March 11, 2015 / in Blogging, Content Marketing, General Information, LinkedIn, WordPress / by Mic Johnson
Post Author: Mic Johnson
I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out something that has driven me crazy ever since I started working with Blue Gurus 5+ years ago.
Over the years we’ve had way too many sales calls to count where we explain the 3 things we do for clients…Blogging, On-site WordPress Web Development, and LinkedIn Training.
They always understand it. They always agree with it. They always admit that they know they should be doing it. And then they do….nothing.
I often tell people “I feel like I’m selling common sense.” Here’s why:
1. Everyone understands at the core level that if you’re in a business-to-business role (especially in sales) that having a great LinkedIn profile is common sense.
2. Everyone understands at the core level that if you’re in just about any kind of business that having an easy-to-navigate, mobile friendly website is common sense.
3. Everyone understands at the core level that telling people who you are, what your company does, sharing success stories, educating people about your products and services, and sharing how you give back to your community is common sense.
Assuming you agree with those three points, let me share a quick story with you. I was recently at Shawn Kinkade’s Business Book Review (this is one of my MUST ATTEND networking and education events every month. The next one is March 25th.) and it happened again.
There were around 35 people in the room and I asked two questions (I’m glad I didn’t ask the third about blogging because that would have been really depressing):
1. How many people are happy with their LinkedIn profile?
2. How many people are happy with their company website?
What’s your best guess on how many people raised their hand? Maybe half the room were happy with both? A third of the room? Nope.
TWO…TWO!… people raised their hand (one of them was my wife Missy) and said they were happy
with their LinkedIn profiles.
And NO ONE…NO ONE!…raised their hand regarding their company website.
So why isn’t your online personal and professional brand (your LinkedIn profile) and your company’s online brand (your website and blog) more important to you?
I honestly haven’t heard a logical argument yet. The only thing I can think of is that you have more business
than you could ever hope to handle. If that’s the case, CONGRATULATIONS! If not, what’s your excuse?
Just don’t take my word for it. Here are a few other reasons to stop procrastinating:
57% of companies say they generated sales through LinkedIn.
45% of B2B companies have gained a customer through LinkedIn.
47% of B2B Marketers say they actively use LinkedIn.
83% of marketers prefer to use LinkedIn for distributing B2B content.
(Source: http://www.realbusinessrescue.co.uk/news/how-b2b-businesses-are-tackling-social-media-in-2015)
By The Numbers: 120+ Amazing LinkedIn Stats
My favorites: 40% of users check LinkedIn daily. Profiles with a photo are viewed 11x more than
those without one.
Beginning April 21, Google will start ranking mobile-friendly sites higher when people search. If
you’ve been putting off updating your website for years, it’s very likely not mobile friendly and
Google is going to start punishing you.
Companies with active blogs generate 55% more site visits, 97% more links to their websites, and
their pages get indexed 434% more often.
Blogs have been rated the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information.
Companies that blog are 13x more likely to generate a positive marketing ROI.
Google deems websites to be more valuable if they regularly produce quality content that is highly
relevant to the target audience.
Common sense…right?
Comments are closed.
Me? A blogger?
Honestly, I was skeptical. My first few posts were dry, hard to write and not very interesting, even to me. Then I had a breakthrough. I wrote about my passion for Bruce Springsteen. Very personal, very “non-banky.” The response was overwhelmingly positive.
Pam Berneking
Former President and CEO of Alterra Bank
Great blog once again Mic. Hopefully those reading your blog will come to their “common sense” and let Blue Gurus help them grow professionally and help their business grow…:-)