Social Media

Social Networking Classes for Business

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Student feedback for the recent social networking classes in McHenry has been fabulous. We have a whole new set of LinkedIn users, Facebook friends, Twitter Tweeters and bloggers out there.


This four class series ran three times in McHenry at the Shah Illinois Small Business Development (ISBDC) Center.

After the class, students were invited to join our LinkedIn group to share learnings and best practices with each other. If you attended one of my social networking classes and would like to join this group, send me an email and let me know the class you attended.

If you missed on the session in McHenry, you still have time to register for classes in Elgin. Check our events page for the upcoming events.

Social Media

Tweeting in McHenry County

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Do you have a business in one of these McHenry County cities or villages?

  • Algonquin
  • Alden
  • Barrington Hills
  • Big Foot
  • Cary
  • Chemung
  • Crystal Lake
  • Fox Lake
  • Fox River Grove
  • Greenwood
  • Harvard
  • Hebron
  • Huntley
  • Island Lake
  • Johnsburg
  • Lake in the Hills
  • Lakemoor
  • Lakewood
  • Marengo
  • McHenry
  • Oakwood Hills
  • Port Barrington
  • Prairie Grove
  • Richmond
  • Ringwood
  • Spring Grove
  • Trout Valley
  • Wonder Lake
  • Woodstock
  • Unincorporated McHenry county

Enter a comment below with your business name and Twitter handle so I can add your business to our list of McHenry County businesses. Let us know what products or services your business provides.

The McHenry County Business Twitter list takes you to the latest updates from McHenry’s finest companies. For easy access, click “follow” to get to the list from your Twitter page.

Check out the business we are doing in McHenry.

review

Rock the World with your Online Presence book

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Mike O’Neil knows how to Rock the World with your Online Presence: Your Ticket to a Multi-Platinum LinkedIn Profile 2nd Edition with music and LinkedIn. I picked up new techniques on updating my profile while reading a promotional copy of the book. Mike and his co-author Lori Ruff weave the solid advice on building a strong LinkedIn profile with classic rock songs.

The book walks the reader through each element of a LinkedIn profile starting at the top. Chapter by chapter, you will learn how to maximize the law of attraction to let others find you online. Using screen shots, examples and tips, these authors start with strategy then get to the details. Mike and Lori focus on the hard tactics which make all the difference online.

Their tips on creating an attention getting LinkedIn profile headline include keyword search strategies, number of characters allowed (120) and using market test strategies.

The power of keywords is a feature often overlooked by LinkedIn users. Mike and Lori show you how to enter keywords in the best segments of your profile so they become searchable by others.

This book is about LinkedIn though there is references to integrate LinkedIn with other tools. The importance of status updates is discussed and links to Twitter updates as well. They discuss the recently added LinkedIn status functionality which allows an instant update to your linked Twitter account.

Their suggestions for giving and receiving professional recommendations are right on. With 3-5 sentences, you can get to the point and make your case. They show you how to make it easy for others to recommend your work.

Linkedin regularly changes the user interface or adds new features. To keep the book current, there is a website where updates and additional content are posted.

Check out this book if you are ready to dive in to create a LinkedIn profile that “Rocks the World.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

review

Press Pause Moments Essays About Life Transitions

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The team at Press Pause Anthology invited me to be part of the work titled,

Press Pause Moments, compiled & edited by Anne Witkavitch. The anthology is being published by Kiwi Publishing, a small press in Connecticut.

I am delighted to be am included along with my fellow Algonquin Area Writers Group member Claire Beck.

My contribution is my personal tale of transition from the corporate world to business owner entitled “Brand New Strings” Thanks to fellow writer Lisa Williams for editing my story.

The title comes from my husband and the joy he gets from playing on a restrung guitar as the bright sounds ring out.

Nothing like a set of brand new stings

This career transition gave me a renewed sense of purpose and direction. My passion for my work shines like a set of brand new strings. More on the book launch soon.

Social Media

How Often to Blog

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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!

Social Media

Duplicate LinkedIn Profiles

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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.

career

Want the Facts on Unemployment and Labor Statistics?

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The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The collect, process, analyze and report the data on their website.

Budget Forum
Creative Commons License photo credit: JSmith Photo
Information you can find on unemployment figures includes:

  • National Unemployment Rate (from the Current Population Survey: A monthly household survey provides comprehensive information on the employment and unemployment of the population classified by age, sex, race, and other characteristics.
  • State and Local Unemployment Rates: Monthly estimates of employment and unemployment are available for all States, metropolitan areas, small labor market areas, counties, cities of 25,000 or more, all cities and towns in New England, and certain other areas.
  • International Unemployment Rates: Monthly estimates of unemployment rates for 10 countries, approximating U.S. concepts, are available on a seasonally adjusted basis.
  • Mass Layoff Statistics: BLS publishes monthly reports on all mass layoffs and quarterly reports on layoffs lasting more than 30 days. These reports identify, describe, and track the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each State’s unemployment insurance database supplemented with employer-provided data.
  • Unemployment Research: The Employment Research staff initiates, plans, and directs activities for improving the quality and enhancing the analytical usefulness of BLS employment and unemployment statistics.

Have questions? The Bureau has answers.

Social Media

Choosing LinkedIn Groups to Join

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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!

career

Benefits of Volunteering

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Talking to clients this week, I heard a common thread. They told me volunteering is the best form of in person networking. Two organization were recommended as the best places for business people to volunteer. These groups are Toastmasters International and the local Chamber of Commerce.

Toastmasters International with local chapters around the globe is a place where you can build your public speaking skills while you network with and get to know those in your neighborhood. I was at an event last night where 1 out of 3 of the attendees were Toastmasters. Leadership positions and mentoring positions are open at the chapter, district, regional and global level.

Simon Phipps
Creative Commons License photo credit: LornaJane.net

Many cities and villages have a Chamber of Commerce to support their business owners. By stepping up to a leadership position, you have an opportunity to get to know your fellow members.

In both these groups, you have an opportunity to demonstrate your leadership skills and build your network. Check out your local group to learn more.

career

Making the Most of Your Mentoring Relationship Report

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Mentoring is a two way relationship which can be a gift to both parties.

Merriam Webster says the root of the word mentor comes from the Greek Mentor, a friend of Odysseus entrusted with the education of Odysseus’ son Telemachus. In our business world, we refer to the dictionary’s second definition: a mentor is a trusted counselor, guide, tutor, coach.

Over my career I have been a mentor and mentee. Sometimes, both roles at the same time. Sometimes mentors were much like me and other times they had a different approach to business. Each type had its benefits.

Making the Most of Your Mentoring Relationship report from CyberLife Tutors

I currently mentor several people on different aspects of their career. We set goals for our relationship and work though these items at an agreed upon pace. Ready to find out more about mentoring? Check out our special report Making the Most of Your Mentoring Relationship Report.

Social Media Strategy, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Blogs

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