LinkedIn is hands-down the number one place for online business networking.   Some may argue that how we look on LinkedIn matters as much as our handshake and our smile.  It’s where we go to check each other out before meeting face-to-face and where we go to secure our connections so we can continue to network virtually day-in and day-out.

Thus, it makes perfect sense that LinkedIn would now be introducing a new feature called LinkedIn Contacts, offered initially through an “invite only” experience before it’s rolled out to the masses.  At its core, the purpose of LinkedIn Contacts is to help us build relationships with our contacts.  It is designed to bridge that gap between the transaction of exchanging a business card to remembering someone’s birthday and proactively reaching out to wish them well.

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For many, Jamie Oliver needs no introduction.  He is on a worldwide crusade to change the way we eat… one child at a time, one school at a time, one recipe at a time.   With an effort of this scope and magnitude, social media can be his best microphone.

Among the many channels, outlets and platforms that Jamie leverages to share his message, he recently went to Instagram to engage his fanbase in the May 17th launch of Food Revolution Day; #FRD2013.  There, he introduced a contest to draw FRD2013 in any form (spaghetti noodles, anyone?), post to any social feed and include the hashtag, #FRD2013.

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Each week, we scour social media channels for awe-inspiring content from both local and national brands. 

We stumbled across this awesome Facebook post from LaRosa’s:

While social media is not just about attracting followers, 100k fans is quite a milestone and a testament to the success of this incredible Cincinnati-based restaurant. It’s a milestone worth celebrating, and they did so in a way that’s less about them and more about rewarding their loyal fans.

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If you’re like me, you are both inspired and intimidated by Pinterest.  We spend hours devouring the beautiful content dreaming of a more organized, aesthetically pleasing life.  All of a sudden, we have new ambitious ideas that, let’s face it, are oftentimes more challenging to execute than “Pin”.  But, “pin on” we do.  Why?  Because we are women (80% female audience on Pinterest), and we are all on an endless quest to be the best at everything we do.

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In spite of what you may have heard, social media is not free. At their basic level, the tools are free to use. But more and more, you have to spend a good amount of time and money to stay ahead of the pack. Instead of detailing mathematical formulas for determining the return on your investment in social media, it’s more important than anything to understand what it is and what it’s not.

The “R” in ROI is not revenue. This is an easy trap. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that the only return is in the form of increased revenue. Quite often, social media is better for customer retention than new customer acquisition. Make sure to tie your metrics to your purpose for participating in the space, which should match your broader organizational goals. This could be anything from more time spent on your website and increased open rates for your email newsletter to reduced time-to-hire and improved customer satisfaction scores.

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Social media promotions - giveaways, contests, exclusive offers - have really taken off as a great tool for attracting and engaging your fanbase. Here are four tips to consider for developing and launching a successful campaign.

1. Tie it to a specific business objective. Promotions are a great way to accelerate follower growth, but ‘more fans’ is simply a means to an end. Decide what that end is. Are you seeking greater awareness, more sales, repeat visits, product or service ideas? Identify, measure and report on metrics that relate to what you’re after. Hint: play with the entry form to gather an extra bit of quality data about your customers.

2. Get the incentive right. Match the effort with the reward, and match the reward with your target audience. If you’re asking people for more than just their name and email, up the prize value to make it worthwhile for them. Offer a prize that only your target customer will care about. You’ll get more entries when you offer them an experience and you pepper in smaller prizes so that people feel they have achance at winning something. Below are a few examples.

• E-commerce - a daily “everything we make” giveaway
• B2B - registration for a popular industry conference
• Restaurant - free event catering for up to 20 friends 

Here’s an example of a contest we’re running for a gourmet meal market called Take Home Tano, which caters to busy moms and dads in and around Loveland, OH.

3. Keep it simple. People will spend just seconds to decide on whether your promotion is worth their time and effort. Keep everything super easy for them to understand - from the instructions for entering to the graphic design and the description of prizes.

4. Communicate regularly. Don’t assume you’re finished once you’ve captured an entry. Remind people to share a giveaway with others, to start gathering votes for their entry in your contest, or to not only claim but redeem your special offer. Leverage all of your marketing channels to stay top of mind, including before the promotion even begins.

Written by Matthew Dooley, Founder/CEO of dooley media, which is a full-service social media agency that creates raving fans for local businesses. Connect with him on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.

We’re pleased to announce that Kirsten Lecky has joined our team! She started this week and is already making large strides. As Client Strategy Director, she’s charged with supporting organizational growth by providing overall strategic direction, building new client and partner relationships, and managing performance and service delivery for existing clients. Read on to learn more about her.

(Photo courtesy of Jenn Prine)

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A lot of people have been asking me about the origin of my superhero character. Even though I’m sort of making this up after the fact, the purpose I’ve rallied to is that there’s a perfect match between the journey of a superhero and my life as an entrepreneur. Watch this quick video or read the simple steps below, and the similarities will begin to surface.

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It’s happened to Facebook page admins everywhere. We press that post button and then notice some sort of error. And then maybe your heart drops to your stomach. Well, if you uploaded a photo or a video, you have the option to edit the post after it’s been sent.

All you have to do is click on the post and the press the “edit” button.

Edit as you see fit, then click “done editing.” Voila.

Written by Matthew Dooley, Founder/CEO of dooley media, which is a full-service social media agency that creates raving fans for local businesses. Connect with him on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.