Linkedin Email Scraping: April 2013

Friday 26 April 2013

LinkedIn’s newest feature revamp is also a standalone iPhone app: Contacts

LinkedIn has just introduced Contacts. The retooled feature for the professional service is both a tab on the LinkedIn.com website and a standalone app for iPhone.

“We’re trying to change the game for LinkedIn,” said LinkedIn Contacts product lead Sachin Rekhi in a call about the new product.

“This is the first time LinkedIn is introducing a standalone app in addition to our suite of [core] mobile applications.”

Contacts, long a part of LinkedIn’s service, epitomizes the age-old business axiom: It’s not what you know; it’s who you know. The new app shows you who you know — and how you know them — as well as who you ought to keep in closer contact with.

Contacts integrates with business card scanner CardMunch, Evernote, calendars, email applications, and other contact-relevant software. Rather than automatically sorting your contacts alphabetically, Contacts will sort the people you know based on how recently you were in touch with them — be that via in-person meeting as noted on your calendar or via email or phone.

There’s also a cool “lost touch” feature that shows you people you’ve lost touch with. You can set email reminders to get back in touch with people periodically, and you can get reminders to connect on LinkedIn with new non-LinkedIn contacts — people whose information you may have stored in other applications.

Finally, the automatically created “relationship module” for profiles will show you how you know someone and the details of your relationship.

Overall, like most of LinkedIn’s more in-depth tools, the Contacts app and tab seem really great for people who make a living based on relationships — recruiters, sales people, executives. Elementary school teachers or auto mechanics, not so much. But it’s a feature set that’s perfect for LinkedIn’s core, paying audience members.

Android and mobile web are “important next steps,” said Rekhi. “It’s definitely something we’re working on.”

Source: http://venturebeat.com/2013/04/25/linkedin-contacts/

Note:

Delta Ray is experienced web scraping consultant and writes articles on Yellow Pages Data Scraping, Screen Scraping Services, Linkedin Email Scraping, Amazon Product Scraping, Website Harvesting, IMDb Data Scraping, Yelp Review Scraping, Screen Scraping Services, Yelp Review Scraping and yellowpages data scraping.

Melonie Dodaro’s Advice About Promoting Yourself On LinkedIn

Content Equals Money recently got to pose a few questions to one of Canada’s top social media experts, Melonie Dodaro. Melonie is an experienced consultant who has dedicated her career to assisting businesses in the successful use of social media as a part of their marketing strategies. Here are her thoughts on some of the most pressing questions surrounding LinkedIn usage.

How should LinkedIn users be using groups to promote themselves as well as their brand and network?

“The most important thing with groups is that people think groups are a great place to attract clients, but they often join groups of similar interest. An example of that is a financial advisor who joins a financial advisor group on LinkedIn marketing their services. This strategy generally doesn’t work, because you need to target where your clients are.

“I have a formula that I use: it’s fine to join 3-5 industry specific groups to help stay on top of trends, but that’s it. You want to join groups where your clients are, and groups that you want to learn about.”

Bonus tip: “As you are interacting and engaging in these groups, make sure to add value.”

Are there any 3rd party LinkedIn applications that stand out to you as being particularly useful or must-haves for anyone looking to boost their LinkedIn presence?

“There used to be a bunch of LinkedIn apps (import blog to LinkedIn, etc.), but LinkedIn has removed them all. Instead, LinkedIn has recently rolled out multimedia rich platforms like SlideShare and YouTube that help to make your profile stand out. I find it to be an easier process to insert links now, but this capability hasn’t been rolled out to all profiles yet. Right now it’s only available to those who had the apps installed before LinkedIn removed them.”

What can people do to sound less spammy when messaging or networking with a stranger on LinkedIn?

“That’s a good question, because you should never sound spammy when posting on LinkedIn! Do not use LinkedIn’s speedball request – you have to personalize, personalize, personalize. When you are telling people why you want to connect, there is a lot of spam now that wasn’t there before. When you send a personal message, take the time to connect! Tell them you are part of the same group and would love to network with other professionals in this area. But always personalize the message!

“When you are sending messages out to people, you can send 50 messages at a time that are almost equivalent to an email. The key is to uncheck the option that lets everyone see that you have sent this to everyone. You won’t get anywhere on LinkedIn being spammy! People are looking for value when it comes to LinkedIn.”

How can you substantiate ROI from LinkedIn?

“The easiest and best way to do that, especially if you are in B2B, is to be strategic in your outreach. Follow up with people that have connected with you on LinkedIn to show them how you can provide them with something of value. For instance, “Here are my LinkedIn webinars, my LinkedIn checklists, etc.” I get totally positive feedback from people who sign up.

“After that, develop some kind of outreach campaign that will help to move that relationship forward. This will differ from business to business, but you need to do it in a manner that isn’t self-serving so that you are seen as someone that is building value. Unless you are selling an online course, the quicker you can take a relationship offline the better, as that is where you monetize it.”

Bonus tip: “Don’t do any of this unless you look good on LinkedIn.”

If a person has multiple professional interests, is it okay for their LinkedIn profile to reflect that? Or should their profile be targeted (For example: I am a painter, I am an author, I am a plumber, etc.)?

“Here’s another way to think about this question: should a person have more than one profile for different industries? On LinkedIn, you are not allowed to, as it is against their terms and conditions. This could also confuse people that are interested in networking with you. In addition, it’s way too much work to maintain. If you are going to do it, do it right.

“This issue really depends on what your best leverage is on LinkedIn. Where are you getting the best networking response? B2B is often better than B2C on LinkedIn. Even if you were a painter, you won’t find people that need their house painted. However, you can connect with interior designers, builders, etc. You need to look more creatively at where you can network with people. Utilize LinkedIn for the profession where you are going to get the most leverage. Figure out which area is the best bang for your time and resources.”

Source: http://www.business2community.com/linkedin/melonie-dodaros-advice-about-promoting-yourself-on-linkedin-0478756

Note:

Thursday 25 April 2013

Web Promotion With Article and Directory Submission

Web promotion fundamentally involves a combination of directory submission to web directories and article marketing. You can also promote your site offline, but these are the two most profitable techniques that you can use in internet marketing to promote a website.

Sure, there are other ways such as on-page SEO and other similar techniques, but if you really want to get your web pages listed on Google and read by as many people as possible, you cannot rely on on-page SEO alone. The problem is that most people do not understand optimization that does not involve their web pages - and even then, most are confused!

Here is a brief outline of the off-page optimization techniques possible to you that involve submitting your web pages or the entire site to online publications such as article directories and social networking or bookmarking sites. Most have heard of these, but most of those also have no idea what they are or how to use them to their best advantage in web promotion.

Google Algorithm Updates

Most understand the basic principles of article marketing, although do you fully understand the algorithm change Google made in February of last year with Panda, or last month with Penguin? If you do then you will no doubt now be avoiding these poor quality article ghostwriting services offer on many websites. If you don't, you may have a shock coming!

I will say no more about this because it is you who must decide the best article services to suit your web promotion needs, but keep in mind that Google will no longer accept poor quality content of any kind: standard of writing or depth of content. Penguin is designed to detect scraped content and articles written using software. Those who relied on a software package to write their articles in the past are now liable to have all their current and future web content removed.

Those software developers that claim Google 'can't tell the difference' are wrong - Google can, and those that have paid for this software are soon to find out! The only safe way now to create articles for your website or for submission to article directories is to write it yourself or use an article ghostwriter.

Article and Directory Submission Services

However, having an article written and submitting it are two different things. Some directory submission services will submit your articles to article directories only, while others will go further. Your articles can also be submitted to PDF directories and to social bookmarking and networking sites. Your website can be submitted to web directories, social bookmarking sites and also to Craigslist!

These are the directory submission options open to you, and if you are paying for a submission service you should request that a full service is offered that carries all of these submissions mentioned above. Otherwise do it yourself - you cannot afford to leave money on the table with your web promotion because your competitors sure won't!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7066560

Note:

Beneficial Data Collection Services

Internet is becoming the biggest source for information gathering. Varieties of search engines are available over the World Wide Web which helps in searching any kind of information easily and quickly. Every business needs relevant data for their decision making for which market research plays a crucial role. One of the services booming very fast is the data collection services. This data mining service helps in gathering relevant data which is hugely needed for your business or personal use.

Traditionally, data collection has been done manually which is not very feasible in case of bulk data requirement. Although people still use manual copying and pasting of data from Web pages or download a complete Web site which is shear wastage of time and effort. Instead, a more reliable and convenient method is automated data collection technique. There is a web scraping techniques that crawls through thousands of web pages for the specified topic and simultaneously incorporates this information into a database, XML file, CSV file, or other custom format for future reference. Few of the most commonly used web data extraction processes are websites which provide you information about the competitor's pricing and featured data; spider is a government portal that helps in extracting the names of citizens for an investigation; websites which have variety of downloadable images.

Aside, there is a more sophisticated method of automated data collection service. Here, you can easily scrape the web site information on daily basis automatically. This method greatly helps you in discovering the latest market trends, customer behavior and the future trends. Few of the major examples of automated data collection solutions are price monitoring information; collection of data of various financial institutions on a daily basis; verification of different reports on a constant basis and use them for taking better and progressive business decisions.

While using these service make sure you use the right procedure. Like when you are retrieving data download it in a spreadsheet so that the analysts can do the comparison and analysis properly. This will also help in getting accurate results in a faster and more refined manner.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5879822

Note:

Social Media: Are you LinkedIn?

What is LinkedIn and do I need join another social network? That's what I asked myself when I received my first "invite to connect" several years ago. It was from a friend, so I figured it was safe, and I clicked on the link in the email and started my profile. I have to admit, though, it sat unchanged for probably a year. My paper resume was up to date, and it just didn't seem important enough to take the time to transfer it over to digital.

I've come a long way in the past four years. Now I can't imagine not being on LinkedIn. It's my professional profile, "on steroids," a cache of valuable connections, networking right at my desktop, and some of the best industry articles I can find delivered to my inbox.

As defined by the LinkedIn website, "LinkedIn is a networking tool that helps you discover inside connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts and business partners. It strengthens and extends your existing network of trusted contacts." If you haven't already accepted your "invite to connect," now is the time. Yes, you need to be on LinkedIn. And not just for yourself, but your business too.

Here's how to get started, from Forbes Cover Story Spells Out Why You Must Be On LinkedIn by Susan Adams (Forbes, June 2012):

Write a brief but specific summary of your career that is 100 to 300 words long. Include telling details and quantifiable achievements. Use keywords and phrases from job descriptions that would interest you. LinkedIn itself can help you do this. Use the "Skills & Expertise" link under "more" on the gray bar at the top of the page, and enter a job title. This will lead you to a list of "related skills."

Do fill in the "education" and "experience" fields. Many people only include their current job. That is a mistake. Think of your LinkedIn page as an online, searchable version of your résumé. For each of your jobs, include a crisp, detailed description of what you did. Quantify achievements where possible.

Do include recommendations. Recruiters read these. Get a minimum of five, and try to make them cover the range of your career. If you are in sales, include one from a customer, a colleague and a boss.

Flesh out your contacts. When inviting someone to connect, always send a personal note. When trying to decide whether to accept a connection, ask yourself whether you know the person in a professional or personal context, and would you want to connect with the person on professional matters, face to face. Would you be willing to ask that person for an introduction, and would you be willing to make one for them, if they asked?

If you've been on LinkedIn for a while, you've probably seen an email informing you that someone you know (or maybe don't know) endorsed you for a particular skill. I was pleasantly surprised when I got my first notice. But then after investigating I had to wonder if it really had any value. It's as easy to endorse someone on LinkedIn as it is to like a post on Facebook. Is it a credible acknowledgement of my skills or a popularity contest? We'll find out if the feature disappears by the end of the year, as some are predicting. In the meantime, it doesn't hurt to be endorsed and it's a friendly gesture to endorse someone you know.

Recommendations are even better. The Forbes article suggests that you should have at least five. If you don't have any, you can start by writing some for people you have worked with. To do this, begin by stating how you know the person and any background info. Then add skills and qualities about the person. Try to put a specific example about something the person did that stands out. And then sum it up with strong statement of resolution: "I highly recommend Jen for anyone needing a quality website created in a professional and timely manner." Then you can send out requests for people to reciprocate and recommend you.

What are LinkedIn groups and why should you join them? If you want to make the most of your professional networking, joining the right group is a good use of your social media engagement time. LinkedIn allows you to join up to 50 groups, but to actually get anything out of them, 50 is too many. Social Media Examiner recommends choosing the top three to five groups that represent your target demographic. You should visit them two to three times a week. Target the most popular discussion in each group to get the most visibility. When you're ready, start your own discussion. And eventually, you can start your own group. This is a great option if you don't have a qualifying email address to start a business page.

If you have an email address with your own distinct email domain, then you can start a company page. This means " name@yourcompany.com" and not a Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail account. If you qualify, then you should take advantage of this opportunity. It allows you to be where your current and potential clients are. It's another important way (some would say more important than other social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter) to engage with your market and tell your story.

Should you upgrade to a professional version of LinkedIn? Yes, but only if you are looking for a job, selling to businesses or recruiting. I like the teaser on the free account of only being able to see a few of the people that viewed your profile. With an upgrade you get to see everyone (but even then you don't get all the info.) Some might consider that alone worth $19.95 a month. Other benefits of the upgrade are that you can contact anyone in InMail, see expanded profiles, and you get more search filters and results. But the free plan offers most of this and is enough for my purposes.

Source: http://www.conwaydailysun.com/index.php/businessx/local-business/97071-social-media-are-you-linkedin

Note: