I was recently featured on 10TV in Columbus Ohio and I have to say thanks to Andy Hirsch, Andrea Camburn, and Jerry Revisch for putting together a nice segment on this. Make sure you follow them on Twitter and let them know your thoughts on the video above. Also, be sure to tell them if you would like to see more segments on social media.
Was this helpful LinkedIn information? If so, let me know your thoughts in the comment section below, and let me know if I missed out on some important topics.
Chris Brogan is a Social Media MUTANT! If you talk to anyone who has been online in the past year and ask them who are the top three most recognized names in social media, Chris would always be in the mix. There is no doubt that Chris knows his stuff. He wouldn’t be paid top dollar to speak at every major conference, or consult for major companies on the subject if he didn’t. In fact, his latest book Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust was just released for pre-order on Amazon. This book is bound to be a best seller, and if you read his blog, you know the value he provides is “A Game” material.
Make sure you watch the video in this post because Chris shares his thoughts on how someone SHOULD be using Twitter. There are those that just don’t understand it or don’t even know what it is yet. If this is the case with you, his witty words will surly make you chuckle, and give you the information you are looking for to create a successful plan on Twitter to dominate your market.
Twitter seems to be one of the beasts that everyone is talking about lately. Pro Athletes are using it to connect with hundreds of thousands of fans, celebrities are sharing revealing images and intimate information, and people are honestly building their business, finding jobs, and creating new opportunities from its platform.
To prove that it works, just last night I posted randomly to my Twitter followers this message:
“I have about 10 videos I need to upload on SportsNetworker.com but don’t know if I have time before my book tour… I need an intern badly!”
One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen on the Internet crossed my Twitter stream as it it read:
To shorten the story, after a great chat we decided that the fit would be a good one for both of us, and the rest is history. So in a matter of a few hours I was able to voice my opinion, have it be heard and responded to, and achieve my goal of what I was looking for. Does Twitter work? I would have to say YES!!!
It could have taken weeks if not months to try and find the right person to be my assistant, and instead I weeded out those who would have wanted to send me a cover letter and resume from a job posting, and had the right person reach out to me and share interest because they thought it would be a great opportunity.
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Does Twitter work? YES! Does it take time to undertand how to start a conversation and engage with your followers? YES! That’s why it would suit you well to pick up a copy of Chris’ new book, and watch his video interview above. If you have any questions about what he says, feel free to post them in the comments section below, or share with others your success story on Twitter.
LinkedIn Success Week is almost underway! Frank and I are hammering out the final details as we set out to host 7 LinkedWorking events in 7 cities in 5 days. Think we are crazy? We kinda do also. Crazy or not, we are committed to putting together the best LinkedWorking events possible to teach others how they can be successful on LinkedIn.
During these events we will be raffling off amazing door prizes, offering free professional head shots for your LinkedIn profiles/websites/biz cards, and giving away free e-books with all of the best information on how to utilize LinkedIn. Of course we will be promoting out latest book, LinkedWorking: Generating Success On The World’s Largest Professional Networking Website, but the ultimate goal is to help as many people as possible grow their business, increase quality connections, and achieve their goals. Feel free to read what a New York Times Best Selling Author, and other Social Media Stars are saying about our book.
Here are the cities lined up for LinkedIn Success Week:
The evening events are expected to have close to or over 500+ in attendance, and the lunch events are expected over 100+ to attend. All in all, we hope to meet over 2,000 LinkedWorkers in person in less that a week. The journey will be a blast, and I look forward to meeting all who attend!
If you have never been to one of these events before, be sure to watch the slide shows in the two previous articles to witness how popular they really are.
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If you have you attended a LinkedWorking event before, please write a comment below to let others know if it was a beneficial experience for you. If you think these events should be produced a different way, feel free to express your thoughts about that as well.
Your personal brand is your most valuable asset. Generating success on LinkedIn has everything to do with enhancing your personal brand. In fact, Gary Vaynerchuck talks about the importance of building your “Me 2.0″ equity within the social media landscape during this motivational video below:
If that video doesn’t charge you up and teach you the importance of doing what you love and are passionate about, I don’t know what will. Without an identity on LinkedIn, your personal brand will suffer tremendously, so please consider this as I lay out my 13 ways to generate success on LinkedIn:
1) Take Control Of Your Personal Brand:
This is the most important aspect for me, and why I included the video with Gary. The best way to take control of your personal brand on LinkedIn is to fill out your entire profile and write concise, compelling, value driven content. If you type in your name on Google, and you don’t have an active blog or produce other content on the web, I bet your LinkedIn profile is one of the top five pages that show up. Control what others view about you by completing your profile, and add to it amazing value.
2) Connect With Your Niche:
There are thousands of groups on LinkedIn; connect with the ones that fit your interests or industry. The more you reach out to those who are targeted in your area, the more powerful you become to that niche.
3) Add Everyone You Know (and don’t know):
I know there are some of you who like to click the dreaded “I don’t know this person” button if you have never seen an invitations name before, but you are only doing a disservice to yourself. If you think about it, the more people you connect with, this expands your searching capabilities, even more importantly, expanding your reach for others to FIND YOU! Don’t limit yourself, expand your reach and let some of the major players find your profile.
4) Ask Compelling Questions:
That’s right. Actually get on LinkedIn and ask a few questions every now and then… is that so hard? I asked two questions that took me five minutes of my time and received over 50 helpful answers in return. Just make sure you ask the right questions and you tag it in the right places.
5) Become An Expert:
You don’t become an expert by sitting on your rear all day, you become one by answering questions attached with insane amounts of value. The more value you give away, the more people will begin to reach out to you as a consultant, hire you for a full time position, or contact you for future opportunities.
6) Host Your Own Event:
You would not believe the energy and enthusiasm created by attending a live LinkedIn networking event. The benefits are many, and the time you work on it is well spent. Just check out my images from my most recent event below, watch my video about how I utilize LinkedIn groups, or learn about the benefits of hosting your own LinkedIn event in this post.
7) Say Thank You:
In the real world, people love it when you say “Thank you”. It really solves a lot of problems and encourages positivity. Be sure to say those two important words every time someone does anything for you… makes a recommendation, comments on your status, makes an introduction, or answers your questions. This will continue the good karma cycle, and more success will flow your way.
Become Transparent:
It seems as though the only way to be successful online these days is to become completely transparent and put yourself out there. The more you try to hide something, act like something you are not, or stay too generic, others will see right though this and will never think twice about you. Seth Godin says that being remarkable is nothing more than having others remark about you. Take this advice into account as you go along your LinkedIn ways.
9) Enjoy The Party:
If you are attending a “real world” party or networking event, I hope you are going to this party to enjoy it. Who goes to a party and acts like a stiff? Those are the ones who lose in the end that night and go home miserable, right? Don’t be a stiff, take everything with a grain of salt and have fun. Show some personality, be a character if that’s who you are, and enjoy the ride. The more you do this, the more others will want to party with you!
10) Make Recommendations:
I know Jason Alba, Chris Brogan, or Scott Allen have probably said this in blog posts before, but it holds true with me also. Making a recommendation does a few things: When you write a recommendation for someone else, they usually will return the favor which helps build your street cred. The next time anyone views a profile you recommend, then that adds a link back to your profile as well, which increase your chances of being found. You can’t beat that.
11) Add Your Links:
I was amazed when I recently saw that a friend of mine did not have a link to his website on his LinkedIn profile. He has a multi-million dollar search engine optimization and website marketing company, yet he forgot to add his company site (or any site for that matter) to his profile. He wanted me to help him generate more leads for his company from using LinkedIn, and I told him all he needed to do was add his company link and his service would speak for itself. Since then he has gained new business, go figure
12) Don’t Be A Stranger:
If you never call or e-mail people, or go out to networking events and gatherings, then how do you expect to stay connected to those you know, and build a network with those you don’t know? Follow up with all of the messages you receive in your inbox, and continue to get online and network.
13) Use LinkedIn Applications:
There are many great applications on LinkedIn. I used LinkedIn Events to promote my live networking event and I had over 350 people show up. A friend of mine added the Amazon Book application and included his personal book to his profile and his sales doubled in a month. By adding a few applications that are right for your needs, you’ll be sure to succeed.
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I left out about 100 additional ways to generate success on Linkedin for a reason… I want to hear ways that YOU generate success as well. Feel free to add them in the comments section below. This is a previous article I wrote on SportsNetworker.com.
One way to expand your reach in your industry would be to host your own networking eventwould be to host your own networking event. It would be great to host a large industry trade show but for most of us this would be a daunting task. However, it would not be that difficult to host an event for industry professionals in your own city.
Think about it; if you live in a decent sized town there is a good chance you have thousands of executives who live and work in a 30- mile radius.
There are many benefits for hosting a networking event, but first you want to complete the prep work to ensure the event is a success. Here are my do’s and don’ts for throwing an event:
Do: Make Sure It Is Well Attended:
Send out e-mails and press releases, make phone calls, create events on social networking sites, and tell as many people as you can; Do whatever you need in order to maximize the crowd and build your trust in others.
Don’t:Come Unprepared:
Make sure you have food, drinks, with name tags and a possible banner, a sign up page or place to drop your card, and proper space in a central location. During one of my events there was no food and some of the attendees left to grab some after a while so make sure there is at least chips and dip! If it is more of a trade show event, have tables ready for your sponsors. If it is a symposium, make sure all panelists have what they need and your sponsors are properly displayed.
Do: Have An Assistant:
I thought I would be able to run the registration booth alone in my last event, but soon found a cluster of 30 people jammed by the door waiting to get a name tag. This was good that I had so many people showing up, but bad that I wasn’t prepared, and as we say in sports, “don’t ever let them see you sweat!” Make sure you have a few registration tables and at least one assistant to help move the traffic along smoothly.
Don’t:Become Isolated:
If you throw an event, make sure you go around and shake everyone’s hand. Listen to what the careers, goals, passions, and interests of your attendees are. Don’t spend too much time with one individual or group of people, but be gracious and listen to as many people that you can.
Above are some images of the first event I hosted in St. Louis. Many of the attendees said it was a great event because it was well attended. There was free food (although I heard it was a bad selection; sorry guys!) and people made quality business contacts. Your attendees can’t ask for much more than that. Throwing an event is an accomplishment in itself, however, there are additional reasons why hosting a successful event will pay dividends in the long run:
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1. New Relationships:
Nearly 300 people were in attendance at the St. Louis networking event and 290 of them were new faces to me. This gave me the opportunity to expand my connections and build quality relationships.
2. Filling a Niche:
What are you passionate about, or what is your field of interest? I am passionate about building relationships and using LinkedIn. This led me to throw a party to fulfill those passions in St. Louis, a city I lived in for seven years. Figure out what you are most interested in, and throw the event around that niche.
3. Building Your List:
If you have a newsletter, websites, or magazine then this is a great way to grow your audience. Make sure everyone drops their card in a fish bowl or have them write down their contact info. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to add these individuals to your database.
4. Personal Brand Awareness:
Dan Schawbel runs PersonalBrandingBlog.com, a resource that shows you how to build your personal brand to ensure your professional success. Read a few articles on his blog and you will see why hosting an event helps build your personal brand, and why building You, Inc. is important.
5. Credibility:
I recently attended the ESPN red carpet event during the Super Bowl in Tampa and was wildly impressed with the way the event was produced. I later met some of the people who organized the event and without knowing anything else about them they had instant credibility in my book for the work they had done on this amazing event.
6. Extra Income:
Unless your full time job is to host events, this is not a way you will get rich. However, depending on your event format (cover fee, sponsorships, or taking a cut from the bar) you may come away with a few extra dollars in your pocket.
7. Consulting and Jobs:
Depending on what your objectives are, you may be looking to find new clients for your own business, or seeking out a new career. Putting together a well-attended event should help you in achieving these objectives.
8. Product Sales:
Do you have a book, CD, or other products you are looking to sell? Why not put your products up on the front table and offer a discount to all of the attendees? If the product provides compelling value and is related to your niche market it is likely to sell.
9. Press Opportunities:
Any event is worthy of at least a brief mention in a local newspaper or online publication. MySolutionSpot.com featured me after my event, and another newspaper said they would run a feature before my next one. Send out a press release to a few publications that might share some interest and be prepared to put on your game face for interviews.
10. Happy Venues:
You can never become familiar with too many restaurants or venues. By giving them the business and brand awareness to an audience, they will always be grateful and willing to help with future events.
11. Connecting Others:
It’s a pleasure for me to help others connect and mutually benefit from creating a relationship. By bringing a large number of influential people together, it is only a matter of time that the right people will be introduced to one another, businesses will grow, and lives will change.
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Did I miss any other Do’s and Don’ts? Are there other positive outcomes from hosting your own networking event? Please let me know in the comments section and feel free to add anything to the list.
Become Transparent:
