Are you using social media to do business?

Do you blog, tweet, “like” a product or service?  Or, do you find it all a big waste of time?

Faced with so many choices, many businesses simply don’t do any of the above. Recently, a client stated that while he had a LinkedIn account, he really didn’t know what good it would do him for his business.

For professionals, LinkedIn is a great way to connect, find people in the same profession, make referrals, get referrals and learn more about each other.

According to the latest statistics, there are more than 3.2 million CEOs and VPs, 3.8 million financial service professionals and 3.4 million technology leaders on LinkedIn.

Where else are you going to find such a vast universe of potential business partners and clients?

If you’re looking to become recognized as a go-to person in your profession, consider this: 92 percent of the media is on LinkedIn, and when looking for a source on a particular subject, many turn to the social media outlet.

If you want to stand out from the rest consider the following:

Make sure your profile is up to date with your latest jobs and responsibilities. Make sure it’s complete and interesting. If you read it as someone who didn’t know you, would you understand what you did for a living and how it could help someone else?

But just having a profile isn’t enough, you must engage in conversations within discussion groups and post regularly on subjects about which you are an expert. Putting up quotes from Albert Einstein or Gloria Steinem isn’t providing value. Give your readers something they can learn from.

Often clients talk about how they don’t want to “LinkIn” with every person who makes the request, and rightly so. Before clicking the “accept” button determine what you will learn or gain from connecting with that person. Google them to make sure they are who they say they are. If they say they work at a particular company, make sure they do. Anyone can claim to be anything.

Should you optimize your LinkedIn page by cramming it with keywords so that you come up higher in online searches? Not necessarily. Showing up higher up in Google searches may not get you the results you are seeking. You don’t need to be found by everyone, just the right people.

For the busy professional, LinkedIn can serve as a dynamic calling card and provide numerous opportunities to make valuable connections to grow your business.

Florida’s strong Cuban community is gung-ho for two things quintessentially American — the first, of course, capitalism, and the second, baseball. So when Time Magazine quoted Marlins Manager Ozzie Guillen saying, “I love Fidel Castro” this past weekend, things got a little fishy.

The Cuban community has made their voices loud and clear on this one, demanding that Guillen be fired from his post. The comment is not only insanely offensive, but it comes after the inauguration of the brand new Marlins stadium built in Little Havana this year. Who’s tax money do you think helped get that job done?

Today, Guillen inaugurated a crisis communications plan in attempt to make up for his hurtful words. “This is the biggest mistake of my life,” he said to a press conference. “When you make a mistake this big…I will learn from it.”

But honestly, Guillen is going to do have to do a tad bit better than that to win back the respect of the Latino and South Florida community at large. Suspended for five games, Guillen will have some time away from the ballpark to hopefully enact a smarter plan of action.

Guillen needs to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk. He should take pause to truly educate himself on why it was that his words were so painful and ignorant, and share his reflections with the public. In his return on April 17th — ironically, the anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion — hopefully Guillen will address us with wise words on the day. He should look at this coincidental date as a public relations miracle, and correctly preparing for it may be the best way  to recover from the scandal.

Facebook is still king when it comes to social media, but Twitter is very important social tool when it comes to sharing and building your own personal community. Twitter helps you build relationships with people, improves your networking and drives traffic to other social properties. Twitter is also an excellent avenue to receive current information and breaking news.

Below are 6 tips on how to utilize your personal twitter to your advantage, to see the full article from American Express’s Open Forum and all 12 tips, click here openforum.com.

Infuse personality into your profile

People trust people, not default images. Upload a real picture of yourself and add some personality to your “about me” section. These simple first steps will encourage more followers and if they relate to you passion they will keep an eye out for your tweets and be more likely to retweet.

Be the first one to break the news

Chose a topic (or a few) that interest you and position yourself as an expert. By doing this, your followers will come to you for valuable information. If you are on top of your game – be the first to break news to your followers as you get it, this will increase the number of retweets you get and spark conversation around what you have to say.

Tweet consistently, leave space
Openforum.com recommends tweeting consistently. However, tweeting too often can be overwhelming to your followers so stick to one tweet every hour or half hour.

Ask and answer questions
You want to engage your followers and keep them interested – the best way to do this is to ask them questions and answer their questions in return.

Be generous, promote others
Take notice of your most passionate followers and reward them by retweeting them, and recommending them by using #recommend and #FF (follow Friday).

Ask for a retweet
Ask and you shall receive! Followers are more likely to retweet you when you prompt them – start adding “please RT” to your tweets.

Tomorrow the Legal Marketing Association will kick off its 2012 program with “Connecting Costs to Value: Your Role in Driving Revenue.”  If you are an  attorney, marketing and business development professional, marketing partner, managing partner, practice group leader, or manager from law firms/accounting firms, then you should be there!

Nationally recognized as a leader in law firm business development strategy, special guest presenter Silvia Coulter, will discuss what firms can do to build relationships based on loyalty versus cost of services, client growth cycle and process improvement and its impact on the firm’s revenue.

When: TOMORROW! Tuesday, January 17, 2012 from 5 p.m. -7:30 p.m.

• Registration and networking being at 5 p.m.
• Presentation starts at 5:45 p.m.
• Food, fun and networking at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Berger Singerman; 1450 Brickell Avenue Suite 1900, Miami, FL 33131

Cost: Complimentary for lawyers, legal marketing professionals and LMASE members, $25 for other business professionals or non-members

Please RSVP to Jennifer Clarin, jclarin@boardroompr.com (954) 370-8999 or via SurveyMonkey, http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YMJ3ZW7.

Hope you can join us!

The holidays created a time for giving. On New Year’s Eve, we reflected on past mistakes and resolved to be better for 2012.

Here at Boardroom, the protocol of the season got us thinking about the protocol of networking. When we network, our objective is simple  — we want something.

But the holidays remind us that relationships, networking ones too, are about a give-and-take exchange. Remembering that spirit of the season, forget about what you can get out of the relationship. Focus on what you have to give.

Here’s a simple tip that can help you revamp your networking strategies, whether on the web or at the next annual New Year’s cocktail party: be interested, not interesting. Yes, keep your business card in tow; but rather than focus on yourself, really listen to the other person.

The best networks are those of mutual benefits where everybody wins. It’s time to tap in! Find out what makes the other person tick. Sincerely inquire on how you can help foster and support their needs.

That’s our New Year’s resolution.

So here’s to making 2012 a time of giving and connecting, whether it be in our networks of co-workers, family or friends.

With the holidays around the corner, most people are looking forward to spending time with their families and unwrapping presents.

However, not everyone gets to enjoy the holiday season with a plethora of gifts. Boardroom Communications client, JAFCO is partnering up with organizations in the community to try and bring some holiday spirit to the children of JAFCO.

“Synagogues, Jewish community centers and private individuals in the tri-county area have signed up to provide toys for Hanukkah for children in our programs,” said Sarah Franco, JAFCO executive director, in a recent article.

With the help of these generous organizations, JAFCO will be able to make Hanukkah wishes come true for more than 350 disadvantaged children.

To read the full article, click here.

The holidays are here! Not only does that mean ’tis the season to be jolly with family and friends, but in the workplace as well.

By peppering your business with a little holiday spirit, you can revamp your brand image and inspire some holiday cheer in your customers.

Take Starbucks.

Its holiday marketing campaign, which debuted in November, features seasonal beverages like the “Peppermint Mocha” and “Gingerbread Latte” served up in special edition holiday cups.  This year, Starbucks has gone one step further with the Starbucks Cup Magic App, which allows coffee-drinkers to animate the action on their coffee cups on their smartphone screens.  The object, says VP-Global Digital Marketing for Starbucks, Alexandra Wheeler, is to both “surprise and delight” customers during this holiday season.

So get in the spirit! Here are some things you can do to make the holiday season a catalyst for your business:

-Deck the halls with boughs of holly! But seriously, some easy, simple decorations can go a long way.  By creating a fun, holiday atmosphere, your employees and customers alike will relish in the spirit of the season.

-Learn the holiday news cycle. To avoid missing out on an opportunity for your product or service in a publication, make sure you’re up to date on the editorial calendars well in advance to see what specific topics the media outlets will focus on during this holiday cycle.

-Wish your social media following a happy holidays. A simple tweet or Facebook post spreading the spirit will bring you back into sight and into mind.  Keeping up a rapport with those in the digital world (and continuing to maintain your online presence) is extremely important, especially now!

So enjoy this holiday season, and take advantage of the opportunity to enact some timely marketing strategies. Fa la la la la, la la la la.

The holidays are a stressful time of year, especially if you have to run around doing last minute gift buying.  C3/CustomerContactChannels recently offered great tips for reducing holiday shopping stress.  These tips were picked up by publications around the country, proving that holiday shopping stresses out more than just Floridians!

Here are their secrets:

Do your homework and ask questions.  Learn the store’s return and exchange policies before you buy something; know which coupons a store will accept and ask about promotional deals before you get to payment.  Read product reviews to maximize the valuable time you have with a busy employee.

Be prepared. Lines may be a mile long, so be courteous to other shoppers.  The cash register is not the place to realize you don’t have your wallet.  If you’re buying over the phone, be prepared with the recipient’s shipping information and your payment details.

Communicate clearly. If you have a problem or complaint, get to the root of the situation immediately and state what went wrong without raising your voice.  Tell a salesperson what you expect to be resolved and what you’d like them to do.  Bring up your brand loyalty as appropriate, but don’t overstate your store experience.

Be solution oriented. Focus on what can be done to resolve a situation.  If a product is out of stock, find out when the store will receive new inventory.  Find productive solutions and recognize that the ideal resolution may not be possible in all cases.  Customer service is a two-way street.

Take a deep breath. Take a moment to think clearly before you escalate a situation. Don’t use profanity at other shoppers or customer service agents.  Be the type of person you would want your grandma to speak with – anger and frustration will get you nowhere.

For more of C3’s shopping tips, click here.

It’s great to generate good news about our clients!  An outstanding event celebrating pioneering Jewish families was created and launched by the Jewish Federation of Broward County.  It was a ‘mitzvah’ to see great media coverage in the Jewish Journal, describing the event, with great photos and quotes.

When there’s a story worth telling, there’s usually someone who will tell it.    This event was a labor of love for the Federation and the families that have made South Florida their home for more than 50 years.   The Jewish Journal did it justice, providing insight and a understanding of what it was like to be Jewish in South Florida those many years ago.

We’re proud of our clients and the good work they do.  We’re proud to reach out to the media with these stories.

Click on the image to read the story.