Get Started with Social Selling

Social Selling

What's the one number you need to know about social media and social networking? 25.

25% of time spent on the internet today is spent on social media.

Nearly 25% of Americans use social networking sites several times per day.

And more than 25% of the people in the world have a social media account. THE WORLD.

So why aren't you trying to use social media to generate leads and nurture prospects? Because, obviously, you should be. Businesses everywhere, from small firms to multinational corporations are using social media for marketing, advertising and brand awareness. But some salespeople have been slow to adopt for direct sales purposes. Understandably, it can be a bit overwhelming. Especially for someone unfamiliar with social media. But it's really just another way to communicate -- just like email (and the telephone before that). So here are some tips to help you get started with social selling:

Get Started with Social Selling by:

1. Create (and use) professional social media profiles on Twitter and LinkedIn.
2. Optimize social media profiles.
3. Seek referrals on LinkedIn by giving recommendations & endorsing others.
4. Follow at least 100 new people (20x per day) on Twitter including:
• Industry Thought Leaders
• Prospects
• Customers 
• Sales Gurus
5. Set up Google Alerts for competitors/prospects/customers/industry terms.
6. Post at least 3x per week about:
• Industry News
• Prospects/Customers
• Competitors
• Thought Leaders
• Photos when Travelling
• Sales Best Practices
• Personal Interests (20% of time is okay)
7. Join industry-specific groups on LinkedIn.
8. Add LinkedIn connector to Outlook on laptop.
9. Download LinkedIn Connected app for mobile phone.
10. Connect Salesforce account to Twitter.
11. Subscribe to industry and thought leadership blogs.
12. Subscribe to LinkedIn Sales Navigator (optional).
13. Blog (optional).

New Business Sales Daily Social Selling Routine Checklist:

1. Open LinkedIn and Twitter in browser tab (don’t close – just like email).
2. Find content to share.
3. Share general content on social networks.
4. Share specific content with prospects & customers on Twitter & LinkedIn (just like you would via email).
5. Look at who liked, retweeted, favorited or commented on your posts on LinkedIn & Twitter.
6. Review LinkedIn alerts.
7. Check on who’s viewed your LinkedIn profile.
8. Send personalized connection request to any prospects who looked at your LinkedIn profile.
9. Send personalized connection requests to any prospects you emailed thru Outlook yesterday.
10. Send personalized connection requests to people who engaged with your LinkedIn posts.
11. Follow people who engaged with your tweets.
12. Follow people who followed you on Twitter.
13. Respond to messages (just like you would email).

Top Prospect Weekly Social Selling Routine Checklist:

1. Open LinkedIn and Twitter in browser tab (don’t close – just like email).
2. Find content specifically for/about top prospects.
3. Share content specifically with top prospect (via email and social media).
4. Like and Retweet posts from top prospects.

Social Retention/Growth Weekly Routine Checklist:

1. Open LinkedIn and Twitter in browser tab (don’t close – just like email).
2. Find content specifically for/about current customers.
3. Share content specifically with current customers (via email and social media).
4. Like and Retweet posts from current customers.

Have other tips for salespeople looking to use social media to start selling? Leave them in the comments below:

Ten tips for better LinkedIn profile headlines

Image Source: Studenthacks.org

Please don't be the guy (or girl) with the generic auto "Title at Company Name" profile headline on LinkedIn. Even if you're not a marketer, but especially if you aren't currently employed, you need to use this valuable space to tell people exactly what it is that you do. It's not only important so that you show up in search results, but it will also make people click on your profile when there's a long list of people similar to you.

It only takes a minute, so please just go update it today and follow these ten tips:

1. Establish yourself as an expert in something
2. Explain why someone should connect with you
3. Use stats & numbers if possible
4. Utilize as many industry buzzwords as possible
5. Start with a short question
6. Use examples of proven results
7. Differentiate yourself from everyone else in your function/industry
8. Use V-bars (|) to separate sections
9. If you're C-level say so
10. If you're a jobseeker say so

Got any other tips? Or examples of some good headlines? Share them in the comments below:

Google Wave was the next big thing

Do you remember Google Wave?



You probably don't. But Google Wave was supposed to be the next big thing in social networking. So why should we believe that Google+ will be?

I think the answer is: we shouldn't.

Despite the stats toting it as "the fastest growing social network ever," Google is merely playing catch-up. At least Google Wave was innovative. It was a totally new concept on sharing and collaborating. Google+ is just a combination of Twitter and Facebook. It's really nothing new. And it fails to help us with any problems or needs that Facebook and Twitter don't already solve.

So be cautious. The stats are misleading. And largely inflated by Google+'s integration with its new social search algorithm. Google+ may not die as suddenly as Google Wave but it will never be "the next big thing."

25 Twitter Do's and Dont's

Unlike Facebook and many other closely monitored social media outlets, Twitter is a lawless community where anyone can post anything. And while some people take advantage of that wild-west-ish world for spam and other unruly or exotic calls-to-action, many of you are just looking for some general guidelines to tweet by and/or tips for growing your network. For those of you that fall into the latter category, here are twenty-five do's and don't for Twitter:

DON'T...

1. DON'T Complain about work. 
2. DON'T Tweet about religion.
3. DON'T Tweet about politics.
4. DON'T Be afraid to express your opinions.
5. DON'T Be too personal or negative.
6. DON'T Repeatedly post the same link or tweet. 
7. DON'T Abuse trending topics or hashtags. 
8. DON'T Over sell your own stuff.
9. DON'T Over share your own stuff.
10. DON'T Post more than one #FF per Friday.
11. DON'T Use corporate rhetoric and jargon.
12. DON'T Exceed five tweets per day. 
13. DON'T Post a picture you wouldn't want to see on the front page of the newspaper.
14. DON'T Post similar messages over multiple accounts.
15. DON'T Say anything you wouldn’t say to someone’s face or to a TV camera.
16. DON'T Publicly mention and thank everyone who follows you.
17. DON'T Follow someone today and unfollow them tomorrow.
18. DON'T Send automated/scheduled tweets and replies. 
19. DON'T Just post a URL with no supporting text.
20. DON'T Follow more than 25 new people at once.
21. DON'T Follow hundreds of people at once and remove all who don’t follow you back.
22. DON'T Send a canned direct message whenever someone new follows you or your company.
23. DON'T Make your account settings private.
24. DON'T Be guilty of the self-congratulatory retweet.
25. DON'T Forget to reply to mentions.

DO...

1. DO Complete your profile.
2. DO Add a picture of your face or logo.
3. DO Have a sense of humor and be funny.
4. DO Follow hashtags (#) when attending events/webinars.
5. DO Collect people’s Twitter names just like you do phone numbers and email addresses.
6. DO Create hashtags (#) for your own events.
7. DO Promote new tools/resources.
8. DO Establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
9. DO Follow thought leaders and bloggers in your industry.
10. DO Follow people your followers are following.
11. DO Follow people suggested in #FF (Follow Friday) tweets. 
12. DO Make your Twitter usernames easy to find.
13. DO Make your tweets useful resources so people need you.
14. DO Interact with those people you follow who don’t follow you back yet.
15. DO Use the “Favorites” feature as a list of testimonials.
16. DO Link to your own resources/articles as well as others.
17. DO Direct Message people instead of sending them an email.
18. DO Develop relationships with reporters, bloggers and other media people through Twitter.
19. DO Respond to concerns people tweet about you, your company or products.
20. DO Use your company account to update customers as well as prospects.
21. DO Be sure to follow back everyone who follows your Company Account.
22. DO Integrate your Twitter efforts with your other marketing initiatives.
23. DO Follow the celebrities you’d want to be friends with, the newspapers you read, the products you use, the restaurants you eat at, the designers you wear, and the athletes you root for.
24. DO Tweet at your favorite celebs and people you don't personally know.
25. DO Follow @RyanPratt ;)

Mention or direct message me if you have any questions, comments, additions, or concerns.

Six Ways to Better Market Yourself to Potential Employers

In order to show employers that you’ve got what they want, you need emphasize your greatest assets and skills. The best way to do this by using websites, career profiles, and social networking profiles to tell employers about your background. And make sure you use strong, positive language that shows your achievements and strengths.

These are the six major sections that employers are looking at:

1. Academic Honors: If you’ve earned academic honors, don’t hesitate to list each and every one. Employers will be impressed with your hard work and smarts.
2. Fellowships: Fellowships are usually merit-based and competitive, which shows a high level of achievement employers will appreciate.
3. Scholarships: Being awarded a scholarship usually signifies that you outshone every other applicant by virtue of your achievements. Be sure to tell why you earned each scholarship so employers can get to know some of your strengths.
4. Charitable Work / Volunteering: Now is not the time to be modest. If you’ve been involved in public service or charitable organizations, outline what you helped to accomplish. Many companies look for employees with a philanthropic bent.
5. Clubs / Campus Organizations: List any clubs and organizations you’ve belonged to, from professional clubs to honor societies, and any leadership positions you’ve held within them. There is no limit to the number of clubs you can list, so your employers can get the full picture of your involvement on and off campus.
6. Sports Participation: Many employers cite a candidate’s participation in sports as a positive influence in their decision to hire him or her. If you’ve developed skills such as leadership, teamwork, and endurance on the field, let employers know what you gained from the experience.

For more information on how to GET FOUND and GET HIRED, check out www.globalfocus-u.com

#WelcomeToTwitter Trick

I just stumbled upon a nifty little Twitter trick for all those marketers out there running multiple Twitter accounts in the same field or industry. You can now create a list of similar Twitter accounts and include #welcometotwitter in the description, and then when someone follows you they will also be recommended to follow the other accounts in your #welcometotwitter list. This is particularly helpful to help you grow a fledgling account if you have a similar account that is more mature and popular.

I Don't Care What Joe Ate for Dinner and When Jessica Went to Bed

The typical argument by those few people who still haven't joined Facebook or Twitter is just that: "I don't care what Joe ate for dinner and when Jessica went to bed." And they're right! But that also just proves they're nay-sayers. Because just as there are some socially inept people on the web, as there are in real life, most people now understand that social networks are not a daily diary of your doings. We can blame Twitter for that - always asking "what are you doing?" when it should ask "what are you thinking?". But even better than that would be "what are you thinking that the world should know?". The world does not want to know that you ate a ham sandwich for lunch. And they certainly don't need to see a picture of it. But they might want to know that you had the best black forest ham and swiss on this side of the Rhine at cheap local deli named Brother's Grimm just off Main Street downtown. That is what social networking is for. That is it's purpose. And that is the reason those nay-sayers should join.

Google + Does Not Equal Twitter + Facebook

So Google+ is the next big thing in social networking. But then again, so was Google Wave, and Google Latitude, and Google Buzz. So will Google+ actually catch on? The numbers unequivocally scream YES! It only took 1 month to become the fastest social network to reach 25 million users (it took Facebook about three years to attract 25 million visitors, while Twitter took just over 30 months). So jump on the bandwagon and grab your seat, but you can probably get off at the first stop and head home to Facebook or Twitter for a few months until you'll need another ride. Because right now, it's basically marketers and men that are the power users, and until your actual friends and family arrive, it's just a place to get spammed.

Law & Order: SNU

I was recently tasked to perform a social network investigation to "find anything damaging on a few litigants in the world of cyberspace." It was an interesting opportunity that I found myself whole-heartedly interested in. But with my limited legal knowledge (watching "Law & Order: SVU") I quickly realized that I could really only advise my client on the social media aspect of the investigation.

After some initial research, combined with my previous experience on the web and social networks, I believe it would be extremely difficult to find anything of legal significance on any of these "subjects" online. Here's why:

There are currently over 750 million registered users on Facebook. And more than 200 million on Twitter. And on each of those there are multiple people with the same user-defined name. Even if you know the current location of each person of interest, it still only narrows the field to a user-defined list of people in or around the area. There are some lat/long GPS check-in social networks, but they are far less popular. Foursquare has 10 million registered users.

Then if you actually find the correct person, it would be very rare that you find anything of substance to use in a legal case of this matter (i.e. someone tweeting: "I am stealing a bunch of money from my doctor LOL"). Occasionally, with some criminal lawsuits (i.e. the recent riots and looting in London) people are dumb enough to post something that could be used as evidence in a court of law (i.e. looters in London posting pictures of what they stole). But in these cases the best you might do is find a person to be greedy (i.e. "just bought a new Porsche I can't afford"), with poor ethical standards ("bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks"), or maybe, if you are lucky, admitting to use of drugs ("I am so stoned right now"). Only a complete moron would tweet, post, or check-in to a place and state that they are doing something illegal - but then again there were those London looters?