Most of you tech savvy business people out there have had a LinkedIn account for years, but have you been truly using it to increase your business opportunities?

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional online network with more than 45 million users representing 150 industries, and in case you’re wondering, the company itself is valued around $1 billion. Since September 2008, when the economic crisis hit, it has seen a 25% increase in the rate of sign-ups as concerned professionals look to keep their contacts up to date. That equates to approximately 1 million new users every two weeks. In terms of activity by those users, in the last two months there has been a 15% increase in the issuing of invitations to get people to join business networking circles and there has also been a 14% increase in the amount of recommendations made by users endorsing another member of LinkedIn.

The explosion of LinkedIn usage brings to mind the age old question of Quantity versus Quality.   Would you prefer to have 500 good contacts, or would you rather have 50 great contacts? The former may inflate your network statistics, but the latter may inflate your sales statistics. We can’t all be like Ron Bates, but do we want to be?

Who is Ron Bates you ask? With 44,000 direct contacts on LinkedIn, Ron has been referred to as “the most connected man on Earth.” In fact, I just tried to connect with Ron last night. I haven’t been accepted yet, but I did it for fun and I don’t expect any business to come from it. To effectively use LinkedIn to promote and grow your business you don’t need a ton of contacts, you just need a handful of great contacts that are in need of the services that your company offers and are interested in working with you or know others who would be.

If you’re hoping to reap the benefits of a LinkedIn account, you need to commit to actively using it on a consistent basis. At the very least you should look at your profile every day to see to see who your contacts are networking with, and if there are more “People You May Know” listed in your profile. Remember, your contacts’ new contacts are now in your network, and the groups they have joined may be of interest to you.

The bottom-line with LinkedIn is that people would much rather work with people who their friends and colleagues know and trust. To truly realize a return on the investment of time required by LinkedIn you need to increase your number of viable connections and thus increase your chances of getting more business. In order to make your profile more appealing you need to nurture it by being committed to completing at least one or two LinkedIn tasks every single day. Make a connection, join a group, or just enhance your profile. Be sure to track the traffic to your website and what percentage of it comes from LinkedIn.

There are many ways to establish sustainable relationships through LinkedIn.  Find out how to put the power of LinkedIn to work for your business by downloading part one and two of our three part series.

Have you ever Googled yourself or the company you work for?  Come on, you know you have!  It’s human nature to wonder what others are writing about you and the company you work for.  Before accepting your new position, didn’t you Google your new company to see if you could find any negative information?  Googling is an easy way to lose hours sorting through irrelevant web entries hoping to find the information you’re repeatedly looking for.  Valuable time and energy can be saved by using one of Google’s many convenient and useful tools, in this case, Google Alerts.

Google Alerts are emails or RSS feeds automatically sent to you when there are new Google search results for your specified terms.  After signing up using your GMail account on the Google Alerts homepage, you enter the search term, type of alert (search Google News, Google Groups, or the web), frequency of emails (daily, as it happens, or weekly), and your email address. Google Alerts sends you an email each time a new page for your chosen term makes it in the top twenty results on Google’s web search. You can set up alerts for as many as 1,000 search terms.  Google Alerts currently offers 6 variations of alerts - News, Web, Blogs, Comprehensive, Video and Groups.

• A News alert is an email aggregate of the latest news articles that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google News search.

• A Web alert is an email aggregate of the latest web pages that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top twenty results of your Google Web search.

• A Blogs alert is an email aggregate of the latest blog posts that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google Blog search.

• A Comprehensive alert is an aggregate of the latest results from multiple sources (News, Web and Blogs) into a single email to provide maximum coverage on the topic of your choice.

• A Video alert is an email aggregate of the latest videos that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google Video search.

• A Groups alert is an email aggregate of new posts that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top fifty results of your Google Groups search.

Google Alerts’ many uses make them convenient and helpful in our daily personal lives including monitoring a developing news story, tracking medical advances, being aware of what is being written about family members, and even getting the latest on a celebrity or sports team.  But there are many professional reasons to harness the power of Google Alerts, find out how to put the power of Google Alerts to work for your business by downloading Ten Important Business Uses of Google Alert.

As many people in the business community are trying very hard to make the most out of a year when all the cards seemed to be stacked against us, it is easy to put off the task of figuring out what we will spend next year to move our businesses forward again.  While budgeting for technology can seem daunting at times, it is the best way to make sure that you take into account all of the things that will help your business run most efficiently with minimal downtime.

We must first consider the standard operational items such as preventative maintenance and support - which every business should have in place.  There are also a myriad of other items that often get overlooked during the budgeting process that can pop up during the year causing undue stress on the budget and the management.  Some things to consider include  software renewals,  such as anti-virus or backup software.  You should also review your current hardware to determine what is out of warranty.  Based upon the function of the device, a warranty renewal or hardware replacement may be in order.

For those of you who have already considered the items above, congratulations!  You are ahead of most businesses at this point.  There are a few more strategic items you might consider,  a new business resumption plan or updates and testing to the one you have to ensure its viability.  Also, in today’s world of hackers and viruses, many businesses are being proactive about auditing their network and web site security to protect their valuable business data.

While this all may seem overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be.  You can use a budgeting template much like the one we use for our clients or simply hire a technology company to review and plan all of this for you.  We have seen many cases where our involvement early in the process has helped our clients plan better and avoid unexpected expenses during the year.

Download the Technology Budget Planning Worksheet

Everybody’s talking about social media marketing, but how do you know if it’s right for your business?  And what if you are a nonprofit agency or a school - does social media have value outside the business world?

First let’s define social media by its most well known forms, including blogs and social networking (Twitter, FaceBook and LinkedIn).  Blogs, like the one you are reading right now, provide you with a way to communicate a message or share a story with the outside world.  A blog is like a newsletter that you write and share article by article.  When you think about it that way, you probably already create content that you could use for blogging.  Because blogging is more informal, you can get more people involved to write a paragraph or two about a timely topic in your industry, a success story or an experience that your audience can relate to.

Social networking requires a little more thought about who it is that you want to connect with.  Are you looking to inform potential clients about your services, or brainstorm with others in your industry, or maybe find potential sources of referrals?  Each goal will require you to think about who those people are, and what forms of social media they are likely to be using.  For example, I find LinkedIn to be a powerful networking tool to connect with clients, former colleagues, and other professionals that I meet and want to keep in touch with.  By regularly updating my LinkedIn status, I can share what I am working on with all of my contacts with one click of the mouse.  I can even include links back to my blog or a particular page of our web site that provides more information.  I have found that even people I have known and worked with for many years may not fully understand all of the ways that I can help organizations with their computer network or web site, but if they hear a success story, they suddenly think of someone else they know with that struggle who they can’t wait to refer me to.

Maybe you realize that you have something to say, and you know who you want to reach with your message, but there are other considerations to making social media marketing a success.  The questions in our “10 questions to ask before starting a social media marketing campaign” will help you determine if this is the right step for you.

Having a website was a good first step (in 1997).  By the mid 2000’s your web site actually had to have interesting information on it and look more attractive than your competitors’.  You may even rank well in the search engines for keywords you have chosen as important ones for your business.  If you’re at that point, congratulations!  But wouldn’t it be nice if your website was actually generating business for your company on a regular basis?  Well it can.  You just need to call it to action!

This is not as difficult as it sounds, but it will take some effort and regular attention to what is happening with your web site, your clients and in the world of social media. At ForeSite we have been following the methods below for our own business and saw a 10x increase in lead generation in the first month.

To begin you need to create some compelling offers for your site visitors.  Unfortunately an information request form is NOT a compelling offer.  There must be a reason for the visitor to take their time to fill out a simple form to get what is behind it so you have their information.  We have found that numbered lists work very well such as “10 Tips for Developing an Effective Website“.  For more tips on compelling calls to action, download 6 Best Practices for an Effective Call to Action.

Once you have a call to action for people to download, you need to create a landing page for them to download it from.  This page should have some information about what they are getting for their time as well as a SIMPLE form for them to fill out.  Collect only the information you need to get in touch with them.  Long forms are far more often abandoned than simple ones.

Now that you have a place to send people, you need to send them there.  You must PROMOTE your new content to get people to download it.  This is best done using the powers of social media and taking advantage of the connections you have and the connections those people have.

Lastly, get ready to collect your leads and work your sales magic to convert them into new business.  We’d love to hear how this works for other people using these methods as they have been working very well for ForeSite.  Ready, Set, Sell!

As a business owner, it’s sometimes difficult to think about upgrading things that seem to be “working”, especially in tough economic times.  The question is, “are they really working as hard as they can be for your business?”.  A great example of this is your company’s website.  While it was OK 5 years ago to have someone take your brochure and turn it into a website so you could put it on your business cards, that’s just not the way the web is working today for businesses who are taking full advantage of it.

Today, the first thing most people do when they are looking for a product or service, even if it was referred to them, is Google it.  The first few seconds form a large part of the impression the visitor will have of the target business forever (remember what your mom always said about first impressions).  Below are a few key things that people react to  - whether they know it or not.  You should keep them in mind as you look at your own web site, even if you think it doesn’t matter for your business (because it does).

1. Is the design attractive and does it look “current”?  A design that was nice 5 years ago does not always stand the test of time.  Compare how your site looks to others in your industry, or even other sites you feel project the type of image you want for your company.  You might be surprised.
2. Is your date specific content up to date?  If the last newsletter or news item you posted was in 2006, you should probably pull that section of the web site out.  Its hurting you more than helping you.
3. Is your site cross browser compatible?  While the world used to only view the web through the eyes of Internet Explorer, other browsers such as Firefox and Chrome have come a long way in gaining market share.  Make sure your web site looks the same (or at least presentable) in all of the major browsers available today.

These are just a few items that can make a good first impression.  But once people decide they are “OK” with you, you need to keep talking.  There has to be enough valuable information on your website to make the visitor (prospect) contact you instead of the next person on the search list.  Keep it interesting.  Add content regularly and give people reasons to come back.  If they browsed by but weren’t ready to buy the first time, impress them with fresh content and ideas the next time they “stop by”.  People want to get to know you by visiting your web site and be comfortable that you can take care of them.  You have to work to keep that conversation going, especially when you sometimes don’t even know that the conversation is happening (we’ll talk about how to know exactly when someone is on your web site in a future post).  One of ForeSite’s web site experts wrote a paper on “10 Tips for Developing an Effective Website“.  Check it out if you are interested in how to upgrade your web presence.

In general, think of your web site as your ultimate marketing tool which if used properly will bring leads (and ultimately new business) to you so you don’t have to go searching for it yourself.  View your site through the eyes of your prospects.  And if you are having difficulty doing that, ask some of your current customers to do it for you.  Make sure that the conversation prospects are having with your web site is the same one they would have with you if you were in front of them.

Download 10 Tips for Developing an Effective Website

A writing project from successful-blog.com:

Use social media to contribute something of value, or make new connections with people who can provide ideas or opportunities.  Don’t be passive!

In this frenzy of online marketing and social media, people have come to expect more and more of those who get involved in blogging, FaceBook, Linkedin  and now Twitter.  Its not enough to have an account or accept a few friend requests anymore, people are looking for constant updates on what you are doing and how you are doing it.  I’ll be honest, I really didn’t think I was all that interesting, but believe it or not, fellow “tweeters” are even following me.

So what is this “tweeting’ all about?  Twitter is made up “micro-blogs” in which you need to say whatever meaningful tidbit you want to share in 140 characters or less (you can see mine at http://Twitter.com/SMBCEO).  I’m no expert -yet- but as far as I can tell, if you have anything going on that you think you would share with a colleague or friend, it is fair game on Twitter.

I struggled at first to find content to Tweet about as I didn’t want anyone to think I was an idiot, but I am finding it easier and easier as I do it more regularly and see what others are sharing.  There are folks who spend all day telling you things you probably don’t care about, but by finding the right people to follow I have gained some nuggets of information that I have found pretty useful and probably wouldn’t have found otherwise.

So what are you waiting for?  Starting is easy!  Go to Twitter, sign up for a free account, and follow me! Once you do that, I found that using a 3rd party application like TweetDeck made it much easier to find new people to follow as well as manage my tweets.  There are a bunch of different applications like TweetDeck out there and most that I have seen still have bugs as they are all so new, but if you find one that works for you, it will definitely help.  Once you have your management application installed, you can save searches which watch for content that you are interested in.  I have a search that looks for the phrase “Business Strategy”.  When new tweets containing that phrase show up, I can quickly look to see the profiles of the people posting them and determine if I want to follow them.  Once you start following people and tweeting regularly, people will start following you.  Its pretty cool actually!

One caveat however, decide how much time you want to devote to this.  It could absorb your entire day of you let it!

Happy Tweeting!

Social media - everybody’s talking about it and trying to figure out how to use it for their business.  There was a great panel discussion on Friday at the Hartford Business Journal’s eTechnology Summit which confirmed that it’s all so new that no one can really claim to be an “expert” yet, but there is so much opportunity.  I’ll talk about my own experience and hopefully that will give you some ideas of how you might be able to leverage social media.

I started using Twitter and set up a FaceBook page for my “business self” several months ago.  I had several goals in mind:

1. Although I have 20+ years in the technology business, I changed firms and came to ForeSite Technologies about 6 months ago.  I am always looking for ways to get the word out so that folks I have met in my previous life can easily find me.
2. Former coworkers who know and trust my work are a wonderful source of referrals, and I love to be able keep in touch and help them too.  But the more time goes by, the less you find yourself sending an email or picking up the phone just to check in.
3. Through face-to-face networking, I meet a lot of great people who work with the same types of clients as I do - small businesses, nonprofits, and schools.  Twitter gives me a way to send out short bits of information on my projects, events I am attending, and little tidbits about my day to help them get to know me better without a big time commitment.

The benefits so far:

• People reading my tweets on Twitter are linking back to the ForeSite web site.  This is enabling me to share information about ForeSite with people I have never met and increasing awareness of our network and web site solutions.
• A former coworker that I hadn’t been in touch with in years reached out after a layoff.  ForeSite was considering adding a new role, and now we’re working together again.
• Clients and folks I see at networking events know me as a suit-wearing professional.  I find they bond with me more when they learn that I eat Skittles by the handful and can wield a Nerf gun with the best of them.  People do business with and recommend people that they trust, and they more they get to know me, the greater confidence they have in sharing problems that they or their clients have to see if I can help.

Things to consider:

• It’s great to show your human side, but don’t forget that you are addressing clients, coworkers and others that you hope to do business with.  If you wouldn’t say it face to face, don’t say it.
• I recommend maintaining a separate FaceBook account for family and close friends for posting funny anecdotes and sharing of family photos.
• Don’t start and stop!  You can’t build a following if you tweet once and go dark for months.  Make updating your social media sites part of your daily work routine.

It will be interesting to see how my experience changes as social media continues to evolve.  Stay tuned!