During my April 1, 2020 webinar on LinkedIn Marketing, live attendees sent in some of their most pressing questions about the social media platform.  Some of those questions have been answered already in Social Media Success with Lisa Perry, an online community for small business owners. Other questions require in-depth explanation or demonstration and will be answered through blog articles such as this.

The following question is courtesy of Natasha Suber. Thank you, Natasha!

How can we help our company’s executive leaders and others be "influencers" using LinkedIn?

The first step to becoming an influencer or thought leader on LinkedIn is to build trust, and you do that through your profile. We talked about optimizing your personal profile or company page during the webinar, but I can’t emphasize its importance enough. You want your experience, professionalism, and personality to shine through your profile. Tell people who you are and why they should...

During my April 1, 2020 webinar on LinkedIn Marketing, live attendees sent in some of their most pressing questions about the social media platform.  Some of those questions have been answered already in Social Media Success with Lisa Perry, an online community for small business owners. Other questions require in-depth explanation or demonstration and will be answered through blog articles such as this.

The following questions are courtesy of Rich Sauser. Thank you, Rich!

How does the number of people in your network impact your ability to see/be seen by others?

With the new algorithm that is currently in place, it’s not actually about the number of people in your network as much as the quality of your connections. There are ways to reach outside of your network, but the most powerful tool you have when it comes to visibility is your ability to engage with the people already in it. Let me explain...

LinkedIn’s algorithm is based on “People you know,...

It’s no secret that visual content is king when it comes to marketing. Whether it’s an eye-catching graphic or a viral video, having something to look at is the fastest way to grab your audience’s attention. Well, let me rephrase that, having something good to look at is the fastest way to grab your audience’s attention.

It may seem like an obvious distinction, I know, but it’s an important one to make. Social media feeds are flooded with visual content from other businesses, including your competitors. Your content needs to stand out in order to be successful. It has to be engaging and professional… But you don’t need to hire a professional to achieve it. Let me explain.

One of my absolute favorite forms of professional visual content to use in marketing is a style of photography called “flatlay” – and yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. A flatlay is simply a photo, taken from above, of items that are lying flat...

Let me start off by being perfectly honest with you… I am OBSESSED with Canva. This easy-to-use online resource makes me feel like I’m the A+ graphic designer in my family (shhh, don’t tell Brian). But how could someone who’s never taken a graphic design class and doesn’t know a blur tool from a selection box feel like a total pro? Well, I’ll show you.

Canva comes in a few different versions, a free one, Canva Pro, Canva Enterprise, and Canva for Nonprofits. Enterprise is just like Pro but for larger businesses who need more storage. Canva for Nonprofits is exactly Canva Pro, except your organization can have it for free if you're a registered nonprofit. My team uses Canva Pro because it allows us all to work on projects together with shared folders. In other words, I can create a new Instagram graphic and someone on my team can go in and make changes to it without having to send any files back and forth. It’s made our creative...

If you are doing everything you can to make a splash on Instagram, you are going to start getting flooded with questions about your services and/or products and maybe even some meeting requests! It’s SO important to engage with your audience, but responding to all of these messages individually can be time-consuming. That’s why I recommend using quick replies.

Quick re-whats? Quick replies! This is an awesome Instagram feature that allows you to set up automated responses to frequently asked questions in your direct messages. All you have to do is type in a shortcut word to trigger the quick reply you want and BAM, there it is. Talk about saving time!

Now, if you don’t think you have enough direct messages on Intagram to even bother with quick replies, think again. There are more reasons to use them than just for volume of messages...

For instance, if you have more than one person managing your Instagram account, quick replies help keep your message on brand with a...

Instagram. I’ve been talking about it a lot lately. What it is, how to use it, and so on and so forth, but then one day it dawned on me… While all this education is great, it doesn’t help if you aren’t sure WHY you should be using Instagram. So, here I am with my Top 5 reasons why your business should be on Instagram. Once you’re convinced, be sure to keep up with Lisa Perry Social for all the education you need on how to run your Instagram profile successfully!

THE WHY:

1. It’s Where Your Audience (and Competition) Is

Social media marketing isn’t just about where you want to be. It’s about being where your target audience is. Sure, you might feel more comfortable with Facebook right now, but if you’re targeting the millennial age group, then you’re missing them by not being on Instagram. And plenty of parents and grandparents are heading over to Instagram to see pictures of those grandkids, so don't rule out that audience...

Are you new to Instagram and need help figuring out what each icon means on the home page?

I'm here to assist! Let’s get started:

- The circles in a row across the top are Instagram stories. People post images, videos, polls, gifs, share other posts, and more here.

-  How to add to your story: Click the far left circle on the top row with the plus sign and your profile picture. You'll be able to add images, videos, and more for your story here.

- By clicking on the magnifying glass you are taken to the popular page. These are posts getting the most engagement right now. You can also search hashtags, locations, and accounts on this page.

- The center icon with the plus sign is to post a photo or video to your account that will appear on your profile and the accounts that follow you will see it on their feeds.

- The heart icon leads to your notifications page. This page is where you will be able to see interactions. People liking your photos, new followers, etc....

First impressions are everything

Your Facebook Business Page should not be held any less accountable than you are when it comes to trying to make a good first impression. To make a good first impression online, try pinning a great post to the top of your page so that’s the first thing your audience will see when they visit it.

Pinned posts can feature

• A company or community event that you’re hosting
• Video overview of your business
• A discount for your Facebook fans
• Customer photo with a testimonial

Be sure to change your pinned post every month or so to keep the information on your page fresh and up-to-date for your page visitors.

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself before pinning a post

• What is something you would want people to know when they first get introduced to your business?
• How can you use this concept to promote the personality of your business?
• What is something monumental for your business that may even be a bit down the road?
• Can you tease...

If you have started to use Instagram as part of your digital marketing plan, you may have quickly realized that doing everything on your phone can take longer than from your desktop computer. It can be tough to type and review what you want to say and make sure all of the formatting looks perfect. You also cannot schedule out posts for Instagram easily and see how your planned images will appear on your main Instagram profile to a new visitor.

Well, Planoly solves all of those problems for you and it is why it is the only tool I use to manage Instagram for our clients and here are just some of the reasons!

1.   Using Planoly on your desktop computer
I know Instagram is the mobile platform, and that is great for real-time, on-the-go posts that you want to do directly from your mobile device. But to truly “manage” your feed and have posts going out on a regular basis, at ideal times for your audience, it is best to do that work from your computer. I especially...