AMiable Solution #50: LinkedIn to Get Hooked Up

Not all social media sites are created equal, and not all of them are exactly “social.” LinkedIn, the “world's largest professional network with 200 million members in 200 countries and territories around the globe” is all business.


According to the social site itself, 64% of LinkedIn users say the site helps them develop professional relationships and grow their business.

How? LinkedIn is the professional's version of Facebook, but with more information. It allows members to post professional qualifications and educational history, recommend other members, join groups and make connections, and have real-time conversations with other members.

The advantage of LinkedIn is the format: it allows you to create a living, real-time resume/portfolio/reference list of your capabilities, experience, and successes that your contacts, and contacts of contacts, can see. It’s a constant presence with solid, visual evidence, not a business card and a handshake shared at a happy hour or conference luncheon.

The best way to tap into LinkedIn’s power—once your and your company’s pages are created and completed—networking, in all available opportunities:

• post regular status updates and encourage responses

• invite people to connect with you

• join groups or create your own group of industry professionals

• participate in discussions through your own account or through your group

• answer questions in the “Answers” section

• ask for recommendations to establish/build credibility

• browse the networks of colleagues and friends, looking for potential prospects to contact directly or through an introduction by the colleague or friend

Pam Dyer, a marketing manager and blogger, also recommends encouraging every employee to have a profile on LinkedIn and to have them all network/connect with one another. This, she says, extends your network and provides your company with greater exposure.

As with any social relationship, commitment to a network is the biggest requirement for success. No matter which social network or networks you engage in, be sure to visit them--and participate--frequently and often.

AMiable Solution #49: YouTube: The Right Channel for You?

Does your marketing feel limited by words and still images? Do you think customers, potential clients, and donors need to see your products or services in action to really connect? If so, YouTube may be the answer you’re looking for.


Visited by more than 800 million unique visitors every month, this social networking site allows users to post and share videos with friends, family, and colleagues around the world. Literally: 70% of YouTube’s traffic comes from outside the U.S.

YouTube offers both viewers and video providers with options for staying connected. Users can publically “like” and “dislike” videos, provide comments, “subscribe” to a provider’s videos, or visit a provider’s own customizable “channel,” where that organization’s/individual’s videos play 24 hours a day.

Although U.S. users tend to fall in the 18-34 year-old range (these viewers account for 67% of YouTube’s 128.2 million users) and are female, organizations can take advantage of targeted advertising and site-specific analytics to make the most of their presence and their relationship with viewers.

Not sure what you’d video? YouTube suggests you start by shooting a tour of your facilities or a how-to demonstration. The quality doesn’t have to be Hollywood caliber: your video simply has to tell a story and make an emotional connection with your viewers.

Posting videos is free, but targeted advertising and audience analytics, if you choose to go through YouTube, is not (you do pay only when viewers choose to watch your video).

If you have high-end or complicated products and services, or even just a healthy dose of creativity and personality, creating and promoting videos on YouTube could help you builder stronger the brand awareness and loyalty.

AMiable Solution #48: Twitter: Finding Long-Term Success in a Few Words

You can't argue with Twitter's popularity.  Everywhere you look, people are referencing things public figures and private citizens have said--good and bad--on this social network.

With more than 340,000,000 Tweets posted each day, Twitter connects users to "the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news" about people and organizations they find interesting: current events, other public figures, community and national news, and everyday experiences with businesses and organizations

Unlike Facebook, Twitter limits communications ("tweets") to 140 characters.  It doesn't sound like much, but in most cases it's enough to announce sales, new products, and upcoming events; solicit comments and suggestions; gather feedback on new or proposed services; and address hot topics or time-sensitive issues. 

The messages are short, but the time required to maintain a Twitter account is not.

To gain a regular following and build trust (once you learn the jargon), Twitter recommends sharing behind-the-scenes information, regularly monitoring comments about your organization, asking questions, responding to questions and comments promptly, and offering specials and limited-time deals.  In addition, Twitter recommends referencing articles and providing links to articles about your industry to establish your organization as an industry leader and expert. 

Not an insignificant task.  Whether you choose to join the conversation on Twitter or not depends on how much you're willing to commit in terms of time and resources.  Twitter offers numerous paid advertising opportunities to help build account awareness--promoted accounts, promoted tweets, and promoted trends--but marketing your Twitter presence in your direct mail marketing and email marketing may be the best way to build a foundational following and determine if the reward is worth the effort.

AMiable Solution #47: Facebook: A Head of Social Media Marketing

Millions of people monitor or participate on social networking sites every day.  Facebook alone boasts a user base of more than one billion people. If you haven’t added social media marketing to your 2013 marketing calendar, or if you’re not sure if Facebook is the right social media dance hall for your organization, we offer the following insights for marketing on Facebook. 

According to market researcher Edison Research, more than two-thirds of 18-44 year-olds who use social media follow particular brands, and almost three-quarters of 25-34 year-olds do.  When these consumers choose a social network for following a brand, more than 75% of them go to Facebook first for information, according to Edison Research blogger Larry Rosin.

It’s easy to see why. Facebook is arguably the most flexible social network available.  It allows users to publish lengthy texts (“posts”), comment on others’ posts, post photos and videos, and see the posts and comments of not only the people they’ve connected with (“friended”) but also the postings and comments of friends of friends.

You can use Facebook to connect quickly and easily with a broad audience, sharing images and information about new products, services, and events; generating organizational activity and interest with contests, promotions, and sales; soliciting feedback on current or proposed activities; and gathering general consumer comments, endorsements, and suggestions.

“Pages,” as the participant-specific areas of the site are called, are free to create.  You can create a general page with a basic account, or you can create a business page and have access to paid options, including promoted posts (for pages with at least 100 “likes”), page insights (for pages with at least 30 “likes”), and targeted ads based on Facebook user location, gender, age, likes and interests, relationship status, workplace, and education.  Pages can be categorized as a local place or business; company, organization, or institution; brand or product; artist, band, or public figure; entertainment; and cause or community.

Facebook's options and accessibility come with a bit of a price, however.  Privacy concerns run high as more and more “private” posts and photos become accessible by the public.

Still, participating on Facebook is a cheap and relatively easy way to create brand awareness and to connect with a potentially large worldwide audience.

Facebook isn't your only, or even your best option, when it comes to social media marketing, however.  Come back next week to learn more about Twitter, and then check us out later in the month when we look at YouTube and LinkedIn.