So you own a business and a website, but you’re wondering what all the talk about blogging is and if blogging for a business is something for you. First we need to understand what a blog is. A blog for a business has two characteristics. First, a blog for a business is easy to create and publish and second it allows readers to give feedback or become part of a discussion. In most aspects a blog (post) has a lot of the characteristics of a web page. The biggest difference is a blog is dynamic, most web pages are static.
So why would a business want a blog. First, if you want traffic to your website, blogs are the way to go. Search engines love new content, and if you create a blog that discusses stuff that interests your potential buyers, you can build a community having conversations on your website, with your advertising and your ability to control the direction to some extent. Blogs can also be a tool for your company to communicate your company policies, recent events and decisions
Items to think about:
I DON’T HAVE TIME- Actually you should be saying “I DON’T HAVE TIME NOT TO”. Like it or not, the web and blogs are the future, embrace it now or get left behind so get creative. So here are some suggestions:
Thou shalt leave a valid comment on posts you deem worthy.
Share updates, photos, videos, and more.
Start conversations about the things you find interesting.
Automatically follow the people you email and chat with the most in Gmail.
Publish your ideas to the world or just to your closest friends.
Comments get sent right to your inbox so it’s easy to keep the conversation going.
See thumbnails with each post, and browse full-screen photos from popular sites.
Import your stuff from Twitter, Picasa, Flickr, and Google Reader.
New posts and comments pop in as they happen. No refresh required.
Buzz recommends interesting posts and weeds out ones you’re likely to skip.
See buzz around you and tag posts with your location.
Point your phone’s browser to: buzz.google.com
Compliments International is so excited to launch a new website for the number 1 communications course in the world, Social Styles! www.socialstyles.com
The #1 Communications Tool goes Mobile March 1st
The original SOCIAL STYLE profile has been in use for over 45 years and is the NUMBER1 tool in the world for understanding human behavior. Training courses that incorporate the profile cover a large variety of areas including: interpersonal skills, leadership, management development / supervisory development, sales management, sales skills, team development / team building, communication skills, parenting and family marriage relationships.
So what are SOCIAL STYLE? From the original research conducted in the 1960’s and thousands of hours of refinement and research over the last 45+ years scientists have found that people could be described by a combination of three scales. First, Assertiveness which is the effort a person makes to influence the thinking and actions of others (Does a person Ask or Tell in interactions). Second, Responsiveness which is the extent to which a person reacts readily to influence or stimulation with a display of feelings (Does a person Control or Display emotions). Third, Versatility which is a type of social endorsement based, in part, on the extent to which others see the individual as competent, adaptable and behaving appropriately.
Assertiveness and Responsiveness combine to describe the four behavioral styles (Driving, Expressive, Amiable and Analytical) of an individual or how someone is wired. Versatility is a measure of the extent to which a person appears to be working to make relationships mutually productive or how they adapt to other peoples SOCIAL STYLE.
Of the three components, Responsiveness, Assertiveness and Versatility – Versatility is the most unfixed and changeable. Whereas Assertiveness and Responsiveness tend to be more consistent aspects of style, Versatility can change across time and circumstances. Of the three components, Versatility is the most amenable to training and development, and the one that is most important for earning the endorsement of coworkers, family members and others.
Because Versatility is such an important and trainable concept it is at the foundation of the SOCIAL STYLE training and programs. Whether you are interacting with a child, parent, significant other, boss, client, peer, subordinate or any other individual the most successful people in life are those that can recognize and adapt communications to other peoples SOCIAL STYLE. THAT is what SOCIAL STYLE is all about, giving individuals the ability and power to tailor communications to maximize productivity and fulfillment in business and in life.
So how does SOCIAL STYLE compare to other popular behavioral assessments and communication tools. A Colardo State University research study in conjuction with Regis Learning Solutions found people retained 34% more information than Myers Briggs and 18% more than DiSC. Another benefit was SOCIAL STYLE participants we almost 4 times more likely to recognize others social style than Myers Briggs and 1.5 times greater than Disc.
7 Ways to Get More Out of LinkedIn
7 Ways to Get More Out of LinkedIn
LinkedIn, which recently reached the 50 million user milestone, has long been considered the social networking site for professionals. If you’re in business, it is basically expected that you have a profile there.
Some media reports claim that because organizations can use any criteria they want to make hiring decisions, photo avatars provide companies with information they may not have otherwise known about you based on a resume alone and could actually hurt you more than help. But, not including a photo with a social networking profile flies in the face of conventional wisdom when your goal is to build relationships and community.
Eric B. Meyer, an associate in the labor and employment group of Dilworth Paxson LLP, reminds us that when using a professional networking site such as LinkedIn, “don’t give a potential employer an easy excuse to remove you from consideration. Use a professional headshot and scrap the picture of you doing a keg-stand.”
1. Include a Photo Avatar
He adds that “an employer may not discriminate when selecting one job applicant over another. For example, an employer may not base a hiring decision on such things as race, religion, gender, and national origin. Although actually proving an employer made a discriminatory hiring decision may be difficult.” Businesses who engage in hiring discrimination are the exception, not the rule. Just remember, by using an avatar, you will be providing information about yourself a prospective employer may not have otherwise obtained on its own.
While we might be inclined to say quality is better than quantity, it could be possible that the number of connections you have says something about you. Greg Koutsis, corporate and international channel recruiter for Aplicor LLC, says, “if someone has 20-50+ connections then I know they probably check LinkedIn at least once a week. If someone has 1-19 then I realize they probably either haven’t begun to pop the hood and look inside or gotten past the initial threshold of their friends, family and past colleagues. They might be a great prospect for me to reach out to but this might not be the best use of my time. This combined with the profile they have listed lets me realize quickly if I am wasting my time with someone who has no interest or trust in LinkedIn.”
So you might say to yourself, if small numbers in the connection department signal you’re a novice, do large numbers mean you’ll connect with just about anyone? Koutsis says not necessarily. “I do not believe there’s a maximum number of connections that makes someone look like they will just connect with anyone. LinkedIn only shows 500 then adds the + sign after the 500 so you never really do know how many more than 500 connections someone has until you connect with them.”
Once you complete your profile, there aren’t a lot of places to make regular updates in LinkedIn. The one space where you can keep your connections informed is the status updates section.
linkedin-recommendations
Lori Burke, director of human resources at Neighborhood America, explains that updates are not only an interesting read, but very valuable. “I’ve found new networking groups I may not have thought about [via status updates]. Additionally, it allows me to learn what others are involved with or in, who they may be connected to, etc. In total, it widens the scope of knowledge for me.”
A terrific feature of LinkedIn is the ability to provide recommendations. This is a place for your connections to comment about your work. Recommendations can be thought of as beefed up thank you cards. Instead of telling one person how you feel, you’re telling the world that person does good work.
It’s important to get good solid recommendations and Meyer offers some thoughts on how to do that. First, “think about who knows you best. It could be a co-worker or manager. It could also be a client or customer for whom you just did an incredible job on a huge project. If you seek a recommendation from a client or customer, be polite and remember to thank the person who gives you the recommendation.”
A terrific feature of LinkedIn is the ability to provide recommendations. This is a place for your connections to comment about your work. Recommendations can be thought of as beefed up thank you cards. Instead of telling one person how you feel, you’re telling the world that person does good work. It’s important to get good solid recommendations and Meyer offers some thoughts on how to do that. First, “think about who knows you best. It could be a co-worker or manager. It could also be a client or customer for whom you just did an incredible job on a huge project. If you seek a recommendation from a client or customer, be polite and remember to thank the person who gives you the recommendation.”
Then, “If you are going to seek a recommendation from a co-worker or manager, keep a few things in mind. Many employers have written policies against giving out anything other than neutral job references to current and former employees. These policies generally focus on giving recommendations, as opposed to seeking them. Still, as a courtesy to the person in your company from whom you seek a recommendation, just be sensitive to your company’s neutral reference policy.”
Your LinkedIn profile should not just be an online version of your resume, optimizing for search engines is key. The format of your LinkedIn profile might depend on whether you are currently employed and whether or not you are seeking new opportunities, says Koutsis. “If you are looking for a new position then you might want your profile to look more like a resume, but maybe not so much if I am currently employed.”
Burke doesn’t mind if the full content of the resume is on the profile as it can be helpful when searching for candidates. However, it is a bonus “when I find networkers who have added more content than you might find in a resume, such as a link to their portfolio.”
When filling out your profile, you should think about your goals for the type of networking you hope to get done. Also, since LinkedIn has the ability to search any word in the content, both Burke and Koutsis suggest listing all relevant keywords at the bottom of your profile if you want to be found easier.
Use Groups to Expand Your Reach
Groups are a beneficial networking tool and a great way to expand your network. Koutsis says that he doesn’t look at what groups a person belongs to when he’s searching for candidates but he does find potential resources using the groups function.
However, Meyer reminds us it’s possible to be viewed in a negative light based upon group membership. “For some time now, many employers are going beyond simply running a criminal background check in order to vet job applicants. Employers may be Googling candidates, checking out their public postings on Facebook, reviewing tweets on Twitter, and scrutinizing LinkedIn profiles. In a down economy — as in any economy, really — employers want to fill job openings with the best possible candidates.”
Today’s rule of thumb should be that anything you post in an online profile may as well be listed on your resume or bio. If you belong to a LinkedIn group that is inconsistent with the business image you wish to portray, then that could be a challenge for you. Meyer shared with me the example of belonging to a group called “The Deer Hunters” while applying for a position with an animal rights group (let’s just say, good luck with that).
Burke believes that accounts should be kept separate. “I believe that this strategy allows me to keep my professional personae separate from my personal. Case in point was the one time I posted a social media article to both applications. My Facebook family and friends found the information of little value to them and I believe the same may be true in reverse. However, I will post general information about me (i.e., speaking engagements) with both networks. In essence, it depends on the content,” she says.
On the other hand, Lance Haun, vice president of outreach at MeritBuilder, explains that LinkedIn is “a snapshot of your life at the time you updated your profile so including Twitter, Facebook, or a blog helps to add living context to your profile.” With the lines between work and life being blurred, posting something business related at 1:00 PM and a picture of a cat at 1:00 AM helps “bring the picture of a person together completely.”
In the end, Koutsis asks, “if people see no reason after viewing your profile to connect with you, then why did you reach out to them in the first place?” The most important thing we can do is create a complete and compelling profile. Because the bottom line is the value proposition you propose when you try to connect with someone on LinkedIn.
Story Credit: Sharlyn Lauby
How to Dramatically Increase Your Online Closing Ratios & Make A Lot More Money -With Special Guest Presenter, Jim Fortin
“The Art And Science Zero Effort Selling®: How You Can Use NeuroPersuasion® to Dramatically Increase Your Online Closing Ratios and Make A Lot More Money.”
- Have you checked your stats and realized that you’re getting visitors but no sales?
- How often do you think, “Geez, I’m getting them to the site, but I’m just not converting them, what am I missing?”
- Or, have you been steadily making sales and doing OK, but you haven’t been able to take your business or your profits to that “next level?”
If ANY of these challenges has caused you to lose sales and money in the past, then you’re going to want to attend!
Most people are shocked to learn that all the above has happened to them for just one reason: That reason is because you’ve been taught to sell backwards. Yes, you read that correctly. You have been taught wrong.
What almost no one knows is that all buying decisions are first made at an unconscious level –both in person and on the web. When you finally understand how the brain/mind works and how your prospects and clients unconsciously decide to buy from you (or not), you will then have a huge advantage over your competition and you can then dramatically improve your own online closing ratios.
In this powerhouse webinar, Introduction to Zero Effort Selling, you’re going to begin learning the art and science of Zero Effort Selling using NeuroPersuasion.®
“I have been one of Zig Ziglar’s presenters, and I’ve never seen persuasion tools this powerful.” Patrick Dougher, Trainer/Speaker – patrickdougher.com (website designed by compliments international.com)
NeuroPersuasion® was created by Jim Fortin, and it’s a cutting-edge (and easy to use) synthesis of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Neuro Science and Advanced Clinical Hypnotic language patterns. You’ll discover that this webinar will help you to quickly understand how people unconsciously make decisions. With that information you can now be more persuasive and influential in closing more business in person and online.
“I would have paid $1000 for Jim’s one-page reference guide alone. Zero Effort Selling will make me at least an additional $30,000 this quarter.” Brian Johnston, Temecula, CA. johnstonsearch.com
Come enjoy just one short hour with Jim and you will:
· Learn how to motivate the 95% of the brain that is unconscious – and the part of the brain that determines if people buy from you or not. (You’ll learn how to understand what subconsciously drives your prospects. If you’ve read this far…this part of your brain has already been activated to keep you reading.)
· Learn why selling features and benefits may actually be costing you sales. (If you’re like most people, you’ll think “This makes perfect sense, why didn’t other programs teach me this?”)
· Psychologically associate what you’re selling with what your customer wants. (Just like the psychology of conditioning behind Pavlov’s Dog – People will respond to you – automatically. The more you use this technique, the more you’ll be amazed at how well it works for you.)
· Learn to create “expectations” in the mind of your customers and have them automatically believe what you tell them. (People believe what they’re told 84% of the time. You’re going to love this technique and want to use it all the time.)
· Unconsciously link your product or service to your customer’s deepest level of thinking. (If you’re the kind of person who wants to close more business, then this will be the most powerful unconscious closing technique you will learn on this webinar – I guarantee it.)
· And so much more that you’ll be simply amazed with the volume, quality and immediate usefulness of the information you’re about to learn. (This program is just one hour. It will change the way you sell.)
This is two hours of cutting edge information that you’re going to find extremely valuable. And, it is the easiest way to get your teeth into NeuroPersuasion® with zero risk and just a small commitment of time on your part.
There are only 1000 lines available on this call – and this program will fill quickly and to capacity. There will be no Q&A, but it is an hour of amazingly powerful information that you can use right away to sell more.
The fact that you’ve even read this far means that you’re looking for faster and easier ways to close more business – quicker. So, click here to register and start selling more.
“Jim, I’m going through the course for a second time. Genius! I’m starting to implement a lot of it. Amazing results. Powerful! You’ve got gold here.” Brock Predovich, Canon City, CO. brockpredovich.com
“In the six years that I’ve worked for this company, we’ve never sold as much as we have until we used your program Zero Effort Selling.” Shane Chartrand
Bring friends…. they will thank you!
If you have never been to Business Blitz… now’s the Time!!! Get started on the right foot… NOW!
We are here to help you decrease sales cycles and increase closing ratios!!!
This is the 2 hours that our group commits to working ON your business and not IN your business.
Come take advantage of a wealth of knowledge and experience, great people and networking and TACTICAL APPLICATION WORK for your business:
http://www.meetup.com/businessblitz/calendar/12487901/
We have limited space this week, so, you MUST RSVP to reserve your spot.
COST:
$25 for Non-Members (you do not have a membership card)
$15 for Members (you must present a valid membership card at the door to get the member rate)
Both, Include Lunch!
We work very hard to keep our prices extremely low by negotiating with our hotel partners, however it is possible they may change if the hotel increases the rateor if we do not have enough guests to keep the member rate low. You can help by inviting your colleagues, clients and friends… thank you!
http://www.meetup.com/businessblitz/calendar/12487901/
See you on Friday! We greatly appreciate your efforts in bringing guests to the training programs and promoting the event through your social networks.
Business Blitz and Compliments Team
Tired of delivering the typical stream of status updates on Twitter? Why not try some of the following ideas for other things you can do with the service?
Thanks to an open API and a philosophy of interconnectivity, Twitter’s vast array of third-party services has you covered on a number of alternative uses for the famed microbloggin
g tool. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
A service called FileSocial provides a great way to send files smaller than 50 MB. Simply sign-in with your Twitter credentials to share your file with all your followers. FileSocial uses OAuth to log you in, which is more secure than asking for your Twitter username and password.
If you want to send a person-to-person file privately, check out FileTwt. You’ll have to sign up for an account on the site to enable private file-sharing up to 20 MB in size. The downside is they don’t use OAuth for authentication.
Exchange Business Cards
Routinely running out of those business cards made of dead trees? Work in an industry where almost everyone you meet is on Twitter? Check out twtBizCard, a simple service that lets you set up an electronic business card that can be easily tweeted to your new contacts by sending them an @reply with the hastag #twtBizCard.
When you sign up, the service will pull in the data from your Twitter profile as starter information, and you can add other details to customize your card.
Share Images
The media-specific Twitter tools abound, with a goodly number of options available for image sharing here too. Perhaps the “classic” service here is Twitpic, but even beyond image hosting services there are a number of alternative methods for sharing photos on Twitter by SMS, email and more.
To this list we’d also like to add that Flickr added Twitter posting earlier this summer as well, so if you already use Flickr to host your image collection, this is a great way to also share photos to Twitter in one fell swoop.
Share Videos
To round out the media-specific categories, there are also third party services lining up to help you share video on Twitter as well. From TwitVid.io to Tweetube (which handles other sharing duties as well), there’s probably a service out there to cover your needs.
We’d also like to add TwitVid.com and 12seconds.TV to that list. The latter perhaps obviously limits you to only 12 seconds’ worth of video, but it meshes well with the spirit of Twitter’s 140 character homage to brevity.
Screencast
Looking for a one-stop shop to whip up a quick screencast and distribute it on Twitter? Check out Screenr, a screencast tool with seamless Twitter integration.
You have 5 minutes to record your videos including the ability to pause and restart, and you can preview the screencast before sending it out.
Find a Job
This is sure to be a popular one in today’s economy, or lack thereof. No single service will seal the deal for you.
From finding new people to follow in your industry to making use of tools like TweetMyJobs, Twitter offers an unprecedented chance to find out about new opportunities and connect with potential employers in real-time.
© Copyright 2010 - - - - -Compliments International, LLC - 1-877-839-1122 - info@complimentsinternational.com - Offices located in Dallas, TX and Seattle, WA - - - - - - Visit www.JenniferBagley.com to book one of the best technology and social media speakers in the US.
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