That’s because on the mobile web, utility trumps style. Fancy visuals and a great motif may look terrific on your desktop, but on mobile, all they’re likely to do is slow things down. And on that small screen, you’re not going to see much anyway.

Nevertheless, as more and more of the population experiences the web via mobile, creating a mobile website is essential. Doing so, however, requires a different frame of mind, or maybe, as Dennis Mink suggests, a trip in a time machine. “It’s really like the early days of the Internet, like 1996, 1997,” says Mink, VP of marketing at Dudamobile, a company that creates mobile sites. “We all had our 14.4 baud modems, and things were as stripped down as possible.” Click Here For Entire Article

Participation in social media should be a staple for any business leveraging inbound marketing. Social media expands the reach of content, offers a valuable communication platform between businesses and their prospects/customers, and helps to nurture existing leads into a position where they’re more ready to buy.

One of the critical social media best practices we discuss often is regularly publishing content and updates to the social networks in which your business participates. But what exactly does an optimized and effective social media update look like, and what are its key characteristics? Surely it would vary from social network to social network, right?

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All this for a professional social network with 100 million users that made profit of $15.4 million in 2010 on sales of $243 million from a blend of recruitment services, online advertising, and premium subscriptions.

While not normally one of the most visible sites, it is definitely one of the most powerful. With millions of people from all over the globe taking part in the conversation on LinkedIn, it is definitely a place I think a professional in any field should be involved.

What I hear when I speak to social media newbies about LinkedIn is that “I’m not B2B, I’m B2C. LinkedIn will never work for me.” Aside from that statement oddly rhyming, that statement can’t be more false. Whether you are B2B or B2C, you can make LinkedIn work for you. I’ve said this quite a bit, and lately people have been asking me to put my money where my mouth is, asking “Can you prove that there is ROI in LinkedIn?” The only answer I can give is to show what it is doing for me.

Not a week goes by that I don’t get leads, emails, job offerings or some form of contact via a potential business deal on LinkedIn.

While my business may be unique, I work with a wide array of clientele that get results on LinkedIn. Not only sales and referrals, but speaking engagements, sharing of content to a wide audience, visits to their websites, and much more. I’m not saying that the majority of your business will come from LinkedIn, but it is definitely a spot where you need to be.

My point here is not to convince you to use LinkedIn. It is targeted to those of you out there who are already registered with LinkedIn (for a week, a year, 5 years, whatever) and don’t have your profile completed and are just waiting for business to come pouring in. Generally those like this complain that they don’t see any results from LinkedIn. Here’s why: you’re not doing anything!

So, get going and see what you can do! Here are my 5 LinkedIn necessities when you are trying to market yourself using this incredible site:

1. Complete Your Profile: A name and title is not enough.

LinkedIn gives you ample opportunity to showcase yourself and your brand. Instead of leaving half of the profile blank (the percentage of which LinkedIn will show you on the right hand side of your profile), why not take the time and complete it properly. Want people to call you? Add a phone number. Want people to visit your website? Add your URL address.

Don’t skimp here…this is where people are going to find you credible or not credible. Oh, and one final thing. Have a professional profile picture…nothing crazy. Not that beach picture from last summer’s vacation and not that picture of you and your dog. This is a site of professionals – look the part! No picture = no credibility in my book. In fact, when I receive an invitation to connect with someone I will most often ignore the invite if they don’t have a photo.

2. Join Groups: Don’t just join – take part.

I know it seems like a tall order, but this is one of the areas where things happen on LinkedIn. Don’t just join groups within your industry, you want to find those groups where your target customers might be.

For example, if you are a Hotel General Sales Manager, then you may want to join groups where meeting planners are congregating. The idea is simple. The groups that are specific to your industry will help you gain news and knowledge in your field while the others will help you share your business and expertise with your target customers. I say join as many as LinkedIn allows (50) and start working them!

3. Ask Questions and Answer Questions: There is a wonderful function of LinkedIn that allows you to answer and post questions to your network as well as LinkedIn at large. This is a great way to get in front of prospective customers, and referral partners – so don’t be afraid to jump in there and share your expertise by answering a few questions now and again.

4. Reply to messages: Nothing drives a social media user up-the-wall more than sending messages that never are replied to.

I’m not saying the mass messages that start with those wonderful words “Dear Friends”, but rather those emails sent to you on LinkedIn. Not interested in what they have to say? Give them a polite “No thank you, but I appreciate your kind offer”, don’t say “Leave me alone” or ignore them completely. Remember this is networking. Would you act like that in a cocktail party? Nope. So use the platform to build relationships and it will come back to you many times over.

5. Complete Your Profile with Testimonials and Applications: Even the most engaging profile can use a helping hand now and again.

The first thing to do is to give some recommendations to a few of your connections in LinkedIn that you know or have worked with. You will very likely get recommendations in return. It is not rude to ask for recommendations either, but make sure it is someone that you know. These are a great way of proving credibility and the quality of your work.

On the application side of things, go onto your profile and scroll down until you see the Applications section and click “More Applications.” This will take you to a section that allows you to not only integrate your Twitter account and your WordPress blogs, but also share pdf files and PowerPoint presentations. These are also great ways of bringing your profile to life.

I could go on and on with the benefits of LinkedIn, but these are definitely the ones I think are most important. These steps will help you get the most out of LinkedIn in addition to helping you learn more about shaping your LinkedIn marketing strategy. It’s not easy at first and can be time consuming, but keep with it.

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is your social media following. It is an ongoing effort that will bring you what you’re after, if you are patient. Keep in mind, that the quality of your connections is just as important, if not more, than the quantity of connections.

If you are struggling making sense of LinkedIn (and Facebook, Twitter and the rest) I’d be glad to help! Shoot me an email or contact me through LinkedIn and just ask.

In working as a sales professional myself for many years, I thought I’d use what I’ve learned in social media and share it first with other sales professionals.  Today’s sales climate is very different than just a few years ago.  Now when you make an appointment to see a potential client the can go online and learn all about you before you even show up for the sales call.

It’s also important today to brand yourself.  If you have a lot of competition within your field then personal branding can really help you to stand out from your competitors.  Instead of just using your product to differentiate you from everyone else, you can use the internet and social media to help create a personal brand for yourself.

This is exactly what the book is about. It’s basically a step-by-step instruction manual that will tell you how you can create personal branding.

So, use personal branding to position yourself as the expert in your field.

With the enormous amount of hype in Web, mobile, and social media marketing platforms, you have an incredible opportunity for personal branding opportunities to choose from. Which ones work? How do you make them work for you without wasting money and time by trial and error? Get this book, that’s how!  http://amzn.to/mFPfFR

If you have any plans to advertise your products and services through online video, here are some tips to help your videos make their mark on your target customers’ minds:

• Give some entertainment value

Funny videos have always been proven to work their magic on a wide variety of audiences. From young kids to old folks, there is no age limit as to who can appreciate a video that can make people laugh. Your video can penetrate the market more and achieve a maximum reach if you will incorporate humor and entertainment value while promoting your company and the stuff you sell. Keep the humor to a minimum and be business-like, but leaning towards humor will help make your videos more popular.

• Focus on a single message

To be more effective with your online video advertising campaign, avoid fitting in all the features of your services or everything in your product line in just a single video. You will be able to capture your audiences’ attention if you will hone in on just a single message. It is important to remember that online viewers have  many potential distractions that may take away their attention from your video. So your message will have a bigger chance to make a home run if it is just a simple clip which is easy to absorb.  You can produce multiple videos for multiple products or services you provide.

• Be as professional as possible

If you have any plans to employ online video for your marketing campaign, make sure that the video looks professional enough to get the attention of your target audience. You are not the only one using this marketing method and if there is another video that presents higher quality and loads faster, they will definitely be able to snatch potential customers away from you. If you do not have enough tools to come up with a first-rate online video clip, you can hire the services of a professional video production company.  These companies can be found if you search them out and find one that fits your personality and budget.

It is true that TV commercials are sometimes out of reach for small businesses because of the budgets required to air TV commercials. But nowadays, you have more affordable options to advertise through different internet media platforms. Online video does not only allow your company to have a wider reach but it is also cost effective even for small business owners.

It is a known fact that Youtube and other online video streaming sites have conquered the virtual world. And if you will check out statistics, you will be amazed at the incredible number of views that videos receive in a day, especially those that are well optimized. And if you can get this to work to your advantage, your business will benefit in many ways. Subsequently, you can expect more sales to pour in as well.

• Wider Reach
One of the most impressive features of online mobile marketing is the ability to reach a wider scope of customers. It is a whole lot more efficient compared to any other types of ads that have a lesser chance of being seen by your target customer. Cellphones are carried for most of the day so you have the guarantee that your message will be able to reach the target recipient wherever he or she may be. In addition, mobile marketing messages are easy to forward to more people.

• Potential to Go Viral
The marketing messages that you send to your prospective clients can be easily shared with their families, friends and the people that they know. As a result, there is a bigger chance that your advertisement will reach more potential customers without any added cost on your part plus it also increases the number of your prospective clients exponentially.

• Allows a More Personal and Targeted Marketing Strategy
Mobile marketing makes it possible to design your ads to fit the taste of your target market that specifically opted in to receive your content. With a more personalized approach, you can deliver a customized message about your brand to a specific audience. And more importantly, you can reach your most loyal customers instantly with a special sale or offer.

• Very Affordable
Tradition forms of advertising require larger investments that small businesses typically would find too much for their budgets. But with mobile marketing, you will no longer pay for air time, printing expenses or postage. What you will most likely spend is just a nominal amount for every text message that you will send to your prospective clients. And to make the package even better, the already modest price will still decrease as the volume of your text messages increases. You can save money from the lesser cost of advertising made possible by the technology available right now in mobile marketing.
In this modern age where internet-capable phones are considered more of a need rather than just a mere want, owners of small businesses should be aware that mobile marketing is a strategy that can bring about significant results in building a reputation, growing a business and making sales. More than anything, you can use mobile marketing to increase your client base and then market to them on a regular basis to bring them back into your business more often.

The prolific use of the internet, both by businesses and most importantly by prospective customers, is a blessing in that it offers businesses an easy to use, cost effective marketing tool, but can be a curse if one is not willing or able to keep pace with the constant innovations and trends that still go hand-in-hand with the internet revolution.

Aside from having an internet presence in terms of a web site, any company would do well to consider the benefits of social media to grow their business.

Online social media outlets are undoubtedly one of the most important elements of a business’ internet marketing strategy today. Social media refers to a type of web site that is dependent on user-generated content and exists solely to further user participation. Social networking sites, such as Twitter, Biznik, LinkedIn and Facebook, and social bookmarking sites, such as Digg or StumbleUpon, all belong to this category, and can be used to great effect by any company seeking to grow their business. In fact, aside from the investment in time, using these sites can be absolutely free for a business owner to take advantage of, but can afford them huge returns.

Social media sites are hugely popular, free to use, and easy to navigate. If these factors alone are not enough to get a business owner to take advantage of their potential to help grow their business, independent studies have also been performed and have proven the value of social media beyond a shadow of a doubt: 93% of Americans want businesses to have a presence on social media sites, and most believe that they are receiving better service if a company is available to interact with them via their favorite social media outlet. Cone, the Boston based consulting firm who conducted the study, stresses that consumers would like to be able to have a two-way conversation with businesses, something that social media sites allow.

Unlike traditional marketing which focuses on comparing one’s own brand against another and hoping to strike a chord with particular consumers or to even reach them to begin with, social marketing sites level the playing field. Everyone’s profile looks the same, and it’s the content that allows businesses to set themselves apart. The more time and care invested in communicating with the customers, the better the reaction will be. Social media allow a company’s representative to actively search for and pursue their target customers, so time and resources are not wasted on individuals who would never have a need for a business’ particular product or service.

This type of business/client interaction also helps to create a real relationship between the company and the consumer. Social media sites are an excellent way to showcase the mood of your brand, to establish yourself as ‘real’ rather than a ‘big, faceless corporation’, no matter what the true size of your enterprise. They also give a business the opportunity to conduct their own specific type of targeted market research without investing a single additional marketing dollar. Asking customers what they think or which item they prefer not only allows a business to tailor their product to the specific needs and wants of the actual customer they are trying to serve, it empowers the customer as a decision maker, allowing them to feel as if they have a real voice in what happens at your company, thereby increasing their brand loyalty.

Aside from costing nothing and offering a business potential for exponential growth in their customer base, social media sites are very easy to use. Because they are designed to appeal to people in every age group and of any skill-set, any business can easily make use of these sites with minimal effort. Establishing a brand presence on the major social media outlets does not require an IT professional or any network support. No HTML codes need to be written, and you don’t have to be a graphic design genius. All you need is a clear vision of who you are in the market place and what you have to offer your customer. The rest will take care of itself.

The next step in the Guide to Better Branding through Social Media is to be realistic. You can not gain anything from social media if you are not interested in exerting some efforts into it. That goes basically with real world marketing as well. If you will not give something, you will not gain something in return. There are people who have tried marketing with social media and labeled it as faulty without even exerting time and energy in their attempt. You should apply basic marketing strategies in your advertisements in social media and give attention to its results as well. Advertising and marketing using social media can make you reach a wider audience than in traditional local marketing.

Next in the Guide to Better Branding through Social Media is being a people person. You have to understand that the messages you post online speak a lot about your personality. Oftentimes people who market using social media lose clients not because they have defective products but because they lack social skills. Some brand owners don’t know how to treat clients through social media and that is the main reason why customers lose interest in their products. Being too professional usually doesn’t work. People want to engage with your people rather than your company. Adding humor, friendliness and helpfulness will do great in your marketing strategy. However, limit the information you disclose at a commercial level. Giving out too much information can be dangerous especially if the information can be very bad for your brand’s image.

Another procedure in the Guide to Better Branding through Social Media is to share information and ideas through different social media frequently. The more you share your opinion the more you get noticed. Just make sure that what you share is useful information. By doing so, followers will not assume that your sole purpose is to advertise. You should answer inquiries in LinkedIn, share media resources in Facebook, upload images in Slide share, upload videos in YouTube, and tweet out text messages in Twitter. You should also write good articles in your blog and encourage people to ask questions in Facebook and Twitter.

The last step in your Guide to Better Branding through Social Media is to make an inventory. You should make an inventory about the number of activities you’re taking part in when it comes to social media. This way you will find out if you are really reaching out to more potential clients everyday. Respond to comments, tags, tweets, and links so that you will know if you are gaining followers or adding up critics. Check out if people are reacting positively or negatively. You should know if people could be confident in associating with you outwardly.

Those are some steps in the Guide to Better Branding through Social Media. You should keep in mind that working to have a good name doesn’t come easily and through social media destroying your reputation could be easily done with just a click of the mouse. The best way to ensure your good name is to always keep in mind what’s best for the whole online community.

Let me know what you have found in social media. What has worked, what hasn’t, what do you like best? Share your comments here!