Is LinkedIn the Best Social Network for Leads

by admin on April 7, 2012

For someone who has been very active on the social media scene, I have not really paid much attention to LinkedIn in the past. I had a profile up and just used it to keep in touch with my professional network. Having been active on Facebook and Twitter as well as on various social media sites such as Digg, Reddit, Tipd and more, I realize it is time to give LinkedIn another look.

LinkedIn for Leads and Referrals

Most social networks are infested with spam. LinkedIn does not seem to have this problem. At least, there is a great likelihood that the person you are connecting with is a real person. Besides, for certain markets, LinkedIn offers a better demographics due to its educated, professional and well connected audience. In fact, LinkedIn also boasts the highest average household income of all the social networks. C-level executives do not have time for Facebook or Twitter, but they do have a presence on LinkedIn.

So if you are looking to get in front of this demographic, LinkedIn is the obvious place to be in.

The key is to build and expand your network naturally. LI makes it easy to ask for introductions and referrals, so it is wise to use this process. If you are building your business for the long term, it has to be based on solid long term relationships.

As for the traffic and leads, I am still in the early stage of growing my network so I cannot yet comment on that. But one thing I know, add value and give people a reason to be curious about you, and they will visit. Interested audience are the best audience so even if the level of traffic is low, I expect engagement to be very high. Eventually it will reflect in conversions.

Overt Promotions or Soft Introduction?

No, I am not overtly promoting any thing even when I know I can offer the best stock picks service to interested people. But I am exposing my content, articles, and views on LinkedIn and if it resonates with someone they will come and check my service out. This is part of the overall strategy of building a long term membership business. I want my members to be interested, motivated and committed. I have seen my share of “on the spur” purchases and buyer remorse and obviously a bad fit does nothing for the brand.

Brand building is the way to go. Even if the results are slow in coming, they are likely to be more sustained.

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Things to Consider When Choosing a Dividend Stock

by admin on February 25, 2012

Investors come in 2 varieties. Actually they come in many forms, but for most practical purposes, either one invests for current income or one invests for long term capital gains. For those looking for current income, it is important to ferret out the best dividend stocks that not only have attractive yield, but are strong enough to sustain or even grow the dividend over time.

What I really find interesting is the companies who make paying dividends their top priority. While it is commendable, if it is done at the expense of the financial well being of the business, it serves no one. For example, some companies will go in debt to afford to continue paying a dividend. This is quite foolish.

A dividend investor therefore is well served to research the financial stability of the company they are investing in as well as consider the history of the shareholder friendliness of the management. Many blue chip companies that have a long history of profitable operations have mastered the art of fixing proper dividend level and growing it over time to match the company growth. For example, Johnson and Johnson, Proctor & Gamble, etc are some great names that continue to reward shareholders with great dividend as well as well managed capital appreciation.

One way to figure out if the dividend is sustainable is to look at the payout ratio. This is the percent of net income that the company pays out in dividends. A payout ratio up to 40% or so is quite sustainable and leaves the company enough capital to reinvest in growth. A high payout ratio is a red flag that the investor should avoid. After all, dividend investing is supposed to be a low risk strategy, and blindly chasing yield is not a recipe for success.

Also consider the frequency of dividend payments. Most US based stocks payout dividends quarterly, although there are some exceptions, mainly in REITs and other trusts. International companies may pay dividends semi-annually or even once a year. If you depend on dividends for income to support your lifestyle, you may want to find stocks to buy that pay dividends on a staggered schedule. So for example you select 3 stocks that pay quarterly dividends. One of the stock may pay a dividend in Jan, the second stock may pay dividend in Feb and the third in Mar. In Apr the cycle repeats.

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Social Media and the Financial Sector

February 17, 2012

Social media has be heralded as a rich channel to generate new leads and customers for businesses small and large alike. I find this quite disingenuous. While a presence on the popular social media platforms is necessary for customer service and reputation management, it is unlikely to prove a great source of new referrals for [...]

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Shorty Awards and Social Media

February 12, 2012

I have been active in the social media for a long time. It is a great way to build a following and share what interests you and keep engaged with the community. Over time though my focus has shifted away from the wider niche of Personal Finance to a much focused investing niche. It was [...]

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Peer to Peer Launching

February 5, 2012

Welcome to the official Peer to Peer site. Stay tuned for more information to come soon.

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