Tips and Tricks To Putting An Effective Profile Together
Ready to get building your network here at sup.biz?
Below are some basic guidelines to help you get started putting your profile together.
Make sure to use your full name. The idea is to be professional. You may like the screen name "Vaderblaster_007" but chances are your prospects won't think of you as a professional. And because of that they won't end up doing any business with you.
If you prefer anonymity for safety purposes that is quite alright and maybe even prudent. If you're going to go this route I suggest using your real first name and then creating a fictitious last name. You might consider using the first letter of your last name as the first letter of your made up name. That way you can use your real initials when commenting on other members blogs and forum posts. The reason I suggest that is for the simple fact it will be far easier for you to remember.
Upload a good professional photo of yourself to use as your profile picture. One of the biggest mistakes I see new marketers make on the social networks is they neglect to upload a photo to use on their profile page. Why that is a mistake is simple. Profiles without a profile pic receive 800% less traffic than profiles that do have them. So put a pic up!
Another common mistake I see marketers make on the social networks is to use an unprofessional looking photo as a profile pic. You may look good in a bathing suit but unless you're trying to get people to invite you to the beach or to call you for a late night booty call this a big no no. The idea is to look professional okay? People give their money to professionals. If you don't look the part then no money for you.
Another mistake to avoid is to upload a picture of something other than a human as your profile pic. Look you may like cats or racecars but that doesn't mean you should use them as you profile pics! People for the most part flock to the social networks because they are looking for social interaction. Provide them with that social interaction and they will stop and spend time with you. When you have a picture of a bulldog as your profile pic your potential prospects will pass right by your profile without even thinking twice about it.
Let others know where you live. This seems self explanatory but when you leave it blank you'll lose traffic as a result. When a new prospect hits your profile the first thing they do after looking at your profile picture is to see what part of the world you live in. By leaving it blank it makes you look like a made up spammy profile. If you're worried about Internet safety you can use a fake city name and then share the actual State you live in. There is nothing wrong or devious with this. I suggest you share the real State you are from just because a lot of people when they meet you will ask you regional oriented questions like "How's the weather there in the winter?" or "How's the golf there?" If you can't answer those questions because you lied about where you live then it will be harder for you to answer their questions genuinely.
Share what type of business you have. This is pretty important field to fill out too. I suggest you be careful with it though. If you're in Amway don't fill it out by sharing "Amway Independent Representative". If you do you risk being stereotyped and avoided almost immediately by would be prospects. It's much wiser to share something like "Helping Others", or "Problem Solving", or "Business Strategist". The idea is to get your prospects forming an opinion of who you are through other means than just the job title you happen to have at the moment.
Telephone Number. Whether or not you want to share your phone number on your profile is totally up to you. I prefer to do so because of my business background. I know from experience that when my phone rings it usually means someone's interested in what I'm doing and more often than not that means sales for me. If you're going to list your phone number make sure to share a business line because your prospects will not think it very professional if your three year old happens to pick up the phone when they call. Also if you're concerned with Internet safety you should know that anyone can take your number and go to whitepages.com and do a reverse look up to see who's phone it is. If it's your home phone number they may even get your name and address from doing so. If it's a cell number they will at least get the city and State where you live. So share your number with your eyes open!
Website Address. I normally share a link over to my blog in this field. Why? Because if I'm linking straight to a sales page then I'm afraid most people will think I am interacting with them only to make sales. Which is usually the case. But that's besides the point. When I share my blog link in the website field then when a prospect clicks it they see all the helpful information I share they will more likely continue interacting with me.
Put Together An Introductory Story. Locate the box in the middle column entitled, "Text Box". Click the button next to it that says, "edit". When you do a white box will appear and that is where you are going to formally introduce yourself to your visitors. Do so by sharing something about yourself that has nothing to do with your business whatsoever. You can share a funny story that happened to you as a kid or as an adult. Or let everyone know what your favorite flavor of ice cream is. What movie did you last see? Did you like it? Do you play a musical instrument? Are you good at card tricks? Did you grow up not knowing your dad? Did your grandmother live on a lake and whenever you'd visit her as a child she would bait your hook for you and cook the fish you caught just for you? The point is you need to share who you are as a human being in this box.
When a visitor hits your profile for the first time they are going to first look at your profile picture to see what you look like. Then immediately go to your text box to read your story. If you have a story for them to read that shares who you are as a person you stand a very good chance of bonding with your prospect.
When that happens you just set the stage to making a sale with that same person down the road.
The key is to to give people a chance to know you before you start sharing your product, service or opportunity with them.
There you have it. Now go put your profile together!
Post below if you have any questions whatsoever!
Below are some basic guidelines to help you get started putting your profile together.
Make sure to use your full name. The idea is to be professional. You may like the screen name "Vaderblaster_007" but chances are your prospects won't think of you as a professional. And because of that they won't end up doing any business with you.
If you prefer anonymity for safety purposes that is quite alright and maybe even prudent. If you're going to go this route I suggest using your real first name and then creating a fictitious last name. You might consider using the first letter of your last name as the first letter of your made up name. That way you can use your real initials when commenting on other members blogs and forum posts. The reason I suggest that is for the simple fact it will be far easier for you to remember.
Upload a good professional photo of yourself to use as your profile picture. One of the biggest mistakes I see new marketers make on the social networks is they neglect to upload a photo to use on their profile page. Why that is a mistake is simple. Profiles without a profile pic receive 800% less traffic than profiles that do have them. So put a pic up!
Another common mistake I see marketers make on the social networks is to use an unprofessional looking photo as a profile pic. You may look good in a bathing suit but unless you're trying to get people to invite you to the beach or to call you for a late night booty call this a big no no. The idea is to look professional okay? People give their money to professionals. If you don't look the part then no money for you.
Another mistake to avoid is to upload a picture of something other than a human as your profile pic. Look you may like cats or racecars but that doesn't mean you should use them as you profile pics! People for the most part flock to the social networks because they are looking for social interaction. Provide them with that social interaction and they will stop and spend time with you. When you have a picture of a bulldog as your profile pic your potential prospects will pass right by your profile without even thinking twice about it.
Let others know where you live. This seems self explanatory but when you leave it blank you'll lose traffic as a result. When a new prospect hits your profile the first thing they do after looking at your profile picture is to see what part of the world you live in. By leaving it blank it makes you look like a made up spammy profile. If you're worried about Internet safety you can use a fake city name and then share the actual State you live in. There is nothing wrong or devious with this. I suggest you share the real State you are from just because a lot of people when they meet you will ask you regional oriented questions like "How's the weather there in the winter?" or "How's the golf there?" If you can't answer those questions because you lied about where you live then it will be harder for you to answer their questions genuinely.
Share what type of business you have. This is pretty important field to fill out too. I suggest you be careful with it though. If you're in Amway don't fill it out by sharing "Amway Independent Representative". If you do you risk being stereotyped and avoided almost immediately by would be prospects. It's much wiser to share something like "Helping Others", or "Problem Solving", or "Business Strategist". The idea is to get your prospects forming an opinion of who you are through other means than just the job title you happen to have at the moment.
Telephone Number. Whether or not you want to share your phone number on your profile is totally up to you. I prefer to do so because of my business background. I know from experience that when my phone rings it usually means someone's interested in what I'm doing and more often than not that means sales for me. If you're going to list your phone number make sure to share a business line because your prospects will not think it very professional if your three year old happens to pick up the phone when they call. Also if you're concerned with Internet safety you should know that anyone can take your number and go to whitepages.com and do a reverse look up to see who's phone it is. If it's your home phone number they may even get your name and address from doing so. If it's a cell number they will at least get the city and State where you live. So share your number with your eyes open!
Website Address. I normally share a link over to my blog in this field. Why? Because if I'm linking straight to a sales page then I'm afraid most people will think I am interacting with them only to make sales. Which is usually the case. But that's besides the point. When I share my blog link in the website field then when a prospect clicks it they see all the helpful information I share they will more likely continue interacting with me.
Put Together An Introductory Story. Locate the box in the middle column entitled, "Text Box". Click the button next to it that says, "edit". When you do a white box will appear and that is where you are going to formally introduce yourself to your visitors. Do so by sharing something about yourself that has nothing to do with your business whatsoever. You can share a funny story that happened to you as a kid or as an adult. Or let everyone know what your favorite flavor of ice cream is. What movie did you last see? Did you like it? Do you play a musical instrument? Are you good at card tricks? Did you grow up not knowing your dad? Did your grandmother live on a lake and whenever you'd visit her as a child she would bait your hook for you and cook the fish you caught just for you? The point is you need to share who you are as a human being in this box.
When a visitor hits your profile for the first time they are going to first look at your profile picture to see what you look like. Then immediately go to your text box to read your story. If you have a story for them to read that shares who you are as a person you stand a very good chance of bonding with your prospect.
When that happens you just set the stage to making a sale with that same person down the road.
The key is to to give people a chance to know you before you start sharing your product, service or opportunity with them.
There you have it. Now go put your profile together!
Post below if you have any questions whatsoever!
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by SUp.biz, CEO on -
Thanks Matt.
We'd like to take this opportunity of welcoming Matt to the Sta.rtup.biz management team. We are looking to make some changes here, which will benefit everyone on the site, so stay tuned.
-
Permalink Reply by Vaughan Jones on -
Matt, this is very good advice indeed. It is clear that the more open and honest one is, regarding the profile one projects, the better one will fare. The only problem is that if anyone has anything to hide, like misrepresenting skills or abilities, one is laid bare. Which, in fact, is a very good thing.
So, using this as a test scenario, one can possibly determine the bona fides of a person or organisation operating in cyber space.
Am I right in saying this? And if so, what would you say one should specifically be on the lookout for?
-
Permalink Reply by Matt LaClear on -
Great points Vaughan...thanks for bringing them up. When I first got into Internet marketing in the mid nineties everyone was attempting to make a buck just by slamming their sales ads at the public. For a time that strategy worked nicely in bringing in profits believe it or not. There just wasn't a glut of information available on the web in which prospects could choose from. So they were forced to eat from sources that they otherwise would not of had there been alternatives.
Now in the year 2009 everything is different for marketers. Sure you get a lot of folks attempting to slam their ads at prospects like they did back in the Nineties. But now the public has far more informational sources to choose from that they can now afford to turn their nose up at anything that just doesn't seem right to them.
The smart web 2.0 marketer of today understands all this. Sure it takes time to introduce yourself to others and build relationships up with folks. But the time spent doing so builds MASSIVE credibility with their future prospects.
Marketers who do not take the time to market properly in the social marketing environment may not do so for a number of reasons. 1) They may not know the proper way to market the web 2.0. 2) They may just be looking for a quick buck and just don't want to take the time to build relationships up with others. 3) They are naturally devious individuals who prefer to hide in darkness rather than come out into the light. So they hide behind spam advertisements preferring to stay anonymous.
So I guess I said all that to say yeah you can tell a lot about a marketer by the way they handle their social marketing.
What to look for specifically?
Well if I was someone on a social network (hey wait a minute I am!) I would naturally stay away from anyone who 1) posts spammy messages, 2) refuses to share who they are as an individual, 3) neglects to interact with their prospects as individuals.
I'm not saying that those who act as such are evil wrongdoers. But rather they most like are showing that their marketing cupboards are bear and have little to really offer those around them.
-
Permalink Reply by Avil Beckford on -
Hi Matt,
A lot of people talk about building relationships but often do not explain how to do so, so a newbie is left wondering what the next steps should be. This blog post gives concrete examples such as sharing a story about you so people get a taste of the real you. You are right about the profile picture, unless I know you, if you try to connect with me and there is no photo, I will not connect to you. Avil
-
Permalink Reply by Matt LaClear on
-
You're right Avil...when I saw the statistic that profiles without pics get 800% less traffic that told me a lot about what people on social networks are looking for. They're looking for real people!
-
Permalink Reply by phill tarnowski on
-
I think that you have done a wonderful job in getting information out to your students there is a question I have and that would be. How do you share what business you are involved in or a web site with others if you are still undecided as to what product you will be involved in promoting? How can we post to a blog for the same reasons? Well I think that just about covers what for now Thanks for all your counsel and training so far and I look forward to that which is yet to come. Phill
-
Permalink Reply by Matt LaClear on
-
Well for starters Phil I would counsel you not to spend too much time on "deciding" what product to sell. Once you're sure of the niche you want to sell in I say look for a product and jump into the fray. As far as posting on your blog I would suggest that your posts not share anything at all regarding your product anyways. But rather share good information that folks in your niche would enjoy reading. The job of your blog is not to sell your product. It's purpose is to build up your credibility within your niche.
-
Permalink Reply by Kay Smith on
-
Straight and to the point. Since social networking is a way to create a "name" for yourself, it only makes sense to create a profile that you live by. What better way to develop lasting friendships? You did an awesome job with this Matt. Thank you for sharing it with us.
-
Permalink Reply by Matt LaClear on
-
Thanks for chiming in Kay. Good luck in your interactions here at sup.biz!
-
Permalink Reply by AlbertFreed.D. M. N. on -
Matt you have done a wonderful job putting out the best information about building lasting relationships. You have taught this old dog, new tricks. Great business information!
-
Permalink Reply by Ellery Bennett on -
Hey Matt,
It has been interesting to me that some refuse to use a pic of themselves in Social Marketing, I have found that I don't respond to them. It's good to see that I have been on target based on your insight on this topic. Am I understanding correctly, you stated to use a link that sends a potential prospect to a site that is not a sales pitch. The site should be informational, not a site that is attempting to sale and close them?
Thanks,
Ellery
-
Permalink Reply by Martha Tucker on -
Hi Matt, I'm almost certain that the most effective piece of advice on this long list of advice on putting
the profile together is on the introductory story. I say that because I think every newbie wants to
tell what product of service he/she has to sell. Now that's just the wrong thing to do,you advise.
I was just floored when you said we shouldn't mention the business service. When I started thinking
about you concept of the entire marketing approach of 'giving and making friends', i knew you were
absolutely right. Now my profile story is the way it should be--the introduction of a human being, not a
sales person. Thanks, it's just great. I'll use that method in every marketing profile.
Martha Tucker
Let's Get Growing
Diamond Member Posts
© 2009 StartUp | Report Spam and Scams |
