6 Ways Content Marketers Can Supercharge Their LinkedIn Profiles

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I see it time and time again: Stellar content marketers spend so much time developing great content for their brands that they don't spend enough time thinking of their own brand. While Instagram, Snapchat, and many others are great platforms, LinkedIn is the single best tool you have at your disposal to build your own brand. (highlight to tweet) I want to shed light on LinkedIn's top personal brand-building features:

1. Comment on Your LinkedIn Feed

Your connections are posting articles, commenting on the activity of others, and starting group discussions-and you can see all of this from your main LinkedIn feed. This provides a perfect opportunity to inject yourself into conversations. Of course, only do this when you have something to say, such as an answer to someone's question, a follow-up question of your own, or a congratulations of some sort. Don't just hit the Like button; that's a lazy form of engagement and won't get you any type of recognition or build your brand in any meaningful way.

2. Add Skills

When you're editing your LinkedIn profile, you can add to the list of Skills you possess. LinkedIn will often prompt your connections to endorse their own connections' proficiency in various skills.

Let's say that you, Milton Butters, add the skill “Juggling” to your profile. Your connections will occasionally be asked, “Does Milton Butters know about Juggling?,” and they'll have the option to hit the “Endorse” button. The more endorsements you get for that skill, the more people will think you're a lean, mean juggling machine, and all those juggling recruiters will beat a path to your door.

3. Write a Memorable Headline

When you're deciding what to focus on with respect to your LinkedIn profile, start with what comes up first, beginning with the top of your profile.

Headlines are incredibly important to your LinkedIn profile. After all, they sum you up in a nutshell. If the first thing you want people to know about you is that you're a keynote speaker, then that absolutely belongs in the headline. If you are actively exploring new opportunities, that's the kind of thing you need to consider putting in the headline, as well.

For your company, include a short but detailed description, so your audience can see exactly what the company's focus is. While plenty of professionals know what Firebrand Group does, Jeremy doesn't want to take for granted that his audience will necessarily know that it is a futureproofing firm focused on helping enterprises predict the future of marketing and communications and getting there before their competitors do.

4. Use a Stellar Headshot

Of course, visual content matters too. One thing I notice often on LinkedIn-which annoys me to no end-is when people post pictures that are way too small for LinkedIn's dimensions. Make sure that you view your profile from both a phone and a browser to ensure that you've optimized it for all types of devices. You've put too much effort into your LinkedIn presence not to.

While you're at it, don't put up the wrong picture. Don't put up a picture of Mr. Whiskers, even if he is the favorite of your six cats. You have a new human baby? That's great. I'm really happy for you. But it doesn't need to be your LinkedIn picture-even for a day. (Sorry-I'm sure he's cute.)

5. Develop a Great Summary

One of the most important content elements within your LinkedIn profile is your summary. People will read your headline first, and if you've enticed them into reading your profile, the number-one thing they'll read next is your summary.

Think of your summary this way: If you were introducing yourself to someone, and you only had 15 seconds, what would you want to get out of your mouth before you run out of time? If you live and breathe museum research, you've got to make sure to relate that immediately in your summary. If you happen to have a Pez candy dispenser collection that is unrivaled in the entire country, which is interesting but in no way defines you professionally, maybe leave that out.

6. Build Out Your Recommendations Section

Don't just think about content you're developing yourself; think of elements that are going to be dropped in from others, such as Recommendations. In fact, getting Recommendations on LinkedIn is one of the most underrated tactics in personal brand-building. Unlike Endorsements, which are your connections' ways of saying you're good at specific skills, Recommendations are completely free-form. Your colleagues can write as much or as little as they want.

Of course, people have to love you to spend five minutes crafting a nice note about you. To improve your odds of getting a few recommendations, why not write some for those you hold in high esteem? After all, it's better to give than receive. Once you write a recommendation for others, LinkedIn may ask if you want to send them a brief note asking for one in return.

While requesting a recommendation, you can mention some of the attributes that you're looking to emphasize. If you're working at a biotech startup and looking to pivot into strategy consulting, you can request recommendations highlighting your decision-making, strategic mind, and consulting-relevant projects you have previously tackled.

Give people options. Don't just say you want recommendations purely focused on your ballet skills. If the person you're asking for a recommendation has never seen you do a plié or a pirouette, they might not feel comfortable giving you a ballet-related recommendation. Instead, give them roughly four things you want to be known for, which gives them options without boxing them in.

Want more on how to build your brand using the latest digital tactics? Check out Getting to Like, my latest book (with co-author Ali B. Zagat), where we cover everything from analytics to content development to picking your social media channels, and more.

Get more content like this, plus the very BEST marketing education, totally free. Get our Definitive email newsletter.

       

6 Ways Content Marketers Can Supercharge Their LinkedIn Profiles

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85 Content Distribution Tips To Reach Your Largest Audience

If you want to see the benefits of content marketing, then you need to embrace two things. The first is creating great content. We all know this. It's why 77% of marketers increased their content marketing budget between 2014 and 2015. The second thing you need to do is something that most people overlook. It's […]

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Ross Simmonds

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Facebook Advertising: 5 Foundational Things You Must Know Before Spending a Dime!

 

Facebook advertising seems to be one of those things that every marketer is talking about it, but very few actually know how to drive real business results. There are far too many “experts” preaching their “get rich quick schemes” or touting that “Facebook marketing is free,” that it unfortunately gives even smart marketers new to earned, owned and paid media such as Facebook advertising a false sense of understanding what is truly required to achieve measurable success and results.

Our agency, Marketing Nutz works with brands big and small to help them drive a positive ROI with every dollar spent on digital, social media and marketing overall. We train and speak all over the world helping marketing, business and brand leaders try to not only understand organic and paid media, but optimize it for the highest business result possible. One of the top questions I always hear is… “does Facebook marketing actually work?” Then, the next question I hear is…”why doesn't Facebook advertising work for me and my business… I have tried it numerous times and finally just gave up.”

Does this sound familiar?

• You get confused when you logon to Facebook ad manager


• You run away from the Facebook Power Editor because it gives you bad dreams


• You have wasted far too much money on Facebook advertising with little to zero return


• You don't know where to start when it comes to paid media, earned media and everything in between


• You don't know the difference between a Facebook boosted post or any other type of Facebook advertisement

If these thoughts feel a little too familiar, then you are in the right place. The truth is that Facebook advertising requires both art and science. You can't just hop on Facebook, insert your credit card and out pops loads of leads, sales and ROI. I know some marketers may want you to believe such, but the truth is they likely just want your email address or your money.

This podcast is part of a new series titled “Welcome to the Pay to Play World, Are You Ready?”

Take a listen to the 208th episode of the Social Zoom Factor podcast to learn 5 things you MUST know before you spend one dime on Facebook advertising!

Be sure to subscribe to this entire brand new series, “Welcome to the Pay to Play World, Are You Ready?” on iTunes, Stitcher or SoundCloud!

In this 20 minute podcast you will learn: 

• 5 foundational and fundamental elements you must know before spending a dime on Facebook marketing


• How to get started right from day one as you start using or learn to optimize your Facebook marketing efforts and investment


• Why you must have the right mindset for success using Facebook advertising


• Different types of Facebook advertising options


• The importance of setting goals, objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success


• Tips to determine your Facebook offer


• The importance of an integrated digital and social platform for converting leads and achieving your goals


• Why your problem in achieving your results using Facebook advertising may not be Facebook but other issues with your digital platform and conversion funnels


• Why you must focus on your conversion funnels as a top priority before wasting time and money on Facebook advertising


• The importance of knowing your audience to target your audience and increase ROI of Facebook advertising

Supporting Resources:

• Audience Analysis Worksheet (worksheet to help you prioritize your niche and social marketing strategy)


• Welcome to the Inspiration Age (episode 170)


• Welcome to the Participation Age


• You Are the Media!


• Social Brand Humanization: Authenticity vs Transparency


• 50 Ways to Inspire Your Audience (white paper)


• Brand Humanization in a Nutshell


• 20 Tips to Humanize Your Brand


• 10 Tips to Focus on Needs of Your Customer


• 8 Steps to Develop a Social Business Plan (white paper)

Free webinars: We are also launching a series of webinars and training opportunities to dig even deeper. Sign up here-> Social Profit Factor 

How to Subscribe to Social Zoom Factor Podcast 

•  iTunes


• Stitcher


• SoundCloud

       

Related Stories

• 15 Things Smart, Social Savvy Business Marketers Never do on Facebook


• 7 Types of Content People Crave on Facebook (Use this to your advantage)


• How to Write for Your Ideal Customer and Audience

 

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Why Using the .Social Domain Can Help Your Customers Find Your Content

Your customers don't have the time or the energy to search for you on every major social media platform. Save them all the work (and boost your visibility) by using the .social domain. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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11 Awesome Tactics and Tools to Grow Traffic That Sticks

To be honest I am disillusioned.

Social media offered a promise that was so compelling that when I discovered it I was hooked. The potential and the promise became apparent. You could create, publish and get worldwide attention for free.

And ten years later…..over 2 billion people are now obsessed.

The social  networks and new media channels allowed the freedom and power to get your content and message out without paying for it.

The promise….free attention and content distribution.

Viral traffic was attracted by YouTube. Blowing things up, blending strange objects and cat videos went off. We were mesmerized.

But things aren't the same anymore.

The landscape is changing fast. The new gatekeepers are Facebook and Google. They have the data about your customers and to reach those prospects you now need to pay them. They are the new media moguls.

The social network gatekeepers. And they are slowly closing the gate.

The open web is closing

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all want to keep you within their eco-systems. Much of the viewing of videos and even articles are now happening within the platforms.

Ev Williams (Twitter's founder) is concerned.

In a recent interview on the Atlantic “Primarily what we've seen is that the social networks have gotten really, really big, and they drive more and more of our attention.” They are threatening the open web. “That could be bad,” says Williams.

The reality is that Facebook and other social networks are becoming the default portals. Even Google now is serving up the answers on its results page and you don't need to click through to the website or blog to get the answer.

This stat really makes you sit up and notice.

“85 cents of every new dollar in online advertising went to Google or Facebook in early 2016”, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst quoted by The New York Times. So both the free attention and the paid traffic are being dominated by what is emerging as almost a duopoly.

So what do you do?

You have to get creative.

It's what great marketers have always done. The term has been coined. Growth hacking

Growth hacking is the art and science of growing a business and startup without spending big bucks on paid digital or traditional media advertising. It's all about efficient marketing tactics that deliver growth without advertising.

Let's face it. What startup or small business has a access to a huge marketing budget. Almost no one!

Big brands, banks and the big end of town can pay for brand awareness. But the small guys first need to get leads. That's your email list

But before we go there we need to get traffic.

The new traffic paradigm

Websites, bloggers and start-ups had 3 ways to get traffic to their digital platforms before the social web.

1. Rank on Google with what was often “Black hat” SEO tactics. Google's got that covered now.


2. Build an email list. That is still vital despite the predictions of the death of email.


3. Pay Google for advertising. They used be a lot cheaper and effective a decade ago.

So, things have evolved.

Pay for traffic….We now can pay Google and Facebook. They are the big paid channels.

Earn it. We now can earn attention on social (getting harder) or build authority on Google (takes time)

Partner. Collaborate with influencers, bloggers and websites that already have traffic. But you need to have something of value to exchange.

Own the resulting attention. This is done by building an email list when they show up after you have been working on 1-3. These are your leads.

So how do keep getting attention without paying for it despite the big networks wanting to own it all. How do get traffic that is sticky?

As the fight for attention online becomes tougher you will need to look at creating sticky content and traffic.

Grow traffic that sticks

There are some core strategies that you need to consider to be effective on a web that screams louder every day.  These include.

• Engagement


• Content


• Tools


• Partnerships

Let's take a closer look.

Engagement

In a world where mass media is impersonal and the web is virtual the challenge is making your engagement authentic. This is becoming key to standing out from the crowd.

Making it personal is what engagement is all about. So here are some tactics and projects you start considering. This could include behind the scenes insights that can turn visitors into raving and engaged fans.

But the challenge is doing engagement at scale.

A face to face meeting is the best but the social web provides the technology and networks to have a highly engaging conversation with no limits.

Engagement tactics are not something that scales traffic fast but it is where the traffic is stickiest. It build that credibility and trust like no other traffic source.

#1. Start a podcast.

Podcasts reveal the voice and personality of bloggers and brands. Podcast popularity is rising with 57 million Americans now listening to them on a regular basis according to Forbes.

The game here is changing fast with Apple iTunes virtual monopoly and market share being  challenged by Androids “Play”. Pandora are getting into the game with “Serial” as well as Spotify throwing its hat in the podcast ring.

This will be good for everyone.

But Podcasting isn't without it's challenges and will need to evolve to achieve greater penetration

They can be hard hard to discover on iTunes. Also they don't surface and are listened to easily via  Google search.  I agree with Jay Baer comments that it has to evolve to being an “on-demand radio“.

Once the standards and platforms evolve to being more open, searchable and easy to use we will see the real explosion of podcasts.

But despite that it's a highly engaging and personable way to communicate and build that all important attention.

#2. Get on Snapchat.

Not much polishing is done here. Snapchat is raw and real. And  the law of scarcity can be used to drive traffic to your blog, landing pages and online portals. A 10 second video and a 24 hour story are driving engagement on Snapchat through the roof.

Who is doing this well?

• Gary Vaynerchuk is a big evangelist and is getting huge engagement with his SnapChat tactics. His handle is garyvee.


• Kaelin Tuell is a fitness fanatic who is also smashing it on Snapchat. Russell Brunson did a video interview where she revealed her secret sauce for growing a Snapchat audience. Her handle is tuell_time

I will be using Snapchat more over the next few weeks as we trial the engagement and tactics. So watch out for this funny face.

#3. Use video sales letters.

Online video is a personal and visual conversation that can be one to many. It scales well.

This type of tactic can convert attention that educates into traffic that converts. Learn the art and science of creating videos that educate first and sell second.

#4. Run webinars.

Webinars is personal training that can be watched by thousands at a time.

Education is the focus and collaborating with other bloggers and influencers can explode both your email list and your traffic.

#5. Livestream.

Livestreaming has come into its own as the technologies have matured. The parallel development of several technologies such as smartphones, video streaming tech and also faster mobile networks has made this possible.

Periscope and Meerkat are two emerging livestreaming platforms. They are personal and very engaging.

Now, just because I listed 5 types of mediums to drive engagement and then traffic doesn't mean that you do all 5. Start with one like a regular webinar or maybe a podcast.

Content

Content needs these to elements to really move across the web.

#6. Headlines.

Steve Rayson and the team at BuzzSumo have done some research and have revealed the 5 key elements for writing a viral headline. It is based upon research done with millions of headlines.

Here is an example of a headline using this formula.

#7. Visuals.

Stock images are almost past their use by date on social. The rise and use of “real” images is something that Facebook is encouraging for marketers to include in their social advertising strategy.

This is one of the reasons they chose to Shuttlerock for an innovation award for creating authentic visual  content that will scale and can be uploaded to be used in Facebook ads.

Authentic and relevance is key if you are posting visual ads into a Facebook timeline .

Tools

Marketing now needs tech tools.  Love it or hate it the reality is that technology is now a key component of marketing. These are 2 tools that I use to convert traffic that sticks.

#8. SumoMe

Pop-ups are avoided by many because they see them as annoying. Television ads are sort of the mass media version of a pop up. But 50 years later we are still watching television with ads that sometimes seem to run for ever.

A pop-up done well is a bit sticky and also adds value in exchange for an email address. I have been using SumoMe's “Welcome mat” for the last few months  and the results have been astounding.

We have grown our email list by nearly 30,000 just with the Welcome mat!

If you want to learn more join us this Tuesday for a Webinar at 6pm EST and we will reveal some other great tips and tactics how we did this.

#9. Leadpages

Traffic is good but converting into leads and then sales needs great landing pages.

We have been using Leadpages for well over a year now and it is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to build landing pages for webinars, sales funnels and for selling products.

It has transformed our business.

This is the Leadpages landing page we created and where we send visitors from Twitter. These are sent every 4-5 hours into the Twitter stream.

This is how the visual tweet looks.

This tactic and the landing page is alone adding 400+ new subscribers a month.

Below is the landing page.

Partnerships

Trying to find the right partners to collaborate with is becoming a big part of a digital marketer's tool kit.

You can find them the hard way or you can be smart and use some cool tools to identify influencers and bloggers. These are also great for finding content that is trending or viral.

These tactics are now a key part of hijacking engaged traffic.

#10. Newswhip

Want to see what top stories are trending and which influencers and writers are the sources of that? Then Spike NewsWhip is essential for any PR professional, journalist and content creator..

#11. BuzzSumo

Want to know what content and who the top influencers are in your industry or niche? Then BuzzSumo is a great tool for identifying bloggers, influencers, companies, journalists that are creating content that is resonating around the web.

It also helps you find the top performing content with its content research feature. You can then use this to use as inspiration for creating content that maybe can go viral.

What about you?

So what are you doing to attract the eyeballs and ears that you need to succeed in a digital world? How do you break through the clutter, get attention and get traffic that sticks?

What's working for you?

Look forward to hearing your stories and comments below.

Free Webinar

Join us for a webinar on June 28 at 6pm EST time to discover the key tips and tactics to grow your email list fast.

 

 

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#SocialSkim: Brand Love for Hot Messaging App Yubl, Plus 12 More Stories in This Week's Roundup

New apps and ad capabilities this week: Yubl, the latest under-25 messaging platform that brands are scrambling onto; Twitter's new standalone app for power users; Tumblr's foray into live video (not like Facebook Live); and Reddit's surprising brand appeal. Read the full article at MarketingProfs

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9 Amazing Instagram Apps To Generate Buzz For Your Business

So you want to create awesome images, the kind of images that you see on your favorite Instagram accounts.

You know, the ones that leave you in awe and get hundreds and thousands of likes.

How do they capture those colors? How do they create that beautiful typography? What software do they use? And how long does it take to create such an image? What's the process?

If this is what you're thinking when scrolling through your Instagram feed, then keep reading to learn how awesome images are born on Instagram and how you too can create gorgeous quote images with a few basic Instagram apps.

Here is a series of steps and Instagram apps that will prettify your photos in terms of lighting, color, symmetry and perspective. And a few more to help you create unique quotes with cool design and typography.

Taking your picture

1. VSCO

You can either use your phone's native camera app or VSCO. This is a powerful all-in-one app that lets you take the shot and make all kinds of DSLR-like adjustments, from lighting, color, straightening, to filters and manual focus.

You can use its basic functions to simply set your focus point and shoot, or use more advanced manual settings to adjust the ISO, shutter speed, white balance and manual focus, which gives you more creative control.

Editing your picture

2. Snapseed

You can either edit the shot with VSCO or use Snapseed (Android & iPhone). The latter is a far better editing tool that covers most of your editing needs, including colors, contrast, highlights grain and mid tones.

The advanced features include Histogram, selecting editing points (you can get really creative with these settings), HDR and more.

You can also use Snapseed to remove unwanted objects that may appear in the photo – birds, marks, branches, etc. anything that you don't want in the frame.

3. Afterlight

Another cool app for adding textures, frames & filters is Afterlight. You can get some incredible effects by adding unique frames, filters, textures and light leaks, cropping presets and more. Afterlight also has editing features, so it comes down to your own preference for which Instagram app you use for editing.

4. SKRWT

Another powerful editing app is SKRWT. It's especially useful for perspective corrections and adjusting distorted lines due to the wide angles lens.

Creating designs from scratch

This is where mixing different apps to achieve a cool design gets interesting. Regardless the niche you're in, adding a few quote images to your Instagram feed always seem to work like magic. People love quotes, they're shareable and they're very easy to create.

Here are some simple apps to help you create great looking quote images without need using to use complicated design software. You can use these tools even if you have no experience with graphic design. And you can put on your own watermark, as well.

5. Typorama

Typorama is the first one. It's for the iPhone but I'll show you a similar app that works for Android, as well. First, you select a background from their huge gallery. Load the image into the app and double tap to add your text.

Ideally you should prepare your content in a notepad file or Evernote, so it's easy to pull out. You can choose what fonts you want and you can keep tapping on the text until you find the variation you like best.

Once you're done, save the image to the gallery on your phone. You don't want to share the image just yet, there are a few more tweaks you can do.

6. Wordswag

The next app will let you add the name of the author who's quote you just used. You can do that with Typorama as well, but Wordswag gives you an extra kick. This app lets you take any type of text (e.g. tip, quote, question, etc.) and put it over one of their cool templates to create a great looking quote image.

You also have the option to use images from your own gallery and just use their typography. Whatever suits you best.

So for example, you can take the image you just created in Typorama and open it in Wordswag to credit the author using a different font. Click “Done” and next you can use Wordswag to add a logo or watermark to your images. Put your branding in the quote and you're done.

7. Phonto

For Android users there's Phonto (instead of Typorama). Simply take your text and paste it in the app (choose from loads of fonts). Then, go back to Wordswag and add your logo or watermark.

Managing your workflow

8. Later

The last step is finding an app that allows you to streamline the whole process. There's an app you can use to schedule your posts, called Later (formerly known as Latergramme).

The reason you need this is because Instagram only allows you to post from your phone. Later lets you schedule everything in advance, and you can install the app on your device. Make sure to choose the correct time zone when you sign up.

Once you select the images you want to share, add the tags, the caption and you're done. You will get a popup on your phone from the app and just press “Post”.

You can start with a free account but if you want to take full advantage of the app, you should upgrade to their paid plans (starting from $19).

9. Crowdfire

Another very powerful tool for managing your audience is Crowdfire. It lets you unfollow non-followers, add your competitors' followers and more.

Image Source: I Am Wire

Summing up

Hopefully you can see the huge help you can get from using these Instagram apps and creating a system for your Instagram marketing activities. The more you experiment with each of them, the easier it will be to get things done faster and eventually delegate the content creation process to someone in your team.

Once your steps are set in place, you can outsource the implementation procedure so you can focus on growth strategies for your business.

Guest Author: Sarah Williams is a Berlin based entrepreneur and lifestyle blogger. On Wingman Magazine, her website targeting modern men, she helps them to evolve to their higher potential, boost careers and flourish their social interactions.

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