How to Use LinkedIn to Drive Dollars

by Julie Squires on September 7, 2011

in Federal government,Hotel marketing,Julie Squires,Multifamily Housing,Public relations,Social media

LinkedIn guru and joint venture partner, JD Gershbein,  shared tactically rich and empowering ideas with both our clients and staff during a recent in-house training session. JD is CEO of Owlish Communications, and a national keynote speaker on LinkedIn and social branding. Companies like Deloitte, Kraft, Orbitz Travel and Coldwell Banker tap his wisdom. Check out his 12-part LinkedIn blog series  in Success magazine.

JD navigated us through:

Best practices for sales on LinkedIn
How to create sales call preparedness

How to leverage video on LinkedIn, and
How to use LinkedIn company pages

My favorite take away was the “Notes” section. Did you know you can make notes – right on the profiles – about people you research and interact with on LinkedIn? And your notes are visible to you only. Also, searching a person via the “Updates” tab brings up all conversation about that person. Want to know your sales prospect inside out?

You might be using LinkedIn to drive dollars if you:
Spend 1- hour a day nurturing your LinkedIn network
Know who’s viewed your profile lately
Polish your LinkedIn etiquette
Add your Amazon reading list to your profile
Realize the LinkedIn Invitation and Acceptance are key
Know how to embed a video into your LinkedIn Profile
          Hint: Click here to learn how

Would you like to refresh your LinkedIn profile? If so, click here  to test drive Softscribe’s services via our LinkedIn Profile writing. Ask for the video link to JD’s one-hour presentation and get started using LinkedIn to drive dollars.

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How to Easily Enter the Social Business BOOM and Win More Sales

by Julie Squires on August 1, 2011

in Blogs,Federal government,Hotel marketing,Julie Squires,Multifamily Housing,Public relations,Social media,Views

Thanks to my friend Chip Elbers, COO of America’s Best FranchisinG, for handing me last week a signed copy of Jeffrey Gitomer’s book Social BOOM!

It’s what most of our clients, prospects and B2B colleagues have been waiting for: a 187-page HOW TO business book on why we MUST BUILD a solid online presence – that includes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr – to win more sales.

My favorite part is: JEFFREY’S BIO on his twitter page. Want to know how to humanize your business persona? HE NAILS IT.  “King of sales, dad, granddad, writer, friend.”

 

My second favorite part is – His book endorses what we teach our clients: Prioritize Your Marketing Efforts in This Order -

CONTENT

SEARCH, and then

SOCIAL MEDIA.

This ACTION BOOK reveals a tipping point, and then shows you how to engage. NOTE: The set up time for each social media platform is REAL. To leverage our time, we use HootSuite as our publishing platform and TubeMogul to distribute videos.

We also nudge clients along the business social media path AS THEY ARE READY. I’ve found this to be a light that switches on from the inside.

At Softscribe Inc., for clients who are ready we are currently doing a deep dive into LinkedIn monetization with our joint venture partner Owlish Communications. And we are always learning from pros like my friend Toby Bloomberg of Diva Marketing and new stars like my friend Emma Loggins of LNP Studios.

Wondering how you will work this into your already packed day and win more sales? Consider adopting this attitude:

Social media IS FUN and SELF EXPRESSION IS FULFILLMENT.

I favor Twitter!  @Juliesquires   What is your favorite business social media venue?

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QR Codes 101: What Hotel and Apartment Marketers Need to Know

by Julie Squires on June 2, 2011

in Blogs,Hospitality,Hotel marketing,Internet marketing,Julie Squires,Multifamily Housing,Public relations,Social media,Views

Code Unique, a hotel complex in the Dubai Studio City district, was built with a QR code theme.

Why will QR – Quick Response - Codes be the new standard for moving mobile content? Because Google – through Google Places – is pushing it, and Microsoft, through Microsoft Tag, is close behind. Thanks to Kerry W. Kirby,CEO of 365 Connect and MultifamilyBiz.com for that observation, with which I agree.

Are you in marketing for the long-term?

If so, click here for a story-rich narrative on the evolution of QR Codes. Guaranteed – the first 30 minutes will give you the background perspective needed to successfully pivot your ongoing PR and marketing campaigns within the context of QR Codes, a new standard for moving mobile content. Again, thanks to multifamily industry leaders Ernest Oriente of PowerHour® and Kerry Kirby.

Some Vocabulary

To play with QR Codes, you will need a camera phone – like a smartphone, a QR Code generator and a QR Code reader, also called a scanner.

Generators and readers are not the same. Generators, which create QR Codes from a URL you type in, usually reside on the Internet and are accessible through a browser.

Scanners are downloadable to your smartphone. Click here for a short video on how to use a QR code scanner with a mobile phone

Here is a list of QR Code Generators and Generators with tracking and analytics .

QR Codes need a mobile ready website to convert visitors. YOU need a QR Code reader.

To leverage QR Codes, your hotel or apartment complex will need a mobile ready website, and you personally will need a QR Code reader and QR Code generator. I downloaded i-nigma reader for the iPhone, and plan to use it to generate QR Codes, too. It has analytics, a key feature to measure conversions. Thanks to my colleague and mentor Stephanie True Moss, founder of QRmedia.us, for the guidance.

“Twelve steps to a strong QR Code campaign”

Once you have a reader, a mobile ready website, and an understanding of where this tactic fits into your overall marketing plan and sales goals – now what? Here are Twelve Steps to A Strong QR Code Campaign.   

Fabrice de Nola, an Italian-Belgian visual artist, was the first artist to create works of art, in 2006, using painted QR codes containing web links and texts readable through mobiles.

How do vertical industries use QR Codes?

Still wondering if the learning curve is worth your time for the PR and marketing ROI? Here’s how various industries already use QR Codes:

Retail and Performing Art

  • McDonald’s in Japan puts QR Codes on the side of burger boxes to embed nutritional information.
  • Artists embed info on photos and art with QR Codes.
  • Recording artists promote their music. Fans scan the QR Code and go to the artist’s video.
  • Hollywood promotes movies with QR Codes.
  • Retailers like Calvin Klein, Best Buy and BMW use QR Codes to push product info and specials.

(Thanks Kerry Kirby)

Hotels and Restaurants

  • “Rather than using a survey link on your receipts, use a QR Code.
  • Have your customers give out referral cards with QR Codes on them which lead to a special friends and family rate.
  • Create table tents or displays that lead to review sites so your customers can review your property while it’s still fresh in their mind.
  • Put a QR Code on your door or front window that leads to your Facebook fan page complete with hours and a menu.
  • Use QR Codes on your menu to show diners where your locally sourced food comes from.”

Thanks to Hospitality Marketing Experts for the ideas and 1-minute video.     Another idea is to add a QR Code to your business card that takes the viewer to your Vcard full of contact information.  Thanks to Cendyn (client.)

Destination Marketers

Click here to read best practices for Destination Marketers in the hospitality industry. Much thanks to Two Chicks and Company.

Calvin Klein was the first major U.S. brand to use QR Codes in marketing.

At Softscribe, every day we see how a focus on 1. Content 2. Search Engine Optimization 3. Social Media and other tactics like QR Codes, helps our technology clients reach their sales goals. What other insight about QR Codes, and online marketing + public relations would you like to see? What are some of the biggest obstacles you face? What has been your biggest marketing success to date?

Photo credits: Kevin May, QR Code Hotel

Bottom Up by artist Fabrice de Nola

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How to Validate Your Customers: Attention

by Julie Squires on May 3, 2011

in Julie Squires

I promise an expanding, clarifying experience if you take 20-minutes to listen to Steve Rubel’s comments on the Laws of Attention.  If time is limited, my Cliff Notes are below.

Highlights from Steve Rubel’s talk at The Next Web Conference.

Trend: The concept of attention and how to manage it.

  • Digital is infinite.
  • Time and attention remain finite.

    • People need to see a message 3 to 5 times before they act.

  • To influence behavior, you need a strong narrative
  • Magic happens when you tightly integrate traditional PR and social.
  • Facebook: Best times to post in the U.S.: At the top and bottom of the hour. People check Facebook in between meetings.
  • Twitter: it’s like wet snow; it evaporates.
  • Video: most people watch the first 10 seconds; few people watch past 5 minutes. Put the lead in the first 20 seconds.

    • Attention has 2 vectors: Time and Space

    How to Optimize Space:
    1.     Build and maintain digital embassies
    “I advise my clients to follow the Jay Leno rule where guests talk for 15mins about interesting things and 5mins about themselves”

    Hand craft your content for each embassy.
    Have a content calendar.
    Use tools to manage your presence: HootSuite

    2.     Activate employees as thought leaders inside these embassies
    We are now entering the 3rd Era of the web:

    1st Era of the Web: Commercialization. Only large companies had a presence.

    2nd Era: Democratization. Anybody can have a voice.

    3rd Era: Validation. People want quality over quantity and expertise. People now trust technical experts. Social media should be 1% of 100 people’s jobs.

    3.     Tightly integrate social into your website.
    Social is not a channel, it’s a behavior

    How to Make Time Your Ally:
    1.     Think about day-parted engagement. Practice bi-focal awareness.
    Situational – what’s going on in the environment
    Ambient – what’s going on near me
    The Economist uses a tool called Social Flow

    2.     Optimize your content based on time of day:
    Tool – www.timely.is

    3.     Plan, test, measure.
    This is a science experiment. Look at link tracking; see how long the links last.
    Eventually you get to a formula when you figure out what works and what does not.

    What about you?  Are you engaged in social media?  Give me a shout at julie(at)softscribeinc.com to learn how to integrate social media into your public relations program.

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