Mr. Joy is in a situation like this: He has a Pinterest page, where he has been religiously posting images, and managed a few followers too. Wonderful! But it’s been a while; and there are no re-pins, likes or comments yet! Ouch! Now he begins to wonder if anyone is really listening to what he has to say. If you too are in a similar situation and doubt if Pinterest is really worth your time, then I have some good news for you! Firstly, there’s no need to freak out if your Pinterest boards aren’t making the big impression as yet. So, relax! Just understand that making the desired impact takes time and continuous effort. Just like any other social media site. Cheer up folks! I have something to set the ball rolling for you...

Welcome back my friends. I hope you went back to LinkedIn and your profile looks much better and attractive now. I also hope you have started building your connections as well. It’s time to add more to our LinkedIn list about tips to generate leads on LinkedIn (Part 1). What next? Now we explore LinkedIn groups further. We will also look at how you can use LinkedIn Direct Ads, LinkedIn Mobile and Share content and Slideshare to generate leads.          LinkedIn Groups: Expand your horizons and join groups that are not of your industry, but outside it. When you stretch out you meet people across industries and widen your circle. This is a good way to help you grow your business. Participate in Group Discussions: You will find...

On a Sunday evening I logged on to Facebook from my smartphone. I was in for a surprise! A pleasant one though. The face of Facebook, the second most visited website on the internet, seemed to have undergone some cosmetic changes! It just looked different. So I logged on to my computer for a bigger, clearer view. I saw the new ‘Facebook Timeline’ activated on a number of profile pages. Hmmm…not bad, I thought. While big brands like Coco Cola and Dove have already adapted to the change of the Timeline format, I wondered what small businesses can do there to adapt to this change and benefit from it. So guys, I did my research and here is what I found: Customized Brand Design: Have your brand page impressively designed. This will make...

I have a ‘smart’ companion with me all the time. It sits pretty on my desk, in my bag, in my hand. Has answers to all my questions, gives me access to a world of information and knowledge, entertainment, games, movies, music….and blows my mind away. It looks good and feels great! No wonder, they call it a Smartphone! A phone so precious, needs to be protected (just like a PC). Isn’t it? Guys, Smartphone security is a must! Here are a few tips for your Smartphone security: Passwords: Password protection is your first step. Your phone should be accessible only after the set password is entered (i.e. when it is powered up and before it is started). This will prevent casual browsers from entering your phone, when you are not...

Over 150 million members… spread across over 200 countries… across all the seven continents… guys that’s how big LinkedIn is.. and that impresses me totally! Have you ever thought what else you could such fantastic networking site do for you besides searching your next best job? Well, a lot! LinkedIn is a networking site to generate leads for your business too. Let’s look at a few tips you can use to do that: Complete Professional Profile: It is important to have an impressive, up to the mark profile (whether it is personal or company). If yours isn’t so then your first step should be to change or update it. Furnish it with your complete career history and current experience, giving the other LinkedIn users an accurate...

YouTube says approximately 60 hours of new videos are uploaded to the site every hour! Friends, now think about this. What if one of those videos is yours? Not just a personal video, but videos that could take your professional life to a new high! What exactly do I mean? Let me explain: YouTube has immense potential for marketing your business and brand. And I suggest, all of you make your presence felt there, strongly. Next question that follows is how do you go about marketing your brand on YouTube? Once you have created your account there, you could use these tips to market your brand there: Choosing and Customizing your video content: Identify the kind of content you want to put up. It’s easy, for example if you want to promote...

Hello my sweethearts! Today I am particularly excited as I talk to you about a subject dear to my heart – Blogs! As much as I like to share my thoughts and ideas, I also like listening to others, getting into their minds. And what better route than a blog? However, here I will keep the focus on Corporate Blogging. Boy! Now that is a highly effective and profitable tool for big and small businesses. At the heart of successful corporate blogging lies, managing. So I share with you a few ways to manage a corporate blog: Build Thought Leadership: Focus and serve as an expert in a particular topic in the industry by sharing your thoughts, views and opinion on it. Do it regularly and consistently. Present the topic in a well-researched,...

Friends, if you thought Twitter is just a micro blogging and instant messaging tool, where you send messages within 140 characters to your friends, then I have something new for you. Today, Twitter is much more than that. Infact, this morning I spotted my favorite celebrity tweeting about his recent family vacation. I chanced also upon a post which gave me an idea about which smart phone I should buy next. That was a decision I needed to take since long. That means there is certainly more to Twitter! When I explored Twitter further, I learnt that Twitter has today emerged as an effective tool to spread tremendous awareness about your brand and help it grow. Many celebrities and professionals are using it to build their brands; Amitabh...