Red Zone Marketing's Blog

Create a Searchable and Simple Brand Presentation

Without spending any money, firms can create a simple brand presentation and place it where it can be found by prospects. In addition to your website and your online presence, a simple brand presentation is a very viable way to have your services found by qualified prospects online.

To get the most out of a brand presentation, uploading it to a document-sharing website such as SlideShare is a great idea. SlideShare enables viewers to download your presentation, giving the opportunity for many more people to find and see it. And, SlideShare documents often appear at the top of searches for a firm or an individual advisor. So, the next time someone is searching for you on Google, it’s likely they will find your uploaded presentation.

If you’ve ever done a seminar or presentation, you probably have a few PowerPoint slides describing your firm that you could use for your SlideShare presentation. Or you could simply create a company qualifications presentation with of 4 or 5 simple slides. Slides could consist of qualifications of your firm personnel, solutions you offer...

Read More

7 Steps for Releasing Valuable Content through Social Media

Valuable content is the key to getting and keeping people interested in your social media sites. You can put endless amounts of time and effort into creating your social media profiles, but if your content is lacking, so will your following. And, your social media is an extension of your brand so it needs to be representative of who you believe your firm is. Here are 7 steps to prepare for the development of consistent and valuable content:

1. Take 1 hour and go through pre-approved or pre-written content available to you (or have a staff member do this) and create a list of potential topics for inclusion into your social media.

2. From your list, determine priorities based on the timeliness of the topics and the potential interest level of your target markets.

Read More

Social Media: Now what should I be doing?

You’ve spent the time and effort to get your social media sites developed, now what?

The premise of social media is to present something of value to others in your social network. Valuable content is defined as something that others:

•    Find interesting or informative
•    Deem worthy to take the time to read or view
•    Want more of and thus will follow you to see what’s next
•    Will pass along for others to see

So where does all of this great, valuable content come from? Do you have to be a prolific writer or hire someone that is? And how difficult will it be to get content through compliance? The good news is that there are solutions to the continual release of valuable content.

Read More

Why Some are Fearful of Social Media

In the financial services industry, compliance departments are up in arms because of industry rules requiring firms to retain records of all the social media conversations that their advisors are having. The Securities and Exchange Commission has been reported to be conducting a sweep of registered investment advisers' use of social media and social networking (Investment News 2/14/2011). What’s the big fear?

The regulatory agencies like the SEC and FINRA want to make sure that advisors are not promising investors returns or engaging in promotion of unregistered funds, such as private-equity funds or hedge funds through social media or social networking sites.

But many advisors that understand their limitations using social media and their compliance departments’ challenges in retaining online messages, have found using social media to be a very valuable tool. Within their firms’ guidelines, they are using social media sites to push (not push and pull) out much needed brand exposure, credibility and a searchable online presence – not as a way to conduct illicit activities. So ultimately, the biggest fear with social media shouldn’t be the regulatory agencies or compliance but something else entirely.

Once you have established an online presence, the most important task is in front of you - protecting your reputation! Much as you would protect your credit, regularly check for activity connected to your name and your business. Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all rank highly in Google searches. Be careful what you post, anything you say could permanently show up at the top of search engine searches. Think of yourself as a public figure that may have your every word scrutinized.

One of the easiest ways to monitor your reputation is by setting up Google Alerts that will inform you of anything that has appeared about you online. Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. Go to www.Google.com/Alerts and set up a free alert of your name and your firm’s name. Whenever anything appears online that you or someone else has posted about you, an email will be sent to you with a link to the online occurrence. 

Ultimately, the best way to manage your online reputation is by generating positive search results through your online posts and profiles that will rank as highly as possible on any list of search results. Protect your most important assets – your brand and online reputation.

Guest Blog: Why Some Sales People Think LinkedIn Doesn’t Work For Them

Guest Blog from Jan Vermeiren, founder of Networking Coach

LinkedIn is a very powerful tool that can support us when we want to get in touch with potential
customers.

However many sales people tell us LinkedIn doesn’t work for them. In this article we talk about the
three most important misperceptions.

1. I have made a Profile, now potential customers will contact me one after the other.

a. Though crafting a good Profile helps to be found by people who are looking for your
expertise, products or services (via Linkedin or via Google or other search engines),
this is not where the power of LinkedIn resides.

b. LinkedIn is a very powerful tool for sales people who are proactive and don’t wait till
someone contacts them.

2. I have sent some potential customers an Invitation. However they don’t accept the Invitation
or don’t respond to my messages to buy my products or services.

a. LinkedIn is a NETWORK tool and not a SALES tool. LinkedIn helps to build
relationships with people. If you use it like a “cold calling machine” the reaction of
people will be the same as with a “cold call”: no reaction or rejection. Not only this
is not effective and not very efficient, but there is also another danger: LinkedIn has
some tools that people could use to indicate that you are a spammer. If you get too
many of these “flags”, your possibilities to connect with other people will be reduced
dramatically.

b. Always remember it is about building relationships. The golden rule of Bob Burg
always applies: “All things being equal people do business with and refer business
to people they know, like and trust.” LinkedIn offers you the opportunity to increase
these 3 factors if done in the right way. Crafting a good Profile, helping others in
Discussions and Answers and not pushing your products or services you already helps
a lot, just like in “real life”.

3. I use the “Get Introduced To” function to get me referred by my network to potential
customers.

a. Though this approach might get you some results, it is not always the best option.
Your own network doesn’t always forwards your messages and the prospect doesn’t
always reply. There might be several reasons for that, but the reasons most people
don’t think of are: your contact doesn’t know the prospect well enough, your contact
doesn’t know you well enough or your contact thinks that your message is too pushy.

b. Instead use LinkedIn as a research database to discover the relationships between
people and then proceed outside of LinkedIn. Call your contact and explain him the
situation. If he responds positively, ask him to write an email to introduce you and
the prospect to each other. In this way your prospect receives the message from
someone he already knows and trusts. If you use LinkedIn you are the one who takes
the initiative, which is much less powerful.

Author

Jan Vermeiren is the founder of Networking Coach. Following on the best seller success of his first
book “Let’s Connect!” , in his second book “How to REALLY use LinkedIn” he reveals even more the
dynamics of networking and tools that anybody can immediately apply.

Together with his team at Networking Coach, Jan gives presentations and training courses in the field
of networking and referrals. Customers are large organisations like Deloitte, Dupont, IBM, ING, SAP,
Sun Microsystems and Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School , as well as small companies and
freelancers.

Get your free light version of “How to REALLY use LinkedIn” at: www.how-to-really-use-linkedin.com 

| More

Are you anxious about using social media in your business?

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Should you be afraid of social media and the changes and consequences it may bring to your business? It opens your business to the scrutiny of the masses, making you instantly accessible and requires a consistent watch. It depends who you are and what business you are in, but in some cases social media can be a little unsettling. Does that mean we should avoid it? Cross our fingers that it blows over as a passing trend? Well, here are some of the more memorable comments I have heard from financial advisors over just the past several weeks about this topic:

1.    “It’s just another new technology and I really don’t want to learn anything new right now or have my staff wasting time on this.”  Translation: Prove to me social media is valuable and then I will consider venturing into this space.

2.    “My compliance department said I would be terminated if I used any social media, including LinkedIn.” Really?? Most compliance departments have rules set into place, but I had not heard of termination. Don’t risk it!

3.    “I don’t want to share so much with the whole world. My business and its clients should remain private.” Translation: The benefits don’t outweigh the potential for negative consequences.

Ultimately you have to do what is right for your business. There is certainly enough value in social media to make it a part of your business – even a small part.* But first, determine if you are hesitant because you feel out of your personal comfort zone, or if you actually believe there is no benefit to your business.

Social media is not a replacement for the face-to-face communication or your regular marketing. But devoting just one hour per week can be significant in enhancing the contacts you have already made as well as becoming a source for finding new ones. Set up a LinkedIn profile, create a Facebook fan page for your business and begin a blog.*  And, if you have compliance concerns, begin by focusing on your social media as a push not pull method for communication. You can push information out to be seen, but set up your social media sites so visitors will not be able to make any comments on your sites.

Statistics have proven outside of financial services that social media can make a difference in the acquisition of new clients. Within financial services, the same results are happening. Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC conducted a study Creating Growth: The Increased Use of Social Media by Independent Advisors (for the key findings, click on the article link), designed to measure advisors’ use of social media to attract business. The study found that social media does pay off in generating increased revenue or fees and helps in efforts to reach new prospects.

And finally, social media is free. Wouldn’t you use a free tool – for 1 hour per week – if it had the potential of attracting new clients and building your brand? And why oh why would you pass that up unless you have all of the business you already need.

*Consult with your compliance department first if you are a financial advisor.

| More

A Picture Says 1,000 Words – Especially on The Internet

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

If a picture of you appears on Facebook or somewhere else on the Internet, it is likely that just about anyone can see it if they search for you. Right now there is a Facebook application called Photo Finder, powered by Face.com. It uses facial recognition and social connections software to locate a photo of someone – even if it wasn’t identified by name (tagged). You want you and your business to be searchable, but are we becoming too searchable on the web?

According to the exceptionally insightful article in The New York Times Magazine, “The End of Forgetting,” by Jeffrey Rosen (July 25, 2010), as facial recognition software becomes more sophisticated, people will be able to find any picture of you located anywhere on the Internet. Someone could simply take a picture of you with a cell phone, plug the image into Google, and pull up all photos (whether identified or not) of you that are on the Internet. Yikes. What about that fun neighborhood party last weekend where a bunch of adults were swimming… yeah, better not put those on Facebook...

The lesson to takeaway from this is to remember that our public image and our reputation are not just in our hands to control.  Being a key player in your brand and your business means that you must use caution with your online presence. Make sure you know what is out there about you - pictures, reviews, and everything else.

| More

Do You Have a “Reputation?”

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

When I was growing up, we wanted to avoid being someone with a “reputation.” Today, we want a reputation, but we need it to be positive. However, maintaining one’s reputation is getting harder and harder. As social media and social networking sites continue to flourish, the power of the individual voice is growing greatly. We have to protect our reputations, and have someone (it’s probably you) that is fully in charge of managing our online reputation. It may seem insignificant now, but new things on the horizon will make this a part of any businessperson’s life.

According to an article in The New York Times Magazine, “The End of Forgetting,” by Jeffrey Rosen (Sunday, July 25, 2010), in the near future, people will be rated on reputation (trustworthy, good parent, good insurance risk, etc), similar to the credit report rating services of today.

There are services now that can aggregate information about people from the Internet and social networks. Not your private information like social security or credit card information, but information that is readily available: the movies you like, books you read, search terms you use, blog posts you write, videos you post/watch on YouTube, and people you follow.  These reputation and trustworthy ratings could eventually be used to determine employability and other factors. And it can be incredibly positive or incredibly detrimental to your career.

There are services that can help. Check out Reputation Defender or other similar consulting services that, for a fee, will monitor your online reputation and help you remove inaccuracies, etc.
Although no one (absolutely no one!) is perfect, it may be best to keep the imperfections away from the web. Is what’s out there about you having an impact on your business? 

| More

Sharing Your Credit Card Purchases with the World is the Hot New Trend. Are You Kidding Me?!

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Would you want the purchases you make on credit cards public for the world to see? Allowing friends and strangers to not only see what you buy, but share their thoughts and comments about it too? Well now you can if you sign up at Blippy.com, a website started in January that allows you to, “see and discuss what everyone is buying.”

Most of us make credit card purchases on a regular basis, if not daily. I use my ATM card to purchase items sometimes several times a day instead of using cash. I know I wouldn’t want everyone in the whole world to know what I downloaded from iTunes, what books I’ve ordered on Amazon, or the shoes I bought at Zappos. And what about the purchases I make at the grocery store, Walgreens, and Starbucks? I think some things are better kept personal. Furthermore, who would care to take the time to pour over the details of my purchases?

But the hot new thing is sharing everything. Twitter is designed to share what you are doing every minute of the day. Unless you’re a celebrity – who really wants to know about every detail? My day is pretty boring consulting, flying in airplanes and speaking – so when I do post on Twitter the purpose is to link to some hopefully valuable business-related content – not factoids about MY every move. I use Facebook mostly to check in on what my 2 teenagers are saying online (they are not allowed to de-friend their mom). And I use LinkedIn to communicate and build relationships with other business professionals. But following someone’s credit card purchases…? Is there real value in something like this?

However, just because I think Blippy.com offers a questionable service doesn’t mean it hasn’t captured the interest of many people. Since the site opened to the public at the beginning of this year, members have shared more than $15 million in purchases with their friends (New York Times, March 13, 2010). But, on the other hand, it may be fun to monitor my husband’s purchases (…ok, not really, that would be kind of boring too – I hope).

What do you think? Would you share your purchases with the world?
  

| More

Microsoft releases technology for Connecting – How can it impact your business?

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Microsoft has just released Outlook Social Connector, an add-in for Outlook that links your emails and contacts to your LinkedIn network. It’s available as a free download for Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010. It allows you to view existing LinkedIn connection profiles, their profile picture, recent updates, and allows you to add new connections without ever leaving your Outlook inbox.

While you are reading your regular e-mail messages in Outlook, you can see the “People Pane” below the message and view the picture, name, and title of the sender.  You can also view your history of communication with that person by clicking on their name and see recent e-mail conversations, meetings, and shared documents. This feature has been a big time saver for me because I can immediately see all communications with an individual and no longer have to spend time searching for past emails.

One of the best features of this add-in, in my opinion, is the addition of a new Outlook contacts folder with your LinkedIn contacts - even if you haven't added them to your normal Outlook contact list. The display of contacts in the LinkedIn folder includes each contact's photo (if they have one on LinkedIn) and other information accessed from LinkedIn. It’s a concise way of seeing some of your most valuable connections. If you’re new to LinkedIn, or only a light user, this is a great opportunity to get more involved with your connections. And for those more involved in the network, this just enhances the opportunity LinkedIn provides you.

In The Connectors, I wrote about a similar program called Xobni (Chapter 15 on strategies for organizing and tracking relationships). Xobni , which is Inbox spelled backwards, connects Outlook to social media networks including LinkedIn but extends to more of your social networking including Facebook and Twitter. It is also a free download, but if you are keeping it strictly to LinkedIn, the Microsoft add-in is an easy solution.

Once you activate this add-in, the People Pane can be turned on and off via Outlook's View menu and you can also change the size of the pane. For more information on Outlook Social Connector you can go to http://blogs.msdn.com/outlook/archive/2009/11/18/announcing-the-outlook-social-connector.aspx.

Have you tried Outlook Connector yet? What are your thoughts?   

| More