The author of the newly published Complete Idiot’s Guide® to LinkedIn, Susan Gunelius, participated in a TweetChat yesterday to teach us how to reap the most benefit from this business tool. Read our TweetChat summary below to build lasting business relationships via social media.

@CIG_Business: Hi @SusanGunelius! Are you ready to get started? For our first question, what are some tips for having an effective LinkedIn profile picture?

@SusanGunelius: Match your goals and LinkedIn user expectations – use a professional-looking picture of you for your profile.

@CIG_Business: How much personal information should you share on your profile?

@SusanGunelius: As much as you’re comfortable with while staying professional and focused on your goals.

@CIG_Business: When you receive and invite to connect, should you always accept?

@SusanGunelius: Depends on your goals. For maximum networking and promotion, the more connections, the better.

@CIG_Business: What is the proper way to reach out to someone that is a friend’s connection?

@SusanGunelius: Send introduction request to your friend via LinkedIn or send that person an InMail.

@CIG_Business: Should you write an original message, or is it okay to use the one #LinkedIn provides?

@SusanGunelius: Anytime you can personalize the message, the better. Would you call on the phone with an automated message?

@CIG_Business: Very good advice. Are there people you should not connect with?

@SusanGunelius: Anyone who might negatively affect your reputation or goals.

@CIG_Business: What is a common LinkedIn mistake?

@SusanGunelius: Not creating a 100% complete profile. Don’t sell yourself short. Tell your whole story!

@CIG_Business: What are some wording tips to use when describing yourself on LinkedIn?

@SusanGunelius: Use keywords to help people find you. Focus on your goals, not necessarily your current job title/description.

@CIG_Business: What should job recruiters look for when reviewing applicant’s LinkedIn pages?

@SusanGunelius: Recommendations, posts, activity in LinkedIn Answers, complete profile, follow links to blog, Twitter, etc.

@CIG_Business: Is the premium account worth the money?

@SusanGunelius: Not necessary for most users. Start with free account. You can upgrade later if want access to premium features.

@CIG_Business: Are there any apps you recommend?

@SusanGunelius: Apps that let you tell more of your story w/ more content like SlideShare, Portfolio Display, Events, etc.

@CIG_Business: For our last question, what is LinkedIn Today and how should people use it?

@SusanGunelius: Homepage customized to your industry/profile w/ top content shared by people in your network. It’s great for keeping up on current events and joining conversations relevant to your goals.

More information about April 12’s TweetChat will be revealed soon. Stay tuned!

Most people who are new to LinkedIn don’t intuitively recognize the potential of the site when it comes to promoting a business, finding a job or project (or being found for one), and raising money for a business venture. The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to LinkedIn author, Susan Gunelius, will participate in a live TweetChat on Thursday, April 5 at 11:30 a.m. CT. Gunelius will go beyond the usual “how to set up an account” and “create a profile” to help participants become LinkedIn super-users and get the most out of the website based on their individual goals. Her book provides new users with clear and detailed guidance on:

• Filling out the LinkedIn profile and customizing it to meet specific professional goals
• Do’s and don’ts of LinkedIn
• Finding the right people
• Making the right introductions
• Growing and managing networks
• Finding and communicating with LinkedIn Groups to help achieve individual business goals
• Specific suggestions for using LinkedIn to find a job, market a business, raise capital, and increase sales

Gunelius will give advice on evaluating current LinkedIn strategies and upgrading accounts. With LinkedIn, users can easily increase brand awareness, boost company sales, or take their career to the next level.

Log on to Twitter and search #AskCIG to participate. This TweetChat will be monitored by @CIG_Business. Susan Gunelius’s  Twitter handle is @susangunelius. Please include #AskCIG in all questions. If unable to participate, Gunelius is available as an expert source to discuss the power of LinkdedIn for business success.

Susan Gunelius (Orlando, Fla.) is a 20-year marketing veteran and president and CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc. (www.keysplashcreative.com), a marketing communications company offering copywriting, content marketing, branding, and social media marketing services to clients across the globe. She is a featured writer for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com and her marketing-related articles have appeared in a wide variety of media and websites, including MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, FoxBusiness.com, WashingtonPost.com, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing issues by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about marketing topics at events around the world. She also owns the award-winning WomenOnBusiness.com blog and is the author of numerous books, including The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to WordPress. Find Susan on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/susangunelius.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to LinkedIn
ISBN: 9781615641604, April 2012, $18.95

Michael Miller, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Stik, joined us today to discuss harnessing the power of your Facebook friends list to help you locate, or sell, reliable services. Our TweetChat Q & A is listed below.

@CIG_Business: For our first question @molehillgroup, what is Stik and who is it designed for?

@molehillgroup: Stik is a service, kind of a Facebook App, which connects people with trusted service professionals, using their Facebook friends’ lists. Stik works by searching your Facebook friends list and friends of your friends for people in a given profession. Theory behind Stik is that friends — even Facebook friends — are more trustworthy than strangers. So Stik is for consumers looking for professional services, and for professionals looking for customers.

@CIG_Business: Is Stik another form of Facebook advertising?

@molehillgroup: Stik can function as a type of Facebook advertising, but isn’t official advertising per se. With Stik, professionals do not pay to be listed & customers don’t pay to use. It is more of a referral thing.

@CIG_Business: Are only professionals who sign up with Stik recommended by Stik?

@molehillgroup: Stik recommends anyone who lists the given profession in their Facebook profile. (Or friends’ profiles.) Don’t have to officially join Stik to show up in search results.

@CIG_Business: Is Stik spam?

@molehillgroup: Some people think Stik is spam, just because the way it sometimes floods Facebook news feed with status updates. However isn’t technically spam, as all messages are approved by the sending professional. Stik also taking steps to space out messages.

@eRocketFuel: How are Stik and Branchout different?

@molehillgroup: Stik and Branchout are similar in that they both work by scouring Facebook friends’ lists for professional associations. But Stik and Branchout differ in that Branchout focuses on career networking rather than professional services. It’s more about finding new job. Branchout also links with LinkedIn and lets you upload resume. Stik doesn’t do either, not its mission.

@CIG_Business: Are there other Facebook apps like Stik, besides Branchout?

@molehillgroup: Other similar Facebook apps: Be Known (professional networking), Referral Key (referring vs. finding), Local Base (lead exchange). All are forms of social recommendation services — using Facebook and other social networks to find connections and recommendations.

@TiffanyDCamp: So Stik is really geared to the individual Facebook user that wants reputable references, right?

@molehillgroup: Correct. From user side it’s for folks looking for professional services they can trust based on Facebook friend connections.

@CIG_Business: What services are searched for most on Stik?

@molehillgroup: Basic professional services most popular: Real estate agents, insurance agents, lawyers, financial planners, mortgage bankers. However, you can use Stik to search for any profession or service. Results depend on professions of your Facebook friends and their friends.

@TiffanyDCamp: This makes me think of Service Master, but putting the power in the hands of the people. Cool. Watch out directories!

@molehillgroup: Stik definitely uses power of social networking to make connections. Using a friend is better than using a stranger.

@CIG_Business: When you find a professional or business, are there links to other reviews outside of Stik?

@molehillgroup: Reviews you see are those made on Stik only. (Actually, made on Stik via Facebook — it’s all connected.)

@CIG_Business: Should professionals ask friends for recommendations and reviews?

@molehillgroup: Yes, professionals should actively encourage recommendations and reviews. That’s how you build reputation on Stik. However you don’t want to get too pushy about it, or too public. You can request reviews privately, so requests don’t show in Facebook news feed. You can also ask for recommendations via other media, such as email or on your website.

@CIG_Business: How should a business deal with a negative review on Stik?

@molehillgroup: Respond to negative reviews on Stik the same way as any social media. It’s best to engage positively if you can — try to turn negative into positive. However, rather than starting a flame war, some negative reviews and comments are best ignored. Don’t engage true haters.

@CIG_Business: How do you know if Stik reviews are trustworthy?

@molehillgroup: Most Stik reviews are trustworthy. Some aren’t. (Think overly zealous friends, or even people paying others for reviews.) Look for recommendation from your direct friends — people you know and trust. Friend of friend recommendations may also be legit. You can also verify recommendations and reviews by directly contacting person who made comment. Click MESSAGE link next to name to contact.

@CIG_Business: For our final question, is Stik now setting up its profiles like Facebook timeline?

@molehillgroup: Nope, no Timeline in Stik profiles — at least yet. Just very basic information and lists of recommendations, reviews, and achievements.

Next Thursday’s TweetChat is with Susan Gunelius (@susangunelius) the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to LinkedIn. She’ll provide tips for developing your business or career with the preeminent professional network. The TweetChat is Thursday, April 5 at 11:30 a.m. CT. We look forward to chatting with you then!

Stik is a Facebook application that enables consumers to obtain recommendations for professional services and businesses. Inspired by the saying “stick to those you know,” Stik creates a network of businesses and professionals based on Facebook friend connections. When a user searches for a service or type of business, Stik finds recommendations from that user’s Facebook network.

Author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide^® to Stik, Michael Miller will show us how to use Stik to find trusted businesses and professionals during a live TweetChat on Thursday, March 29 at 11:00 a.m. CT. Participants will learn how to:

• Use Stik as a customer to find trusted services and businesses
• Utilize Stik as a professional or business as a marketing tool
• Enhance their Facebook experience by using Stik

Log on to Twitter and search #AskCIG to participate. This TweetChat will be monitored by @CIG_Business. Michael Miller’s Twitter handle is @molehillgroup. Please include #AskCIG in all questions. If unable to participate, Miller is available as an expert source to help people learn to use Stik so that people can stick to recommended professional services and businesses, or become one.

Michael Miller (Burnsville, Minn.) is a proven and successful non-fiction writer on a variety of technical, business, and lifestyle-related topics. He has written more than 100 books in the last two decades that have collectively sold more than one million copies. Some of his books include The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Search Engine Optimization, The Ultimate Web Marketing Guide, YouTube for Business, and Facebook for Grown-Ups for Que Publishing. He has established a reputation for being able to explain difficult concepts to everyday readers in easy-to-understand language. More information can be found at the author’s website, located at molehillgroup.com.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Stik

ISBN: 9781615641635, March 2012, $16.95

Author: Michael Miller (Burnsville, Minn.)

The authors of the recently released Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Facebook® Marketing, John Wayne Zimmerman and Damon Brown, joined us this morning to help us reach our fullest marketing potential on Facebook®. Read our TweetChat summary below to power up your social media strategy on the world’s largest platform.

@CIG_Business: Excellent! For our first question, how do you see Facebook’s new Timeline affecting the way businesses market themselves?

@BrownDamon: It provides a nice snapshot of your relationship with customers. Consistent service is now more important than ever!

@eRocketfuel: It’s an opportunity for businesses to brand themselves more than ever. The cover photo is huge (851 wide by 315 high). That’s enough to really say a lot in a picture.

@sdale18: What should businesses be trying to convey with their cover picture now that it’s bigger?

@BrownDamon: A better sense of its mission and goal. The picture should reflect how the company views the consumers and itself.

@eRocketfuel: Another good point to include is what separates them from the pack.

@CIG_Business: Thanks for the question, @SDale18! Is Facebook is a better social media marketing platform than Twitter?

@BrownDamon: It really depends on the audience. Your audience should dictate how you communicate.

@eRocketfuel: Exactly what @browndamon said. Facebook is a great place to establish community around an idea. Twitter is a great place to interact on a one-to-one basis as individuals.

@CIG_Business: Great clarification! What is the best approach to dealing with negative comments on Facebook?

@eRocketfuel: Address them quickly. Speak in the client’s voice. Let them know that you will take care of the issue at hand.

@sdale18: How should young professionals best promote themselves on Facebook?

@eRocketfuel: As professionals. But you don’t have to be all stuffy. People like personality, so don’t be completely boring. You have to remember that even as an individual – you have an individual brand.

@CIG_Business: @eRocketFuel and @BrownDamon, which brands are best utilizing Facebook as a marketing tool?

@eRocketfuel: There are lots. Consumer brands come to mind because they are daring enough to try new things, hold wild contests, and use exhilarating imagery and videos on the posts. Think Ford, Audi, MTV, yes MTV is still around, Apple, and we’ve got a lot of small business examples in the book.

@CIG_Business: Thanks for the examples. What is a simple trick to get Facebook followers engaged with products and events?

@eRocketfuel: Ask them what they LOVE and HATE about your products/events. That will stir the pot and get some real engagement.

@CIG_Business: Is there an optimal time/day to ask fans a question to gain the biggest impact?

@eRocketfuel: It depends. In general though, mornings, after work and on Saturday. But that is a generalization and you should test this with your fans.

@sdale18: What’s a common Facebook faux pas? And how can you avoid it?

@eRocketfuel: A common Facebook faux pas would be always posting your products to sell without ever posting valuable content. Givers gain.

@BrownDamon: I agree 100%! The same could be said for other social media channels, too.

@CIG_Business: Givers do gain! How often should a business update their Facebook page?

@BrownDamon: As much as possible, as you want users engaged. It’s also okay to discuss related topics to start a conversation on your page.

@CIG_Business: @browndamon is there such a thing as updating too much?

@BrownDamon: Only when your topics or comments are running thin. It’s important to think quality over quantity.

@CIG_Business: What is the best way to use photos when marketing on Facebook?

@eRocketfuel: To showcase customers. Fans like to see themselves. Hold contests. Share images from live and online events.

@sdale18: Should small businesses use Facebook differently than large companies?

@eRocketfuel: As a small business, you are more agile to do much more. So you should – to stand out. Different will be to stand out as individuals – example – let people know who is posting on behalf of your company. Here is a great example -http://t.co/QgZXSy6b.

@CIG_Business: For our last question, should businesses integrate apps into their pages?

@BrownDamon: Like apps on other platforms, it’s important to blend it seamlessly into the platform or your website. Make sure tech is right.

Banish your belly fat with next Thursday’s TweetChat is with the authors of The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Belly Fat Weight Loss, Claire Wheeler, MD, PhD (@clairewheelermd) and Diane Welland, MS, RD (@eatcleanguru). They’ll explain the total program to get a flatter stomach and better health overall! The TweetChat is Thursday, March 22 at 12:00 p.m. CT. Join @CIG_Health on Twitter and include #AskCIG in your tweets to ask your questions.