Getting Started on Linkedin: 5 Essential Tips

Getting started on a new social media site can be disorienting.  It helps if you have a guide to focus your initial efforts.  These five simple tips can help you get more out of Linkedin, more quickly.

Your Kid Can Become the Next Bill Gates

Altair 8800, January 1975

I recall reading an interview with Bill Gates a while back where he talked about how chance had played a big part in his success.  He was fortunate that the school he attended had a computer and that his parents were well off enough to buy him an early PC.  Granted he had a lot of talent and worked really hard, but he got an early start with computers in large part by being in the right place at the right time. 

I remember those early years of the PC, the late 70's and early 80's.  Those PCs were not what they are now. They were mostly kits or very clunky boxes of wire & solder.  They were also very limited.  You couldn't really do much with them, but the fascination was that they were programmable.  They were a little expensive, about $300 at the time.  Most people did not buy a PC until 10 years later.

Fast forward 40 years.  There is a new technology that reminds me a lot of those early PCs.  The technology is called 3D printing. 3D printers create three dimensional objects by using a “printing” process not too dissimilar from your desktop inkjet printer, but instead of extruding ink they extrude materials like plastics, metals, ceramic powders, or even edible material.  They are clunky and expensive and can't really do much, but they have an avid nerd following.   

To my mind this is the kernel of what will be a great new technology in about 10 years.  If you want your son or daughter to be the next Bill Gates buy them a 3D printer now.  Prices start around $300.

MakerBot 3D Printer

Who Uses Facebook in Your Area?

Many small businesses compete in a relatively small geographic area, perhaps within 20-30 miles of their business storefront.  Attorneys, restaurants, dentists, and banks are examples of these types of businesses.  Local businesses need cost effective ways to reach potential customers, especially those local people who are most likely to become new customers.

St Clair county is located in the southern portion of Illinois, in the eastern section of the St Louis metropolitan area.  Largely rural & suburban, the county hosts a large Air Force Base, several large businesses, and many small to medium sized businesses. The county is in many ways a typical Midwestern area.

The infographic below shows some of the demographic information that can be derived directly from Facebook about the people who use Facebook in a particular geographic area.  Based upon the demographics below, it is clear that these Facebook users in St Clair County would be a good fit for many types of consumer businesses.

Facebook business pages are by far the most common way to market on Facebook.  Business pages are simple to build and free.  Another, less common, method is to use Facebook ads.  Facebook ads can be an even more effective way for business-to-consumer (B2C) businesses to reach local customers since these ads can be focused on specific demographic segments.  For example a Wedding Planner might want to focus their ads on young women who are engaged.  Chiropractors might want to focus on people interested in health & well-being.

The demographic information above was gathered from Facebook by creating an ad campaign, selecting a geographic area (country, state, city, or zip codes) and then recording the audience size as you adjust the campaign targeting parameters.  You will notice that "County" is not one of the geographic options available.  For our infographic we gathered the zip codes in St Clair County and entered them individually into the ad campaign.

Perhaps you should consider using Facebook to identify consumers for your business.

Which Social Media Platform Is Best For Your Business?

Social media platforms differ significantly in audience size, functionality, usage rules, and audience demographic.  It makes sense to consider the age and gender of the social media platform's audience when choosing a platform to work with.