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Twitter and Facebook Better for Branding than LinkedIn?

June 2, 2009 By 2 Comments

Believe it or not, more people think Twitter is more useful for business than LinkedIn, the business networking site.

Twitter? The site filled with “make money fast” spammers, people tweeting about watching Lost, and Ashton Kutcher racking up 2 million visitors and then threatening to quit? THAT Twitter?

Yah, you betcha.

Someone on LinkedIn wanted to find out which of the big social media applications were important for brands to master. And surprisingly, or maybe not so much, most business people selected Twitter at 30%, Facebook at 26% was second, followed by LinkedIn (22%), and then the iPhone(?) with 18%.

Think about it: the iPhone not being a social media app notwithstanding, think about where most branding is going to take place.

  • LinkedIn is for business-to-business networking. Unless you’re promoting a B2B brand (like a copywriting service), you won’t get very far trying to market on LinkedIn.
  • Facebook is ideally suited for meeting old friends from high school, keeping in touch with new friends from social networking groups, getting fans for your restaurant’s, band’s, or cause’s page, or creating your own page for your restaurant, band, or cause.
  • The iPhone still isn’t a social media app. It’s just a really cool cell phone.
  • Twitter is going to be your best bet. It’s a way to communicate quickly with people who are following you. And presumably they’re following you because they like you.

Branding is basically establishing an emotional connection between your company or product and your customer. One of the best places to do that is first by going to where your customers are. And they’re on Facebook and Twitter. They’re not on LinkedIn, and they’re not on iPhone.

So what has the LinkedIn Branding Poll found so far? Who likes Twitter? According to ReadWriteWeb:

  1. Most appreciative of Twitter: Business owners, C-Level or VPs. People at large- or medium-sized companies. People doing business development, marketing or creative work.
  2. Least appreciative of Twitter: Non-managers. People at very large or small businesses. Consultants, Salespeople and Engineers.
  3. Most appreciative of LinkedIn: C-level and non-managers. At small- or medium-sized businesses. Doing consulting or sales.
  4. Least appreciative of LinkedIn: Owners and managers. At large or enterprise companies. In creative or marketing departments.

So who’s using Twitter? Biz dev, marketing, and creative types. The same ones not using LinkedIn for marketing.

The bigger question for the unnamed LinkedIn pollster is are our customers using Twitter? Are they on social media at all? Can we reach them with social media.

Something tells me it’s going to take a bigger poll to find that out.

Hat tip to Kyle Lacy for the article.

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    Author :  •  Content Location : Indianapolis, IN  •  Headline : Twitter and Facebook Better for Branding than LinkedIn?  •  Keywords : linkedin, Social Media, social networking, Twitter  • 
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    How to Set Up a Sexy Social Media Profile

    March 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

    Are You Social Sexy?

    Blow out the candle and turn off the Marvin Gaye. We’re not talking about that kind of sexy profile. Making connections online has gone far beyond e-dating. Now we’re e-networking: fishing (and casting) for jobs, getting (free) expert advice, and keeping track of who knows who we know (you know?). We’re all within six degrees of separation. These days, it’s more like six buddy lists.

    To make the most of this wide-spread web and the social network profiles that bind us, we have to represent our genuine selves attractively. The challenge is putting our best e-foot forward within the limitations of a social media profile with a tiny thumbnail of a profile pic.

    First, take advantage of the old adage that a picture’s worth a thousand words. Company presidents, executives, and managers agree that profiles that include a picture lend more credibility to any words on the page. Yes, it’s tempting to use that hilarious lamp-shade-on-the-head photo from the last office party or maybe even Fido’s most adorable pose, but keep in mind that we’re looking to make a connection for ourselves, not our pet or our party skills. The folks who wield paychecks, contracts, and years of experience say a flattering head shot in a professional setting is more attractive than swiping a pic of our favorite celebrity.

    Next, use your words. The completeness of a profile also gets the attention of big fish in this web pond. Fill in as many profile blanks as you can and keep the information accurate with regular updates. If you’re on multiple social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter, Digg, Facebook, etc.), make sure all your stats jive so that potential connections won’t get conflicting messages about your experience.

    And remember, get creative but don’t brag. Social media profiles shouldn’t be e-resumes. Make your profile as interesting and dynamic as you are, but don’t oversell your talents. No one wants to sit next the guy who can’t stop talking about himself, and it’s just as much a turn off to visit a profile page that screams “It’s all about me, wonderful ME!” Let your personality shine through—maybe with a quote or tagline about an experience in your life—and think about representing more than just your professional career.

    Social media networks are a relatively new aspect of how we communicate. But their influence is growing, and businesses are becoming more aware of the benefits social network profiles can bring. Posting our most compelling profiles now and developing them as these social media outlets grow is sure to keep our message the most attractive news we’ve heard on the grapevine. (And…cue the Marvin Gaye once more.)

    Mike Seidle is currently the CTO of Virtual Payment Systems, Inc, and is a one of the founders of Professional Blog Service. Mike currently serves on Professional Blog Service’s board of directors.

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      Don’t Miss The Point of Each Social Network

      March 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

      There are three major types of social networks – business, personal and communication. Notice I didn’t say “marketing?” Some may combine aspects of all three (Twitter) while others are more singular (LinkedIn).

      And even though you may call yourself a social media marketing guru, that doesn’t mean you can “market” your way across all three types in the same way. In fact, every network has a point or a purpose and if you’re missing it, then you’re missing out.

      Business

      Social networks that focus on business are your LinkedIn’s, your Biznik’s and all of those local listservs and forums that people participate in as part of their online business networking.

      The purpose here is to do business, not to share pictures of your kitten or that fantastic dancing robot video you found on YouTube. It’s also not the place for relentless marketing. In other words, don’t spam people.

      Personal

      I would describe Facebook as an example of a personal network. Some people may use it for business networking, but that’s not the point of it or the purpose.

      Instead, it’s private and most people create Facebook accounts as individuals, not businesses. Basically, it’s your space to be yourself, talk to your friends and family and share those kitten photos. If you’re using Facebook to bombard your “friends” with product announcements and sales pushes, you’re going to find yourself very friendless, very fast.

      Communication

      This is where it’s all about sharing what you know and your take on what you know and what other people you know know (have I lost you yet?). By definition, Twitter would fall into this category though the micro-blogging platform has evolved to embrace aspects of all three. Blogging would be another example.

      Remember, the onus here is on the communication. So, if you don’t have anything valuable to share or you waste your audience’s screen time with pitches and spam, you’ll lose them quickly. Go ahead, make a post about your new product, but also share that interesting industry-specific article you read last week.

      Social networks weren’t designed for marketing. They were designed for networking and each designed for a specific type of networking. Approaching all of them with the same marketing strategy is like trying to build a house with a Leatherman – sure, all of the tools are there, but that doesn’t mean it can be done.

      Mike Seidle is currently the CTO of Virtual Payment Systems, Inc, and is a one of the founders of Professional Blog Service. Mike currently serves on Professional Blog Service’s board of directors.

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        12 Ways To Do LinkedIn Wrong

        January 22, 2009 By 5 Comments
        wrongtext

        wrongtext1We love LinkedIn for both personal and corporate networking & promotion. However, we see a basket full of blunders that any informed networker would be ashamed to own up to.

        Here’s Our List

        1. End your title with the word “Expert,” or “Guru.” Exception: if your name actually is “Guru” or you are wearing a Karnac the Magnificent Hat in your profile pic, you are welcome to use the term Guru.

        2. Toss the word “foremost” or “leading” in front of your title. Everyone loves someone who is humble enough to know what they think you should think of them.

        3. Combine #1 and #2 – and become the “Leading Organic Fertilizer Guru”

        4. Don’t recommend people. Unless, of course, you wouldn’t like it if someone recommended you…

        5. Use your logo as your profile picture. Unless, of course, you actually look just like your logo.

        6. Don’t connect with anyone. LinkedIn becomes more useful with more connections. Why? Because you only see LinkedIn members you have a connection to. More connections means more search results and more potential connections.

        7. Join groups and post “I am growing my linked in network please connect with me” spams in discussions. No one joins LinkedIn to shrink their networks.

        8. Decorate your name with funky characters. People really want your to see ___**>>> Beth Badass <<<***___ in their Outlook. Oh, and funky character break features that people use to find you in Outlook, like say SEARCH. If your name is Beth, it starts with the letter “B” not the “_” character!

        9. Ask spammy questions like, “Did you know you can make millions with my secret process revealed in my latest ebook!?” That “report spam” link is really easy to click.

        10. Begin your title with “Professional,” “Competent,” or “Qualified.” You wouldn’t have a job if you were an amateur, would you? Why would an adult be less than qualified?

        11. Refusing all connection requests by clicking “I Don’t Know This Person.” While it may be true you don’t know that person, LinkedIn actually punishes people when you click “I don’t know.” And worse, LinkedIn tells the other side that you hate their guts and wanted them gibbeted. Hit the “archive” button instead of the I Don’t Know button. It has better karma.

        12. Log in once a quarter. Unless you like calling people and finding out that deal they sent over back in September, it closed three weeks ago.

        Mike Seidle is currently the CTO of Virtual Payment Systems, Inc, and is a one of the founders of Professional Blog Service. Mike currently serves on Professional Blog Service’s board of directors.

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          LinkedIn From a True Power Networker

          January 8, 2009 By 1 Comment

          LinkedIn is absolutely the best social network for making business connections. To clear up a lot of misconceptions, we recently asked Vincent Wright, founder of MyLinkedInPowerForum (now called MyLinkingPowerForum) a few questions to see how a true power networker uses LinkedIn:

          1. How do you use LinkedIn?

          VW: Carefully! :-) More seriously: I’ve used Linkedin both for
          extending my professional network and making introductions for my
          friends. I’ve also used it for a bit of research and branding, as
          well.

          2. Do you go for quantity or quality in your connections?

          VW: It cannot be just quantity OR quality, Mike. It MUST be both:
          Quantity AND Quality. If it’s not both, you don’t need Linkedin.
          For me, the QvQ concept strangles the very joy out of networking. QvQ
          just isn’t sufficient. Asking the QvQ question is not much better
          than asking if you prefer having just your Left Arm or your Right Arm?
          You want BOTH arms, right? Personally, I think QvQ needs to be
          re-argued towards Specificity/Generality (or something along the lines
          of my C.I.A. Concept (Confluence -> Influence -> Affluence)

          3. Do you ask or answer questions?

          VW: I tend to ask more questions than I answer. I expect that may
          change a bit once I have more time…

          4. Is LinkedIn gaining or losing relevance for you?

          VW: Though Linkedin has gained incredibly in power and membership size
          since I was first fell in love with it about 5 years ago, it’s not
          quite as relevant to me as it was 2-3 years ago. There’s an
          extraordinary range of competing sites where you can meet business
          professionals – Some of these sites are quite interesting, useful, and
          beneficial in their own rights. (FriendFeed, Twitter, Ning,
          CollectiveX, Xing, Google Friend Connect, My Blog Log, Yahoo Groups,
          Facebook, etc. I think the more astute online networkers are now
          using these these sites in conjunction WITH Linkedin.)

          About the Interviewee:
          Vincent Wright is an entreprenueral recruiter and leading LinkedIn Evangelist and a fixture in the LinkedIn community. Vincent’s MyLinkingPowerForum and MyVirtualPowerForum Yahoo Group are ground zero for many highly influential LinkedIn members.

          Connect With Vincent
          Twitter.com/VincentWright
          Linkedin.com/in/VincentWright

          Mike Seidle is currently the CTO of Virtual Payment Systems, Inc, and is a one of the founders of Professional Blog Service. Mike currently serves on Professional Blog Service’s board of directors.

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            Branded Social Networks

            December 26, 2008 By 4 Comments
            networking

            One of the chief features of social media is the ability to participate in a larger community without needing to reinvent it. The idea with social media marketing is that your reach can be extended by publishing on existing social sites.

            Post a question on your website, you get a few responses. Pose the same question to LinkedIn you get many, many more answers.networking

            Which raises the question: Why do corporations and brand managers keep trying to make their own social networks? It really doesn’t make sense, but [Read more...]

            Mike Seidle is currently the CTO of Virtual Payment Systems, Inc, and is a one of the founders of Professional Blog Service. Mike currently serves on Professional Blog Service’s board of directors.

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              LinkedIn – Do’s and Don’ts

              December 23, 2008 By 5 Comments
              plusminusdodont

              SN reviews

              Don’t: Use Your Work or Primary Home Email as Your Public Email
              Get a Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail account, unless you really like spam with your email. LinkedIn provides some protection to your email address, but it does give your email to first degree connections and the owners of groups you join.

              Do Understand How LinkedIn Search Works
              LinkedIn has millions of users.  LinkedIn’s search system is critical because it is what helps you find people and what powers the “people you may know” tool. The search tool is limited to:

              • First level connections – your friends.
              • Second level connections – your friend’s friends.
              • Third level connections – your friend’s friends friends.
              • People in groups with you
              • A random sample of the rest of the database – and you do not get to see names.

              In short: the more connections you have, the easier is to find people you are not connected to.

              Do Have a Strategy
              Quantity over Quality
              The idea here is to connect with as many people as possible so you have access to as many LinkedIn users as possible. This generally means accepting connections from anyone who wants to connect with you.  If you are a marketer, serial networker or recruiter, then the quantity should trump quality.

              Quality over Quantity
              If you don’t need max our your visibility of LinkedIn’s database, then the best way to use LinkedIn is to focus on quality. Connect with people that you know or who have a reason (beyond being a prospect) to know you.  If you do purue quality, you should connect with a few “superconnectors” (people with thousands of connections) to gain access to more people in LinkedIn’s database.  It will be very hard to find people you know if you only can see 23,000 people compared to 453,000 people.

              Do: Join groups
              Groups allow you to find people with simmilar interest quickly.  Joining in discussion is a great way to meet new people.

              Don’t Spam Groups
              On LinkedIn there are two kinds of spam: blatant self promoting advertisements and blatant attempts to get more connections.  Take a minute to look at a discussion group before your post a message and make sure the group has posts like the one you want to make.

              Do: State that you are open to connections if you are.
              If you want to grow your network quickly, tell people that you are an “open networker,” or even become a LION (LinkedIn Open Networker).

              Don’t break Outlook with your fabulous name.
              LinkedIn allows people to download their freinds and their friend’s email addresses.  If you make a fancy name like “>>>Bob “The NetworkGuru” Smith<<<” it will make a first impression.  But the second impression will be that you can’t be found in outlook because your first name doesn’t start with “>” it starts with “B.”

              Mike Seidle is currently the CTO of Virtual Payment Systems, Inc, and is a one of the founders of Professional Blog Service. Mike currently serves on Professional Blog Service’s board of directors.

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                The Indiana Social Network Use Survey

                December 15, 2008 By 3 Comments
                linkingindiana

                Professional Blog Service, an Indiana based social media and blogging agency is pleased to announce the results of the first annual Linking Indiana Indiana Social Media Use Survey. The survey was commissioned to determine how Indiana businesspeople use social networks.

                Important Conclusions

                • Social networking sites are widely used by Hoosier business persons. Less than 3% of those surveyed indicated they did not use social networks.
                • 42% of Hoosier business persons use social networks to find new business contacts.
                • LinkedIn (28.9%), Facebook (34.7%) and MySpace (28.1%) get roughly equal use.

                About Linking Indiana
                Linking Indiana is a Indiana based social networking group that exists on Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, FriendFeed and Twitter that lets people quickly connect to others from Indiana. Information on Linking Indiana is available at LinkingIndiana.com.

                Mike Seidle is currently the CTO of Virtual Payment Systems, Inc, and is a one of the founders of Professional Blog Service. Mike currently serves on Professional Blog Service’s board of directors.

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