Want to buy Facebook fans? Why not buy some Twitter followers to boot? There are companies that you can actually pay money to to achieve this. With the recent LinkedIn IPO, now there are companies not only selling LinkedIn connections, but also saying if you use them to create a LinkedIn Group, they will make sure it gets filled with (name your price) members! The title of this blog post probably surprised, if not shocked, most of my loyal readers because they know I have always evangelized the LinkedIn Open Networker, better known as the LinkedIn LION. I wrote about …
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Everyone has their own objective for using social media, but one thing is clear: if you are a working professional, and especially if you have a family, the time that you can spend on the likes of Facebook and LinkedIn is often very limited. I often get asked, “Neal, where do you find the time for social media?” to which I respond, “Social media is my industry. It is my daily experiences and social media experiments that allow me to remain on the cutting edge of social media, provide a higher quality service to my customers, and allows potential clients …
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Wow. It’s hard to believe it’s been 5 weeks since my last blog post. This is the first time in many months that I haven’t blogged for such a long period of time. It isn’t that I didn’t want to blog, as I am always thinking of things to say, but I really needed to use all of my creative time to finish my 2nd social media book, which I hope to be formally announcing next week. Not blogging for such a long time gave me some time to think about what blogging means to me and why I feel …
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I believe that many businesses in 2011 are as confused as ever about how to maximize their social media presence. There are some that are finally looking to take social media seriously this year, while many have had a presence for a year or two but are still trying to determine the ROI of their efforts. Some businesses have been implementing social media for several years, but even they are still trying to figure out how to get more engagement from their followers or perhaps plan new campaigns to try to leverage their social media fan base. The net result …
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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Waatp.com. All opinions are 100% mine. With so much public information about us out there in social media and on the web, do you ever start to wonder what others can find out about you? On the other hand, if you are doing social recruiting or looking to do business with or even get back in touch with someone, wouldn’t you like to take advantage of the public information that exists out there so that you can do due diligence in a background check or have a higher chance …
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Whenever I hear about a company who plan to “launch” their social media “efforts” with the help of social media interns, I always break out laughing. Well, not literally so. But I am amazed at how many companies think that college students who “speak” the language of social media are appropriate to represent their brand in the online world. Just as I pointed out in a previous blog post, I shouldn’t be doing other brand’s social media precisely for the same reasons that interns or external contractors shouldn’t be doing yours either: We don’t know you. Let me first point …
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As Twitter grows to encompass almost 200 million users and businesses display almost as many Twitter icons as Facebook icons on their websites, you’d think that companies are starting to figure out how to better utilize Twitter to inform and truly engage with the public. While there are success stories of businesses on Twitter who are finding their own path in social media, it still amazes me as to how many ways businesses can improve upon their Twitter presence and stop making the common mistakes I often see. As I prepare to present at a virtual conference put on by …
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My social media consulting clients always ask me as to who they should be trying to “influence” on social websites, and I always have to remind them that any social media user could potentially be an “influencer.” That being said, some people or businesses use social networking sites more than others, some have more reach than others, and some are considered to have thought leadership in their industries or professions more than others. So, although an exact measurement of social media influence is impossible because it will be different based on 1) the context of what exactly you’re trying to …
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Businesses everywhere need social media expertise, but if social marketing is not being taught in our universities, who’s picking up the slack? A survey released just a week ago from the folks at Bazaarvoice made it absolutely clear that CMOs and companies in general are investing big in social media: …social media had become an essential component of executive marketing strategies by the end of 2010, with 90% of CMOs participating in three or more social activities. CMOs still focus on measurability and ROI but are recognizing there’s even more business impact to uncover. Nearly all (96%) are beginning to …
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Everyone who knows me knows that I am one of the biggest evangelists for LinkedIn. While others turn to Twitter and Facebook, I keep reminding businesses that LinkedIn should be your hub for B2B social media marketing. And while the world is going crazy about Branchout, the Facebook application for professional networking, I find immense value in new tools such as LinkedIn Signal. But as a trusted networking platform for professionals, I find that LI is falling behind its social media counterparts in one important area: Privacy Settings. Here are 3 specific scenarios in which I believe it is in …
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