By regarding the tool much like the professional networking site LinkedIn, the idea is to establish an account that identifies you with your company. First of all, as always with Google products, you must have a Google Account (Gmail address) to open a Google Profiles account. If you have a personal Gmail account perhaps you would prefer to establish a new account that is used exclusively for this purpose.

At the top of the profile there is a space to add 10 words that describe you best. Here’s where you put good old fashioned search engine optimization (SEO) to work for you. Select keywords that will identify you and your role with your company. For example, “CNC Machining Expert.” Add some photos of you in your factory where you are using or at least standing near a CNC machine in operation. Keep your Introduction personal but make sure you use your keywords again: “Since 1985 I have been running my own CNC machining shop in Corning, NY, where I live with my family.” You can use Bragging Rights to identify your professional successes: manage 50 employees, ‘Supplier of the Year.’ Occupation, Employment and Education are pretty straight forward but try to include your keywords.

If you look over to the right you will see Links. If you use other Google services such as the online photo album Picasa Web, it will be associated automatically as long as you are using the same Gmail account. If you haven’t opened a Twitter account, now is a good time to do so. You will be able to add a link to your Twitter account here as well. You will also be able to add Custom Links such as a link to your profile page on your website, or to your business if it can be identified as ‘About You.’ If it is not about you it may be removed. Once you add the Custom Link you will have to check a box that says: This Page is Specifically About Me.

At the bottom of the page you will find Profile URL. Here you will be able to select the url that contains your Gmail account name instead of the long impersonal numerical identifier. Lastly, I would like to mention how you can use Buzz, which is another Google social networking tool like Twitter. You can establish your Buzz account within your Gmail account. Look to the left for a link and click on it. Once it is established, it will be automatically associated with your Google Profiles account. You may wish to encourage your customers to join Buzz as well and use it as a way for them to post questions about things for which you are the expert within your company. Begin to establish your authority online for the type of content offered by your company in the areas you can strongly and consistently represent.

Remember that Google Profiles is a social networking site not specifically designed for business. So absolutely do not “sell” or “market.” Instead you are going to use it to “identify” who you are and your area of expertise. Respect the way in which Google wants this service to be understood and you will be able to benefit from the publicity it affords.

Our industrial clients at Industrial Web Solutions are starting to approach us, instead of the other way around, about ways to build their brand and hopefully generate leads using social media. The first place we begin with clients is to uncover and define their goals, both long term and short term, objectives, and metrics for success. Understanding why you are doing something helps you to effectively design the ways in which you are going to achieve your objectives and exactly what metrics reveal your progress. Sounds simple but it is a step that is often avoided because clients get stuck on the bigger picture – make sales. Of course we all want to make sales but there are so many goals that have to be achieved that affect our sales success. And a well-thought out strategy makes sure all of the goals are accounted and planned for.

In addition to all the ideas offered by Della Penna, I would add a reminder to be consistent. Remember, you are concurrently trying to build your perceived authority for the products and/or services represented by your web content. Referred to in search engine optimization as your ‘authority score,’ which is in addition to your ‘link authority’ (hyperlinks that identify your content as relevant to and an authority of the products and/or services represented), your brand name or company representative is associated by the search engines with the content discussed in the Twitter post, for example. Pick your areas of expertise and stick to them and you will build your authority score, which affects indexing and rankings in the search engines. After a comprehensive research and development to identify the keywords used by your target audience groups to refer to what you offer, use those keywords strategically in the posts and other web content you present on the various social media channels you have decided to focus on. Create strong and compelling content that accurately reflects the interests of your readers. The more your content is referenced the stronger your authority score will be and the more likely it is that your content will rise to the top in the search engine results.

An oxymoron perhaps, but social media means business. Use it with intelligence and planning and it can be an effective way for you to build your brand and increase your lead acquisition online.

Contact Industrial Web Solutions with your questions 1-800-399-9859.

Given the changes to Google’s indexing system and the introduction of the ‘authority score,’ which seeks to determine the level of authority of a content source for the keywords and phrases relevant to the content by evaluating the number of links and references to the content from off-site sources, industrial businesses could potentially increase their web ranking results by creating highly focused, search engine optimized content and placing it on social media sites where they have uncovered their target audiences are spending time.

Crispin Sheridan made a recent Clickz post about SEO and Integration with Social Media that offers some great ideas. I would add that social media is now part of the search engine optimization process. Not only is it beneficial for branding and expanding your audience, but frequently and regularly creating and posting off-site content according to a set schedule is essential if you plan on establishing or maintaining your competitive edge in the search engines for the keywords and phrases relevant to your content.

Audience engagement is key so try to be topical. You want your content to be read, commented on, and to be shared. Be sure to follow a cross-linking strategy so you get the most mileage possible from your content. Include links to your blog posts on Facebook and Twitter, for example. And submit blog posts to Digg and Reddit. Also, be sure to include links on your website to your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn accounts, and any other social networking sites where you post content.

If you need help developing your social media strategy or content, give Industrial Web Solutions a call at (800) 399-9859.

• Recruit Members and Supporters
• Market your Educational or Artistic Programs
• Promote your Events
• Sell your Literature or Merchandise
• Attract Advertisers
• Manage your Fundraising and Capital Campaigns
• Manage Membership
• Manage Subscriptions
• Manage Events and Sales
• Manage Communications
• and more.

Although marketing your industrial professional organization is different from marketing your business, many of the tools are the same. Websites, direct marketing both online and offline, events, public relations and media, and social media are chief among the tools used in a professional organization’s marketing kit. Often a daunting undertaking, the careful planning and management of budgets and tasks is critical to the success of the organization. You must consider how to effectively:

• Develop and Utilize Online Assets and Resources
• Coordinate Online and Offline Initiatives
• Use Social Networking Websites
• Perform Administrative and Management Tasks

Regardless of the size of your professional organization, it is always a good idea to work with a trusted marketing team that brings good ideas to the table, particularly if you are making any major investments such as a new website or media and business management application. A marketing firm experienced with helping professional organizations can steer you away from pitfalls, help you to evaluate costs and benefits, and work with you to identify and develop successful ways to fulfill your mission statement, communicate value and generate interest among your target supporters.

For more information about getting help for your industrial professional organization, call Industrial Web Solutions (800) 399-9859.

1. Announce company news.
2. Discuss sensitive topics.
3. Set the record straight.
4. Readdress old messages from media.
5. Gain back some credibility.
6. Show a personal side.
7. Talk about the competition.
8. Reach new audiences with a trusted media source.

All great items to consider, it helps to understand the elements as they relate specifically to industrial public relations. Since you may not all be as famous as Mark Zuckerberg, you may need to pitch a story to the media in order to get the media attention you desire. A few things you will need to consider when developing your offline PR strategy are:

Media Source:

1. Who is your intended audience?
2. Is the journal/television or radio program/journalist or reporter you are pitching known for covering topics like yours that are of interest to the audience you want to target?
3. Does the media outlet offer additional coverage opportunities online, such as a website, podcast, or YouTube channel (a great bonus)?

 Your Story:

1. How is it important and of interest to your intended audience and the media source you are pitching?
2. Is it compelling?

You can understand how compelling your story is by answering the question: What will be different once my story has been told? The more your story will impact the way your targeted audience does something or thinks about something, the more compelling it will be to both the journalist/interviewer and your audience. Whether you are making an announcement, discussing sensitive topics, or setting the record straight, your message has to affect the people to whom you are delivering it in order for it to be of interest to them.

Follow Up:

Follow up is a critical element of your PR strategy and often the one that is most ignored. You worked hard to achieve that news coverage so make sure you have systems in place to continue to reap the benefits of it once the coverage is over. The best thing to do is to provide your audience with a place to go online to learn more and to access the original story (whether a magazine article, television or radio interview, or whatever).

Part of your overall strategy must include your specified conversion goals. Clearly outline what you expect your target audience to do next (learn about your company or buy a particular product or service, for example) and then guide them seamlessly through the steps that will help them to do it easily and successfully. Make it as easy as possible for them to access the story and share it with their colleagues via email or social media like Twitter, Facebook, Digg, YouTube, or StumbleUpon, for example. And by all means, reference it in other online and offline media that you create.

Measure Impact:

Understand the impact of your story by following audience response. Track the following:

1. Tweets and Re-Tweets on Twitter
2. Visits to the online web pages you created for this campaign
3. How many journals/websites/radio stations talked about or posted the story and what are those media outlets
4. Who and how many blogged about it
5. How many calls or sales it generated
6. Any other effects that it may have had, such as an effect on the stock market 

In a nutshell, for the best results you have to clearly establish your goals, deliver a compelling story to the right media, provide an effective way to for the story to live on, and track your results. And if you need help, call us at (800) 399.9859 or visit www.IndustrialWebSolutions.com.