“Maximizing LinkedIn for You and Your Business”: This 2 hr seminar on April 10th 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
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 FREE30 minute bonusseminar 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:
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.
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.
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.
Giving Keynote talk on Importance of Social Media Strategy at Berry Seminar ~photo via Berry
I recently gave a Keynote Address on the Importance of Social Media Strategy to 250 small businesses from the Cincinnati Region at Xavier University’s Cintas Center on behalf of The Berry Company. I wanted to share the gist of my talk here on the Blog. The presentation was taped, and once receive a copy from Berry, I will post that as well. It includes a Q & A session.
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“We don’t have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it“.
This quote from Socialnomics author and digital media expert Erik Qualman is even more telling today than when originally published in 2009. Today, Businesses realize that they need to have an online presence. Like it or not, we are living in an online world with current and future customers and clients who have grown up with this technology and for whom interacting with brands on Twitter and Facebook is just second nature.
With the advent of Social media, Small businesses are seeing a leveled playing field, where they have the ability to the same platforms as the big companies and brands. The R(e)volution has begun and the time is now for your organization to get on board with reaching your target audience where they reside: ONLINE
Social Media Platforms ~ photo via Mashable
For those of you who currently maintain a social media presence for your company, you can attest to the fact that it can seem overwhelming. There are many digital media and social networking choices for a company to use. The key is in understanding what the tools are, how they work, and how to maximize them for your business.
Stratgey This is all part of setting a distinct strategy for your online marketing efforts.
Having spent 15 years with consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble in sales and marketing roles, I can tell you that having a Branding Strategy is absolutely critical in your marketing efforts. I’d like to share an exercise that I use with my clients to ensure consistency and clarity around their brand or business’s online marketing efforts.
C3 Branding Strategy Exercise
After these questions are answered, the results are formulated into a summary statement that describes the brand. This statement becomes fodder for all Social/Digital platforms that are used ensuring a constant message and image is being shared across all channels no matter where a potential customer may find you online.
Having a social media presence goes well beyond just setting up the various platforms. Social Media is much, much more. It includes the following critical elements:
Key Tenets to Social Media Success by Michelle Beckham of C3
Creating Signature Experiences- providing an online experience that is memorable, fitting to your brand, and brings the customer back to you
Creating Needed Content- we are no longer living in a Broadcast state, nor one with static information- instead a successful brand will provide content that is Needed by consumers. Don’t know what that is? Just ask them!
Conversations- It’s all about the dialogue and sharing of information between the brand and the consumer. We are no longer living in a Word of Mouth society, but are permanent residents in the new World of Mouth universe.
Engagement- Consists of providing content that sparks some touch. Whether it’s a comment, a Like, a Re-Tweet, or a +1 on Google Plus. When the consumer takes action, that touch has a ripple affect seeping into their own social graph and spreading news of your brand throughout their network.
Relationships- This is what is achieved by implementing focused content and engagement strategies and being fully present on the platform. The worst thing any business can do is, set up the Open Sign and be permanently out to lunch.
When we take a look at how some national and local businesses are winning in the market place in these key areas, we find a variety of tools that you can implement as well. They include examples from (see video to hear about the specifics for each example):
Red Bull,Ford Mustang, Dunkin Donuts, Coco-Cola, Chick-Fil-A- Western Hills, It’s Working Out Suspension Training, Cincinnati, Ben & Jerry’s, P&G’s Old Spice Brand, Shane Gibson, owner of a Canadian Social Media Agency and author of Guerilla Social Media Marketing.
The key to an effective social media strategy is crafting a plan that integrates best practices with a mission and vision for each platform.
The first step on this journey is to become educated on Social Media, even if someone else in your organization will be ultimately responsible for managing your online real estate. Social Media is a constantly changing landscape and it pays off to stay informed.
Know your audience and where they reside, this will help you to determine the best platform(s) to reach your consumers. Knowing the correct number of platforms to be engaged in can seem overwhelming, having a strategist assist you in the process can be well worth the expense. I love social media marketing executive and author Brian Solis’s response to the perennial question: How many social media profiles should a brand have?”:
“The answer is as simple as it is revealing. Create the number of channels that meaningfully extend the focus of your business… and relevant stories to the dedicated audience they’re designed to serve. Additionally, only create the number of channels that strengthen the brand rather than dilute it and also possess the capacity to ensure its ongoing relevance.”
Here is a plan I have put together for the Small Business Sector:
Create a Plan that integrates with your off-line marketing and advertising programs
Determine In-house or Agency management based on skill base, time and/or budget
Set Goals & Objectives
Create Content Plan for each Platform- Be mindful of language and timing (day/part)
Create Engagement Strategies for each Platform
Connect all Platforms & Cross Market
Monitor the Platforms – Be an Active Listener & Be Responsive
Use Analytics to Measure & Make Changes
Lafley Quote Slide via Dave Knox- HardKnoxLife.com
~ A.G. Lafley, former CEO of Procter & Gamble
Letting go includes the art of listening. Brands need to create a reputation management program to stay on top of the conversations that are occurring about them; whether they happen on brand-sponsored sites or on someone’s personal blog. Addressing any unpleasant information directly and in a customer-service focused way will show that you are active and responsive to feedback. Remember the old adage: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas? Well, what happens in Vegas now stays on Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn and Blogs and….. you get the point. We are truly living in a ‘World of Mouth’ universe.
In Conclusion here are 6 Steps to Social Media For Business Success:
Be Consistent
Be Authentic- speak in a voice true to the brand
Be Consumer-focused
Be BOLD- this is an evolving playground- jump in and try some things!
Measure, Measure, Measure- if you don’t have an indication of where you have come from, how can you move forward?
Reputation Management: Be on top of your Brand.
We have certainly have come a long way from simply creating a social media presence. Winning in today’s market place involves real interaction with the consumer in a dynamic back and forth conversation that brings value to both parties. Metrics are key and measuring results vs. objectives should be an inherent part of the plan. We must remember however, that success is not in sheer numbers of Fans , Followers or Friends; success should be measured in terms of influence and the number of brand evangelists that have emerged in support of your efforts. Better to have 500 followers singing your praises then 5000 who don’t interact with your brand in any way.
I wish you all good luck. Enter the Digital Space Boldly!
Often times we can be so immersed in our social media-drenched world, that we forget that not everyone has heard of key sites like Twitter. Ok, maybe they have heard of Twitter, but perhaps they really don’t have an understanding of what it is and how it works. Twitter has been around for five years and had grown to be quite an integral part of social networking and marketing strategy.
I was recently reminded of the notion that not everyone resides in my digital world during a workshop that I gave on Social Media For Business. It was an introductory level class, meant to be more of a broad overview on several key social media platforms, rather than a deep dive on the intricacies to running and managing each platform. Tweeting for several years now, I provided a basic definition that was still a bit over some folks’ understanding because they lacked experience with the platform
Left to distill Twitter down from my more advanced definition on the slide deck, I learned a valuable lesson: always be prepared to explain a concept at multiple levels. With that thought in mind, I came across this blog post today by Mark Collier entitled, “So What the Hell is Twitter Anyway.” I discovered it, most appropriately, as a link on a Tweet in my stream.
Collier believes that the best way to explain a concept is to show how it works and I wholeheartedly agree. He does a nice job of outlining the many key uses for Twitter, and contrary to the uninitiated belief system, none of these tout sharing what you had for lunch!
Mark shares that Twitter can be used as a:
Networking Tool
News-feed
Personal Search Engine
Crowd-sourcing platform
Chat room (think hashtags and sponsored discussions)
You can read the full article here and begin to harness all of the power that Twitter provides. I leave you with a similar question that Mark asked of his readers:
Over 90 million people can’t be wrong about the #1 professional social networking site: LinkedIn. If you are not there, then you are truly missing out on an opportunity to affect your business and your future. LinkedIn is far more than a repository for your static resume. It is a living, breathing social platform that fosters connections that lead to real results.
No time to take a public group training class? Need an instructor to gently guide you in discovering the many utilities and capabilities LinkedIn has for its Members? How about taking a private virtual training class in the comfort of your office or home at a published day/time or one of your choosing that is mutually available?
Check out the video for class information. Discounts are given for published dates and times with early registration or you can contact me to schedule a date and time that works for you at the regular rate. Call me at 513-445-2180 or send a message HERE.
Looking to make a career change in 2011? In today’s competitive market, it is important to have a professional online presence in addition to a resume. Today the most successful professional social networking site is LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn has over 80 million members in over 200 countries and executives from all the Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members.
LinkedIn allows members to create a profile that includes information that goes beyond what is on a typical resume. Members can access company and job information as well as join industry groups to network with group members, professional contacts and hiring managers. LinkedIn is one of the top places that recruiters and companies go for talent acquisition.
Can they find you there?
C3: Creating Connections Consulting, LLC offers LinkedIn group training classes and individual coaching for individuals who are: in transition; who want to make a career change and tap into professional networks; and for business owners who desire to increase their warm contacts.
C3 offers a specialized hands-on training class that is for women only. This class focuses on women who are looking to make a career change or re-enter the workforce. It is limited to four participants to maximize individual learning. The class covers the following topics:
Account Set Up
Creating a Winning Summary Statement (key marketing piece)
Optimizing profiles for Search Engines (i.e. Google, Bing)
Finding Contacts
Sending Introductions
Importance of the Status Update
Working with LinkedIn Groups
Importance of obtaining recommendations
How to search the LinkedIn Database for Contacts, Companies, Jobs, Corporate Data, Hiring Managers
Fall LinkedIn 101 For Women
Dates:
Thursday, 10/28 from 10:00 a.m.-11:30
Monday, 11/8 from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Thursday, 11/11 from 10:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m.
Cost is $49 for early registration/$59 post deadline
Laptops are available for use at a nominal fee.
Participants receive a LinkedIn 101 Training Guide
C3 is a member of the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce and was nominated for a 2010 Business of the Year Award. Owner Michelle Beckham-Corbin is on the Board of the Anderson IHM Job Search Ministry and presents training on LinkedIn for the group and has been a LinkedIn presenter for NKU, UC-Clermont College and the Job Search Learning Lab.
Just experienced an 18hr straight run with Social Media- yes, I did sneak in about 4.5 hours of sleep in the middle of it all, but I can tell you that my lunch-time Diet Coke must have just hit the wall, because my energy level just tumbled. Anyway, getting to the point: the importance of taking on-line networking connections off-line and into the real world. I am the first to say that social media tools are an excellent way to make that first connection. I have written numerous times about the clients, business partners, and new friends I have met first virtually. The key is that all of these relationships were taken to the next, more intimate level: the in-person connection. That connection can be anything from a simple phone call, an actual meeting or doing a web conference call with Skype or Talkshoe. Choose whichever method allows you to interact with the other individual in a way that goes beyond mere words on a screen.
It completely rocks when that virtual connection you have been stoking the flames with creates a real life feeling of being in synch with the other party. I think the time spent virtually gives most of us that ability to jump right into a more intimate relationship because we have already cut through all of the exterior niceties. We can jump into the heart of our meeting whether it is a business deal or a friendship because the basic info has already been shared.
One of my passions is working with women in transition. I had the opportunity to do a seminar on Networking With LinkedIn for Act Three owned by Julie Shifman. Julie’s company helps women to navigate the next chapter or “act” in their lives. Her mission is a great fit for my passion, so look for more to come from our collaboration. Want to know my thoughts immediately following the dynamic discussion with the women in attendance today?
You know the drill- press the PLAY button!
And video from January talking about C3’s LinkedIn Classes for Women:
Michelle Beckham's Blog 