Maximizing LinkedIn Late 2014 Edition

Intro

Strategy

Profile Optimization

Recommendations & Endorsements

Connecting & Prospecting

Group Membership

Ads

Premium Features

Maximizing Chamber Membership via LinkedIn

Measuring the Results

Download this slide deck at http://bit.ly/MAXLINK3

We will have Q&A at the end of each section.


Download this slide deck at:

http://bit.ly/MAXLINK3


What is your one main desired takeaway today?



LinkedIn launched in 2003. Now 11 years old.

LinkedIn has over 200 million users (in total) and gains 2 new users every second.

LinkedIn has an above-average number of users that are well-educated, male, aged 25 to 64, high-income individuals

53% of B2B marketers have acquired a customer through LinkedIn, compared to 22% for B2C

LinkedIn received over 1 BILLION pageviews in the last 30 days (as of 7/8/14)

I recently posted a downloadable piece of content on my blog (with registration form)

Shared that blog article:

As a LinkedIn status update

In 49 out of 50 LinkedIn groups



I received the following from LinkedIn 4,755 pageviews on that article 1,634 website visits 1,083 downloads on new content 460 downloads on old content (linked to by new) 851 new email subscribers 930 pageviews on an older article (linked to by new) 51 group post “likes” 36 new connection requests 27 group post comments


SEO & Social Media

Blog Articles

Downloads

Email Mktg

Webinars

LEADS

Who EXACTLY are you going after?

Prospects? Strategic Partners? Referral Sources?

What EXACTLY makes you different?

What EXACTLY do you want to get from this?

Meetings? Email subscribers? Website visitors?

BE SPECIFIC.


Define demographics Age

Gender

Occupation/position

Family situation (marriage, number of children, caring for an elder adult, etc.)

Income/revenue level

Geographical region

Education level or number of years in business


Define psychographics What are their needs?

What are their buying habits?

What are their lifestyle patterns (hobbies/interests, beliefs, values, behavior patterns/habits)?

What publications do they read (online & offline)?

Where do they go for their education/research?

What do they love to do (hobbies/activities)?

What do your clients care about when it comes to your services?


Define situational characteristics What are the common situations that they are in?

Define pain points What are the most painful problems or issues that your market is

trying to deal with? Why?

What keeps them up at night?

What are they scared/afraid of?

What negative things will happen if they DON’T use your products/services?


Why are you better than your competition? Mission, Vision, Values

Education? Experience? Customer Service?

Define benefits of them using your services What good things will happen for them or their business?

What positive emotional or egotistical effects would they experience?



?

?

?

?

?

LEADS

Increase my total number of connections by a minimum of X per X (week, month, etc.)

Increase LinkedIn-driven website & blog traffic by a minimum of X% per X (week, month, etc.)

Post activity should be a minimum of X posts per (week, month, etc.)

v


(Yes, these are actual LinkedIn profile pictures. *sigh*)


PROFESSIONAL headshot

GREAT headline (TIP: For SEO purposes, put your name first, i.e. “Pam Aungst is a…”)

CUSTOM profile link (URL)

LINKS to Company Profile & Website

COMPLETELY filled out

SMART keywords

Projects

Multimedia

SPEELCHEK!


https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141016223752-7854481-missing-the-heart-of-the-art-of-conversation-respect?trk=prof-post

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141016223752-7854481-missing-the-heart-of-the-art-of-conversation-respect?trk=prof-post

Interests -> Companies -> Add a Company

Fill out 100%

Add Showcase Pages

Link to your profile as place of employment


The company logo should be 100px x 60px.

The square company logo should be 50px x 50px

A branded cover photo should be on the page. Cover photos are 646 pixels wide

and 220 pixels tall



Products & Services pages have been replaced with Showcase Pages

Showcase Pages are extensions of your Company Page, designed for spotlighting a brand, business unit, or initiative

Can have up to 10

Can post updates & sponsored updates

Can optimize for SEO

Choose your words carefully

Be authentic

Recommendations you GIVE are shown on YOUR profile. If you wouldn’t recommend that person “IRL”, don’t do it online.


Download this slide deck at http://bit.ly/LIBASICS14

Promptly thank people for recommending you

To ask for a clarification/correction on a recommendation you receive. It’s a reflection of you!


“I received your request for a LinkedIn recommendation. I’m happy to vouch for your expertise, but since we didn’t actually work together and I wouldn’t be able to answer any specific questions about my experience with you if they arise, I think it might be best if I contributed to your profile with an endorsement instead of a detailed recommendation.”


DON’T be too restrictive

Would you go to a networking event and REFUSE to speak to people that you haven’t already met?


1. LinkedIn Premium

1. Business, Business Plus, Executive

2. Premium For Recruiters

1. Talent Basic, Recruiter Lite, Recruiter Corporate

3. Job Seekers Premium

1. Job Seeker Basic, Job Seeker , Job Seeker Plus

4. Sales Navigator

1. Sales Basic, Sales Plus, Sales Executive


BOTH allow for:

InMails

Better searching capabilities

Full profiles

More introduction requests


Sales Navigator adds:

Lead recommendations(finds decision makers)

Lead Builder (list maker)

TeamLink (find common connections)


1. Import your email contacts

2. Use the “People You May Know” feature

3. Explore connections of your connections



People who comment on your posts People who post interesting things People who converse a lot People in the group directory


Connect and/or ask:

How they found you

Why they were looking for people like you

How you can help them or each other


Basic (free) account search results include: Full profiles w/names for 1st &2nd degree connections

+ full profiles when searching by name

Profile summaries for 3rd degree, out-of-network profiles, and fellow group members

Max 100 profiles

Basic filters to refine results

Premium account search results include: Full profiles of 1st and 2nd degree connections

Full names for members in your network, and those you share groups with.

Profile summaries for out-of-network profiles

Extensive search results (varies between account types)

Premium filters to refine your results


•Keywords

•First Name

•Last Name

•Title

•Company

•School

•Location

•Country

•Postal Code

•Relationship

•Current Company

•Industry

•Past Company

•School

•Profile Language

•Groups

•Years of Experience

•Function

•Seniority Level

•Interested In

•Company Size

•Fortune

•When Joined

RED = Premium Only


Quoted searches - For an exact phrase, enclose the phrase in quotation marks (e.g. "product manager").

NOT searches - To exclude a particular term, type that term with an uppercase NOT immediately before it (e.g. programmer NOT manager).

OR searches - To see results that include 1 or more terms in a list, separate the terms with an uppercase OR (e.g. sales OR marketing).

AND searches - To get results that must include 2 or more terms in a list, you can use the upper-case word AND as a separator (e.g. manager AND director).

Parenthetical searches - To do a complex search, you can combine terms using parentheses. For example, to find people who have "VP" in their profiles, or have both director AND division in their profiles, type: VP OR (director AND division)


Mention:

Common ground

Where/how you met

Why you’d like to connect


Need to say more than you can

fit in the connection request intro

box?

Send an InMail (Premium

feature) explaining why you want

to connect.

InMails only get deducted from

your balance if accepted.


Be wary of profiles that: Are from *certain*

foreign countries

Are named “Prince So-And-So”

Lack a profile picture

Have spammyheadlines

Anatomy of a Spammy Profile:


Want to be a little more conservative? Try this:


Consider replying to ALL connections with a message

Or be selective and reply to potential good offline connections

Good to reply to all customized connection requests


Easier to reply before accepting than after

Just remember to go back and accept


If you WOULD do it offline, DO do it online!


Use sparingly Be as genuine as possible Up to 50 people at a time

Click on “Connections” Filter by “Connections Only” Click “Select All” Keep scrolling down to expand list (but not beyond 50) Back up at the top, click “message” (next to “Select All”


Click on “Home”

Go to “Connections” -> “Keep in Touch”

Like, Congratulate, and Comment


Research the people you’ll be meeting with

Find common ground for conversation(but don’t be creepy about it)

CamCard or EvernoteScan business cards & connect instantly

Rapportive Plugin (Gmail) or Xobni (Outlook)Email plugin that displays social profiles of contacts

Nimble (Social CRM system)Customer Relationship Management software that integrates social communications

Zoho & Salesforce Add-ons (Traditional CRM Systems with LinkedIn “plugins”)



OBEY CAN-SPAM LAWS – Send an opt-in campaign

Click on “Connections”

Under “Advanced Settings,” click on “Export LinkedIn Connections”

Do NOT join groups YOU are interested in

Join groups your TARGET PROSPECTS are in


“Either/or” type questions

“Hot button” issues, i.e.:


Interesting articles, your own articles

Check the group rules first


Do NOT post anything in a group without asking yourself:

“Will they find this information GENUINELY USEFUL whether they do business with me or not?”


On Mondays, I post a question about X

On Wednesdays, I post an article about Y

On Fridays, I share one of my recent blogs


LinkedIn Bookmarkletlets you post a link to several groups at once

http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=browser_bookmarklet


http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=browser_bookmarklet

Hootsuite Prolets you post a link to several groups at once AND utilize scheduling

Watch that posts don’t get cut off (group max char is less than status update)


http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-6746529-10914669

If someone came up to you “IRL” and said “Great job on that article!” –Would you just stare at them and not reply?


Website (External) (min bid $2.00 per click or $2.00 CPM)

Company Page (min bid $2.00 per click or $2.00 CPM)

Sponsored Update (min bid $2.50/click or $10.50 CPM)


WEBSITE ADS: Drive website traffic from an extremely

targeted audience

COMPANY PAGE ADS: Company pages do not see a lot of

engagement on LinkedIn, so may have a limited return.

SPONSORED UPDATES: Promoting company page posts in the

newsfeeds of both followers and non-followers whose meet targeting. Use for specific events/promotions.



Will LinkedIn ads work for you?

Try it and find out.

Run small tests & measure results.

Connections made

Connection requests sent

Introductions Requested

Recommendations Given

Messages Sent

Status Updates

Stream interactions

Group posts

Group comments

Company Page Posts

Ads

Website Traffic

Your Goals (KPIs)


2 out of every 10 messages sent results in a meeting

1 out of every 5 meetings leads to a proposal

20% close ratio

Send 50 msgs = 10 meetings = 2 proposals = 0.4 sales (oops)

Send 150 msgs = 30 meetings = 6 proposals = 1 sale (yay!)

Behavior Goal = Send 150 messages per month


Strategy Define Target Market

Define Brand Differentiators

Define Why Doing This - Set Goals

Profile Optimization Professional photo

Tagline – 3rd Party – Differentiate

Spellcheck!

Extras: Multimedia, Projects

Fill out company profile & Showcase pages

Fill all out ONE HUNDRED PERCENT

Recommend/Endorse GIVE TO GET!

Connect/Prospect Don’t be too restrictive Import, Explore, Search, Browse Groups Connect Request Intro, or send InMail Use CRM Tools Start networking: send a message, stay

in touch

Groups Ask questions Post GENUINELY USEFUL info Strategy, Routine & Tools

Ads Experiment/Measure

Measure Track EVERYTHING Find Trends & Set Behavior Goals


Maximizing LinkedIn

Download this slide deck at:

http://bit.ly/MAXLINK3

Ask about my coaching!

Maximizing LinkedIn Late 2014 Edition

Marketing

Transcript of Maximizing LinkedIn Late 2014 Edition