Making a Success of LinkedIn Liz Barnes

Transcription

1 Making a Success of LinkedIn Liz Barnes liz@envoca.co.uk Effective business networkers say that 90% of new business is achieved through networking and word-ofmouth referrals. 1 Referrals generate about 80% more results than a cold call. 2 1 Agenda Why LinkedIn? Facts and figures Getting your LinkedIn profile to All Star Authentic networking and building relationship How to build yours and your Company profile How to build your network Using status updates How to give and get recommendations & endorsements Joining groups and contributing Using advanced search Raising your profile 2

2 Facts and figures More than 300 Million users 41% of LinkedIn visits are via mobile devices 2.1 million LinkedIn Groups Executives from ALL Fortune 500 Companies registered on LinkedIn! LinkedIn is now valued at over $7.5 billion 3 Usage frequency and time spent Average time spent on site is 17 mins 68% of people access LinkedIn weekly 4

3 Community and TLC Social networks are all about: Listen, engage Relationships but don t sell Conversation Sharing Building friendships / trust Being authentic Demonstrating credibility Interesting people New ideas and learning stuff NOT shouting, selling, coercing, bribing TRUST LIKEABILITY CREDIBILITY 5 Why should you use LinkedIn? To build network of potential referrers, influencers and clients To identify new business opportunities To increase individuals profiles as experts in their field To reinforce the profile and reputation of the firm To attract high calibre, new staff To develop relationships To keep up-to-date with the industry and competitors To build traffic to website (direct and search engine) 6

4 4 key benefits of LinkedIn 1. People are more likely to check you out on LinkedIn than a website, often first via Google (LinkedIn profiles rank well due to relevance). 2. Your activity keeps you front of mind with your connections (and your connections connections) 3. Provides forums for conversations about issues, opportunities and information 4. Your profile & company profile are indexed on LinkedIn & Google searches (+ answers & groups) 7 Your profile Your gateway to your professional reputation 8

5 Your Profile / your persona All Star profile vital: Executive summary Photo Education Last 3 positions 3 recommendations Compelling headline 120 characters, descriptive, keywords Summary write in 1 st person Add photos and other media to demonstrate your credentials Customise your LinkedIn URL Projects, Languages, Courses, Publications, Volunteering Add, website, and telephone number 9 Your company profile 10

6 Status updates Solve problems Share useful content and links (use Pulse to help) Reference your relevant business activity Share personally and as a company Get staff to share / comment on Company Posts Comment / like / share KNOW LIKE - TRUST Be authentic, respectful and professional 11 Giving and receiving recommendations Give recommendations first it shows willing Don t go overboard and remember that your recommendation might be there a long time Never recommend people you don t want to Cultural norms are changing it s OK to ask for a recommendation. Most people are delighted to oblige Tell people what you would like them to emphasise or suggest a few thoughts Return the favour 12

7 Endorse skills Endorse people in your network Take care with LI suggestions Endorse individuals from their profile page You can add other skills Thank those who endorse you Q. Why is recommending and endorsing good for business? 13 Build your network Search for individuals and then connect. May need address Get Introduced Through a Connection. Send an InMail (paid-for account) Regularly review People you may know Join Groups, then review their membership for new contacts Tag (classify) your connections for easier review Send message(s) to your connections Hook up on LinkedIn straight after face to face meeting and share helpful content, suggest groups etc 14

8 Groups Use the Directory for Groups to find suitable ones. LinkedIn will also recommend them (Groups you may like) Check out Group Profile and Group Statistics showing number of members, demographics (seniority, function, location, industry), growth Join Groups where your target audience hang out Listen to, then engage with discussions Invite people to connect and build relationship around shared ideas Demonstrate your expertise but don t patronise Share suitable content Don t try to sell most groups won t allow it anyway. Manage the digests (default is daily!!) 15 Group statistics 16

9 Thank you for your time Let others know how to find you Do hook up with us on LinkedIn Founded in 1994 Creative strategy and marketing tactics - on and offline activities Business acumen to drive sales through planned marketing Brand building Digital communication and marketing E-commerce Graphic design Web design and build Marketing strategy and research Marketing plans and campaigns Marketing training Sector specialisms: travel, recruitment, education, professional services, engineering services, engineering 18

10 Search function Standard search box People Jobs Company Groups Universities Inbox Articles Advanced people search by: Keywords, name, title, company, school, location, country, postcode Relationship (1 st, 2 nd etc), Location, Current Company, Industry, Past Company, School, Profile language, Nonprofit interests. Can save searches and have weekly updates Reference Search available for upgraded members only. 19 Promote your LinkedIn activity signatures (all staff) Follow Us and Share Buttons on all media incl website Blog, FB and LI All offline marketing collateral Provide links to tweets from Blog, FB, LI or web campaigns suggesting followership Blog about your discussions on LinkedIn and backlink Promote your status updates across other platforms Some companies use LinkedIn Direct Ads Letting others know what you can do is the best way of generating leads Remember to think about KEYWORDS 20

11 Your Profile / your persona Individuals have profiles companies can have pages if administrator has domain Is the individual representing the company? Guidelines on what your employees can post. Encourage re-posting / commenting / liking of your company posts. 100% profile is vital: Executive summary Photo Education Last 3 positions 3 recommendations 21 The perfect match What are you known for? Sector expertise Subject expertise Role expertise (leader, facilitator, completer finisher etc) Personality (benign dictator, tenacious) What does your client target market value? Knowledge translated into insight Capability to move thinking forward Ability to add value Leading edge skills or methodologies Capacity to assimilate and communicate 22