To follow my debate about ‘having an animated icon on twitter’ and whether it benefits you, I decided to ask people on twitter about their feeling on recieveing an automated direct message once you follow someone.

Personally I don’t like them, I don’t think they fit in with twitter and the people that use them, this is because I find them to be robotic, short sales pitch with generally no real value.

When I follow somebody on twitter it’s because I find their tweets interesting, I want to contribute to a conversation or they are person behind them has similar interests to myself, I don’t follow them in hope of them forcing sales pitches down my throat from the get go, I want engagement and to speak to a human. The following reasons are why I believe they shouldn’t be used:

• They are impersonal and intrusive, I see them as being quite similar to receiving junk mail once you sign up to something you are generally interested about.
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• It cheapens your brand. People are increasingly becoming savvier, and find it quite insulting to receive a direct sales pitch so soon after interacting with somebody.
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• They don’t have the desired impact for a marketer. If people are interested in you and what they have to offer they will research you further themselves, they don’t need to be spoon fed information.
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Here are some of the tweets I recieved in response to the posed question:

@AirConTechLtd wrote - '@tim_eem It's a little arrogant really that they have to little time to care about their followers!!'

@pinkspiderweb wrote - '@tim_eem #debate No. I don't like automatic DMs, they're too impersonal '

@nimuesnestgifts Wrote – ‘@tim_eem annoys me so I usually unfollow immediately! May as well be a bot if using auto DMs as far as I'm concerned’

It’s not really come to any surprise but using automated Direct Messages are not popular, my advice would be to switch them off and communicate to your new followers personally, as this will get you a higher response rate and adds a personal touch which twitter users crave. If you don’t have time to do this then don’t do it, no Direct message is better than having one which irritates people

How do you feel about them? Have you had any success in using them? Comments are appreciated!

The socialjamm team.
www.socialjamm.com
www.twitter.com/socialjamm

In our last post (How to set up an optimised Linkedin Profile Page - Part 1) We gave you a brief introduction about what Linkedin is, what it is used for and how to optimise your profiles Name, Professional Headline and Profile Picture.

This time we are going to focus on claiming your custom profile URL and optimising the 'Specialities' and Experience' sections of your profile.

Tip 1 – Claim your custom profile URL

When you setup a new Linkedin account your current profile URL (link to your linkedin profile page) will looks something like this-

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/19/18a/123

It’s hardly recognisable or easy to remember, especially when you can change it to something like this –

www.linkedin.com/in/socialjamm

Having your own custom vanity link makes your page easier to find on Google (SEO), looks much more professional when sharing it with others (potential clients) and supports you or your company as a brand. It’s worth noting that Google indexes Linkedin profiles and linkedin pages rate very high in searches so your URL should represent you or your company by what you would like to be searched for i.e your full name or company name.

You can change your URL by logging onto your profile www.linkedin.com and clicking on ‘Customize your public profile URL’ located on the right hand side of your page. You will then see this pop-up:

The green tick will verify that this name hasn’t been claimed by another user. Don’t fret if your ideal URL has already been taken, be creative …It’s not unheard of to use a double under score to secure a desired name e.g ‘social__jamm’

Tip 2 - Fill out the ‘Specialities’ section with key-word heavy information.

The specialities section is your chance to really market yourself In a nutshell. It should be a short key-word heavy overview of the skill you possess, what you are looking for and what you can do for others.

It needs to feature specific key-words that relate to what you would imagine people would use to search and find you as Linkedin’s search tool focusses highly on the specialities section.

Executed intelligently the same words key-words can be repeatedly woven into a body of text with the viewer being none the wiser. (See how many times we used the phrase ‘key-words’ in the last two paragraphs)

Tip 3 - Fill out the 'Experience' Section with your full work History (and don’t forget the key-words)

This section is a bit like filling out an online CV / Resume, however you shouldn’t go into too much detail as the main aim is to keep people engaged, so stick to the job title and a bulleted list of your experience and successes. (If people want to see your CV they will ask for it, so don’t over embellish your achievements here only to potentially send a CV that doesn’t do them justice).

It is important that you include your entire work history as it will make it very simple for people to search for, find and connect to you if they know you from a previous company that you have worked for. (Your current job title and company you work for (or own) will feature at the top of your profile).

And remember to ALWAYS use KEY WORDS to optimise your page for searches.

*If you are currently unemployed and seeking work, don’t be afraid to post that you are, Linkedin is used heavily by recruiters, and if your profile says you are actively looking for work you are more likely to be approached than somebody who is hiding it. (8 Million+ people in the USA used social media to find a new job in 2011)


We hope you find these tips useful, following them can really help you generate new business, increase your chances of being found from Linkedin and Google searches and even help you find a new job!

We will be continuing with the theme of optimising your Linkedin page(Part 3) in our next post. If you found these tips useful why not let us know by tweeting us (@socialjamm) We also post up to date social media news and tips for all social networks on their regularly.

Now go update your Linkedin profiles!

The socialjamm team.

www.socialjamm.com
www.twitter.com/socialjamm

We are a team of social media enthusiasts with a wealth of experience in digital marketing, web development and design.

Here you will find regular posts about how best to use social media networking as a tool to improve your online marketing and up-to-date information about the constant developments of social media networks such as Facebook, Linkedin, twitter and youtube.

We hope you find this blog to be beneficial and look forward to sharing our experience with you whilst continuously developing our own skills.

Thanks

The socialjamm team.
www.socialjamm.com
www.twitter.com/socialjamm