SME Cleveland Blog
Myth: Social Media Isn’t for my Industry
By Zach Laurer, Gallagher
Believe it or not, social media serves a purpose for EVERY industry. Although you may think you should be left out of this category, this blog will cover the reasons why the platform is important for everyone, and how to be sure you’re using the right one.
When I started my sales career in 2010, social media was fairly new in the business world. I already had Twitter and Facebook, at the time, but those were only for personal use. I remember being encouraged to open a LinkedIn account for business use. At the time, it didn’t click for me that social media could ignite so many new opportunities. Sure, I followed some business pages and groups, but I was very green when it came to posting, connecting, following, building a social brand, etc.
What is incredible is how fast the social community has grown. In 2007, LinkedIn for example, had 15 million […]
Make Networking Work for You
By Sue Safos, President, Dennison Creative
I’ll never forget the first time I went to a networking event as a business owner. I had recently left the corporate world, where networking meant meeting up with coworkers for lunch or happy hour. Now I was responsible for bringing in business — and networking was critical. Searching for networking events and opportunities…making time to attend industry functions…and socializing after a long business day. It was overwhelming.
It’s a well-known fact: not everyone likes to network. However, it’s proven time again that “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Networking can make or break a company. The Business Networking Institute found that most business owners attribute more than 70% of their business success to word-of-mouth or referrals, and according to a LinkedIn survey, 85% of all jobs are filled via networking.
Yet, probably 99% of networking is a waste of time. It’s the other 1% that makes a difference.
“It doesn’t take hundreds of introductions to […]