If you’re in business, trying to get more business or looking for a new job, you are probably using Linked In.  Facebook began as a social tool for university students and has great business uses, but Linked In was founded to help business people network.  I’m finding many of my clients prefer the more formal and down to business atmosphere offered by Linked In.  They’re also finding greater success in connecting with target clientele – especially in more high industries such as purchasing artwork, and custom designed homes.

But like Facebook and face-to-face networking, Linked In is all about connecting and sharing.  Getting your business blog posts out to your Linked In following without a lot of extra steps is a great time saver.  Let’s get started:

1. First, go to your Linked In account (www.linkedin.com) and log in:
   Note this is your personal profile not a business page

2.  Next, you’ll want to edit your profile.  In the navigation at the top, hover over PROFILE then click on EDIT PROFILE in the drop down menu.

3.  Now, to add the application.  Scroll down to near the bottom of the page.  You are looking for the section called APPLICATIONS.  Click on +ADD AN APPLICATION (it’s to the left of the title).

4.  Under APPLICATIONS you’ll see a number of APPS to use.   When you see the WORDPRESS APP, click on it!

5. To the right you’ll see APPLICATION INFO.  Be sure both checkboxes are checked next to DISPLAY ON MY PROFILE and  DISPLAY ON MY LINKEDIN HOMEPAGE.  Then click on the blue ADD APPLICATION

6.  Next you will need your RSS feed.  Typically this is something like:

• http://feeds.feedburner.com/example
• http://example.com/feed.

If you are still unsure, you can click on your RSS icon on your blog, and copy the address

7.  Copy your RSS feed into the LinkedIn Application you opened in Step 5.  Then click on SAVE

8.  You should now see a page of your recent blog posts:

9.  Double check your blog is functioning on LinkedIn by going to the navigation menu at the top of the page, hovering over PROFILE, and clicking the dropdown for VIEW PROFILE.

In local websites and websites at large, the integration of social media into the website creates a challenge.  The way you can integrate is constantly changing so it is important to stay up to date.

I came across a great post at Social Media Examiner.  They share 10 Ways to Integrate Facebook into Your Website.   At first, I thought ten ways was a little overboard, but then I read through the entire list.  I was at the bottom of the list of ten before I came across a method I hadn’t used in a website.  What a surprise!  This journey reinforced my view that there are so many ways to include social media in your website – sometimes TOO many ways.

For a local website, let’s consider WHY you want Facebook on your website.  First and foremost, you want it to create and grow relationships with current and future customers.  Having a LIKE button on your website gives your website readers a way to link into your Facebook page.  By LIKING you from your website, they’re saying they’d like to hear more.  If you are posting and responding on your FB page, you’ll be solidifying your customer relationships.

Another reason to have Facebook on your website is to continue the conversation.  There are different strokes for different folks – even with social media.  Some folks like to get a glimpse of what’s going on with you and your company all in one place.  By having your Facebook conversations on your blog, you can draw your website customers into the conversation.

Finally, one of the biggest values of Facebook is the viral marketing aspect.  By placing a SEND button on your website pages, you encourage the website reader to share what they’ve seen with other friends.  Put up some great local content on your website and it may go viral.  Even a little viral goes a long way in drawing more visitors to your website and even your storefront.

While you can include Facebook in at least 10 different ways into your website, consider WHY you want to use each method and then apply it (or have your webmaster do it for you).   Either way, get your Facebook page and your website friendly with each other to create and build better relationships with your current and future customers.

Tagging friends in photos can be a great way to share photos, but how can use it in your business. Facebook Fanpages or business pages don’t permit you tag, but you CAN tag your personal friends if you access your page as an administrator. Enjoy the step by step below. Don’t forget to share your ideas for tagging in your Facebook fanpage in the comments below . . .

Don’t be caught being the ONLY person who can edit your Facebook Fanpage. Whether you’re on vacation, sick with the flu, or just need your assistant to make directed changes, at some point, you will need another administrator for your page. Take a look and see the step by step . . . When you’re done, be sure to leave a comment sharing why YOU need another administrator on your Facebook Business page.

It’s nearly the end of November and we’re all putting in the final push to complete our annual sales goals.  But have you started thinking about the coming new year?  Lots has changed dramatically in the online marketing arena in 2010.  Social media went from being a buzz word your savvy techy friends were tossing around to the tool driving your entire marketing plan.  Gone are the days when your business, local or global, could ignore the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

As the year comes to a close, be sure to take stock of your marketing dollars.  What has worked successfully for you in marketing online this year?  What has produced the most measurable results? (you did measure your results right?)  Is there a better way to use social media tools such Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to create a more effective and measurable result?  If you’re doing your social media marketing inhouse, is it working well for you?  Have you considered hiring someone to do your social media marketing for you?  If you have hired outside help, do you need to make any adjustments for the new year?

If you didn’t measure your marketing this past year, start a strategic marketing plan with measurable goals.

What will you be doing to improve your profitability in 2011.  Let me know in the comment area below

Video is a great resource to add to your blog posts. You can develop a video yourself or you can search for just the right video on YouTube (www.youtube.com) There are other video resources out there, but YouTube is by far the largest. Give this tutorial a try and be sure to post below how it worked out for you.

Here is a great interview with Mark Zuckerman, founder of Facebook.  He shares why Facebook is an important element of your marketing strategy.

Now that you have your Facebook Like / Fan page going strong, you’re probably noticing strange and sometimes offensive comments popping up.  In addition, Facebook’s spam filter may also be filtering out quality posts made by your fans. Mari Smith does a great job sharing how to control these posts:

As an internet marketer and an amateur news hound, I come across lots of stories about life and social media every day.  The recent suicide of a Rutgers University freshman made headlines.  His roommate and another student posted a sex video of him online and then tweeted about it.  Sadly, the victim reacted by jumping from a bridge.  Charges are being levied against the students broadcasting the video.  These “kids” could get up to 5 years in jail for something they probably considered a joke.  Beyond being totally gross and upsetting, this case brings out what we parents must teach to our children about social media.

1.        If your post contains something about someone else (picture, video or even words), have they given or would they give you permission to post?  If not, STOP!

This is a difficult thought process for young people.  It’s part of their development both mentally and physically.  Where do they draw the line? Studies have shown the part of the brain controlling judgment doesn’t fully develop until the early-20’s.  The general society around our youth help generate guidelines of acceptable behavior for every day living.  However, the rapid growth of social media has provided a channel to communicate and express themselves with no pre-set limitations.  It’s important for parents to talk about limitation for social media use.  Otherwise, the youth don’t have any.

2.       For this post you are about to make, would you want to have your grandmother (or grandchild) read it?  Would they understand what you are talking about?  If not, STOP!

Some posts are just plain silly, but silliness can get out of hand.  Remember the words you use to describe a hobby, may be taken totally differently by someone not familiar with the hobby.  My sons like to play aero-soft (a saner version of paintball).  There is a massive amount of gear involved from various rifles and handguns to protective gear to keep you safe and hidden from your opponents.  While I’m thankful they are out in the woods playing games instead of doing them on an X-box from the couch in the living room, it would be patently inappropriate to post pictures online with their guns or videos of their personal adventures.  They also need to be careful of their word choices in sharing about their adventures online.  Taken at a glance some of their uncensored comments could make them sound like they’re building a militia.   This is not their intent and they’re just innocently playing around with each other.

3.       Does this post best represent you? If not, STOP!

I believe in years to come, the majority of our reputation will be gathered from online materials.  This process is already starting to happen as the Library of Congress catalogs our Twitter tweets and as employers search Facebook, blogs, and other resources to better screen prospective employee.  Parents need to teach their youth of the permanence of their online postings.  Even though the accounts have been cancelled on Twitter for the suicide case mentioned at the beginning of this post, you can still find it today in Google’s Cache.  Even though it was cancelled, Twitter still retains the archive of the account and every tweet placed there.

Personally, I believe social media has made it much more difficult for our young people.   With much freedom comes much responsibility.  Social media provides an unprecedented amount of communication freedom, but much of our youth is unprepared and untrained to handle it.  Take a few minutes at the dinner table tonight and chat about these three rules.  You’ll be amazed what you learn from your youth.

In closing, I’d like to share a blog from a mother to her daughter.  It was sent after reading of the tragic suicide at Rutgers.  I’ve shared it with my boys and hope you can share it, too.

http://vicky-bell.blogspot.com/2010/10/letter-to-my-daughter-in-wake-of.html?spref=fb

It focuses on the most important thing we can give our children in this social media age: love.