LinkedIn Essentials: Recommendations

One of the most important aspects of a great LinkedIn profile is recommendations. This shows future employers that influential peers, co-workers and clients have supported your work.

When asking for a recommendation, there are a few key steps to consider:

First, ask for recommendations from people who hold higher positions. For example, one from your CEO or manager is more beneficial than five recommendations from co-workers. You are considered more qualified when you have substantial recommendations.

After establishing some initial credibility, the best way to garner more recommendations is by actually writing them for others. If you write an honest recommendation, others will be inclined to return the favor for you.

Finally, every truly successful LinkedIn profile has at least 10 recommendations. This may take a few weeks; so, start now and stick with a regular schedule!

Following these simple steps can help you establish a real presence on LinkedIn. For more tips and tricks to improve your LinkedIn profile with recommendations, click Here!

Stay tuned for more about LinkedIn. 

- Mandy & Kelly

I Need to What?
By Lizzy Fillback and Robin Ezell

So you think this is it? You’ve taken all of the classes, completed the capstone project, written countless press releases and received your diploma. You are ready to start your first PR job.

You put on your dry cleaned suit. You get in your car and arrive over an hour early. You set up your desk and patiently wait for your first task.

…I need to what? There is no way this is part of my job. Well future PR pros, guess what? Chances are it is.

We want you to be prepared. This week we’re sharing an article called “14 essentials for PR newbies” by Amy Howell.

This article lays out exactly what you need to know when entering the PR world. The comments below the article also have some great tips from readers so be sure to check those out.

We hope you find value in this article and ultimately realize, you’ll need to do quite a bit to succeed in the world of PR.

Love in PR,

Lizzy&Robin

Here, content! Good, content!

Greetings content maniacs, from Zach and Austin! 

Today we will discuss pirates, ninjas and puppies. Not really, but now that we have your attention, let’s talk about “good” content… and how to get it.

It’s true that if you pack a website or blog with keywords, it will increase your SEO but that doesn’t necessarily mean that your content is any good. So once you get them to your site, how do you keep them there? Here is what we’ve learned about creating good content.

Good content has to be created, crafted even. You can’t just “write”. Your readers want to be engaged. So engage them! 

• Write about things that are relevant- make sure you don’t have gobs of information on your site that has nothing to do with your site.
• Write with passion and conviction- write what you love to write about because you love to write about it. There’s no way it won’t be interesting.
• Write with structure and proper grammar- We cannot stress this enough! If you write well and with detail, there will be no doubt that your writing will be understood.
•  Write with accuracy- Make sure you are not giving false information. Take a little extra time to do the research. You won’t regret it. And readers will appreciate it.
• Add photos! Blogs and pictures go together like peanut butter and bananas. (Hey, if Elvis said its OK, its OK.)  Allow readers to become further engaged, a (relevant) photo gives that little something extra that they sometimes need to get through the post.

These are just a few things that we’ve learned about “good” content. Zach and I (Austin Wildmann) look forward to continuing this adventure with you into the magical world of content. Join us next week, when we will examine BAD content!!! *bloodcurdling scream*

- Austin and Zach

Austin Wildmann (left)

&

Zachary Peacock (right)

Reverbnation Can Lay the Foundation

As the top leading site of online artist promotion, Reverbnation.com is a great way to make a break into the music industry.

Reasons to use Reverbnation:

• It is a music-marketing platform used by over 2 million artists.
• It's Free!
• It is available to artists, artist managers, recording labels and venues.
Any artist wanting to build a reputation should be using Reverbnation right now. Users can create profiles and upload music for potential fans to enjoy. Streaming is quickly growing to be the fastest way to market a new artist or group.

Not only can music be uploaded but also biographies, press clippings, photos and show dates. All this info can  be publicized making it easier for fans to find out when an artist is coming to a city nearby.

Reverbnation.com is truly the leading social media site in the music industry today.

When trying to book “gigs” most booking managers at venues want and EPK or electronic press kit, which is basically a press kit in the electronic form. Reverbnation has a tool where EPKs can be sent out to the venue of your choosing.

It’s a trustworthy site that is revolutionizing the world of streaming music, fan to artist relationship managment, concert booking and promotion.

As an artist, it may worry you how people find you on Reverbnation. It’s easy to link your Reverbnation account to your Facebook and Twitter pages, so that updates to shows and new music become available in your Twitter and Facebook feeds. You can also find venues that are holding events, festivals or have openings for a specific date with the search tool. There are also contests you can enter and have displayed on your Facebook and Twitter pages that your fans can vote for.

The email marketing strategy can also be used. Fans who have previously subscribed to MySpace and Reverbnation pages are included in one list so an artist or manager can send a single email to hundreds of fans with one click. This is the most common way artists are sharing valuable information contests, festivals and new music.

Have you checked out one of 2012's free and easy-to-use tools yet? 

Peace out.

- Lauren and Brittany

Exploding the "Topix" Myth!

    When we want to find the juiciest gossip around, we (your review mavens, Abby  and Meng), automatically think of Topix.com. Yes, we know, it's a sin in the social media world to even associate oneself with this vicious website. So, we decided to investigate what happened to a girl who passed away so young. What I found when I entered Topix was disturbing. The discussion board went from how she died to someone slandering a different girl. Why is this possible and legal online?

   

Topix.com describes itself as a "news" website. Do you think it provides any
valid news or has journalistic integrity?

   People are allowed to post anonymously, without registering, in Topix forums. These stories blend in across the world wide web with other legitimate new stories. Even though Topix may be primarily news, 75% of its total content and traffic is comprised of comments made by users.

   Since anyone cab post anything  - true or false - to their heart's desire, Topix is fast becoming notorious as an online bullying site. It has became a central vehicle for cyber-bullying. Its victims have suffered emotional, psychological and, in some case, even financial harm.

   Although Topix has a tab for "forums," it is not a very good example of a legitimate forum. Visitors do not go online to review how many people some enemy or rival "slept with" or who's husband cheated on who with. Over 1,000 complaints are filed with Topix on a daily basis. We are, frankly, shocked that this creator of "monsters" is allowed to continue and even thrive. Perhaps, if we all ignore it and stop visiting, the bullies will get bored and go home!

'Til next week,

- Abby & Meng

5 Ways to Become a Better Marketer Through Web Analytics

Web analytics is the collection and reporting of internet data for purposes of understanding web usage. It is also used for business and market research. It also shows the effectiveness of a website. Analytics can also track company’s results from traditional print advertising campaigns. It tracks the number of visitors to a website and can categorize them into groups such as gender, race, and geographical location. Google Analytics is used by 57% of the 10,000 most popular websites. Twitter is one of very many different sites that use Google analytics.

5 Ways to become a better marketer with web analytics

1. Measure offline data- All data should be measure online and offline.

2. Measure traffic sources- Find out how people are finding you. Find out which sources are driving the most traffic to the website. This will help you get a feel on if the social media is working or not.

3. Measure conversion rates- The first step is getting people to the website, once you’ve done that, then try to convert them into a lead or business is the next step. Offer convincing content and clear and straight to the point call-to-actions. This will help direct more traffic to the website, and help businesses develop more leads.

4. Ensure the data is clear- Don’t focus on just one metric. For example if you find you had high traffic in one area, look to see what drove people to that, and what type of information it was, and continue to develop material that is related to that subject.

5. Close the loop- Marketers are unsure where to put the most of their time, they should focus more on the things that are driving people/businesses to a website. 

Below is a short video on Google analytics, Enjoy!

Go Racers!!

Lindsey & Cory

Become a LinkedIn Pro in 5 Minutes or Less

Helpful hints for starting your LinkedIn profile and making a lasting impression:

·    Professional profile picture- make sure it is a recent headshot. It does not need to be professionally made but should give viewers a positive impression of you.

·    Updated résumé- make sure it is correct and includes your education, past work experiences, leadership positions and specialties.

·    Start connecting- make at least 10 connections that can provide future opportunities in your field.

·    Recommendations- write/request recommendations to build relationships and provide an accurate image of your qualities and character.

·    Continually update your profile!

By following these steps, your LinkedIn profile will continue to improve and so will your networking and building of relationships with potential employers.

Have a great week!

-Mandy & Kelly