LinkedIn was created primarily to serve as an online resume service, for people who are looking for jobs. This has a lot of business owners like Dr. James wondering if LinkedIn is even worth their time, since they’re out looking for business as opposed to jobs.

If you own a business and are wondering how LinkedIn can be put to use for you, here are a couple of things you can think about doing:

Consider Your SEO – LinkedIn is awesome for Search Engine Optimization… but only if you put some thought into your profile: write your description carefully, have a killer headshot (people respond more to a face shot as opposed to a corporate logo), and fill in as much of your profile as you can.

Write and Receive Recommendations (as opposed to Endorsements) – Get your favourite clients to post Recommendations for you. These testimonials are gold and could be deciding factors if a potential client is trying to decide between you and someone who has no testimonials on their profile page. Don’t confuse Recommendations with Endorsements. I’m personally a little apathetic towards LinkedIn’s Endorsements, simply because it’s too easy to hand them out willy nilly; plus they don’t really say anything. A thoughtfully written Recommendation which specifically identifies what you  accomplished for a past client will go a much longer way.

Network – Going to an event, meet up  or trade-show? Know who’s going to be there? Get on LinkedIn and do a little spying on the people you want to meet. Find common connections, familiar ground, ice-breakers, or discover you don’t want to meet these weirdos anymore!

Join Groups (but bail if it’s all about SPAM) – Personally, I’ve found joining groups on LinkedIn to be incredibly tedious, only because very few people seem to understand that a Group can be a great way to exchange ideas and share resources; most people just SPAM. I only mention Groups because in theory it’s a great idea and there has to be some great LinkedIn Groups out there somewhere. Or maybe it’s time for you to start one?

Update your Status – Freshen up your status with relevant content. Be professional (this isn’t Facebook), double check your prose and grammar (this isn’t Twitter), and above all update often (this isn’t 2004)!

Got a question about social media? Post it in the comments section or email me at Nishi@NightDay.ca and I might answer and mention you on my blog!

Well, I’m here to tell you that even though it may sometimes seem that way, it’s very unlikely you’ve single-handedly tapped out every idea that is and ever was about whatever field of excellence you work in. If you’re stuck for a blog topic, go to your most valuable resource: your clients. And while you’re at it, hit your potential clients as well.

Simply send out an email, or post on Facebook, or Tweet, or heck even blog an invitation to your audience to ask you questions and tell them that you will make an effort to answer them and even mention or feature them on your blog.

Not only will this give you fresh ideas for your blog, it will also…

• engage your followers by inviting them to start a conversation with you
• make it apparent that you care about what is on your followers’ minds
• consider questions that you as an expert might have taken for granted; what is obvious to you may seem like a total mystery to your public
• you’ll be able to see where your clients’ (and potential clients’) heads are at; instead of telling them what you want them to know, allow them to tell you what they need

By making it known that you are an accessible resource for valuable information, you’ll encourage better relationships… which can only lead to more business for you! Happy blogging!

Got a question about video marketing or social media? Post it in the comments section or email me at Nishi@NightDay.ca and I might answer and mention you on my blog! (See what I did there?)

If you’re thinking of using Twitter for business, and you’re a “numbers guy” like Adam, you might be interested in some demographics published by the Pew Research Center.

According to the study:

• Some 15% of online adults¹ use Twitter as of February 2012, and 8% do so on a typical day.
• The rise of smartphones might account for some of the uptick in usage because smartphone users are particularly likely to be using Twitter.
• One quarter (26%) of internet users ages 18-29 use Twitter, nearly double the rate for those ages 30-49. Among the youngest internet users (those ages 18-24), fully 31% are Twitter users.
• Residents of urban and suburban areas are significantly more likely to use Twitter than their rural counterparts.

You can read more into the study here.

Got a question about social media or video marketing? Post it in the comments section or write me at Nishi@NightDay.ca, I’d love to hear from you and I might mention you in my blog!

Related articles

• Demographics of Social Media Users (jakprpro.com)
• Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram – Social Media User Demographics 2013 [INFOGRAPHIC] (reginaantony.wordpress.com)
• INFOGRAPHIC: Blacks and Hispanics Are More Likely to Use Twitter (bettinainclan.wordpress.com)

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Well, surprise! YouTube is much more than just a video player where you can catch up on the latest Super Bowl commercials or Korean dance craze. Here are 7 things business owners need to know about YouTube before they dismiss it as a part of their marketing strategy:

1) YouTube is a Powerful Search Engine
YouTube is not – repeat NOT – merely a video player (although it often gets treated like one). Fact is, it is much more than that. It is a search engine. A powerful one. In fact, it’s the second-most powerful search engine out there… second only to Google. Seriously.

So if you upload a video to YouTube for business, take advantage of the options it gives you so that you can optimize your video: make use of tags words, descriptions, carefully-worded titles and a category. Filling out all this pertinent information will help your video show up in searches and get watched and noticed!

2) Content is King
You may be thinking (and rightfully so) “there are SO many videos on YouTube, how on Earth is mine going to get noticed?” In fact, according to YouTube.com, 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube EVERY MINUTE. That’s insane, right?

Lucky for you, most of those videos are either superfluous or badly-produced. If you want to stand out, produce great content. An “about us” type of video is a great way to get your personal brand out there and familiarize your potential client with your product, service and yourself. But if you really want to make a splash, consider offering something more. If you, as an expert in your industry, offer valuable advice that will appeals to the right following, you’ve just made yourself desirable to an audience of potential clients.

3) YouTube is Social
As in social media. Produce enough video content on a regular basis and you can build a following; great, consistent content will encourage people to subscribe to your YouTube Channel. Once they subscribe, they will receive a notification whenever you upload a new video. You can essentially have your own “web series” and over time, grow a faithful audience. Furthermore, your audience can leave comments on your videos and you can answer them back and develop relationships. Comments, conversation, and links back to your YouTube video will help it gain popularity and show up more in searches.

4) YouTube is Part of Your Branding
By all means, pretty up your channel. Customize the colours and background imagery. Choose a display name that represents your brand properly. Use a professional headshot or logo for your avatar because this will be seen everywhere.

5) Production Counts
Use non-copyrighted music, video footage, and images or you run the risk of getting your video yanked down. Remember you have to stand out from all those other wanna-be video personalities, so you want to make sure you look and sound your best. Yes, your content is most important but if you deliver your superior content in a manner that looks sloppy, you run the risk of getting dismissed. A professionally produced video will help you get taken seriously.

6) When NOT to Use YouTube
As awesome and amazing YouTube is, there is a time and place. You will notice that at the end of a video, YouTube will suggest “similar” videos that you, the viewer might be interested in. That’s great except, if you have a YouTube video on your website, you run the risk of losing a viewer as they might be distracted by one of these suggested  videos. That’s bad! So how do we keep the viewer planted on your site? Host the video on your site without a third party like YouTube.

7) The Stats
Still not convinced YouTube is for your business? Consider these numbers:

• YouTube is available on 350 million devices
• 100 million people take a social action on YouTube (likes, shares, comments, etc) every week
• Millions of videos are favorited every day

Read more awesome YouTube stats here.

1. Position Yourself As an Expert – It’s one thing to know your stuff, but do they know you know our stuff? You can have all the education and testimonials and experience in the world, but if you have a “how to” video, all of a sudden your credibility soars. It’s a lot like having a published book. A slick video will make you look like the pro you are.

2. Show Them You Can Teach – Chances are, a big part of your product or service depends on how good a teacher you are. For instance, you might be a financial planner with a “how to” video on money management. Or a personal trainer showing us how to stretch. Or a music teacher showing us how to play a song on guitar, or a cooking class instructor showing us a fast recipe that kids will like, or a make-up artist showing us how to do a smokey eye effect, or a golf pro showing us a proper swing technique… see where I’m going with this?

So if you can show your target audience that you’re a good teacher, they will be more likely to look to you for advice and service as opposed to someone who is uncommunicative, unorganized, intimidating, etc.

3. To Know You Is To Love You – A “how to” video is a great opportunity to put your best foot forward and meet your potential market without the benefit of securing a face-to-face meeting with them. Let them see how smart, attractive, personable, trustworthy and unique you are. Furthermore, you’re doing something nice for them right off the bat: you’re giving them free advice! So how can they not like you? A “how to” video makes an excellent first impression.

Furthermore, video in general is an asset to any website: it helps with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and it keeps people on your business website longer. Read 6 Reasons Your Site Needs Video to learn more on that topic.

So think about it… if you had the chance to produce a “how to” video, what would it be about? What expertise do you have to share with the world?

Related articles

• YouTube Marketing: 25 Reasons Why it’s a Must (geek-freemarketing.com)
• Whiteboard Video is the Most Captivating Video Marketing Tactic | New Study Announced by Ydraw (prweb.com)
• 3 Reasons Why Video Is No Longer Optional (intuit.com)

So here are 3 easy, nice things you can do for others on Twitter that will not only make you feel good (unless you’re a jerk), but will also likely get you more followers and more engagement with the followers you already have. More followers and more engagement are good for business! So here we go:

1. Retweet – If you find someone’s tweet to be particularly interesting and you think it will appeal to your following, share it with a retweet. Always credit your source. You get content for your Twitter feed, and someone gets a shout-out. Win-win.

What will hopefully also happen is that the person you retweeted will take notice of you and might try to repay the favour down the road. Another win-win.

2. Write a testimonial – Have you recently tried a product or service that turned out to be really great? Tweet your experience and don’t forget to mention the business that made you happy by their twitter handle (using the “@” symbol) so that they get notified. The great thing is, you only have 140 characters so it’s not like you have to slave over writing your testimonial. It’s something very small that could mean a whole lot to someone out there.

What will likely happen is that your testimonial will get retweeted by the grateful business, and other similar businesses might then want to follow you since you’re such a nice person who appreciates great products and service. Yay, more followers! You might also get a thank-you from the business you love and now you’ve started a conversation with them… could this lead to a mutually beneficial business relationship? Only time will tell.

3. Be thankful! – If anyone does any of the above for you, don’t forget to thank them! It’s the perfect opportunity to start a conversation. Plus, it’s polite.

Don’t obsess too much if you haven’t got a lot of followers; what’s more important is the quality of the followers you have. Are they the kind of people and businesses that are good for you to know (on a personal and professional level)? Are you having conversations with them and are you helping each other out?

Thanks for reading and good Karma be with you!

Some Facebook users are insisting that their private messages are suddenly appearing publicly for the world to see. Facebook denies this allegation in a statement:

“A small number of users raised concerns after what they believed to be private messages appeared on their timeline. Our engineers investigated these reports and found that the messages were older wall posts that had always been visible on the users’ profile pages,” says Facebook.

You can read more about the story at The Montreal Gazette.

Meanwhile, let me take this opportunity to remind you that it is always wise to post on Facebook (or any social media for that matter) with a couple of things in mind:

- don’t post anything you don’t want your mom or boss to see
- avoid posting about religion and politics unless you are prepared to deal with the repercussions
- potential employers and college acceptance committees DO stalk your social media profiles to learn more about you
- if you’re leaving town or going on vacation, think twice about alerting the public that your home or business will be unmanned for a while… thieves and vandals use Facebook too

It’s all just common sense. That said, I leave you with this comical flow chart Should I Post This? by Onlineclasses.org

You’ve made the decision to create a marketing video… that’s a smart move! But here are 5 common mistakes you’ll want to avoid:

1. Your video is way too long

Your video only has to be long enough to entice your viewers to look you up for more information. Aim for about 90 seconds or less. And yes, there are some very powerful videos out there that run longer than 2 minutes, but you are way more likely to get clicks and engaged views if you get in, get on with it and get out of there in 90 seconds.

2. You video doesn’t answer any burning questions

If all your video does is describe you and your products and services, it’s not going to get a whole lot of interest. Sure, there are people out there who are already thinking of hiring you and they want to learn more about you, so by all means, an “about us” video is great for that. BUT, what about all the people who don’t know they need you yet (i.e. MOST people)?

When at work, you have likely noticed that you get asked a lot of the same questions over and over again. Why not make a video that answers some of these burning questions? Then people who are searching the web for answers to these questions will find… your video! And your video will lead them to you.

3. Your video is more like an “advertisement” and less like a “show”

We humans are bombarded with advertising all day, every day. Therefore, if your video comes across as advertising, your viewer will likely tune out. If, however it comes across as free advice, something informative and entertaining, you’re much more likely to gain a receptive audience.

4. Your video is difficult to watch.

This is where things get technical. Make sure your video is well-edited and has good lighting and good sound so that it isn’t pure drudgery to sit through. Make sure it loads up quickly and plays back smoothly. Having an unwatchable video is like having bad breath when meeting your potential client. When in doubt… hire a pro to shoot and edit for you.

5. Your video is difficult to share.

Make sure your video is easy to share on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. In fact, it helps to have a solid presence in social media before you launch a video marketing campaign.

Two years ago, it barely mattered if you were on social media but now, video and social media go together. You won’t get as much mileage out of your video if all you do is plonk it on your website and email the link around. Love it or hate it, social media is a driving force for sharing videos these days.

Always keep the viewer in mind when you’re creating a marketing video and you are bound to get better results!

Related articles

• What Not to Wear: Web Video Wardrobe (prnewsonline.com)
• Some Small Businesses Are Making One BIG Mistake, And Other Hot Topics (blogs.constantcontact.com)
• How to Manage your Blog & Social Media Content While Away From the Office (iacquire.com)

Here are 4 reasons to use neighbourhood hashtags:

1. Find out what’s going on in your neighbourhood. Is there a local street fair coming up? New business opening? Music festival? Farmers market? Graffiti cleanup? Does the petting zoo need funding? New stop sign? Now that you know what’s going on, join in on the conversation.

2. Reach out to other businesses. Connect, support and network with other local businesses. Take it a step further and form alliances, referral groups, and cross-promotions that benefit everyone. You’re all in the same boat, why not help each other out?

3. Reach out to your potential clients. Tell them about yourself, offer them valuable content, share special events and discounts, and above all show them you’re a cool person who cares about their ‘hood. Which leads to…

4. Be MORE than just a local business. Be a neighbourhood fixture that cares about other businesses and the customers that live nearby. Tweet local issues and events. Make your neighbourhood better, brighter, safer. A happy neighbourhood means better business. And good karma to boot.

If you can’t find a Twitter hashtag that supports your neighbourhood, maybe you need to start one! Remember, anyone can create and use a hashtag, so why not you?

Related articles

• 5 Types of Hashtag Abusers (digiday.com)
• #Don’t #Use #Too #Many #Hashtags (kevinkellyohio.wordpress.com)
• Social Media Publishing Tips: The Top 10 Tips for Tweeting (radian6.com)