Category Archives: Social Media

How Often to Blog

I am often asked, “How often should I blog?”

Those who study industry trends generally recommend bloggers post new blog entries at least every fourteen days. Why? Posting on a regular schedule keeps your content fresh and interesting.

Where Are You Today Travel Blog

Search engines love blogs for this reason. Google and other sites will visit blogs often to look for new content. The return to learn how often to expect new content from your site. By writing new blog posts on a regular schedule, you will train the search engines to return more often.

There are a few bloggers who post daily or even more often than that. Seth Godin comes to mind. His posts are short, maybe two or three paragraphs on a topic.

Whatever schedule you choose for yourself, be consistent. It is best to under promise and over deliver. If you write an extra message or two, it is a bonus!

Duplicate LinkedIn Profiles

Duplicate LinkedIn profiles are common. This can happen when you create a LinkedIn profile using one address then you receive another LinkedIn invitation to join through a different address. When you click on the link to the LinkedIn website, it does not recognize your email address and you are encouraged to create a profile.
ivan-walsh-linkedin-profile
Creative Commons License photo credit: Ivan Walsh

Why is this a problem? When you build connections and recommendations they are tied to a single profile. Currently, there is no way to merge two different profiles. They are each stand alone entities independent of one another.

Think of a customer or client who looks for you on LinkedIn. If they see two separate profiles, how will they know which one to connect with? The only way to resolve this is to delete one profile. When you do this, you will lose all your connections and recommendations on the deleted profile.

You can prevent this from occurring by updating your LinkedIn profile with all the email addresses you use.

Choosing LinkedIn Groups to Join

You asked, “How do I begin choosing LinkedIn groups?”

Linkedin
Creative Commons License photo credit: Coletivo Mambembe

LinkedIn groups provide a forum for those interested in a specific topic to share information and learn from each other. You can join an existing group or create your own group for a specific purpose. I created the “CyberLife Tutors Connectors” LinkedIn Group to share information on networking and jobs.

The owner of the group determines if the group is open to everyone or has restricted access requiring approval of the group manager. The group owner can pre approve or invite others to join the group.

Search in the group directory on a subject of interest to you. Review the search results to select groups to join. I read the description of the group and note the number of members. A useful national group or global group will have thousands of members. Groups bound to a geographic area might have hundreds of members.

You can choose up to 50 groups to join. Have fun!

Social Networking Etiquette

There is etiquette in social networking. Yes, the typing short cuts are GR8 and punctuation is optional. Despite this fact, there are rules in the online world. FInd out how you can make the most of your online time and present the best side of you.

Social Networking is about relationships. You’re building a community. As with any other group, there are standards of etiquette that will keep you in good standing with the people and groups with whom you connect. Find out the “dos” and “don’ts” to make the best impression. These powerful tools are free to use and can differentiate your brand. Stand out head and shoulders above the crowd without standing out like a sore thumb.

Social Networking Etiquette Report from CyberLife Tutors

Learn how to put your best face forward when you are online in this Social Networking Etiquette Report from CyberLife Tutors. Invest in yourself and learn how to effectively use social networking etiquette.

5 Reasons to Join LinkedIn Groups

Do you need more reasons to join a LinkedIn group?

For those who say they do not have time to network, here are some interesting statistics I read:

  • Percentage of elite professionals (those earning more than $200,000 per year) who say networking impacts income, according to a study from Upwardly Mobile Inc. with the assistance of the Graziadio School of Business Management at Pepperdine University: 80%
  • Percentage who believe a skilled networker could see up to a 100 percent increase in income: 58%
  • Percentage of respondents who said networking is how they found their current job: 40%

Source: uexpress.com/figurativelyspeaking

LinkedIn members, know they can connect directly with other individuals. LinkedIn groups enable collective connections with others to engage in group dialog.

Here are five reasons to join a LinkedIn group:

  • Learn from having rich discussions with others in your field, industry, geographic area, etc.
  • Identify partnership opportunities
  • Share best practices with other like-minded networkers
  • Post job openings
  • Build relationships to benefit from future employment or sales opportunities

To choose a LinkedIn group to join, search the ‘groups’ directory. You can choose from corporate, professional, industry, alumni, or geographic groups.

Join LinkedIn groups and network with others who are serious about managing their careers. You will learn and share ideas with industry experts. Members understand networking is not something you do for a short time to land a job. Networking is for life.

Post a question, offer your perspective, link to a career article or let us know about job openings. Send a note to the group and introduce yourself. What you put into the group will come back to you again and again.

Where Are You Today Video Podcast

Where Are You Today?” is the name of our podcast series published on our travel blog and  YouTube. My husband is the Executive Producer for these episodes and we have fun filming and producing the scenes.

One of my students walked into my “Facebook for Business” class yesterday and said “I did not know how much fun Social networking can be!” We do find social networking fun as we blend both our business and personal life online.

My husband and I enjoy traveling locally and afar. On our adventures we bring a video camera to shoot footage at the places we visit. We especially like finding out of the way treasures. Having the video camera with us gives us the ability to be spontaneous and take advantage of the moment.

When we get home, Noel transforms the bits and bytes into three – five minute segments we publish in our “Where Are You Today?” YouTube video podcast series.

Enjoy viewing these “Where Are You Today?” segments.