Build Your Business Brand on LinkedIn with Company Pages.

LinkedIn has quietly been adding features to Company Pages. At first you could just get your company listed, as if in a big directory. Then they added the ability to create a company profile and add products. Then you could get those products reviewed. And now you can post status updates and engage with your clients.

So how is the best way to get started using these features to promote your business?

Well, as always, if you are a coach, consultant, trainer, healer, solopreneur or other helping professional, you will want to start building your brand with your profile. If you feel you've done that pretty well, you will want to branch out and add in the company pages.

Here's how to get started, step-by-step:

1. To start you will want to create your company profile.
2. Then add some products or services.
3. Ask some of your past or present clients to write a review for your products. This creates "social proof" and adds to your company credibility. The more positive reviews, the more evidence potential clients have that you are likely to satisfy their needs as well.
4. When you add a product or service, you can then share it to your status update, your groups or your connections. Here is a new piece of content that you can share with others to get some buzz going.
5. When you create the product or service, you can create a promotion to go with it. The promotion shows up in the bottom right side bar. Its a great opportunity to add photos or video to promote a program or launch.
6. The newest addition to the company page is the addition of the status update. This lets you get Facebook-like interactions with your LinkedIn followers. The downside right now is that the integration with automation tools like Hootsuite is not yet available. So you would have to manually post every update yourself or outsource your social media. Personally, I'm going to wait until the automation tools become available.
7. Optional: Run a paid advertisement. This will get you visibility amongst your target demographic fast.

So that's it. It's pretty easy to get started using Company Pages on LinkedIn.

Let me know below how it goes for you and if you have any tips to offer others starting out.

1. If you have used an existing 3rd party Facebook application, like an iframe app, chances are they are already hosting your custom page on a secure server. Check with them to be sure. Ask them if the server that hosts your Facebook Custom Fan Page has an SSL certificate. If the answer is yes, you're OK. If not, they will either have to get one, or you will have to move to a new server or hosting company that has one.
2. If you self host on your own web site, you will need to ensure you are on a secure server. There are a couple ways to do this. 
   • First, you can purchase a SSL certificate for your site. There are many places you can get one. Your hosting company may offer them. Or, you can order from GoDaddy.com. You will also need to have your developer follow the rule found here.
   • You can host the content in your iframe on a secure site like an Amazon S3 account. Another is to post files in Dropbox.
3. If you are using Facebook.com apps or tabs, you should be fine.

Don't you love these un-announced changes?

There were a lot of other changes that popped up at the same time, and this one got little press coverage. However, it is a BIG DEAL for celebrities, athletes, speakers, coaches and any individual one who is a public figure or wants to be one! Actually, this one little feature can be a game changer in the way a public figure uses Facebook.

Prior to Facebook Subscribe, as a public figure, you could only accept 5000 connections to your personal profile. Those connections include both friends and pages you like. So once you hit that limit, you had to create a fan page. The problem is that now you had to administer two things, a profile and a page. Often your clients would want to connect with you personally, and not with your page. It was harder to create relationships with your page likes than it was your friends.

That just changed.

Facebook just broke out a new feature. It's something you've gotten all along with your friends. You've always been subscribed to your friend's updates. Now you can click on the Subscribe button to filter what you see from each friend. Tired of their Farmville updates? You can filter that out but clicking on the subscribe button.

OK, so that's not so new. But what is new is that now you can subscribe to hear what celebrities, journalists, speakers and public figures have to say without becoming their friend. You simply click on the subscribe button on their profile and their public updates will appear in your news feed.

(If you don't want non-friends to subscribe to your public updates, then you can turn it off so the subscribe button disappears.) To turn on Subscribe follow these directions.

So why is this a game changer?

Well, you don't necessarily need a page anymore to break through the 5000 connection limit for your profile. More people can follow your public updates and feel intimately connected to you without you having to create and administer a page.

When is a page still valuable?

You want to move to a page when you need multiple people to administer it. Or for using custom tabs and applications. A page you can promote with ads and sponsored stories. And you get detailed metrics on demographics and fan activity with your page. So if its just you getting started, using your profile with the subscribe button is the best option. Once your business grows beyond you, you want to conduct advertising, or you want to start adding in fancy apps, then you will want a page.

Now, if you are afraid of having too much information in your news feed and thus are wary of subscribing to peoples updates, here's how to avoid that problem. You sort them into lists and save them to your favorites. Facebook created a great little guide for that. It's called Creating a Subscriptions List.

Lastly, you need to optimize your profile to get found by subscribers. Fortunately, Facebook has put together a short tutorial that shows us how to Optimize Your Profile for Subscribe.

If you are a public figure, coach, consultant, celebrity, author, or perhaps you want to be, then go ahead and turn on subscriptions and subscribe away!

Provide compelling content. — Even though your Facebook page is up and running, you need to get people to like and trust you. According to Debra Zimmer, The Expert Marketing Coach, one way to increase that trust is to provide compelling content.

"Basically they need a reason to 'like' your page. They want to know what's in it for them. When they come to your page, they want to see that you consistently post something of value to them," Zimmer said.

Zimmer suggests one way to post compelling content is with a "tip of the day."

"You can sit down once a month and jot down 30 things that would help your customer transform their life. You then use a tool like Hootsuite to have those tips post for you automatically once a day. And you have created a reason for people to 'like' you. They do it to get those tips," Zimmer said.

And,

Build a chain of communication with your customers. — Facebook isn't all about business, so it's important to make sure that you're entertaining your customers. Zimmer said that you can do so by asking some questions.

For example, Zimmer asks her followers what tip topics they would most like to see from her.

"That starts getting people engaged. And when they comment on your post, it shows up in all their friends' news feeds. With the average Facebook user having 130 friends, that number of people who see your post multiplies quickly," Zimmer said.

You can read the rest of the article here…

If you are like me, I've heard that Facebook shares help get you ranked higher in search engine results. Now, there's data to prove it. According to AllFacebook.com,

There’s a high correlation between Facebook shares and ranking well on search engines, particularly Google U.S. rankings.

That’s according to the latest annual report by SEOmoz called “2011 Search Engine Ranking Factors.”

In the end, SEOmoz says it cannot prove that Facebook shares cause high search engine rankings. The study will only say that there’s a strong correlation between the ranking and Facebook shares.

What does this mean?

Delivering high quality content on Facebook gets your content shared more often. More shares influences a lot of factors which in the end result in higher Google rankings.

What do you think?

Writing web content sounds easy enough: if you can write, you can write for the web, right? Not necessarily. Some small business owners find writing for the web to be a time consuming and frustrating task. It’s not always easy to put your thoughts into words–and optimize those words for search. Here are a few tips on how to write for the web from The Website Wordsmith, Alexa Steele .  

Web Writing Tip 1: Start with the headline

Headlines are, in many ways, the most important aspect of your website content. They are the first thing your reader sees and must therefore be attention-grabbing. They are also indexed by search engines, and so need to be optimized with keywords. Writing your headline first can focus your writing and help you establish a connection with these two distinct audiences.

Web Writing Tip 2: Know your keywords

One of the biggest differences between writing for the web and writing for other media is the need for search engine optimization (SEO). Keywords are at the heart of all SEO. By using a tool like Google AdWords Keyword tool you can identify keywords and key-phrases people are using to search for your topic. You should then include at least two or three of these keywords in your content.

Web Writing Tip 3: Know your audience

Who’s going to be reading your content? Do they know your subject well or are they beginners in need of detailed explanations? Are they looking for information or entertainment? Are they familiar with your brand or do you need to introduce yourself? The answers to these questions–and others–will impact how you write your content so get an idea of who your audience is before you begin.

Web Writing Tip 4: Make it an easy read

Web surfers are notorious for their short attention spans. They have a tendency to scan webpages before (or instead of) reading them thoroughly. By including headlines, sub-headings, lists, quotes, and bold lettering you can highlight important points and make skimming easier . Also, unless you know your audience is more advanced (see tip #3) it’s a good idea to keep your writing at about an eighth grade reading level. Have someone proofread your writing, too, to edit out errors that can trip up and confuse a reader.

Web Writing Tip 5: Give it a call to action

Ultimately, you’re creating your content for a reason: you want the people who read it to take an action. Including a call to action like “call now,” “click here,” or “leave a comment” lets your readers know what they should to do next, which increases the likelihood that you will get conversions.

SEO copywriter Alexa Steele works with marketers and small business owners to create engaging, persuasive, search engine optimized copy for websites and other forms of Internet marketing. To read more of Alexa’s articles–or to engage her for your next SEO copywriting project–visit www.thewebsitewordsmith.com.    

The problem arose when, after I signed up, I was then presented with a screen and an email that told me I had to pay a $97 refundable deposit to get the information to attend the “FREE Live Sneak Peek Event” and thus “To Learn How I Can Win The $30,000 Cash“.

As I wrote in my last post, I found this to be unethical and asked for your opinions. While some wonderful discussion transpired on the ethics, one person who responded in email to me suggested it was not illegal. Having curiosity, I explored this further. Here’s what I found…

On the Federal Trade Commission‘s web site I discovered several documents that apply to internet marketing. Here’s a summary:

Is advertising on the Internet subject to the same laws as other advertising?

Yes. Ad claims on the Internet must be truthful and substantiated. Ask the FTC for a copy of Advertising and Marketing on the Internet: The Rules of the Road for more information. Dot Com Disclosures offers special guidance for online advertisers regarding how to make sure that any disclaimers and disclosures in online ads are clear and conspicuous. It addresses ‘Net specific issues such as banner ads, pop-up windows, scrolling, hyperlinks, etc. Internet marketers also should be aware that the FTC’s Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (“Mail Order Rule”) applies to online transactions. For specific guidance on complying with the Mail Order Rule online, ask the FTC for a copy of Selling on the Internet: Prompt Delivery Rules, as well as A Business Guide to the Federal Trade Commission’s Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule.

My website is attracting visitors from outside the United States. What do I need to know?

Because the World Wide Web is, as its name implies, worldwide, even small online businesses can reach customers around the globe. Electronic Commerce: Selling Internationally – A Guide for Business discusses some online commerce guidelines endorsed by the United States government and 28 other countries.

What do I need to know about consumer privacy online?

Advertisers should be aware of the privacy issues raised by Internet marketing. For more information about recent FTC Reports to Congress on consumer privacy on the Internet, visit the FTC’s website (www.ftc.gov). Basically, the FTC strongly encourages companies to implement four fair information practices: giving consumers notice of a website’s information practices; offering consumers choice as to how their personally identifying information is used; providing consumers with access to the information collected about them; and ensuring the security of the information collected. In addition, companies need to know about the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and the rule that implements it. The law requires websites to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children, including their names, home addresses, email addresses, or hobbies. For more information, ask the FTC for How to Comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule.

After skimming through these, I discovered that the sales solicitation I received could potentially be in violation of the following guidelines (I say potentially as I am not an attorney):

1. Are there any rules about ads for contests or sweepstakes? Sweepstakes-type promotions that require a purchase by participants are illegal in the United States. Other agencies, including the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), also enforce federal laws governing contests and prize promotions. And each state has laws that may require promoters to make disclosures, seek licensing, or post a bond. Since state laws vary, check with the Attorney General’s Office in the state(s) in which you plan to advertise. If a contest or promotion involves telephone calls, the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule requires specific disclosures, such as the odds of winning a prize, how to participate without buying anything, and that no purchase or payment is required to win. If pay-per-call services are involved, the FTC’s 900 Number Rule requires certain disclosures. For more information, ask the FTC for the publications Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule and Complying with the 900 Number Rule.
2. FTC GUIDE CONCERNING USE OF THE WORD “FREE” AND SIMILAR REPRESENTATIONS, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/free.htm  –  §251.1 The guide. (c) Disclosure of conditions. When making “Free” or similar offers all the terms, conditions and obligations upon which receipt and retention of the “Free” item are contingent should be set forth clearly and conspicuously at the outset of the offer so as to leave no reasonable probability that the terms of the offer might be misunderstood. Stated differently, all of the terms, conditions and obligations should appear in close conjunction with the offer of “Free” merchandise or service. For example, disclosure of the terms of the offer set forth in a footnote of an advertisement to which reference is made by an asterisk or other symbol placed next to the offer, is not regarded as making disclosure at the outset. However, mere notice of the existence of a “Free” offer on the main display panel of a label or package is not precluded provided that (1) the notice does not constitute an offer or identify the item being offered “Free”, (2) the notice informs the customer of the location, elsewhere on the package or label, where the disclosures required by this section may be found, (3) no purchase or other such material affirmative act is required in order to discover the terms and conditions of the offer, and (4) the notice and the offer are not otherwise deceptive.
3. Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus41-dot-com-disclosures-information-about-online-advertising d. Displaying Disclosures Prior to Purchase — Disclosures must be effectively communicated to consumers before they make a purchase or incur a financial obligation. Disclosures are more likely to be effective if they are provided in the context of the ad, when the consumer is considering the purchase. Where advertising and selling are combined on a Web site, disclosures should be provided before the consumer makes the decision to buy, say, before clicking on an .order now. button or a link that says .add to shopping cart..

So, was this contest legal since I had to post $97 (refundable deposit) to enter?

Was this website legal since it told me if was “free” but did not make any of the terms or conditions of the offer available until after I paid money?

Was it legal to not reveal any disclosures prior to my clicking on an ‘add to cart’ button?

What do you think?

What would you do with this knowledge?

These are some of the questions I asked myself this week after receiving an email from an internet marketing company. The email itself wasn’t offensive. It was what happened after I clicked on the email. Actually, it was what happened after I signed up for the FREE seminar that made my blood curdle.

The first email of the campaign was short, simple and enticing…

Debra,

Want a chance to win $30,000??

We’ve given away iPads, trips to Costa Rica, and all sorts of stuff.

Yes, I’m a bit CRAZY, but I guess you can say I’m in love with marketing.

To find out how you can win $30,000:

CLICK HERE!!!!

Of course, I’d love to win $30,000, who wouldn’t? So I click. The sales letter page then promises me the following:

three of the top marketing powerhouses from the Infusionsoft community (Ultimate Marketer: Bob Britton, SEO Expert: Grant James, and Internet Guru: Micah Mitchell) have now joined forces and developed the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT thing a business owner needs to triple their sales and profits in 12 months or less,

The landing page goes on to claim:

“We have decided to host a special “FREE Sneak Peak, Live Event“  for the first 100 people to register.”

“you can attend WITHOUT shelling out your hard earned cash for a plane ticket, a hotel room or ANYTHING else,”

“YES! I Want To Be One Of Only 100 People To Attend This FREE Live Sneak Peek Event Into How Your Guys Systems Can Stuff An EXTRA $100,000+ Dollars This Year Into My Wallet! YES! I Also Want To Learn How I Can Win The $30,000 Cash”

Notice the use of the word free everywhere.

There was also a line that said this:

“having a one in 50 chance of winning $30,000”

If they are accepting 100 registrations, how do your odds become 1 in 50? There are no contest terms listed. No legalese at all anywhere.

Here’s the worst part…

Once you type in your name and email, they send you to a new page that says this…

“Your registration request for the “Infusion Elite Mastermind Sneak Peek Live Event” has been received, but before I can register you I first need you to pay a seat deposit of $97.”

“IMPORTANT!!: If you DO NOT pay the seat deposit, you WILL NOT receive a link for this event and you’re spot WILL NOT be reserved.”

And there is a video of the Infusionsoft Ultimate Marketing Award Winner (he makes this claim in the video) telling everyone why they need to pay $97 and they only get it back if they actually attend the event.

So they entice people with a $30,000 prize. They offer no terms and conditions regarding the contest rules. They play upon their relationship with Infusionsoft and their authority as the Ultimate Marketer of the Year. They tell you its free to join. Then after you sign up they say that you can’t complete the registration until you pay them $97.

I found this to be the type of campaign that gives internet marketers a slimy reputation. I found it to be borderline ethical and legal (deceptive advertising).

I now ask you, my readers,

What would you do?

Do you find this to be ethical?

Is this the type of role model we should be emulating?

Here’s a link if you want to check it out. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY!

Today Dan Zarrella of Hubspot dispelled many of the myths around email marketing. Based on over 1 BILLION emails sent by MailChimp, and on surveys and focus groups, Dan revealed scientific data that tells us what’s really effective with email (and what’s NOT).

The greatest email open rates

For years I’ve heard rumors that Tues, or Wednesday or Thursday were the best times to send email. But, today Dan revealed that the greatest number of open rates actually happens on Saturday and Sunday. Tuesday has the greatest unsubscribe rate and Thursday has the lowest. Most email is actually read in the morning. So 6-7 AM EST is the best time to send with the greatest click through rates. Unsubscribe rates are lowest in the afternoon. So the best time to send is very early in the morning and go ahead and send away on the weekends.

And oh, by the way, it doesn’t matter if you are marketing to a consumer or a business as most people use the same account for both.

Smart phones have changed email as 80% read their email on mobile devices. So optimize you email for ease of reading on mobile phones.

How many links can you put in an email without driving your reader to unsubscribe? Well, it turns out that the more links you have, the better. The highest unsubscribe rates happen when you only put one link in the email. The unsubscribe rate drops as you increase the number of links.

Email Reader Behavior and Open Rates

It turns out that people now use their email as an archive. They tend to save things that they consider to be reference information. So when your email contains content such as “how to” articles, data, statistics, cheat sheets, etc. they will be more likely to open and keep it.

Email readers use the subject lines and the senders name to filter their email. Who is sending the email impacts the open rate. So send your email from a name your audience will recognize and it will build trust. Or, send from a “celebrity”, someone well-known, liked and trusted by your audience.

The Most Clicked Email Subject Lines

Emails with these words in the subject lines have the highest open rates: survey, weekly, e-newsleter, series, posts, job. These are emails that are perceived to be part of a series. So serialized and label your emails whenever it makes sense.

The subject lines that are most reported as spam or abuse include words like: confirm, features, upgrade, magic, rewards, Christ, follow up, 10%, coupon, 15%, discount, savings, and offer.

Your readers are concerned about “What’s in it for me?” Give them exclusivity and make them feel special.

Email Frequency

How often should you send email? Is too often going to drive them away? You will be thrilled and relieved to know that it makes NO DIFFERENCE how often you send email! While once a month has the highest click through rate, anything over that it makes no difference on how frequently you send, the same percentage will open it. the frequency rate outweighs the significance of the open rate so SEND, SEND AWAY!

The unsubscribe rates is highest when you only send once or twice a month and goes down the more you send. Unsubscribes rates are highest in the first couple of days after subscribing. These new customers also click more than the older ones. So send your new subscribers the most email and email them frequently.

Do you fear that no one is reading? The data shows that 70% of people read most of their email. While they may not be responding, most are reading. You are leaving an impression with them.

Beware the Junk Email Box

People want real email from a real person. If they fear that there is a risk of getting junk from you, they will use their junk email box. 58% of people have a “junk” email box that they use to subscribe to lists. 42% send to their regular address. So to get them to give you their regular address help them to believe they will receive something valuable, something that makes them feel special, something they won’t want to miss.

28% of people don’t believe the unsubscribe links in the emails work, but these tend to be techies and marketers (like me). So if you are marketing to them, you will particularly need to overcome these fears and build trust.

And finally, on a social media note, most people will not forward or tweet your emails. You are far better off asking people to follow you or friend you than you are to ask them to share your emails.

If you’d like to watch the whole webinar you can do so here: http://www.hubspot.com/the-science-of-email-marketing/

Your marketing engine Attracts Your Ideal Customer so you get more leads and build your list, FAST. It automates tasks so you get leverage and speed to grow.

Your business success starts with your marketing engine. Just like an engine powers your car, your marketing engine powers your business. You need to get your word out to attract your customer. That’s pretty obvious. What most people don’t know is that you then need to provide value to them so that they raise their hand and shout “ME, ME, ME! I want what you have!” And at that moment, you capture their name and contact information.

Why do you need to capture their name and put them on your mailing list? Having their contact information in your mailing list enables you to build a relationship with them. And, as long as you are providing value to them, they will continue in the relationship.

How do you create this marketing engine that attracts just the right customer AND inspires them to raise their hand and shout out “PICK ME!”?

Let’s start with the components of that marketing engine.

At the core of your marketing “engine” is your website and blog with a form for your customer to sign up for something free, like a free report or newsletter/ezine. This is a critical piece. It is the foundation for capturing your customer’s contact information and continuing to build the relationship with them. So you need a website or blog to send your leads to and then on it you need a web form that collects their name and email address. That web form is the place your customer raises their hand and says “I want more”.

When your prospect gives you their name and email, you then add them to your mailing list so you can continue to build a relationship with them. A newsletter or ezine is the primary vehicle that builds and nurtures the ongoing relationship with your customer and keeps you in the front of their mind so that when they are ready to buy, they think of you.

Now on top of that core motor of the web page with web form and newsletter, you have layers of marketing tactics which feed that motor and make it turn. These are the tactics that attract your ideal customers to your engine and fill your mailing list. These tactics are like the gears that turn the motor of your business.

These are some of the things you learn in my “Be Found Bootcamp” which you can learn more about by listening to this free call “The 5 Keys to Attracting Your Ideal Customer” (note, here’s YOUR chance to raise your hand). On this free call I teach you how to add in gears (or marketing tactics), one at a time, and to get the gears to start turning to make your marketing engine more powerful.

Now, if you remember anything about gears, the more gears that work together, the less effort it takes to make them turn and accomplish your task. Remember that? You need to know how to add gears to your engine and get them all working together in unison so you get leverage.

You want those gears to start spinning by themselves so you can walk away and they keep working for you. They keep drawing new customers to you even though you’ve moved on to something else. You want to be able automate or even delegate those repetitive tasks.

To get leverage in your business and to free up your time to focus on your gift, your product or service, you need to think of your business like a bullet train (efficient, automated and fast) and your marketing as the engine that powers that train. That engine contains your core lead collection system and then you add marketing tactics and gears to attract your ideal customer and fuel the train. The more gears you add, and the more efficient they work, the faster your train zooms off to fulfill your dreams.