February 28, 2012 - Posted by Amy Rose Brown
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So once you’ve optimized your company page on LinkedIn (which we’re sure almost all of you have done, but we’ll get to you in a minute if you haven’t), how do you get people to follow it? Twitter and Facebook have like and follow buttons – respectively – that you can embed into your website, allowing people to become a follower or a fan with a single click. Too bad there isn’t an equivalent for LinkedIn.
Well hold on to your hats, folks: now there is an equivalent for company pages on LinkedIn. As of yesterday, LinkedIn now has a Company Follow button for you to add to your website. Additional followers on LinkedIn can mean more leads for you in the long run. Read on for more on LinkedIn’s importance to your online marketing strategy.
Excellent question, loyal reader. Before you get around to implementing the LinkedIn button on your website or blog, you’ll want to make sure your company page is thoroughly optimized. This includes:
Have a completed, informative, and descriptive overview page. Include what you do, who your typical customer is, your specialties (in the “specialties” section), and any other relevant information. This page also includes an area to input your blog’s RSS feed. For example, check out Marketing Zen’s LinkedIn page.
Fill out the “products and services” page. You can customize this area with a branded banner, and customers or clients can leave testimonials on their experiences with your various services. If you have a promotional YouTube video, you can embed it on this page.
For one thing, LinkedIn is almost three times more effective at converting visitors to the network into leads than Facebook or Twitter. LinkedIn’s lead generation rate probably has something to do with the fact that people use the network strictly for business purposes, while Facebook and Twitter are sites whose marketing and professional uses are just some of many ways the networks are used. If you’re a B2B-focused business rather than a B2C-focused business, you’ll find an even higher rate of success with the network.
Have you found a technique that works for your company LinkedIn page? Share it with us in the comments! All this sound a little overwhelming to you? Contact The Marketing Zen Group for more information on assistance with your online marketing strategy. Don’t forget to connect with us on LinkedIn for ongoing updates, blog posts, career opportunities, and more!
February 24, 2012 - Posted by Amy Rose Brown
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Those of you who’ve been following along may remember our post from a few months back about the difference between sweepstakes and contests. If you’ve decided that a Facebook promotion is the next step in your online marketing campaign, regardless of the type of promotion (if you’re doing anything where you’re going to pick a “winner” then you’re having a promotion), you need to be aware of Facebook’s official Promotions Guidelines before jumping in head first.
Our CEO Shama wrote a similar post about the Facebook Promotion Guidelines back in 2009. As you probably know, the site has had a few facelifts since then – and its legal language hasn’t been exempt from the company-wide makeover. The biggest change is that now you do not need written permission from a Facebook account executive to hold a contest, sweepstakes, or giveaway. Previously, you needed explicit permission from Facebook to hold a promotion.
The rules
February 21, 2012 - Posted by Amy Rose Brown
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It makes sense that colleges and universities would market themselves on social media – their target demographics can practically tweet in their sleep! Whether you’re trying to connect with prospective students or alumni, online marketing now plays a bigger role than ever. Below, we highlight three of our favorite examples from the higher education community.
The University of Dayton is currently in the middle of their second annual video scholarship contest for incoming freshmen. The contest is based around the topic of “What does servant leadership mean to you?“, which UD featured in a 46-second video clip. The contest’s 46 entries are currently open to popular voting, and the top 10 videos with the most votes will be referred to a judging panel. The first place winner receives a $40,000 scholarship, with second and third place finishers also winning smaller financial aid awards. According to the University of Dayton, last year’s contest drew 36 entries and more than 13,000 votes.
Why it’s cool: UD is allowing students to submit this video with their application instead of the traditional written essay. As the University of Dayton writes, “It’s both a nod to the way the YouTube generation communicates — and a novel opportunity for prospective students to stand out from thousands of other applicants.” Popular voting on the current entries ends March 31.
If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed that consumers really enjoy getting their information in the form of colorful infographics. It makes sense – why read a wall of black and white text when you can check out a bright, visually pleasing informational graphic instead? They can serve a wide variety of purposes – for example, a Stanford professor proposed to Mashable’s VP of Marketing and Communications via infographic on Valentine’s Day.
The University of Denver recently created an infographic to promote their new media and Internet marketing graduate degree programs. The graphic is fairly simple, containing important data about industry trends and salary ranges by job title.
Why it’s cool: It goes without saying that a degree program in Internet marketing should have a pretty good online marketing strategy. It’s great to see the University of Denver practicing what they preach (or teach) by communicating potentially dry information in an easily digestible format.
Say you’re a prospective student living on the East Coast, and you want to go on a campus visit to Stanford. You have to get across the country and back – and work that around your high school academic schedule. It’s not totally impossible, but it’s definitely a major hassle. If only there were some way to tour the Stanford campus from the comfort of your own home…
How about just hopping on Facebook and checking out the Summertime at the Farm: A Walking Tour photo album? Stanford’s not alone – other colleges have hopped on the bandwagon of providing “walking tour” photo albums for prospective students or alumni.
Why it’s cool: Although a photo or video tour could never fully replace the campus tour experience, it’s a great option for prospective students who just can’t manage a campus visit. It’s also a nice treat for alumni to see how the campus has evolved and changed over the years.
These are just a few of the many cool social media marketing trends happening in higher education. From live-tweeting relevant historical events to creating a self-guided campus tour on Foursquare, the possibilities are really only limited by the scope of your imagination.
Have you seen any innovative uses of social media marketing by colleges or universities? Leave us a comment and tell us about them!
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