If you have a Twitter account, you are most likely following brands or individuals that are relevant to your industry. Similarly, if you have a Facebook account, you probably have “liked” brands that you use, musical artists that you listen to, and even general places you have been to. LinkedIn must have felt out of the loop because on February 27, 2012 the professional social networking platform launched their first tool to connect users with their favorite companies and brands. Welcome to the new LinkedIn“Company Follow” button!

Connecting with consumers and providing potential customers with information, contests, and updates about your brand are essential for businesses to succeed with social media. If a brand generates enough unique and relevant content to their industry, people will start noticing and take interest. That’s where the Company Follow button comes in.

A recent article from Mashable states that internal research shows 70% of LinkedIn members currently follow or would follow a company on LinkedIn and 60% would expect industry news from the companies they follow. Begin following businesses to establish new relationships with your favorite brands or even better, feature a company follow button on YOUR LinkedIn business page! Think of LinkedIn as another social channel to plant your content through and watch that seed grow over time! With enough watering (and interactions/updates), your business will have plenty of LinkedIn followers in no time!

Are you following brands on LinkedIn yet? Let us know below how you like this new feature!

Technology is a wonderful thing. In this past decade, we’ve seen the world continue to change at an increasingly fast pace. Gadgets and the internet have successfully penetrated our lives and become an integral part of communication, information and life in general. Our generations may be the last to remember what I like to call “simpler times;” Times before Facebook, Google and even cell phones.

We’re mostly addicted to these converging mediums, and there are an increasingly smaller number of people that can’t answer a question like, “what’s a tweet?” All of this technological integration may be great for the adopters, but for the shortsighted- not so much. As we run unbounded in this new landscape, our digital footprints leave a distinct path. Where the tracks point can have lasting implications for your relationships, careers and even your legacy as a person.

Consider this: If you wanted to learn about a distant relative, your best bet would be government documents, historical records and if you’re lucky, family tales. Websites like Ancestory.com make millions of dollars trying to help you put a face to a name on family tree. Even with all of these tools at your feet, it’s unlikely you’ll ever know much about who that person was. We as people are excellent at filling in the blanks and idolizing and romanticizing what is actually unknown. 100 years from now, I’m willing to bet there will be little left to the imagination. Great-grandchildren will see exactly what you were up to, the people you associated with and the times you had; both pleasant and unpleasant.

Now some may say “so what?” Is it such a bad thing to break down the walls between obscurities and facts? Though we all like to imagine our privacy settings prevent us from being snooped on, it’s certainly not the case. Data is floating around all over the globe, stored on computers and servers forever and there’s not a thing you can do to prevent it from existing, short of disconnecting from the world. Companies are even being created try pry open your life and expose your true self to prospective employers. The loose ends of conversations and actions can be pieced together across a multitude of websites to create a comprehensive look at who you are. Buyers beware; don’t post things that you wouldn’t want everyone to see. And by everyone, I mean family, friends, employers, children ect (here’s a great example of a girl who ranted about her parents on Facebook and her consequences). It’s best to think twice before saying or doing anything that is unbecoming of the legacy you want left behind. I suppose that’s a good life lesson in general, but now the stakes are higher.

Have you ever popped a Frito into your mouth and without realizing it, your hand is already back in the bag for another handful until the entire bag is gone? Does the corn chip’s crunch paired with just enough salt make your mouth water for more? If you’ve ever had a bag of chips before, you, probably like myself, don’t know when to stop until you are feverishly searching the bag for any traces of the last few crumbs. To some, Fritos is a treat to indulge in every so often. To others, they are necessary to complete a race or a competition. To the founder of TRA360, it’s like his Google Analytics.

Google Analytics?

Valentina Rosa, founder & CEO of TRA360, is an avid biker. He participates in bicycle fundraising events throughout the country. Like any racing sport, Tim needs that boost of energy to cross the finish line. For Tim, his kick is Fritos. The salty snack helps him power through the event and satisfies his craving at once. Google analytics is like the salt on a Frito. Without it, Fritos would just be a plain corn chip—nothing special. Similarly, without the qualitative numbers Google Analytics produces, businesses would be left in the dark without knowing how many hits their website is getting and what marketing efforts are working versus not working. Without being able to visually see these numbers, businesses may be spending valuable time on driving website traffic without producing numbers. Additionally, without numbers, we can’t determine progress and end up lost in our efforts and not being able to finish that bike race.

Everyone has their own go-to when it comes to both snack foods and marketing strategy. What’s your Fritos?