Maximizing LinkedIn for You & Your Business

“Maximizing LinkedIn for You and Your Business”:  This 2 hr seminar on April 10^th is for users ready to leverage the power of LinkedIn Marketing with tools and applications to help you reach your personal and business objectives.  We will cover all of the latest profile changes introduced for 2013 and how they enhance your online brand. Learn how to optimize your profile for search engines so that you can appear in top search results. Bonus 30 minute session on marketing with LinkedIn Pages for your company follows.  4/10 from 2:00-4:00/4:30 at the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce.  For more info and to register click HERE.

C3 gifts one Free LinkedIn Profile Review each month. February winner: Chrissann Ruehle

Enter the monthly drawing  for a LinkedIn Profile Make-over and 30 minute phone consult HERE.

Visit our website for more information on strategic social media marketing services provided by C3:  HERE

Social Media Marketing Seminars Coming to the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce

C3 Social Media Marketing Seminars in Cincinnati

C3. Creating Connections Consulting, in partnership with the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, is bringing two key social media for business seminars to the Anderson Center in March and April of 2013.

Join C3 and the AACC on Wednesday, March 13th for “Maximizing Social Media Marketing for your Business: An Introduction to Digital” from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. at the Anderson Center in Anderson Township (7850 Five Mile Road, Cincinnati, OH  45230).

 “Maximizing LinkedIn” will be held at the same location on Wednesday, April 10th from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. There will be a FREE 30 minute bonus seminar on Marketing with LinkedIn Company Pages from 4:00-4:30 p.m.

Join social media strategist and former P&G marketer, Michelle Beckham-Corbin as she takes the class from possibilities to execution steps.  Register early as space is limited. We will be in the large conference room of the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce located in the Anderson Center on Five Mile Road.

Register for the Social Media Marketing Seminar here: 

Register for the LinkedIn Seminar here:

 Or Call C3 at 513-445-2180 for more information.

www.CreatingConnectionsConsulting.com

Here’s what others are saying about Michelle’s seminars:

“Michelle is a high-energy person who is exudes a passion for business and personal development. Her enthusiasm for utilizing social media as a tool for strategic marketing is contagiously energizing.

Having graduated with an undergraduate and MBA degree from Xavier, Michelle is continually seeking opportunities to give back to the university. Recently she demonstrated her expertise in strategic marketing and social media by presenting her methodology to university students, alumni, faculty, and business partners during the 2nd Annual “Career Campaign” offered by the Professional Development Center in the Williams College of Business. As a strong and engaging presenter Michelle quickly connected with attendees as she walked them through a step by step plan for developing their on-line presence. Michelle’s outreach to attendees continues beyond the classroom when she offers her contact information and urges others to get LinkedIn with her.”

~Cheryl Wilson, Career Development Coordinator, Williams College of  Business- Xavier University.

Cincinnati Social Media Marketing Training w/ C3

Upcoming opportunities for social media marketing education:

All courses taught by Michelle Beckham-Corbin.

Michelle Beckham-Corbin, President & Chief Digital Marketing Strategist of C3: Creating Connections Consulting, LLC has over 20 years experience in the Corporate, Non-profit and Small Business sectors.  Michelle is a former Sales & Marketing Manager for Procter & Gamble and holds an MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Michelle specializes in Social Media Marketing Strategy and Brand Development.  She is a Board Trustee for the non-profit group Authentic Leadership Cincinnati and is the Social Media for Business Curriculum Creator and Instructor at the Warren County Career Center, a University System of Ohio Provider. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the digital networking group, New Media Cincinnati and is an active member of the Cincinnati Social Media (CincySM) Group. Michelle is a frequent speaker, lecturer and trainer.  Additionally, she is a published writer, co-author of Social Media book, Age of Conversation 3 (Channel V Books, New York, 2010), frequent commentator and Blogger. She brings great energy and passion as well as a keen ability to deeply connect with people in order to create business building social media opportunities for her clients.

April 16^th:  Surviving in an Online World: Reputation Management for Teens

Location: Forest Hills School District:  Anderson High School (closed to the public)

April 17^th:  Social Media Trends Rocking 2012

Noon-1:00 p.m.

Location:  Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce Marketing Roundtable

Register here: http://bit.ly/HC3B1e

April 18^th: LinkedIn Training

1:00-4:00 p.m.

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

April 19^th:  Introduction to Social Media Marketing

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room, Mason

Register here: http://c3introsocialmedia.eventbrite.com/

April 23^rd:  LinkedIn 101 for Women

1:00-2:30 p.m.

Location:  C3 HQ, Anderson Township

Register here:  http://creatingconnectionsconsulting.com/social-media-training-classesmichelle-beckham/social-media-classes-linkedin-michellebeckham/

April 25^th:  Facebook Page Timeline Marketing

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

April 26^th:  TEDx- Xavier University

1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Location:  Cintas Center, Xavier University

Register here:  http://www.xavier.edu/williams/tedx/rsvp.cfm

Tony Robbins TED Talk: “Why We Do What We Do and How We Can Do It Better”

April 26^th: Living in an Online World: Internet Safety for Kids

7:00-8:30 p.m.

Callahan & Associates at Stir

Available to Callahan clients only

April 30^th:  Facebook Page Timeline Marketing

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room, Mason

Register here:  http://c3faceook4arts.eventbrite.com/

May 8^th:  Digital Branding & Job Search

12:30-2:00 p.m.

Location:  University of Cincinnati- Clermont

Open to UC students only

May 10th: Advanced LinkedIn Marketing Strategies

9:00 a.m.-noon

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

May 16^th:  Google and Search Engine Optimization

9:00-11:00 a.m.

Location:  Warren County Career Center

Register here:  http://www.mywccc.org/SocialMediaWorkshops.aspx

May 16^th:  Marketing with Pinterest

1:30-3:30 p.m.

Location: Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room

Register here:  http://c3pinterest.eventbrite.com/

May 23rd: Advanced Facebook Page Marketing

9:00 a.m.-noon

Location:  Deerfield Township Trustee Meeting Room, Mason

Register here:  http://advfacebookmarketing.eventbrite.com/

Contact us with any questions:  info@CreatingConnectionsConsulting.com OR  513-445-2180

Cincinnati Area LinkedIn Training

LinkedIn is a dynamic professional networking site and is used by over 120 million people around the world. Every professional and business or organization should have a profile on LinkedIn.  It is much more than a repository for your resume; rather, it’s a living, breathing community that can make a difference in your business or career. The benefits of being a member of LinkedIn include making professional connections; knowledge sharing with others in your industry; discovering business-building opportunities, networking and professional training events, as well as job openings and so much more!

C3, in partnership with the Warren County Career Center in Lebanon, Ohio, will be offering two different levels of LinkedIn workshops in November.  WCCC is a University System of Ohio Provider.

LinkedIn I Basics- Hands-on Lab Workshop

is for those who are new to LinkedIn or have a dormant profile and want to become active.  The course covers everything you need to know to have a stellar profile plus:

• Optimizing your Profile for Search Engines (SEO)
• Personal branding and the critical Summary Statement
• Key profile settings
• The correct way to send Introductions
• Maximizing the search function to find the information that you need
• How to successfully obtain personal recommendations
• LinkedIn Etiquette

This course will be held in our computer lab and access to a PC is included.  Remember to bring your log-in information.

• November 16^th: 1:30-3:30 p.m.
• Cost:  $99

Register here. Or call 513-932-8145.

LinkedIn II: Advanced Marketing Strategies

is an advanced class for those who have a completed LinkedIn profile and want to become proficient at leveraging all of the tools and applications that LinkedIn offers in order to build business and make strategic connections. Emphasis is on using Linkedin vs. creating a personal profile. The course also covers corporate use of LinkedIn from company profile creation to advanced search techniques for industry and business. We examine the paid membership options so you can make informed decisions about your level of membership and use of the platform.

Live demonstrations.

• November 30^th: 10:00 a.m.-Noon
• Cost: $69

Register here. Or call 513-932-8145.

Love to see you in one of the workshops!

Managing Online Communities

Community- image credit: Michelle Beckham

Connecting with people is my passion and always has been (hence the name of my company) and it always amazes me when businesses are apprehensive about connecting with their online communities.  I see this many times through the Facebook Page Marketing workshops that I teach in the Cincinnati area. Page administrators are a bit nervous to engage in conversations for fear that something may come up that they can’t handle.

A business owner in my most recent workshop asked if he should immediately delete negative comments posted to the wall of his retail company page.  My immediate answer was NO! One needs to step back and think about how they would handle the situation if the patron was at their place of business. The disgruntled customer would not be ignored or dismissed; instead, store personnel would ignite customer service 101 principles and handle the situation appropriately. This is the same thing with Facebook. A negative comment is a chance to put customer service into effect and to handle the situation publicly so that others can see how you operate.  Chances are the comment will have hit news feeds and the cloud before you can delete it anyway, and then you are left with a negative image that you will have to deal with later.

The exception to dealing with these types of comments in a professional and customer service oriented way is if the comments are clearly put out there by “trolls” . A troll is defined by Wikipedia as:

“..someone who posts inflammatory,^[2]extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response^[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.”

Troll comments should be deleted and the Page admin can still make some statements to the community to explain why the action was taken. Might even be a great time to set up some community Page rules and post them in the Notes Tab in order to stay static or if your budget allows, create a custom Tab where your rules will be prominently seen under your Page Profile Pic or Banner. Coca Cola does a great job of posting their “House Rules” as a custom Tab. Take a look here. C3 makes custom tabs at reasonable prices. Check our website for more information.

The goal to having an online presence should be connecting with your customers and potential customers by creating signature experiences and opportunities for needed content that only you can provide. There certainly is a lot that goes into managing a Facebook Page and its corresponding online community, but once an administrator receives training on how to  effectively market the Page and build a following, then a little advice from community managers who are rocking it out online would certainly be helpful.

I happened to stumble upon this great FREE eBook on Google+ (thanks Mike Alber for posting). It shares 60 tips from community managers across the globe that can help you to be effective with your online engagement. The eBook was created by Blaise Grimes-Viort and appeared in this blog post.  Blaise states:

“If you enjoy it, please feel free to share it with someone else you think would benefit from the pearls of Community Management wisdom found within.”

So in the spirit of sharing great work, here it is (click on image or link below):

eBook created by Blaise Grimes-Viort- photo credit: Blaise Grimes-Viort

60 Insights From Experienced Community Managers

Enjoy!

Michelle Beckham-Corbin

Social Media Strategist

World of Mouth Begins With Personal Circles

Small business owners do a worthy job in connecting with clients and potential customers through their marketing efforts, but where they can fall short is when their personal networks are neglected. Many people find it uncomfortable to keep their friends and family in the loop of what is occurring with their business.  There is a sense that if you are already in my inner circle, you must certainly know what it is that my company does or what my role is. Unfortunately osmosis and transfer of information does not occur and very few people have clairvoyant capabilities.

Recently I have had several encounters with friends and professional colleagues, who while knowing what I do in general, really were rather clueless in terms of the full services that my company provides and the depth of my experience and background. I preach to clients constantly that we are living in a “World of Mouth” universe; it only makes sense that I practice what I preach by updating my personal network on my company capabilities. To do anything less, would be counter to what I believe and that is that peer recommendations from trusted sources are key influencers to purchase behavior.

In the spirit of sharing, please find the latest C3 Newsletter below. It contains an article that talks about the heart of C3 and our social media marketing services.  I plan to have monthly Open House sessions on Google+ Hangouts for people to stop by and chat about burning social media and business questions. Stay tuned for more information!

C3 Services- Click on image for full newsletter.

Until we meet again, stay happy & healthy!

Michelle

Chief Social Media Strategist and Founder of C3: Creating Connections Consulting, LLC
Procter & Gamble Sales & Marketing Veteran (15 yrs)
Xavier University, MBA

Cincinnati Facebook Page Marketing Workshop

CAN YOUR CUSTOMERS FIND YOU ON FACEBOOK?

Even if your business or organization has a Facebook Page, are you truly leveraging Facebook Marketing capabilities to create a dynamic Fan base that drives customers/clients to action? Are you on top of the many changes Facebook has made over the past few weeks that could affect your Page?

Announcing the Facebook Page Marketing for Businesses and Organizations Workshop, a hands-on computer lab class that will allow you to work with YOUR  Facebook Page to learn how to fully optimize settings, create content and foster engagement as we discuss strategies that are unique for your business.

Facebook Marketing has exploded and is being used by corporate brands, small businesses and non-profits all over the world to connect with and engage their clients and customers. Gain the competitive edge by learning how to leverage this important social networking tool. Don’t just have a Page in name, have a Page that builds community and becomes a destination point for your fans!

The workshop covers the following topics:

• Page Settings Optimization
• Custom Landing Pages/Tabs
• Building a Strategic Fan Base
• Creating Winning Engagement Strategies
• Content Creation & Management
• Cross-Marketing via Tagging
• Marketing the Page outside of Facebook
• Using Facebook Ads
• Understanding how to monitor & measure using analytics
• October 2011 changes (Timeline, ‘People Are Talking About This’, News feed & algorithm changes)

C3 Facebook Page Customization Example

The workshop will be held on October 18th from 9:30 a.m.-Noon at the Warren County Career Center.

Laptops will be provided for the workshop and participants will receive a training manual. Group discussion surrounding strategy for each participant’s industry is also included and has been cited by previous participants as a very helpful component of the workshop.

This workshop sells out every time!  Register here to grab your seat.

Hope to see you there!

Facebook Page Marketing w/ Google+ Bonus

Can Your Customer’s Find YOU on Facebook?

C3: Creating Connections Consulting, LLC Facebook Page -Mobile

Even if you have a Facebook Page, are you truly leveraging Facebook marketing capabilities to create a dynamic Fan base that drives customers/clients to action?

Announcing the Facebook Page Marketing for Businesses and Organizations Workshop, a hands-on computer lab class that will allow you to work with your own Facebook Page as we discuss strategies that are unique for your industry at the state-of-the-art computer lab at The METS Center for Corporate Learning in Northern Kentucky.

Facebook Marketing has exploded and is being used by corporate brands, small businesses and non-profits all over the world to connect with and engage their clients and customers. Gain the competitive edge by learning how to leverage this important social networking tool.  Don’t just have a Page in name, have a Page that builds community and becomes a destination point for your fans!  

The class will be held on Tuesday, August 30th from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. with a FREE Bonus Introductory Session on the latest social networking craze: Google+ from 11:00-11:30 a.m.

This class will be limited in size to maximize the hands-on learning and discussion among the group. We will cover the following topics:

• Page Settings Optimization
• Administrator Capabilities
• Custom Landing Pages/Tabs
• Building a Strategic Fan Base
• Creating Engagement Strategies
• Creating Winning Content Strategy
• Tagging for Cross-Marketing
• Messaging Fans
• Marketing the Page
• Page Analytics

Click here for more information and to register for this class. Previous C3 workshops on Facebook Marketing have sold out. Don’t wait, register now and save $20 with the early bird discount while seats are available.

Hope to see you in the Facebook Marketing Class. Where else can you go to actively learn how to leverage your company or brand Facebook Page?

Can’t make this class, see the C3 Website for a list of Social Media for Business classes for the remainder of 2011. I will also be speaking to local businesses at The Secrets to Small and Medium Business Growth Seminar hosted by The Berry Company, publisher of the Cincinnati Bell Yellow Pages. This is a wonderful free event for businesses to come and learn more about how digital media can help you connect with customers and grow your business.

Details:  8/18 from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at the Cintas Center-Xavier University. Click here for more information.

Cincinnati Social Media For Business Intermediate Level Workshop

I am very excited to be back next month (April) with another installment of the Social Media For Business Workshop Series in partnership with the Warren County Career Center, a University System of Ohio Provider. The next workshop will be held on April 12th from 1:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. and is an intermediate level workshop: Building Your Business/Non-Profit With Social Media: Welcome to the R(E)volution!

March showcased two courses for local businesses and non-profits: an introductory social media course and a hands-on LinkedIn Lab training class. March participants ranged from professional practices in the health and wellness fields, traditional retail businesses, mortgage companies and  educational institutions: quite a variety of backgrounds!  All desired the same outcome: to learn more about the various social media platforms that exist today.

The introductory class was a broad overview of seven platforms, while the April class takes participants to a more in-depth view on four key platforms: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google.  We will be examining important strategies and measures for each tool and discussing the integration of social media into a full marketing program.

If you are ready to go beyond mere familiarity and want to gain a true understanding of how these tools can impact your business, then this class is for you.  Space is limited and many of the March workshop participants signed on for this next level after having a great experience in the introductory workshop, so register soon if you want to secure a space.

Here’s what some of the Intro to Social Media participants had to say about the program:

I enjoyed both of your presentations and am looking forward to the next two!  Thanks again for your expertise and enthusiasm….”

~Jim F.

“Great job! Great information! Thank you.  I plan to be a pioneer, and I think your seminars are going to be what gets me there.  I’ll see you next month!”

~Julie L.

So what are you waiting for?

Follow this link for additional information and registration for the April 12th workshop:  Building Your Business/Non-Profit With Social Media: Welcome to the R(E)volution!

Bonus Video below discusses recent Facebook changes to Pages (Business Profiles):