Recently I conducted a live workshop titled “How to use LinkedIn for Sales” to a group of successful business people in North Central West Virginia.  

I thought share some of my key take-aways for the first step of this process here with you. That first step is creating what LinkedIn designates as an “All-Star” profile.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, SnapChat, Vimeo, LinkedIn, Quora--we could keep going with a list of social media platforms that our clients are either on, have been on or have contemplated being on.

It’s a small list in a much longer, more complex list of social media sites that are being thrown at business owners and even us, marketers.

So, how do you determine which social media platforms are best for your business?

Read on to learn more about why you should have a presence, which platforms will give you what and how to determine which platform you should consider.

Whether a company specializes in a long-term or one-off product, customer retention is a priority.

Perhaps you've invested millions of dollars and a lot of time to create a product. You don't want all that effort to get wasted. Customers are a valuable business asset that adds value in the form of repeat purchases or referrals. However, many brands often fail when it comes to devising ways to retain customers especially if they sell one-off products.

Many companies think that a customer call center is enough to increase retention. Often, people contact customer support when they want to inquire about a product. Just because customers feel satisfied with a product doesn't mean you've retained them. The marketing team isn't enough to keep loyal clients.

Here are a few marketing techniques to earn more profit and increase customer retention.

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business. It is crucial that you have the right marketing team and strategy to compete in the business world of today. Without it, you won't reach or convert your ideal customers. So how do you assemble your all-star dream team of marketers?

It starts with knowing what you want.

To many, social media marketing can be like walking into a black hole when it comes to researching what to do and what not to do.

We understand this. That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive list of what to do and what not to do when it comes to marketing your business on social media.