Social Media Market Research of YOU!

I have a question for you: Have you Googled yourself lately?

Do you know exactly what shows up? Not really?

Well you should, because your prospect clients do.

Before you are hired, your prospect clients or prospect partners,
even prospect guest posters will want to check you out. And they should! It
makes sense they want to know who they will be giving money to, doing business
with, or aligning their name with.

Googling your name is social media market research of another
kind. The kind you need to make sure has been done (keywords, websites linked, profiles consistent), is in place (visibility on multiple platforms), and
practices are set (social media marketing)
to keep you showing up as the expert you are in your niche.

I know what a Google search of my name will show. I know this
because I have carefully crafted my personal brand across my website, my social
media platforms, my posts, and through the events I attend and talk about. I
declare my expert status in my niche and I check to make sure this shows up by
Googling my own name regularly and watching how my brand grows.

What are YOUR goals? They should show up in a Google search loud
and clear.

Do you want to write a book? We should see your blog on page one.

Do you want to be hired? A link to your LinkedIn profile should
stand there on page one polished and professional and ready to shine.

Do you have an event coming up? Promote and share and find out
how much social media oomph your event has by noting where it falls in your
Google search.

Are you growing your email list? Make sure a link to sign up is
in every social media bio section.

Brand yourself an expert and firmly plant yourself in your niche
and you will be well rewarded. Here are a few simple steps to take to place you
on that path to success.

Step One: Make sure
your LinkedIn headline uses strong keywords of your business, a call for
clients and clearly states who you are and why you are here. If I had to guess
your LinkedIn profile shows up as number 2 on page one when you Google your
name. It's for this very reason you must
focus energy and attention on this platform, you will get a lot of bang for
your buck.

Take a look, here I am on
Google:

Step Two: Are you on
Twitter, Instagram or Facebook? Make sure all of your profiles on each of these
platforms clearly state who you are and what you do. Be consistent! A quote is
nice, but it sure doesn't get the point across as you are trying to brand
yourself as the expert you know you are.

My Twitter link/profile
shows up third link down on a Google search: See how my bio here very
nearly matches my LinkedIn Headline above? Clear, consistent, branded.

Step Three: Add a call
to action in each of your social media profiles. I have a bit.ly link leading
to an opt-in page in every single one of my platform bio's. Use the space
people look first and use it wisely. Capture their attention - you only have a
few seconds to do so- with a well worded call for them to act and tell them
what they get! Do this and you and your business brand will stick in their head
when it's decision making time.

Step Four: Link to
your blog posts on Google+. Two of my blog posts that I repurposed and posted
on Google+ show up on page one of my Google search. This gives prospect clients and partners a
chance to really see exactly what I have to say and how I say it. One stop
shop, click that link and go. Play nice with Google, Google plays nice with
you.

Step Five: Choose
events to attend, blogs to guest post on, and podcasts to be interviewed for.
There is no lack of any of these three things if you take the time to do a bit
of searching. On my Google search my bio for a large event I attended shows up
on page one - branding myself once again by the event itself and what I chose
to say in my bio. A podcast I was interviewed for shows up as well. Choose
these expert 'partners' carefully, make sure they have social media 'pull' and
watch as your social media market research of YOU starts to look better and
better.

Social media market research works in both directions. You know
what you 'see' when you research others, and you darn well better know what
they 'see' when they research YOU.

You can do this, with the above steps start building your
personal brand of YOU one step at a time.

Karen Yankovich is a social media brand strategist, business consultant and speaker, and the CEO of Uplevel Media. Having 'been there and done that' in the arena of losing (and then re-finding) a focused approach to business and life, Yankovich now offers coaching and consulting for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Her unique specialty blends her 'get it done' attitude with a passion for authentic connection in her personal services and online workshops. Social media and LinkedIn Evangelist, Yankovich guides entrepreneurs to creating wealth by combining smart business practices with simple proven systems that develop and maintain strong customer relationships. She offers results oriented and expert conversational marketing strategies that position her clients to bring in instant results. Yankovich's background includes over 30 years in the fields of information technology, marketing and customer relationships, making social media her ideal niche. www.karenyankovich.com