  Try it, you’ll like it.

By the way, if you need some help with all this, Launch4life offers one-on-one coaching, online courses, and training.  Check out our free stuff and then give us a call or send us an email if you want to learn more.

www.launch4life.com/services

In my research on Facebook I have noticed that many business owners are using Facebook improperly. Some are using their Personal Profile to market their business. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be “friends” with customers. I want to keep my personal life, well, personal. I invite customers to my office not my home, So I would want them to visit my Facebook Business Page right, not my Facebook Personal Profile. But so many people haven’t figured that out yet.

Meanwhile, the ones that have figured out that they should be promoting themselves via their Facebook Business Page, should take time to make sure the look and message is first class. Dress it up. Many have. Their page is engaging, with good consistent posts that clearly define what their services are and how they can help their customers. But then I have also discovered many Facebook Pages that could do so much better. In addition, many businesses are not taking advantage of the new features that Facebook has just rolled out.

I would suggest to those that have a Facebook Business Page to take a view of their Page as a “visitor” and look to see if it really speaks well of you. Just click the More tab on your Page and click “View as Page Visitor”.

Would I know who your Customer is?

Are you posting at least 3-4 times per week consistently?

Are you posts short and drive home their message?

Are 80% of your posts educational and entertaining with 20% being a commercial?

Have you checked to see if your Facebook Cover Photo is optimized for Mobile (especially with the new changes Facebook just released)?

Do you have a Call to Action Button? Does it go where you want it to go? Test it.

Well those are just a few things to check in your Facebook Audit. Hope this is helpful. If you need some extra help we are just a “Work With Us” webpage away. Dress up that Facebook Page to attract your ideal audience.

Many small business owners today are looking to social media to help them find prospects and connect with their current customers to build relationships. Facebook as the largest social media platform provides the widest range of people to connect. But many business owners think that it’s easy to purchase Facebook Ads. Its not that easy.

Never before have you had the opportunity to market to your perfect audience. Facebook gives you the tools to target the people that are most likely to be interested in your products or services. But are you ready?

Here are the 4 things you should check before you purchase Facebook Ads. Their importance is vital to the success or failure of your Ads.

#1 You Need a Facebook Page

You cannot purchase Ads from your Facebook personal profile.  So if you don’t have one, that is your first step, create a Business Page.