advanced linkedin for business owners

Getting “LinkedIn”Using LinkedIn to its fullest potential

© Sparrey Consulting, 2010

Why LinkedIn night?

Ensure you have

the “basics”

down

Apply advanced concepts to your

business

LinkedIn has been getting business owners real results

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

New clientsUncertainNo new clients

60% of respondents to informal survey indicated they build new client relationships because of LinkedIn!

“A recent status update on LinkedIn reminded my network of what I do and created a couple of valuable referrals.”

“I use TripIt regularly. One of my contacts noticed that I was traveling to Boston. Although she didn’t live there herself, she suggested someone else that I should meet who did. My new contact ended up becoming a paid client.”“Clients can connect with ME. I essentially become personable and in reach so to speak. People only do business with my business after they know me.”


What is LinkedIn for?

To benefit from trusted relationships

You

Your connections

Their connections

Their connections

1

2

3


Create or improve your personal profile

•Brainstorm what to include on your profile▫Summary statement▫Most relevant job experiences▫Education▫Link to website▫Affiliation with groups (professional

organizations)•Review profile details now!


Summary statement brainstormingMy current summary statement

My revised summary statement

What I want people to know about me:


Determine who you want to accept invitations from

“LinkedIn has been most valuable to me when I am open to new people and ideas. I am willing to connect with anyone, but I also manage my connections actively. If it’s unclear to me why someone is connecting, I clarify.”

“I only accept connection requests from people who I know well. My network is valuable and I don’t want to open it up to just anyone.”


Update your personal profile:Making sure the basics are right!

Item Requires update

Update completed

Make sure location is right

Ensure current job title is accurate

Link Twitter account (a professional account)

Add company website (as “other” website)

Update website link to your company name

Include only relevant past roles

Streamline public profile link

Only one profile

Ensure each job is only listed once

Include accomplishments with roles


Should you create a company profile?

• If you are the only employee, consider the time/effort it will require to manage your company page▫ Will you realize good returns on search efforts?▫ What would you include about your company?▫ Best to simply link to your web page for the time being?

• As an owner with employees, manage who has control over content▫ If you don’t yet have a company account, the next person to add the position

with that company name will be prompted to create the company▫ Any person who works at the company can create or edit the company

profile (note: they would have to click a button indicating that they are the official representative)

▫ To set-up or “fix” a company profile, ensure that the company name in your profile is the same as the profile online (updates need to be made through LinkedIn)

• You have 2000 characters to describe your company, use them well• Audit employees listed in your company

▫ If someone is incorrectly claiming to be an employee, you can report them at [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Identify five new connections today

• Who should you invite?▫Consider people that you know in the real world!▫Review contacts your Outlook address book and

connected to them through LinkedIn▫Connect with people at current and former

employers▫Follow-up on suggested connections from LinkedIn

and re-connect with people who you would be willing to help in the future

▫People you volunteer with▫Review group members that you are a part of within

Linked In. Connect with people that you’ve met discussing topics online

▫Easiest to invite people to connect through main add connections screen

The Goal:10X your age in contacts


Update your LinkedIn profile to remain top-of-mind for contacts

Potential updates Valuable updates to share

Update your profile status • Include links to recent work

Answer questions •Show competence in a particular area

Add new positions within the same company

•Show promotions directly

Join new groups •Find potential clients, review profiles of interesting people to find out what groups they belong to

Update with accomplishments

•Track accomplishments actively and share in short bullets so that prospective clients can see your impact

Notify people of travel using TripIt

•Get a list of people in your network who may be in the city you’re traveling to

Provide valuable information via SlideShare

•Relevant to the work you’re doing•Broad appeal


Before we move on… some other “quick hits”Potential updates Valuable updates to share

Add new contacts •Makes you more relevant to others too!

Review WordPress links •Make sure it’s a blog you keep current•Ensure it is related to your business if included

Remove old information •Limit details for very old jobs, especially if unrelated

Interests •Focus on those related to the business first

Consider awards & associations that could go with your work

•Consider associations that may give you credibility

Reconnect with 2-3 contacts • If everything else is updated, use the opportunity to reconnect with 2-3 contacts you haven’t heard from in a while!


Why LinkedIn night?

Ensure you have

the “basics”

down

Apply advance

d concepts to your

business


How entrepreneurs can use LinkedIn to build their business

Find new customers

Build credibility

Generatepublicity

Establish expertise

Update existing

customersFind new supplier

s

Create events

Conduct research


Identify new customers

• Who are your best customers?▫ Organizations, roles,

demographics• Are there specific positions /

people that would be most relevant?

• Do you know anyone there?• Is there anyone in your

network there?• Use the advanced search

feature to locate people in your network. Plan to contact people through others and ask for introductions.

Consider LinkedIn ads to identify new customers

“I’ve really liked how LinkedIn ads can be targeted by geography, market, position level (seniority) and only deliver my ad when appropriate. Although I have only had a few leads, they are generally higher quality that we receive from Google and, measured from a conversion perspective, are about a third of the Google cost.”

Use your own network to identify new customers


Find new customersJoin relevant groups

• Find relevant industry groups• Peers and advisors sharing relevant information

• Follow discussions for specific groups • Some groups are valuable to allow you to connect with people • Discussion boards (unless well moderated) can be filled with spam• Other groups have great discussion features (usually groups

associated with a specific industry)

• Think about where potential customers are going to be• Parent groups?• Local networking groups?• Specific trade associations?

• GROUP QUESTION: What are the most valuable groups for you?

• Lets pause and find a group to add

Job seeker tip: hide potentially

contentious groups

http://www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory


Conduct valuable research about prospects using “follow company”

• Use the follow company feature on LinkedIn to find out the following helpful information:▫ Common career paths before and after the company▫ Where employees are most connected▫ Departments & levels for new hires▫ Former employees and where they have departed to▫ Recent promotions and changes

Job seeker tip: use “follow company”

feature!

http://www.linkedin.com/companies?trk=hb_tab_compy


Maintain contact with existing customers as a way to find new customers!

•Determine overall strategy▫Connect via company page OR through

personal page•Make a point of staying in touch

▫Set goals for weekly / monthly connections▫Track who you’re in touch with

•Find out who has been following you!•Tools to make managing contacts easier

▫XOBNI▫Outlook toolbar▫Browser toolbar▫Gist

http://www.xobni.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=tools&trk=hb_ft_tools

http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=tools&trk=hb_ft_tools

http://gist.com/


Position yourself as an expert

• Include URL links in your summary or descriptions to sample work▫ Thanks to Margot from The Word Factory for the tip

• Ask questions to build credibility▫ Rate answers to thank respondents▫ If one stood out, select that as the “best” answer

• Include answers application on your main profile page▫ Identify categories where you may be an expert▫ Review questions (put 30 minutes on your calendar on a

weekly basis)▫ Research person asking question to offer a personal

response based on their LinkedIn profile▫ Provide valuable tips in your response, including website

links or introductions to experts▫ Request “best answer” rating if appropriate

http://www.thewordfactory.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/answers?trk=hb_tab_ayn

http://www.thewordfactory.com/


Build credibility through recommendations

Who should you ask?

Should you have recommendations?(Personal or business)?

How should you ask them?

http://www.linkedin.com/references?mrs=


Build credibility through recommendations

• Giving recommendations to others can be a powerful tool▫ Be thoughtful in what you promote / say about others,

provide specific examples where you can▫ Talk specifically about what you know and be careful not

to address what you don’t!▫ Read other recommendations to see what ones impress

you!• Don’t be shy about asking for recommendations

▫ In a group setting, if you’re doing feedback surveys, you could suggest that they follow-up with a LinkedIn recommendation

▫ If someone is writing a recommendation and asks about characteristics you want highlighted, be prepared

• Save your recommendations in a standalone PDF file▫ Look up Wally Feigenson’s blog for more information:

http://feigenson.us/blog/?p=163




Generate publicity:Create your own groups

•Add keywords in the description of your group to increase group rankings

•Add keywords in group title to be found on Google

•Add company website / blog to drive traffic to your site

•Add blog RSS feed to group so every new article is posted to the group

•Send a weekly message to the group that adds value and drives traffic to site

•Connect people in the group who could do business with each other


Create valuable LinkedIn events•Great viral marketing: When someone

RSVPs to an event, shows up in their weekly update to all of their contacts

•Ensure you have people attending your events

•Lets practice adding an event


Finding suppliers

Real business owners have found this useful in their

supplier search

Figure out what suppliers you need and ask a related question

“It was very useful as I looked for an IT professional to solve a computer issue.”

•Technology support•Graphics / design•Writers•Coaches•Marketing specialists•Admin / outsourcing support•Organization help (anyone w/a home office)?!


Review questions pertaining to any of the topics covered tonight!

Ensure you have

the “basics”

down

Apply advanced concepts to your

business

advanced linkedin for business owners

Business