Tag Archives: apps

Technology / Office , , 2 Comments

Google Business Apps: The Best and The Rest

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We are inundated by a deluge of online business management and office tools these days and it seems like a new product appears every month.   The choices are overwhelming.   Which,  if any,  might be useful to meet your business or personal needs?  Or maybe you say the heck with it and continue to use whatever you’ve been using if it works well enough?

But eventually,  one must update.   I decided to give the laggards a nudge and take a look at some  Google products.   Google Office Tools have several cloud-based options and the standard versions are free.   Premier versions,  which give greater data storage and unlimited customer support,  are $50.00/year.   Here are a few online tools to consider:

THE BEST

Calendar

 Google Calendar App is a platform to schedule meetings and other group events.   Calendar can be employed by multiple users in real-time,  since it functions in the cloud,  directly from the internet.  When a meeting or other event is scheduled,  Calendar will automatically generate confirmation emails for those who RSVP that they will attend and add the meeting to their calendars.   It’s also possible to merge the groups’ calendars with your own and thus manage a team’s schedule.   If you’re working with a team on a project or sit on a board,   Google Calendar is an excellent way to get everyone on the same page about scheduling and attending important meetings.

 Docs

I’ve been part of team projects that used Google Docs and can vouch for its usefulness.   If a group is creating and editing a report,  proposal,  or other document,  there’s nothing better.   Multiple parties can make additions / revisions simultaneously and real-time chats and comments that provide feedback are possible.   Changes are saved automatically and often,  another desirable feature.   The downside is that your documents,  when printed out,   may not look as slick and professional as those created in Microsoft Word.

Google AdWords

Technically not an app,  AdWords  (and WonderWheel)  are nevertheless fundamental to the basic marketing strategy of every business.   Good AdWords steer the marketing team  (that would be you,  Freelancer)  to distill the business value proposition down to a concise phrase that prospective clients will understand immediately.   From there,  you integrate that and other key phrases into text that is used on your website,   Facebook and LinkedIn pages,  advertising and in your elevator pitch.   One can pay for Google AdSense and get wonderful long-tail key words,  but why not start with the free versions  http://adwords.google.com and http://googlewonderwheel.com

THE REST

Presentations

Because the presentation is stored in the cloud,  it’s possible to create and update presentation slides from any computer and that can be a real convenience.   Presentations also makes it easy to insert images and video into your slide show.   Moreover,  the template library allows you to collect and save whatever images or video you might want to weave into future presentations.   Best of all,   it’s easy to publish the completed presentation onto YouTube,  your website,  Facebook,  LinkedIn,  or other sites of choice.

Alas,   Presentations is not Power Point.  Those for whom esthetics is important will find Presentation design features lacking.   Worse still,   Presentation text boxes don’t work well and as a result the layout can become skewed,   unless you are very proficient at navigating the system.

Spreadsheets

If a team must develop a spreadsheet,  the availability of cloud-based access is crucial.   Real-time updates are included in the basic spreadsheet functions and there is even automatic compatibility with Excel.   The auto-fill function allows you to avoid the necessity of re-typing the same terms over and over.   The ability to drag columns to new locations and a stream-lined copy feature that makes duplicates in one click are very useful and ease the drudgery of producing spreadsheets.   The unfortunate part is that the Spreadsheet App is clunky when compared to the gold standard that is Excel.    For example,  the system is known to freeze up as you’re working–ugh!

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Marketing , , , , 1 Comment

LinkedIn Profile Refresh

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Happy Year of the Dragon!  The New Year vibe is still rolling,  so I wonder if you’d like to keep-up the self-improvement kick and take a fresh look at your LinkedIn profile?  Usually,  I revisit mine about once a year.  Last year,  I pared down my rather long and complicated summary section. 

 I realized that in certain instances,  less is more and simplified my statement.  About  every 12-18 months,  I think it’s useful to make sure that my LinkedIn profile aligns with how I’m positioning myself and what I’m saying in the verbal package that is my elevator pitch.   So let’s do a little housekeeping.

Purge the clutter

Comb through your job history and weed out or streamline whatever does not support and enhance your professional goals.  Retain several years of your employment history,  but limit non-aligned jobs to title,  company and a one-sentence description of your responsibilities.  Use you employment and volunteer experience to reflect your brand and professional aspirations.

Add keywords

The headline of your profile is the critical factor in search results.  Choose your most relevant keywords carefully and add to your headline.  Be mindful of the subtle difference between keywords that are vital for your business / career and terms that are frequently searched.  If you provide services for a select market those keywords should reflect that market,  even if they are searched less often. 

 Judiciously embed relevant descriptive keywords that are associated with your business category into your headline and summary sections.   Visit Google Keywords Tool and identify popular keywords that will attract a sufficiently broad audience in local searches and then drill down to target your niche by discovering keywords that industry insiders might  search.

Add apps

Install Slide Share and upload a Power Point presentation to your profile that will communicate more specific details about your services.  I use WordPress Blog Link to invite connections and visitors to my page to read weekly blog postings.  I always write an excerpt that I hope connections will find tempting when LinkedIn Updates announces the arrival of a new post.

As of last week,  visitors to my profile will now find the app that was rolled out just a few months ago,  the Skills App.  The nice feature about  Skills is that you’ll receive data on groups that focus on that skill;  companies where that skill is common;  posted jobs requiring that skill;  and the size and growth trends of other professionals who hold that skill. 

Other free apps that may serve you well include Events,  that will let connections know the meet-ups and conferences where you will speak;  Portfolio Display,  that allows creative types to showcase their work;  and Reading List,  that allows you to share with connections the professional development books you’ve read and get ideas on additional books that you might find useful.  All of the apps will appear on your profile page.

Get recommendations

Recommendations are testimonials that provide third-party verification of your expertise and further support your professional goals and brand.  Ask a professional colleague who can vouch for your work to detail your contributions to a project that went especially well. 

 Specific,  quantifiable information that highlights your impact on company objectives enhances your credibility and is more believable than effusive compliments that merely tell people how talented you are.  Always return the favor and write a recommendation for those who produce testimonials for you.  In fact,  get the process started by  “spontaneously”  writing a recommendation for a colleague so that you can receive one in return.

LinkedIn is about creating and nurturing relationships,  so do your part and engage in conversations.  Congratulate your connections when an update comes through that heralds an achievement.   When you invite someone to join your network,  tell that person why you’re inviting them.  When someone invites you,  take the time to thank that person for his/her consideration.

Join groups appropriate for your skill set and goals and become known for posing good questions,  leading discussions and sharing timely and useful information.  Visit the  “Answers ”  forum and contribute thoughtful responses to questions that will allow you to showcase your judgment and expertise.  Utilize the free resource that is LinkedIn to position yourself as a go-to resource in your niche.

Thanks for reading,

Kim