Generating leads through LinkedIn

Thanks to the advent of social media, we have all become technology obsessed and understand the nuances of it, hence I would directly emphasize on the platforms that generate & leverages business opportunities. When we talk of leads generation online, we are immediately reminded of LinkedIn, a business-oriented social networking site that has evolved phenomenally in the past decade. Be it garnering business opportunities, finding the right job, generating leads or reviewing a product, LinkedIn is the one answer to many solutions for people across the globe.

Why LinkedIn?

But why in the world do we need LinkedIn as our business mentor? The answer remains quite predictable; LinkedIn is the only platform that houses over 350 million devoted professionals worldwide who means business. But let’s not consider it from the bulging crowd’s perspective. A recent study found out that traffic from LinkedIn generated the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate at 2.74%, almost 3 times that of Facebook (0.77%) and Twitter (0.69%). And that’s something remarkable which comes with a delight called ROI. Point taken! So, if you are a dedicated industry person & really want to generate remarkable business with the apt use of LinkedIn, all that you need to do is showcase a neat profile & follow the basic mantra on mastering LinkedIn.

Mastering it your way

Get found
If you aspire to stay in the race, you have to be visible. Follow the basics & achieve an all-star by completing your profile. Also, get your custom URL right, because that way it will be easy for your target audience to find you & do-not-forget to make your company page. Taking care of fundamentals can see you ashore.

Attracting Crowd
In the online world, it’s all about being presentable!  The more qualified you are with your product, better the response. And attracting the crowd isn’t that easy, so you better be wise while showcasing your products & the content that you choose to illustrate it.

Find target audience & connections
The entire marketing thrusts on the target audience or the Target Group! You just can’t toss the stuff at random audience & the moment you figure out the pulse of your audience, you come out as a winner. It wouldn’t be wrong if we say that LinkedIn is a platform where entrepreneurs start with connections & move to make relationships.

Manage to stay in Newsfeed
This again is one of the crucial aspects to be considered when you are trying to make a mark online. Sharing updates seldom never helped anyone. Your active presence and regular, meaningful updates thrive your business objective.

Quality content matters
Creating and sharing content that is relevant and valuable to your target audience can potentially cause them to seriously consider your company’s products and services.

Maneuver the groups that you have joined
Joining a group just to relish the pleasure of being a group member won’t help you. Make sure that all the updates you share, must be shared in the groups which you are a part of. Technically, a group size matters as well; the larger it is the wider your post reach.

Apt use of sponsor updates
Money can buy almost everything in this world, so why not the required audience for your business? Sponsored updates increase the post reach multifold, targeting just your audience basis the demographics you choose. It does work, doesn’t it?

And lastly, go viral
Now that you know all the basic technicalities of mastering LinkedIn, it’s time for you to go all guns ablaze & shine like a true pioneer.

That’s LinkedIn for you, supporting businesspersons since Dec 2003…

Malana: The unexplored paradise

General Description:

Nature has its own way of bestowing us with illustrious gifts. Flora, Fauna, River, Valleys & Mountains do account for major part of the attraction. Now just imagine a place, which has been blessed with all such marvels of nature. Where happiness is a priority & people are unscathed of prevailing malice. Yes, I am talking about Malana, a small village that lies on the fringes of the Himalayas, which for most part of the year remains impassable due to snow. It is a million miles away from civilization & presents its visitors an arguably the most beautiful & lush environment. Those closely associated with trekking would have surely heard about the valley of flowers & the Pin Parvati valley. Just because of its strategic location, lesser people have shown their nerve to conquer the little beauty sitting in the lap of the Himalayas. Centuries have passed but the place has remained safe from those intrepid invaders who dared to take that extra step into the unknown.

Best Season/ Climate to visit:

Altimeter indicates 9938 ft.! & That ain’t a joke. For a better part of the year, you don’t have the luxury to travel hassle-free to the place, courtesy: Snowfall that chokes all the gateways to the place. If you really want to relish the beauty, try visiting the place during summer. Luke warm climate prevails during the period in the region, which makes trekking an amazing experience

Highlights of the place:

Also known as Cannabis capital of the country, Malana is famous for cultivation of purest form of Cannabis. The village has its own government & people appoint their own staff there. The proud Malanis proclaim themselves as the most superior race that is descendent to Alexander the Great. It is claimed that alexander while returning back took a route through the village. Houses are made up of wood which is also round in shape. People living here are very skeptical when it comes to believing the strangers & choose to remain precarious.

How to reach down to the place: 

The village is located to the northeast of Kullu valley. 3 formidable mountains passes make way for the most alluring village of the world. Once in the state of Himachal Pradesh it can be reached from Parvati valley across the Rashol Pass & Chanderkhani pass. You can opt to reach Malana from Jari by hiring a taxi since no public bus service to the village, which is 23 km away.

Prerequisites, if any: 

A proper acclimatization at similar conditions is highly recommended before traveling such places. Also try not to hurt the sentiments of the people by causing damage to any kind of property there. Remember they themselves are their government, which stands as one of the oldest democracies of the world.

Conclusion: 

The village of malana has been rightly nicknamed, ‘little Greece of India’ because of its striking beauty & amazing atmosphere located above almost 10,000 ft. above seas level. If you have already been intoxicated & fond of real Marijuana then my sincere suggestion to you is that don’t forget your share of Drab here. Live it up & find eternal comfort amid the serenity of Malana.

Get more factual information about the place here (Source: Wiki)

Beard, it's not so Weird!

Is it true that thick matted hair & intense stubbles make for some of the most prominent grooming instruments for men? Perhaps yes! Given the kind of popularity beard trend has amassed over the period, it is very much evident. It is also said that, they not only ante up your appearance but are also one of the parameters that separate men from boys.

Going by the book, it is quite evident that stubbles make men more desirable. And needless to say that people from different walks of life & generations have shown their penchant for the popular makeover. A close observation of the face composition & matching beard style reveals that stubble give chiseled makeover to the contour of a face. So, it can be affirmed that it is one of the most prominent fashion accessories available for men. Of course, clean shaved guys have their own fan following but that doesn’t rule facial hairstyle out of fashion. Not only does it flatter most of the face shapes, it's fairly forgiving in the grooming department and perhaps most importantly, complement the looks that most of the men seek.

Factors instigating the trend of stubble:

Let's consider things from a bachelor’s perspective. It liberates you from the pain of shaving off your beard regularly,  in most of the cases it's twice a week! In short it is highly cost effective & requires low maintenance. You definitely save on your shaving foam, blade & lotion, to name a few. Having said that, I must admit that it does require grooming & trimming, but that can be taken care of once in 8-10 days.

It embellishes you with the look similar to that of a cowboy, i.e. the rugged look. I tell you, it does make women go weak in their knees.

Ask women, how does it feel when they stroke, caress & play with the facial hair of their partners & their reply wouldn’t come as a surprise. They just love it! The feeling of being tickled on lips with their partner’s moustache make for some of the most cherished moments of their celebrated kiss. These reasons do account for women’s liking for the stubbles & beard.

Groom it religiously:

Cultivating beard is a careful exercise in "controlled chaos." As already talked, it doesn't take much of stubble to start looking sloppy. So, must stay awake & know the art of wielding trimmers. Maneuver your machine & help yourself to perfect your appearance. The tip to making the expression look deliberate lies in the edges. Don't overlook the cheek lines and neckline. Keep those zones sharp, well defined, and tidy.

For example, your round face will have a perfecto makeover when you keep a neatly trimmed beard with hard lines along the cheekbones & a slightly squared off neckline, where as a narrow jawline will suffice if you are blessed with long face. Lastly, if you have an oval face cut, the world is your due! Try whatever beard style you want to try man. You have a perfect face to wear any beard style.

Why?

·     It makes you look upbeat even in that unkempt getup.

·     It ushers you with the gutsy & worn out look.

·   Want to wear a more intense & serious makeover, try beard. It wont disappoint you. Just be clear in your head about how you are going to carry it.

·     Not to forget, it gives that sharp edge & contour to your face.

Machismo has been the trait every man is born with. Now to carry it or not to carry it is the million-dollar question. Underlining the fact that masculinity & beards have come a longh distance together, we can conclude that, the beard culture is here to stay.
All about the beard style prevailing over the period. Click here (Source: Wiki)

Exploring the lesser explored India: Phugtal Monastery

As a part of my new objective, I have chosen to write about lesser-known places of India which is exotic, yet remain unexplored. We all know that the majestic Himalayas is a world in itself & stands home to millions of flora & fauna found across the world. The Great Himalayan range is spread across India, Nepal, Bhutan & China to some extent. Himalaya houses many spectacular places, which is comprised of almost all pigments of life. The calm, cumbersome yet serene Phugtal Monastery is certainly a place travel enthusiast would love to pay a visit to.

General Description:

Phugtal Monastery or Phugtal Gompa (often recited as Phuktal) is one of the most isolated monasteries located in the remote Lungnak Valley of Zanskar, in the autonomous Himalayan region of Ladakh, Northern India. The monastery sits atop a cliff where Tibetan Buddhists live. Its uncanny honeycomb structure & picturesque location makes it one of the most sought after places in India.

Best Season/ Climate to visit:

As the monastery lies amid Ladakh region, which reels under severe cold weather conditions throughout the year, it is advisable to visit the place from mid July to September. It is the best time to visit Phuktal as rest of the months Kargil-Padum road is closed due to profuse snowfall.

Highlights of the place:

The place is a monastery, with close to 70 monks who reside high up in the Himalayas, detached from the whole world. Phuktal welcomes all the aspiring visitors to explore the monastery & attend daily pujas, ceremonies & annual festivals. Overnight accommodation is also available at the guesthouse and camping ground situated just below the monastery, which doesn’t need any reservation.

How to reach down to the place: 

Traveling to Phugtal Monastery is not easy at all. Given the remote location of the place amid mountains & valleys, you have to be prepared for some adventurous trekking, which can stretch to duration of as long as 8 hours. A few hours of drive from Padum, the biggest town in Zanskar, will bring to the “end of the road”. After this, a compulsory walk of a few hours (5 for the locals, in normal conditions it will take you a little less than 8 hours) through High Mountain passes of the Greater Himalayas lead to the Phuktal monastery. 

Prerequisites, if any: 

The place is strictly a non-commercial zone, so it is strongly recommended to carry basic requirements in your rucksack. Also there is no guesthouse or hotels at Phuktal. Tourists can find arrangements for stay at the monastery.

Options to eat are very limited at the place. Well, if you are lucky monks provide you the food as they do to other visitors otherwise there are not much of the options to eat. It would be advisable to carry your food packets during visit to the monastery.

Conclusion: 

If you want to relish the best of unexplored India, you must consider visiting this place atleast once.

Analysing the giants, It's LinkedIn vs. Facebook

It has been a social media packed decade for billions of fans across the globe. With a handful of active platforms coming to the fore, we as a user have found a multitude of options to test & adapt to the best of the lot. Some of the platforms survived while others succumbed to the ever-rising public’s expectations. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Plus & the late starters like Tumblr, Pinterest & Instagram are those who have successfully made it to the top of the popularity list. But here we analyze two giants, who account for a huge chunk of social network activities i.e. Facebook & Twitter.

While Facebook is more fun & a recreational platform for people belonging to various age groups, LinkedIn is more of a professional platform, which has been occupied by the professionals looking out for job opportunities & outsourcing activities. People vie for recommendations, get attracted towards healthy reviews & share fruitful reviews or blogs across their connection. The professional group helps budding talent by enabling them to find the apt link to take things from there. LinkedIn is more of an assortment of professionals who prefer sharing updates & blogs related to their area of interest. While Facebook provides its users multitude of options to share an update, which include topics of the different genre, it has been painful to see Facebook flooded with spam activities these days. Having said that, we can’t overlook the fact that Facebook has enabled us to revisit our forgotten friends thus allowing us to talk our heart out, anytime we want. If we discourse business through Facebook we are immediately reminded of Facebook ads & campaigns, which is indeed a smart, move for B2C targeting. On the other hand, LinkedIn is a beautiful amalgamation of B2C & more of a B2B platform, which solely emphasizes on business, jobs & hiring. Here we try to make out if LinkedIn genuinely has an upper hand over Facebook.

1. Like-like, buy-buy vs. Targeting Professionals:  Everyone who ‘likes’ your page is already a willing participant.  When you post something, you are engaging with people who want to hear about you; technically half the battle of turning them into actual customers is won! On the contrary LinkedIn banks on focus where it’s all about business. It’s a fast-growing professional networking site with business people going there to network with other business people, learn more about their chosen industry and promote their company’s services. So automatically things get a serious overtone to it.

2. Make them viral vs. Business Conversion: Through Facebook you can feature special offers & events to all your fans instantly, encourage them to ‘share’ your post & enable your content to go viral. That is fine, but stats have something else to say. A recent study found out that traffic from LinkedIn generated the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate at 2.74%, almost 3 times that of Facebook (0.77%) and Twitter (0.69%). And that’s something remarkable which comes with a delight called ROI. Point taken!

3. Targeted adverts vs. Team of winners: Facebook advertising enables you to easily target specific customers & you can determine how much you want to spend in advance. While LinkedIn is great for recruiting skilled staff; you can post jobs and accept applications on your Company Page. You can also spot the desired talent & view people’s profiles if you are up for some headhunting! It wouldn’t be wrong to name your LinkedIn profile as your CV/Portfolio.

4. Mine & Refine: Facebook’s Page insights allow you to churn the data & find out who your actual customers are, what day of the week they visit and which posts they find most engaging. All of this information can help you form your strategy, refine your content and grow future traffic. Similarly, LinkedIn too has the luxury to bifurcate your real audience & here you can avail the advantage to target them through their industry type or say the area of interest.

Concluding, we may affirm that LinkedIn has a towering presence in our Social Media driven life. Let’s be realistic then! We can’t ignore the fact that LinkedIn remains the best social media platform for lead generation, leading Facebook & Twitter marginally. Moreover it is a direct access to your desired job. More over, it is thorough Professional! Given its vibrancy & tailor-made mechanism for working professionals, I will definitely put my money on LinkedIn.

How fashion has strengthened its grasp on Cricket

This blog is a part of #BloggerDreamTeam

With great recognition comes greater responsibility, the responsibility to look like a celebrity & carry the mantle of being the role model of millions. Fashion has such an imposing impact on us that there is barely any escape from it. Since the invention of the game of cricket, fashion & cricket has walked hand in hand. So, an arbitrary statement like, ‘fashion has made a distinguished impact on cricket’ is quite lopsided & rather an injustice to one of the most popular games on the planet. The bottom-line remains that they complement each other. The gentleman’s game has hauled its share of the limelight over the period. Quite similar to other eminent faces of popular games like Football & Basketball; cricketers too have managed to stay trendy. Be it overtly or covertly, they have been the agents of trend makers. And looking at the frequent number of matches being played these days, cricketers have become one of the most prominent style icons Indians look up to.

Unlike the introvert & humble cricketers of yesteryears, players today have become more outspoken and make their style statement talk in lieu of them. The likes of Virat, Dhoni & Dhawan are the faces of young generation today. They, quite effortlessly flaunt their fashion brands & the mass follows their footsteps. Dhoni’s ‘Mo-hawk’ or Kohli’s ‘Side-cut’ becomes a trending entity on the Internet easily. Be it SriLanka’s Dilshan or Australia’s Johnson, everyone has been a fashion freak in his own way. For someone like Mitchelle Johnson who literally breathes fire, it becomes quite evident that at some point of time even he needs some extra dosage to charge him up every time dejection starts to surmount & I guess the tattoo on his arm might work as one. Literally if one would start counting the number of fashionable players, the list is never ending. At times, even the most humble of the players isn’t left with a choice other than coating himself with a layer of endorsement. And to look visually apt the player must undergo a strong grating process out of which there emerges an icon.

The commercialization of cricket matches in past decade has changed things significantly. Players are bargained for millions of rupees & with so much glam sham & blitzkrieg induced in the shortest format of the game, the challenge is not only limited to performance but also a catchy demeanor, which ante up the appearance of the player. Today, when a player walks to the center of the ground to play, not only his cricketing skills & team’s victory is at peril, but stuff like ads, endorsement & sponsor partners reputation is also at stake.

Fashion was eminent right from the day this great game was founded, but as any profound finding would have it, the game evolved with passing time. Who would have forgotten the historic shirtless act of Sourav Ganguly after India’s victory over England in the final of NatWest series in 2002? As it turned out, it became the landmark fashion statement & the ardent Indian fans cherish it even today.

Today’s breed of young, adrenaline driven cricketers doesn't prefer to hold things back. They practice the rugged & in-your-face attitude, which believes in giving things back on the spot. Be it optimum performance with the bat & the ball, or opponent’s brand of sledding, they hold nothing to themselves. And to justify the aforesaid they don the same brand of fashion upon their sleeve.

In a way the tattoo or moustache is not just an insignia of fashion, rather these fashion trends mark the awakening of a new breed of youngsters, the youngsters who are confident & ready to take on the world by dictating their own terms & would give away nothing when it comes to the pride of a nation. Yes, with time players have become fashionable for sure!