Our third-annual social media blog contest generated nearly 600 nominations (almost twice as many as last year’s contest).

Our panel of social media experts carefully reviewed the nominees and finalists, analyzing the quality of their content, the frequency of posts and reader involvement (among other things).

With that in mind, here are ten blogs that need to be at the top of your reading list.

#1: Social Mouths

Social Mouths, the brainchild of Francisco Rosales, provides deep and honest looks at social media marketing and trends that impact our industry.

The site contains detailed posts with real-world examples, and addresses new and difficult topics.

#2: ViralBlog

ViralBlog provides a daily stream of social media trends and inspiration through case studies and other interesting articles.

The site has excellent content with useful tips and advice.

#3: Jeff Bullas

Jeff Bullas takes a close look at how businesses can get found online through social media.

The site has excellent content with solid social media insights.

#4: Hubze

Hubze has built an audience by focusing on social media trends and tips on social media marketing tactics.

The site contains a nice variety of media, including articles and podcasts.

#5: The Sales Lion

The Sales Lion from Marcus Sheridan is a blog that seeks to build community around inbound marketing, blogging, business and life.

The site fosters strong community with great participation through comments.

#6: Pushing Social

Pushing Social from Stanford Smith provides practical blogging tips and resources from a fresh perspective.

The site contains creative, informative and readable posts with deeper-than-average advice.

#7: Heidi Cohen

Heidi Cohen provides intelligent insights on social media tactics and trends, all while making the complex simple.

The site contains comprehensive and thoughtful content.

#8: MarketingTech Blog

MarketingTech blog provides a technology-focused approach to new media marketing.

The site covers a variety of topics and media, including radio and video.

#9: Likeable Media

Likeable Media keeps readers current on industry trends and new tools while also providing strategies and tactics for using Facebook and social media marketing.

The site contains very current information on new tools and platforms.

#10: SplashMedia

SplashMedia provides interesting takes on strategy, tips and trends, while their SplashCasts offer some great success stories.

The site features great use of a video show as well as diverse postings with good in-depth content.

Congratulations to the winners! Be sure to check out these amazing blogs.

The badge of distinction: If you’re a winner, you can post the image you see here on your blog and please link back to this page.

A special thanks to our judges: Andy Sernovitz (author, Word of Mouth Marketing and CEO, SocialMedia.org), Rick Calvert (CEO, BlogWorld) and Michael Stelzner (author, Launch and CEO, Social Media Examiner).

What do you think? Share your questions and comments in the box below.

Even the most prolific writers can find themselves with a serious case of “blogger’s block.”

When blogger’s block strikes, some basic keyword research can provide a fresh batch of blog post ideas.

A series of posts written around related keywords can also look good in the eyes of the search engines or prospects.

Using Keyword Tools to Brainstorm Blog Post Topics

#1: Google Related Searches

There are a number of tools that can uncover related keywords and ideas for possible blog topics.

One of the first and easiest places to start is on the Google home page. Start by searching for a phrase that you’d like your blog to rank in on search engines.

After conducting the search, click on “More search tools” in the left column and then “Related searches.” Google will return a list of related searches for the keyword or phrase for which you just searched.

Opening Related Searches on Google provides a list of possible blog post ideas.

For example, let’s say I wanted to write about blogging and needed blog post ideas. I would start by searching Google for “blog” and looking at the related searches. As you can see in the image above, related searches for the term “blog” include terms and phrases such as “free blog,” “create blog,” “blog software,” “WordPress,” and “Technorati.”

Each one of these terms could be turned into blog posts with titles such as:

• Five of the Best Places to Start a Free Blog
• Three Things You Must Do to Create a Successful Blog Post
• Why I Like WordPress
• How to Get Your Blog Post Listed in Technorati

#2: Google AdWords Keyword Tool

The Google AdWords Keyword Tool is another place to brainstorm topics for your next blog post. A search on Google AdWords will bring up a much bigger list of search terms and will also provide insight into how often the term is searched and the competition for the keyword or phrase.

For example, a search for the phrase “how to blog” brings up phrases such as “YouTube blog,” “funny blog” and “blog calendar.” All three have a high monthly search volume yet low competition for the keyword. Blog post titles using these keywords might include:

• How to Create a YouTube Blog Post
• Five Things to Consider When Writing a Funny Blog Post
• Schedule Your Posts With a Blog Calendar

Google AdWords returns a list of related search terms that can be used to generate blog post topics.

#3: Wordtracker’s Keyword Questions

Wordtracker’s Keyword Questions is a powerful tool designed to help with content brainstorming. Enter a keyword and Wordtracker returns a list of 100 questions asked by search engine users that include the keyword.

For this example, let’s say that a realtor is trying to come up with a list of possible blog post ideas. Entering the term “Home” into Wordtracker’s Keyword Questions brings up a list of possible blog topics including:

• “How leasing a car affects qualifying for a home mortgage”
• “Home security systems and which one is the best one”
• “How do I calculate the value of my home”
• “Do it yourself home remodeling”

The search above also provides a number of topics not related to real estate to sort through such as “Can I make holy water at home or do I have to go to a church,” but who knows, there might be an interesting blog post in there somewhere. When it comes to writing blog posts, don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

Wordtracker provides actual questions asked by users searching their search engines. Many of these can be directly used as the title of a blog post.

Along with questions, Wordtracker Keyword also offers search results based on keyword connections, random trigger words and the top searched keywords. Each of these options pairs your keyword with various other search terms and provides results based on actual searches conducted through Wordtracker’s partner search engines. The results can provide a wide range of blog post ideas and topics you may not have considered.

#4: Google Analytics (or Other Traffic Analytics Program)

Analyzing the incoming traffic to a blog can provide a number of ideas for blog posts and highlight the opportunity to build upon popular posts and search terms that are bringing traffic to a site.

If our realtor notices that searches for a particular neighborhood are driving traffic to her site, she can capitalize on the opportunity by writing a series of posts about community resources and the real estate market in the neighborhood.

If you discover that an unusual or unexpected keyword is driving traffic, the brainstorming methods above can help unlock potential blog posts related to the keyword.

Google Wonder Wheels

Although Google has taken down their Wonder Wheels tool, I have to mention it because it was such a great brainstorming tool and comments in the Google help forum have left the door open (if ever so slightly) for its return.

Wonder Wheels provided a graphic display of related terms that could be clicked and searched in an ever-growing web of related keywords. As I wrote in an earlier post on Social Media Examiner, it not only provided a great brainstorming tool for writing blog posts, it also gave insight into the way Google connects keywords.

Hopefully Google will find it in their wisdom to bring it back in the near future because I personally feel that it blew the above tools out of the water.

Create a Resource

When done well, a series of posts written around keywords can give your blog a nice jump in the search engines. Always remember, though, focus on content first and let the keywords follow.

By providing a resource of topically related articles, you create a reason for others to link to your site and quality incoming links are key to top search engine rankings.

What do you think? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

Does your business blog?

Have you been thinking it might be time to consider a blog, but aren’t sure (a) you can pull it off and (b) it will provide value?

Keep reading. This article will help you (or someone you know) understand the value of a business blog.

Is Google the Only Reason to Blog?

I have a question for you, and it’s a serious one: If you never garnered another single visitor to your company blog through search engine optimization (SEO), would you still have one?

For many, especially execs who don’t necessarily “get it” when it comes to content marketing, the answer would be, “No way!”

But for those persons and companies that have watched the magic of blogging and its effect beyond SEO, the answer would be a resounding, “Of course!”

That’s what this article is all about. There’s much more to having a company blog than just getting more visitors to your website because Google decided to send them there.

In fact, here are 5 other powerful reasons why you should be blogging, and I look forward to hearing what you would add in the comments section at the end.

#1: The Power of Team

Ever heard of HubSpot? The Boston-based company and all-in-one social media platform for small- and medium-sized businesses is one of the fastest-growing in the world, and considering Google just invested $32 million in the company, they seem to be on solid ground.

Although there are many reasons HubSpot is rocketing up the charts of the business world, one of the core components to their success model is the “team” feel of the company. Ranked two straight years as the #1 Best Place to Work by the Boston Business Journal, HubSpot allows EVERY single person in the company to produce content for the company blog. With over 300 employees, you can see why it’s nothing for them to post 3-5 articles on most days.

By allowing all employees to create content, companies like HubSpot have a constant flow of new names and ideas on their blog.

When it comes down to it, we, as humans, like to be part of a movement. We want to be part of a team. When all hands are on deck and each person is contributing to building the company’s content base, magic and momentum can truly happen, and all benefit together.

And keep in mind, this principle isn’t just for large companies. Whether you’re an army of 1, 5 or 500, working as a team to produce content can have a powerful effect on any company or organization.

#2: Blogging Sharpens Your Sword

Before I started teaching people about business and marketing, I was (and still partially am) a “pool guy.” That’s right, I own a company that builds in-ground swimming pools throughout Virginia and Maryland. Over the last 10 years I’ve had over 1000 in-home sales appointments.

Sales professionals constantly answer the same questions again and again. By writing out these answers, their ability to communicate with prospects and clients goes up exponentially.

Three years ago, when I embraced the power of content and started our company blog, I noticed many benefits. One of which was the fact that my sales presentations became much, much better. How so?

By creating 2 to 3 articles a week for my blog:

• I was forced to stay up to date with every new technology in the industry.
• I became much better at explaining things in a way the consumer could clearly understand. (In other words, I learned how to become a better teacher.)
• I found that I seemed to have an answer for every question a customer could throw at me.

Simply put, writing a blog post is like practicing for a game. The more one practices, the better their skills, timing and overall play—which ultimately leads to more victories, or in this case, sales.

#3: You Become the Trust Agent

When it comes to blogging, the process of making sales is not nearly as complicated as we sometimes make it. Look at it this way:

Do you remember your kindergarten teacher? (Yes, I know that was a long time ago, but try.)

How did he or she make you feel? Did you trust him/her?

Although there are many reasons why most of us love our earliest teachers, the biggest reason we respect and appreciate them so much is because they took the time to patiently teach us things in a way we could actually understand.

That’s right; they weren’t there to impress anyone, as their only goal was helping us understand.

When a company’s blog takes on this “kindergarten content” approach, they do everything in their power to answer consumer questions by seeing the world from the consumer’s point of view, not their own.

Once this occurs, walls of doubt are torn down and the trust level between the customer and the company immediately starts to go up.

Genuinely helpful articles, like this one above, will generate huge amounts of trust from consumers wanting to spend their money wisely.

And as I mentioned above, this trust will lead to more phone calls to your office, more forms filled out on your web page and eventually many more sales.

#4: Content is the Great Qualifier

Has your company ever gotten a lead that wasn’t exactly qualified or ready for your product/service? Chances are, if you’ve been in business for longer than a day, this has happened many, many times.

And when it comes to sales, the more time a sales department spends with unqualified leads, the less time they spend with qualified ones, which is obviously a very bad thing.

There are generally two types of consumers:

• Price Shoppers: someone only focused on lowest price to make their buying decision
• Value Shoppers: someone looking for a combination of product quality, customer service and reasonable pricing to make their buying decision

Ask any sales and marketing department which client they’d rather have and they’ll tell you “value.”

I mention this because with the advancement of the Internet, companies can now track behaviors of their leads when it comes to the content customers are viewing on their website.

For example, here are two leads my company has gotten in the last week. Which appears more prepared for a sales appointment?

Someone who has read 55 pages of your website.

Someone who has read 3 pages of your website.

100 out of 100 will say the first one, as that particular person has shown not only are they a serious shopper, but they’re also very, very informed as to the company’s teachings and product doctrine. (BTW, if you’re not blogging, there’s a good chance your company website doesn’t even have 55 pages, so let’s get busy!)

Remember, the more pages a visitor reads on your website, the closer they are to making a buying decision with your company, so integrate your blog’s content into every aspect of your sales approach.

Also, if you’re not currently using a technology that allows you to track lead analytics, I’d strongly recommend it, as it can save your company thousands and thousands in saved time alone.

#5: The Power of the Blog Comment

Does your company blog allow for comments and promote discussion? If not, you’re missing out on a golden opportunity to learn from readers and allow them to tell you exactly what they’re interested in.

Often businesses approach blogging from a very myopic and limited point of view, and simply don’t do a good job of seeing the world through the eyes of the consumer.

By promoting active discussion on your company blog and then truly listening to what is said, you will constantly get questions from individuals wanting to find out more, much of which can then be turned into another blog post.

As you might imagine, this cycle of “teach then listen” can become an ever-flowing content factory for any company that takes the time to do this the right way.

Also, the comment section of a blog is your great opportunity to build a community of passionate individuals who appreciate your company’s brand and mission, thereby becoming your greatest advocates, on- and offline.

Comments + Conversation = Passionate Community

Now It’s Your Turn

I’ve shown you 5 reasons (beyond SEO) why your company should have a blog. But I’ve also intentionally left out many others because I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter as well.

What do you think? Have you seen these 5 benefits within your company? Which one has made the most impact? Also, what would you add to the list?

Jump in, everyone! I love nothing more than discussing the power of great content, so please leave your thoughts and questions in the comments box below.

Here are 5 tips to position your blog to attract corporate buyers.

The $315 million–dollar acquisition of Huffington Post by AOL definitely raised some eyebrows as bloggers started to realize that they’re holding “real” assets that can attract top-dollar investments.

But for many, it may seem like selling your blog isn’t even a remote possibility. Perhaps you’re still trying to figure out how to make it attractive for readers.

As you consider what’s next for your blog, start thinking like an entrepreneur and recognize that your blog has the potential to earn income like any other business.

Here are tips to take your blog to the next level, while making it more attractive for corporate buyers.

#1: Develop the right “mix”

In business it’s all about finding the “right stuff” to get the job done. Companies don’t buy blogs because they don’t have enough money to develop their own, they do it because the blog has already done a lot of the legwork of attracting the right audience, developing the right content or building a content distribution model that would take the company too much time to achieve on their own.

Think about the type of companies that would be interested in your readers. What type of content strategies could you develop to better serve your audience? How can you extend the reach of your content? How can you build your email list? How can you get your content to rank better in search engines?

With the acquisition, AOL is buying into the new publishing model that the Huffington Post represents.

#2: Establish trust with your readers

As a blogger, your voice is what establishes trust and resonates with readers even after corporate acquisition. This trust is a valuable resource for the corporate buyer and is something many times they do not want to lose after the acquisition.

Ultimately, if you have successfully established trust, you will be more likely to continue to play an active role in the blog even after the acquisition.

What does that mean? It means you could get a paycheck when they acquire you and then an ongoing salary for continuing to be actively engaged. That’s a win-win!

An example of what can happen when a blogger had developed trust with his readers and then left can be found with the departure of Michael Arrington from Tech Crunch. Arrington’s departure was bittersweet for AOL and his readers, which required AOL to quickly reestablish trust with the audience they paid a lot of money to acquire.

Poynter reported, “Readers come to TechCrunch for the latest information, but what makes a blog stand out is the trust in the people running the site, the editorial voice, and a site’s adherence to its own standards. That same trust wouldn’t automatically transfer to AOL’s appointed editor in this era of blended norms.”

Make sure that every step of the way you are establishing a genuine relationship with your readers. Figure out what they need from you and do your best to deliver it. When a corporate buyer comes along, make sure you protect your readers and your integrity to the best of your ability.

#3: Determine where your blog fits into the competitive landscape

What’s your blog’s competitive advantage? What do your competitors do really well?

Companies will look at your blog and compare it to your competitors to determine which has the best chance to reach their audience, so it is important that you survey the landscape and work on building a differentiator that will help you stand out.

To illustrate, we’ll look at a few blogs from the personal finance industry. WiseBread provides a wide variety of content focused on frugal living. Likely, the site is focused on providing a superior distribution channel for content and driving organic rankings.

WiseBread provides a variety of perspectives with multiple authors.

Man vs. Debt provides tips and personal finance education through compelling and authentic personal stories of getting out of debt and being financially aware. The author’s tips hold a lot of credibility with readers because he has been there.

Man vs. Debt brings the power of a personal story to personal finance.

Budgets are Sexy provides readers with personal finance tips with flair. The blogger is known to rock a Mohawk and talk about finance with a friendly, down-to-earth tone that makes it all seem much simpler.

The blog Budgets are Sexy brings a rocker's edge to personal finance.

With just these few examples, you can see there’s a wide variety of blogs that are operating in industry verticals, and each has unique, but attractive, qualities to a corporate buyer.

As a blogger, think about what makes your blog unique, how you would describe your relationship with your readers and how your differentiator can be leveraged by a corporate buyer. Ultimately, it’s important that your blog fills a need. It should fill a need for the buyer and for the reader.

#4: Test the revenue waters

A corporate buyer wants your blog for a reason. And ultimately, it’s to help generate revenue for the company.

There are two primary ways of generating revenue from a blog: selling advertising space or leads to third-party advertisers or advertising the buyer’s products/services. A great way to better position your blog for sale is to be able to show a consistent revenue stream from advertising.

Start testing different types of advertising mechanisms on your site to see what will work to convert readers into buyers. If you don’t have third-party advertisers knocking down your door, start by advertising products that you have developed for sale. If you don’t sell “products,” look at developing an information product like an e-book or training course.

Man Vs. Debt offers a series of e-books for $47 and an online training course called "You Vs. Debt."

#5: Be prepared to let go

Don’t kid yourself and think that you’ll sell your blog to the highest bidder and continue running your blog like you always have. It’s common for bloggers to maintain a strong management presence in the content on their blog after a corporate acquisition, but that doesn’t mean that it comes easily.

Heather Starr Fiedler, the former owner of Pittsburgh Mom, which was purchased by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, said, “the hardest thing for me has been trying to maintain ownership of the voice of the site, but recognizing that I don’t own it anymore when I’m asked to take a different direction or add a feature to the site. It’s about forming a good partnership with the people you work for.

Heather Starr Fiedler blogs about her sometimes serious, sometimes profound and often humorous thoughts on life.

“I’ve had a ‘few different bosses’ and each has had a different philosophy of what the site should be, so I’ve had to be flexible, but also stand up for what I built the site for. Ultimately, it’s your name on the blog and you have to be comfortable with what’s there.”

Heather has worked with her management team to create revenue streams through sponsorships that are organic and natural for her readers. She says, “the big challenge is trying to do it respectfully… that is the big debate. So far we haven’t had any negative feedback from the audience so I think we’ve achieved that.”

Whether you started blogging because you loved it or started with a payoff in mind, there could be an opportunity to reap the rewards of your hard work. There are two sides of this fence: those who feel that bloggers are “selling out” and those who respect and understand the economics of the decision. Whichever side you are on, it’s hard to ignore the potential.

Even Perez Hilton, who recently offered his blog for sale on Howard Stern, stated that he would sell for $50 to $100 million depending on whether the deal included a TV project.

For the right deal, entertainment blogs can be sold.

Whether you ultimately decide to entertain offers on your blog or not, these tips will help you strengthen your following and establish your brand.

The best way to position your blog for sale is to build a rock-solid following. To help you get there, check out 17 Ways to Grow Your Blog From Top Bloggers and Michael Stelzner Explains How He Built Social Media Examiner to Be a Top Blog.

Did you sell your blog? Are you a company that has acquired a blog? If so, what tips would you offer readers? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

Darren talks about how he uses social media to build stronger relationships with his blog audience and gives you tips to find which social media platforms work best for your blog.

Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video about how blogging has changed:

• The shift in blog monetization
• Why you should create content to make money
• How to get traffic to your blog
• Why you need to get off your own blog to become successful
• How to find where your audience is online
• How Darren uses Flickr to build a stronger community around his photography blog
  
• How Facebook can enhance your blogging
• How to seed your blog content on Facebook

Darren’s latest project is ProBlogger Academy, a platform which takes bloggers through the different aspects of blogging.  Connect with Darren there, @problogger or on ProBlogger.net.

What changes have you noticed in blogging? What tips do you have to share? Please share them in the comment section below.

Here are their best tips. I think you’ll agree there are some excellent ideas here.

#1: Be Active in Other Communities First

Here’s what Mitch Joel, author of Six Pixels of Separation and the blog at Twist Image, recommends:

“You’ll have no semblance of community unless you’re an active community member in other spaces. If I had to do this all over again and start from scratch right now, what would I do?

Without question I would start a blog and fill it with relevant and valuable content for the community, but I would spend ten times as much time adding value to the five or ten existing communities where my potential members might be hanging out, reading and connecting.

It’s not a ploy and it’s not a trick—I would do this because I’m interested and want to engage with the other community members. I would also be hopeful that those community members would appreciate my contributions and take a chance on checking out what I’m up to on my own space.

Give more than you get.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Laurel Mackenzie likes Mitch Joel's Six Pixels of Separation blog because "not only is his written content intelligent and thought-provoking, but his podcasts feature discussions on relevant topics with true industry thought leaders."

#2: Write About What You Love

Here’s how Michael Brandvold grows subscribers on his blog:

“The best advice I can give anyone who wants to grow their subscribers is write about something you love and are passionate about and keep writing.

Readers can tell the difference when someone writes about a topic because they feel it and love it, it’s their life, versus someone who writes about a topic because it was just assigned to them. No magic formula, no secret trick… just hard work on something you love.

Since my first website in 1995 I’ve learned that users will find and continue to return to content which is genuine and created with a passion.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Anthony Best says Michael Brandvold "knows his stuff and presents marketing and social media concepts in ways that are simple to understand and execute immediately. Not only does he share what to do, he also explains specifically what NOT to do."

#3: Write Insanely Great Content

Mark Schaefer, author of The Tao of Twitter and the popular marketing blog {grow}, recommends:

“Blogging is not my full-time activity. I have a thriving business, I teach and I have family activities and charitable efforts I’m devoted to. So when it comes to the blog, I only have time to concentrate on one thing: INSANELY GREAT CONTENT.

I tend to look at things from a unique perspective that seems to set fire to interesting conversations. That’s all I know to do, really! Celebrate smart conversation.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Neicole Crepeau likes {grow} because "Mark combines insightful and useful information with posts about his personal soul-searching as spurred by his social media work. His community is amazingly engaged."

#4: Answer Questions for Your Audience

Mark Robertson, founder of ReelSEO, recommends:

“The number-one way that we’ve been successful in driving readership to ReelSEO, though I realize this is a bit cliché, is through creating compelling, informative and unique content. For ReelSEO, we’ve found that the most read and most compelling content usually comes from two sources.

First, we respond to our readers’ requests and often solicit feedback both on and off the site. When a reader reaches out to us to ask for advice, we can often safely assume that all others would be interested in the topic. As a result, we often write articles that specifically address our readers’ requests.

Second, we try to write about those things that we (internally) are interested in learning more about but can’t find sufficient information online to address the learning.

For example, I searched everywhere for a list of apps to record video with Skype in order to do some video interviews. I was unable to find any useful resources on the Internet. So, I assigned this topic to a writer and not only did I learn what I wanted, but our readers were extremely pleased that we offered up this resource.

Additionally, because it was a question with few results in search to address it, we obtain new readers every day through long-tail search.

If you’re truly passionate about your blog’s area of expertise, you can successfully grow your audience and continue your own learning through answering all the unanswered questions.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Jayce likes Reel SEO "because it's super-intelligent and the place to go for video SEO!"

#5: Offer Real Value

Danny Brown, award-winning marketing and social media blogger and founder of For Bloggers by Bloggers and 12for12k, recommends:

“Offer REAL value to your readers. Instead of just offering generic simplicity—like the Top 10 Twitter Management Tools—offer reasons and strategic comparisons why.

What sales benefit does this have? How can you use something like HootSuite to manage campaigns? How can you then track this using Google Analytics? And how should you use this information to adapt future campaigns?

Don’t just offer an easy top 10 list—get deep and explain the mechanics behind your choice, and really give your readers a reason to come to you over generic blogger X.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Martyn Hodgson likes Danny Brown's blog because he's "always prepared to say what he thinks."

#6: Be There for Your Readers

Mike McGrail, owner of the popular blog The Social Penguin, recommends:

“For me the key to building a strong and loyal readership is to create content that matches their needs.

I know that many small business owners read the Social Penguin, so I look to ensure that the majority of our posts will appeal to them and most importantly will help them.

Having an opinion is also hugely important, as well as showing a willingness to respond to comments and questions. People take the time to read your content, so make sure you give them time back.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Geoff Kennedy says the Social Penguin has a "no-nonsense approach and takes a different angle on a lot of topics."

#7: Say Something New

Deb Ng, conference director for the BlogWorld and New Media Expo and author of Kommein, recommends:

“The best way to grow blog subscribers is to write content that’s useful, creative and original. Blogs are a dime a dozen nowadays and most bloggers are writing the same thing. No-one has time to read a dozen blogs saying the same thing.

If you want more subscribers, say something new, say something helpful and say something awesome.“

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Andy Hayes likes Kommein because "while many focus on tactics, Deb takes a step back and forces you to ask the tough questions—Why? Who? Where? What? And she doesn't shy away from difficult topics."

#8: Make Your Readers Feel Good

Gini Dietrich, lead author of the popular blog Spin Sucks, recommends:

“People want to feel like they’re part of something and that what they have to say is smart and well-regarded. When they take the time to comment on your blog, they want to know you’re reading and considering what they have to say, even if you don’t agree.

But the real magic happens when people begin commenting to one another and the blog takes on a life of its own. As the blogger, your responsibilities are to pose one side of a debate and open the conversation. At times, it’s even important to continue the conversation in the comments.

But if people begin commenting to one another and you can be graceful about differing opinions, your subscriptions will increase because people will be coming to your blog for their daily brain food.

I always say that blogging is mostly about stroking other people’s egos and making them feel good. I get A LOT of pushback about that because most people don’t want to take the time, nor do they consider it part of increasing their readers. But, if you scratch others’ backs you’ll be amazed at what you get in return.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Justin Brackett says Spin Sucks is "trustworthy and way outside the "clutter of the ordinary." You'll always get a reply to any response that you leave on their site. That's why they're the best there is!"

#9: Respect Your Audience

Francisco Rosales, author of SocialMouths, recommends:

“The single most effective method I’ve used to build up my subscriber list, both RSS and email, has been always to respect my audience. I made a couple of decisions earlier, such as not using pop-ups or not abusing the frequency that I send out email, among others. The intention is to grow organically.

Sure, my growth rate is not as explosive as I’ve seen with other bloggers, but I believe I’m compensated with a higher-quality base of subscribers and with an “unsubscribe” rate of 0%. I think for now I’m happy with the results.

What I do recommend to everybody is setting up Goal Conversions on Google Analytics to be able to track what percentage of your visitors are actually signing up for any of your subscriptions.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Kristi Hines says, "SocialMouths has been a favorite of mine for a while because the content is always useful. I haven't visited a post yet that didn't give me some great ideas to implement.

#10: Focus on Evergreen Content

Stanford Smith, author of Pushing Social, recommends:

“From my experience, I’ve found ‘problem-focused evergreen content’ to be the killer bait for attracting blog subscribers. This content is useful year after year—hence the ‘evergreen’ title. Evergreen content works because it rewards readers with comprehensive answers to their problems.

Readers eat up this content and reward the blogger with their attention and subscriptions. For maximum effectiveness, build your editorial schedule around writing 10 to 12 in-depth posts. Your focus on solving problems will appeal to readers, get shared, garner high search rankings and fill your list with loyal subscribers.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Jay Baer says Pushing Social is "always topical, not afraid to tackle big issues, prolific, interesting and useful."

#11: Know Your Goals and Stick to Them

Tom Webster, author of BrandSavant, recommends:

“In a lot of ways, I’m the last person on this list you should ask about growing subscribers. While mine have grown considerably over the past year, BrandSavant certainly doesn’t attract the kind of traffic that some of the other Top 10 Blogs do.

I marvel at the ability of people on this list like Jay Baer have for not only producing quality content, but producing it prolifically!

If I could offer some advice, though, it would be this: know exactly what you want to accomplish with your blog, and do not waver. I don’t have advertising on my blog, nor do I have any information products or reports to sell. So traffic does little for me.

I get paid when people hire me to ask smart questions and develop insights around the answers. So I made up my mind early on that I would not be a curator of content (which is a fine approach, of course), but would only author my own original insights, and I would only hit ‘publish’ on things that I am proud of that adequately represent the quality of my thinking to prospective clients.

Some weeks I get two or three posts up; others (like this week!) only one. What I’ve found from this approach is that often when I first publish a post it may or may not get traffic immediately. People might click over from a Twitter link, see some gigantic discourse and not read it right away. But they come back to it—sometimes weeks or even months later. That’s when I know I’ve accomplished my goal.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Eric Boggs says BrandSavant is his favorite social media blog by far because "Tom is a brilliant marketer and he always publishes high-caliber and thoughtful content. The comments are usually just as good as the content, which is the hallmark of a quality blog."

#12: Deliver as Promised

Lee Odden, author of the TopRank Online Marketing Blog, recommends:

“The most important thing a blog can do to grow subscribers is very fundamental: give readers a great reason to subscribe every time you publish.

That means making a promise about what you’ll deliver (promotion of your blog overall as well as promoting individual posts) and keeping that promise (great content that leaves readers satisfied and wanting more).

There are numerous functional ‘tricks’ like using plugins that detect new visitors and then solicit them to subscribe or contests that incentivize subscriptions. To build real value among a community of readers and inspire buzz about your blog, being able to ‘deliver as promised’ goes a very long way.

Social Media Examiner and the Top 10 Social Media Blog winners do this very well. They understand who their audiences are and make an effort to both create and promote great content on a regular basis.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Stacey Acevero says Lee Odden and TopRank blog "research and provide some of the more technical aspects of social media, such as SEO."

#13: Give Each Reader Opportunities to Interact With You

Jay Dolan, author of The Anti-Social Media blog, recommends:

“Always remember the little people. You can’t build your readership one reader at a time. That method, while it sounds nice, is too slow and time-consuming. You have a life off of the Internet and you can’t spend your days coaxing one or two new readers.

However, you can give each and every reader a chance to interact with you and make that interaction special and memorable. Not every reader will take that chance, but when it happens and you exceed their expectations, you’ll gain a reader who will bring more readers than all of your efforts to court one person.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Christine Choi says "The Anti-Social Media blogger Jay Dolan provides regular posts that are witty, fresh and relevant. And it's very evident that he cares about his readers and has made many efforts to initiate dialogue and create productive forums for social media haters and lovers. In a culture that is increasingly embracing, testing and reinventing our notions of "social media," Jay consistently leaves his readers with questions and ideas to chew on in regard to how that media is reshaping old conventions or reinstating new ones. And he draws his own illustrations, too. You can't find that kind of heart everywhere."

#14: Ask for Subscriptions at the End of Your Article

Jason Keath, president of Social Fresh (a social media education company), recommends:

“Prominently place the subscription form. If it’s above the fold and the clear call-to-action on the page (the CVI, center of visual impact), then people will see it more and in turn subscribe more. This same concept holds true for pop-up subscription forms, but I rarely advocate these, as they are usually an annoyance to the user.

Emphasize email, not RSS. More people know email and check it daily than RSS. And if someone really wants your RSS feed, they’re used to looking for a smaller RSS icon.

Ask for subscriptions at the end of an article. If a reader makes it to the end of the article, he or she has gotten value and will be more likely to sign up for more.

Post daily, or at worst on a regular schedule. People subscribe to a regular schedule of content and daily blogs get way more subscribers.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Brandon Uttley likes Social Fresh because "it's full of timely and actionable social media information, aimed at business professionals.

#15: Place Your Subscriber Box at the Top

Mack Collier, author of the popular MackCollier.com social media blog, recommends:

“My best tip is to move the subscriber button/box to the TOP of the blog, or at least make sure it’s ABOVE the fold. I did this on my blog and instantly noticed a 30% increase in email subscribers.

It also helps if you have a Google Reader button at least, in addition to the standard RSS button.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Jonathan Saar says Mack Collier "creates great discussion, is very much engaged with his readers and his content is supremely timely and helpful."

#16: Offer a Benefit

Ricardo Bueno, author of the popular RicardoBueno.com social media blog for real estate and small business, recommends:

“Offer a free eBook. Don’t know what to write about? Well, what’s your blog about? Think of ways to share some of your best ‘how to’ content.

For example, I author a blog on social media for the real estate industry. So last year, I interviewed eight top real estate bloggers on their methods and techniques for building a successful real estate blog. I compiled these interviews into an eBook that I could give away for free and offered it to my opt-in subscribers (I had 73 subscribers in the first day).

If you use AWeber to email your content, you can easily set up a follow-up email with a download for your PDF. If you’re using FeedBurner, you might try the RSS footer plugin to provide a download link for your PDF.

Bottom line is to offer a benefit (something of value) to people who subscribe. Then, deliver good content consistently to keep their attention.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Adam King likes Ricardo Bueno's blog because he "cuts through the BS, gives you the foundations of effective social media practice and helps the newbie get off to a great start."

#17: Let People Follow You in the Way They Prefer

Kristi Hines, author of the popular social media blog Kikolani, recommends:

“My best tip for growing blog subscribers is not to focus so hard on forcing readers to pick one particular method of subscription, but give lots of options.

Personally, I subscribe to different bloggers in different ways including via my RSS reader, email and StumbleUpon. For some blogs, I know I’ll want to share their content with my followers, so I ‘subscribe’ to them by setting up their RSS feed in Twitterfeed to automatically share their latest posts on my Twitter account.

If you want people to follow you, let them follow you in the way that best suits them. Make sure links to your RSS feed, subscribe via email, Twitter, Facebook fan page and other social networks where you update your latest posts are easy to find on your website. The top spots would include your sidebar and the end of each of your blog posts.

Some other great ways to grow your subscriber list would be to include your subscription links in author bios for guest posts, social networking profiles, email signatures, free reports/eBooks and pretty much any other place where you can insert them. The easier you can make it for readers to find your subscription links to your blog, the more subscribers you will gain.”

Top 10 Social Media Blog Nomination: Sarah Arrow says Kikolani "is very useful and well thought out."

Now It’s Your Turn

These tips are the beginning of a great foundation to grow your blog audience and blog subscribers.

What do you think? How do you grow your blog subscribers? What other tips do you have to share? Please leave them in the comment box below.

Keep reading to discover how.

Should Your Site Be Social-Enabled?

There’s no doubt that social media is a powerful marketing and communication tool for businesses and non-profits that have embraced it.

Yet, for most of us, our websites are still where the rubber meets the road. It’s where you turn visitors into leads and prospects into customers. It’s where you build your lists and sell your goods.

Can you inject some of the “humanness” of social media into your website without compromising its ability to sell? Can you use social media to drive traffic to your website for conversion without alienating your community?

More and more businesses are showing us that this is an achievable and worthwhile goal; that the two together can foster improved communication, build brand loyalty and create a better, more responsive, more profitable company.

Here are nine examples of how you can integrate your social media activity into your website for maximum results.

#1: Add social media buttons to your home page

A few years ago, the idea of sending people to another site from your home page after you had worked so hard to get them there in the first place seemed boneheaded. However, many companies now see the long-term benefits of gaining a follower, fan or subscriber on a social media platform, even weighed against the short-term risk of sending them away from the website.

Businesses commonly link to their social media profiles, even from their home pages.

By getting someone to follow you on Twitter, become LinkedIn with you or subscribe to your YouTube channel, you have the opportunity to keep the lines of communication open long after they’ve left your website.

Unsolicited Advice: If you’re concerned about losing that prospect, consider having the site open in a new tab or window, keeping your own website available for later viewing.

Also, make sure you have a social media profile that will engage your audience. You can borrow ideas from these 10 top Facebook pages, read up on how to optimize your LinkedIn profile and put into practice Darren Rowse’s tips for improving your Twitter profile.

#2: Connect your blog with your website

The line between blog and website has never been blurrier, with many businesses choosing to build their entire site on platforms that were traditionally meant for blogging, such as WordPress.

Whether your blog shares a domain with your website or not, you can improve the interactivity of your website by teasing your blog posts from your home page.

For example, Harold Night, an improv show out of Boston, uses the Posterous platform to blog, and has successfully integrated the blog into their website, both in the navigation and by pulling the recent posts as links onto their home page.

Harold Night connects its Posterous blog with its website.

Unsolicited Advice: Although services like Posterous and Tumblr are great and their prices can’t be beat, I prefer to have my blog under a domain I control. That way you can move from one platform to another without hurting your search engine visibility, and you’re more insulated against a third-party blogging platform going out of business.

#3: Embed videos on your website

There are few things as engaging as a well put-together video. Imagine adding a how-to or explanatory video to your product or services pages… How much more compelling would they be? How much could you increase your conversion rates by showing examples of other customers finding success by using your products?

Embed a video on your website to bring your offerings to life.

#4: Make your website shareable

Retweet buttons and Facebook Like buttons aren’t just for blogs. You can add them to any page of your website to get visitors to share the content more easily with their networks.

#5: Add your presentations to your website

If you market your business through public speaking, you can maximize your results by putting your presentations on your site.

The best way to do this is to set up a free account at SlideShare (think YouTube for PowerPoint). Once you’ve uploaded your slides, SlideShare will allow you to embed that presentation back into your website or blog. This creates an interactive experience for visitors who can now click through your slides.

Maximize the reach of your presentations by embedding SlideShare into your site.

#6: Socially bookmark new content

As you add new articles or archive your email newsletters to your site, make sure that you add them to appropriate social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon, Reddit and Delicious. These popular sites can drive huge amounts of traffic to your website in a short period of time.

Unsolicited Advice: It’s always best when someone else bookmarks your content, so it might make sense to have a small “bookmarking club” with friends where you promote each other’s work. This “seeding” will often encourage others to bookmark your content.

#7: Add a Facebook Like box to your website

It's easy to like I Love to Gossip with a Like box on their page.

We’re all influenced by other people, a concept often referred to as “social proof.” When we see our friends or people we respect liking, supporting or promoting something, we’re more open to liking it ourselves.

Adding a Facebook Like box to your site adds accelerant to the idea of social proof. Visitors can quickly see how many people have liked your business on Facebook, get a sense of your level of commitment to social media (by the posts you’ve added to your wall), and may even spy some of their friends and connections through the Like box.

Further, you make it easy for your site visitors to like your business without having to leave your site.

For more on Facebook and social proof, be sure to check out Are You Using Social Media as Social Proof?

#8: Feed your website

Websites tend not to get updated as often as they should be… something that has probably been exacerbated by the rise of blogging and social media.

If the framework of your website is fairly static, you can still keep it fresh by adding feeds from your blog, Facebook, Twitter and just about every social media platform that generates an RSS feed.

Unsolicited Advice: Not all of your feeds may be website-appropriate. Your tweets about American Idol, your love of bacon or thoughts on Sarah Palin may not be appropriate for first-time visitors to your website who are just looking for a reliable plumber or a trustworthy veterinarian (or whatever you may happen to be).

#9: Use QR codes to drive traffic

QR codes like this one can drive traffic to your website.

QR codes are two-dimensional bar codes that can be scanned by smartphones with cameras. Once scanned, they can redirect people to a website (among other tricks). Check out QR Code Marketing for Small Business and How QR Codes Can Grow Your Business.

Whether you post QR codes on one of your social media profiles or in the real world (i.e., direct mail, a business card or poster) you can use them to drive people to your website.

Unsolicited Advice: To maximize the impact of a QR code, consider sending people to a special landing page or a mobile version of your site, rather than just the home page. This will improve your conversion rates and help build your lists.

Now let’s hear about your ideas. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Let us know how you’ve integrated your social media activity into your website. Feel free to include links so we can see how you’ve done it. Leave your comments and suggestions in the box below.

Posterous allows you to post to 20 or so social media platforms via email. Posting to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, even YouTube and Picasa is as simple as sending an email. And we’re not talking simple text-based posts either.

With Posterous, you can create full-screen photo galleries, groups for sharing and collaborating or just simply pass on an article you read on the Internet all by sending an email. Add a smartphone and you’ve got a powerful way to create and share content on the road.

An example of a Posterous blog page—blogging and Posterous

At its core, Posterous is a blogging platform similar to Tumblr. You can get a dedicated URL that provides a hub for your content, customize the look and feel of your Posterous site and add static content such as an “About Me” page. What separates Posterous is its ease of use and ability to distribute to a number of social media channels all at once.

Getting started on Posterous is about as easy as it can get. You don’t even need to open an account. Just send an email to post@posterous.com and you’ve got your first blog post. Posterous recognizes your email address and creates a dedicated blog for all content sent from that email address. The subject line of your email becomes the header or title of the post and the content of the email becomes the actual blog post. Any attached photos are automatically turned into a photo gallery and inserted into your post.

Posterous will send you an email when your blog post goes live (usually within a minute) with a link to view the post. When I sent a test post, it even pulled the name out of my signature (or email, not sure which) and named my newly created blog “Jim’s Posterous.”

After sending your first blog post, you'll receive an email from Posterous with links to your new account.

Be careful with email signatures though, as you may not want to post your phone number or other information and they can make a blog post look awkward. Adding “#end” to your email will prevent Posterous from posting anything that follows the “#end” tag.

If you can send an email, you can write a blog. Time spent tinkering and setting up your website is kept to a minimum. To unleash the true power of Posterous, however, you’ll need to open an account. When you visit your first post, you’ll be provided options to register an account.

Autoposting

Autoposting to multiple accounts is where Posterous really starts to shine. Say, for example, that you’re at a conference and want to post an idea to your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts along with a Facebook update and a post on your WordPress blog.

Normally, in order to do that, you’d need to individually open each account and create a post or update for each account. With Posterous, all you need to do is send an email to post@posterous.com. Posterous formats your email and distributes it throughout your social media accounts.

Posterous can post directly to any of a number of social media platforms.

But let’s say that you don’t want the post to go out to all of your social media channels. Say you just want to post a photo from your mobile phone to your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Change the email address to read twitter+facebook@posterous.com and Posterous sends the post only to the social media platforms specified.

Blogging and Posterous

Posterous can also turn any smartphone into a mobile blogging platform. The iPhone app includes settings for autoposting, adding photos and managing multiple Posterous accounts.

I’m a dedicated WordPress user and have no plans to switch everything over to Posterous. However, there are times when I’m on the road and want to post a quick blog update. In order to do this, I need to boot up the laptop, upload any pictures, find a WiFi connection, then write and publish the post. With Posterous and a smartphone, all I need to do is write the post in an email, attach photos or video and send it off.

Using the autoposting features, Posterous will automatically format and post my email directly to my WordPress blog, send a Tweet and update my Facebook and LinkedIn status. Although it’s possible to post to WordPress via email, I have found it somewhat clunky and it requires HTML coding to get it right.

Podcasting is just as easy. Attach an MP3 file to your email and Posterous generates an RSS feed for your podcast. Listeners can then subscribe to your podcast feed through iTunes or other subscription methods.

Distributing Content

Pushing your blog content throughout your social networks can be a time-consuming task. With the Posterous bookmarklet, it can be done in one step. After writing a post, click on the bookmarklet (which resides in your browser’s toolbar), choose from the selected excerpts or write your own and post it to your Posterous page. From there, autopost will push the content throughout your social media networks.

The Posterous Bookmarklet lets you easily share content throughout your social networks.

In order to avoid concerns with duplicate content, be sure to include just an excerpt or original summary. Even better, embed a link back to your post wrapped around the appropriate keyword for a backlink to your site.

Autopost can be your universal bookmarklet for Facebook, Twitter and your other blogs, without ever leaving the page you're already on.

Groups

Although my 80-year-old uncle was on Facebook before me, not everyone is as tech savvy. However, if you can send an email, you can join a Posterous group (see image below) sharing blog posts, photos, video and audio files (see example below). Rich media are embedded directly into the email as opposed to as separate attachments.

Again, starting and managing a group can be done entirely through email. Send an email to newgroup@posterous.com with the group name in the subject line and email addresses of group members as the email content. In a few moments, you’ll receive an email with a link to finish the registration. Give the group a description, set access privileges and your group is up and running.

Because you don’t need a Posterous account to participate, there’s no waiting on fellow members to open an account or learn a new platform. Group members can post or reply to the group entirely through email.

Share notes with your class or articles with your colleagues in almost any format.

Email as a Hub for Social Media Activities

Checking in on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn for messages can quickly become a distracting endeavor. One way to avoid the distractions is to set the social media profiles to notify you via email when you receive a direct message or post to your profile.

Add Posterous and you’ve got the ability to fully manage your social media network via email. Refine it even further by creating an email address just for your social media accounts. Limit yourself to only opening the email a couple of times a day and you’ve suddenly got a handle on all those social media profiles.

You can email to specific service types on your account. Do you want to update your Twitter, but not your Facebook? You can do that.

A few years ago, I wrote a blog post arguing that social media would make email obsolete. As the number of social media channels grows and the streams get more and more crowded, I’ve since changed my thinking. There’s a simplicity to a good, old-fashioned, overloaded email inbox that at times can look somewhat appealing.

To learn more about Posterous, visit “The Official Posterous Posterous.”

What do you think? Are you using Posterous? What has been your experience? Leave your comments in the box below.

Chris shares the foundation pieces you need to build a successful business blog and explains how to create killer content to engage your audience and get the results you want from blogging.  Chris also talks about the role blogs play within a good social media ecosystem and how this helps you connect with your audience.

Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video:

• Know why you want to blog, who you’re creating the content for and what you want to get out of it
• Target your customers when you write because if you simply write in general about your topic you’ll only attract your peers
• Take advantage of the popularity of list posts
• Use stories because they never go out of fashion
• Draw from real experience to show more emotions and engage readers as a person so they can connect with you on a human level
• Don’t give up too soon
• Grow a thick skin and learn how to deal with the personal attacks that come with blogging and putting yourself out there

Connect with Chris on Twitter @ChrisGarrett, on Facebook and check out Chris’s blog.

Do you blog? What tips do you have to share about blogging? Please leave them below.

Ahhh yes, the lovely LinkedIn.

She warms me up with friendly introductions to powerful decision makers. She brings a smile to my face from the absurd amount of targeted traffic to my websites. And she goes WAY over the top with the number of direct sales referrals she gives me.

It’s a digital romance we have, and I’ll profess my love for her ’til the end of time.

In all seriousness, I’m a big fan of LinkedIn because of the direct business I receive from it. And although I’ve written books about LinkedIn, given webinars and presentations on the topic and written articles like Top 5 Ways to Market Your Business With LinkedIn, I’ve never done a dedicated article about the advanced applications… until now.

Get More With LinkedIn Applications

In this article I want to share with you the top apps you can leverage to get more leads, traffic, product sales, brand awareness, ticket sales, investors, sponsors, consulting engagements and more.

Let’s dig into some of my favorite apps and how to get more from them.

Add Your Blog to LinkedIn

Surprisingly, I’ve seen some of the top bloggers in the world miss out on displaying this app. Failing to include this WordPress app on your profile is a huge mistake because it can help you drive more traffic and shows those who come to your profile how to learn more about your expertise.

This is a simple app that every blogger should have on his/her profile.

Autoplay a Video!

Imagine someone lands on your profile and instead of seeing the same old boring profile, they hear a voice. This voice either comes from you or a raving fan giving a testimonial. This technique is used so rarely that people can’t help but be shocked when they hear a voice and watch a video on your profile.

Adding the SlideShare.net app allows you to showcase presentations you may have, but it also allows you to add a video that autoplays when people land on your profile. Currently the video must be on YouTube for it to work, but it definitely adds a nice touch. Learn more about how to add video to your LinkedIn profile here.

Showcase Your Books or Others’ Books

Many bloggers are coming out with their own books, but are forgetting about a valuable resource to help promote and sell more of them: their LinkedIn profiles! The Reading List by Amazon is great because it helps you to stand out while adding to your credibility.

Even if you don’t have a published book on Amazon, you can still add this app and include the top books that you’re currently reading to give others a better sense about your interests and ongoing education.

This allows you to add a picture of your book on your page.

Syncing With Twitter on LinkedIn

I synced my Twitter account to LinkedIn when this app first launched. Some said they were annoyed when they saw all of the Twitter updates come to their home feed, but after about a week people got used to it.

I find that I often get as much or more interaction from my Twitter updates that sync to LinkedIn than those same updates on Twitter. Your messages don’t get lost in the feed as much on LinkedIn and there are threaded conversations similar to Facebook so you can continue the dialogue for days after.

I recommend doing this if you’re active on Twitter as you will look like you’re interacting on LinkedIn and continuing to stay on top of the minds of your LinkedIn connections even if you don’t use LinkedIn very often.

A great way to stay connected and updated.

Feature Your Events on LinkedIn

Hosting a major industry conference, regional networking event or maybe a small TweetUp and want to get more exposure and ticket sales? If so, look no further than the most powerful events promotion tool online today—LinkedIn Events app.

An example of a major professional event by Gary Vaynerchuk.

Here's an example of how powerful promoting your events on your profile can be.

You can see how many people have RSVP’d for your event, who’s interested and who’s exhibiting. You can also see a picture of those who are attending or interested, their industry, how you’re connected to them, what company they work for and more.

There are a few features I wish they would add to help event organizers promote better (like adding a messaging ability to all of those members who are interested), but other than that, I love the way you can use this app to get the word out about your events.

More Advanced LinkedIn Apps

There are a handful of other apps I haven’t mentioned that help a variety of industry professionals.

Business Apps:

There are a number of general business apps. Some of my favorites include Box.net Files, Tripit Travel, Google Presentation, Huddle Workspaces and Polls.

Legal Apps:

There are two apps specifically for lawyers. The Legal Updates app allows you to “get legal news that matters to you and your business. (Lawyers, upload your articles and other content. Be found for your expertise on LinkedIn).”

The Lawyer Rating app allows you to “showcase your Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ and Client Review Ratings™ to further validate your stated credentials and help you make the right connections.”

Designer App:

The Creative Portfolio Display allows you to “showcase your creative work in your LinkedIn Profile with the Creative Portfolio Display application. Free, easy to manage, and supports unlimited multimedia content.”

There are a number of other apps that you may or may not feel are valuable to include on your LinkedIn profile, but my suggestion is to try a few out and see how you like them.

Since the release of the advanced application section on LinkedIn, they continue to release new apps every so often. Make sure to check the application section for future updates, or find out more by following the LinkedIn blog.

Have you tried using any of the advanced LinkedIn applications on your profile? If so, what is the one you like the best, and why? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments box below.