linkedin: essential tool for your personal & professional tool

Megan C. Powers

Powers of Marketing

Consultant

@meganpowers

What We’ll Cover… High-Level Overview of Different Social Platforms (4 biz)

Purposes & some things you might not have thought of

LinkedIn: Best Practices for your Brand

Your personal brand & business brand are intertwined

What’s (really) New in LinkedIn?

The only constant is change

Questions & Answers

But, of course, ask throughout!

Other Social Media Platforms for Business

Twitter 140 characters to work with (1 billion+ users)

Post photos—5x the engagement vs. text only

Post links to blogs , videos, Web site (47% of people who follow a brand on TW are likely to visit Website)

Follow… Business people

Other realtors

ANY interesting topic/person

Create lists

Retweet, favorite, & reply to build relationships

Instagram It’s ALL visual – photo-based (150m users; 75m use it daily)

65% of the world’s top 100 brands have IG accounts

You will be found & followed because of hashtags = #

#realestate #homebuying #sandiego #views #missionvalley

Unlimited number of characters available

Post to Twitter & Facebook at the same time

You can comment & be interactive with followers

Google+ Everyone with a gmail account now has a Google+ profile

Works similarly to Facebook in terms of posting

More actively used by businesses than individuals

It is growing in popularity

To “like” a post, click +1; share, click the arrow ->

Hangouts where you can have group video / voice calls for free

live group conversations (replacement for Skype)

“On air” channel has a schedule of broadcast you can participate in

Pinterest Also VERY visual (70m users; 80% female)

9m users have Pinterest connected to their FB

Like an online magazine

Users create boards & “pin” things to the boards

create boards of any theme (“Dream Home”)

Install the “pin it” button in your browser & pin just about anything

on the Internet

within Pinterest, you then re-pin pins from those you follow

(most likely not an original pin from them)

Facebook Most familiar for everyone (1.26b users; 757m active daily)

Growth has slowed, but remains where more people “are”

Less (organically) useful now for business pages

FB changed their algorithm

To be seen you need to pay to boost posts

Be sure to look at your insights to gauge when your followers

are online & when you get the most engagement

Established 2003

THE Social Network for Professionals

No longer just a place to find a job!

By the Numbers 277 million users

3 million business pages

2.1 million groups

1,500 school / university profiles

40% of users check it daily

1 billion endorsements

Bottom line? It’s an essential tool! Try to implement these rec’s a bit at a time

Basics - Homepage

Basics – Homepage Menu

Business Services: Jobs & advertising

Upgrade: Premium services

207 - # of invitations & messages

I have in my inbox

2 – showing notifications, much

like Facebook

NEW: Showing you someone

who recently joined LI

Basics Your Profile – Make it complete!

Basics Your Profile – It’s all in the details…

A. This is separate from any title entered—totally customizable & is what’s visible in search results

B. These fields are populated by LI, based on what you have entered in your work history

Basics This is your online resume,

but plumped-up

Use “keywords” in your summary / job descriptions

Similar to keywords used in Website optimization

These are words you want to be found by (Realtor, San Diego, Home buying, Home selling, etc.)

Basics Your Profile – Now includes personal details…

Details, Details, Details! LinkedIn is now working like a CRM system

Endorsements & Recommendations Endorsements (new)

Connections endorse those skills you have listed

They can also add new ones, which you can approve (or not)

Recommendations

Request them from people you have worked with

Review them before you approve adding to profile

Give also, but you don’t necessarily have to give to get

Improve Your Profile Click the “Improve Your Profile” Button

You will be prompted to add details

Add images/videos (new listings, tips, happy clients?)

Showcase your Business & Services In addition to your personal page, you can have a

business page – it’s an individual choice

Under Interests, select “Companies”

Companies you follow will display here (their latest updates)

On the right side, there’s a “Create” button

Gives you an additional place to showcase the happenings of your business

A place to “brag”

Link-back to your Website

Showcase your Business & Services Great Example!

Adding Connections Two ways to do it:

Swiftly / sweeping (time-saving)

Deliberately / one at a time (authentically)

Recommendations

If you get someone’s business card, add them

Be sure to note how you met in the invite

Don’t add from your mobile

It does not let you add a note

Connections vs. Contacts Connections

1st Degree connections

2nd Degree = someone you’re

connected to is connected to them

Contacts (umbrella term)

Someone you’ve “saved”

or imported (wish list)

Include a note re: how you

met and/or “Tag” them

Great way to sort

Tips for Growing your Network Search Alumni from your Schools

Tips for Growing your Network Join Groups

(or create one… but then you have to moderate it)

People are more open to connecting with fellow group members (no e-mail required to request the connection)

Choose a variety of your professional & personal interests

Be present & active

Be Present & Active Within the groups you belong to

Get involved in the conversations

Ask questions to start

a dialog

Word of warning:

“Selling” is frowned-

upon within groups

Comment or “like” posts

from other members

Be Present & Active Post “Updates” regularly

Each time you “like” or comment, your name is seen

Each time you post an update, your name is seen

Each time you update your profile, your name is seen

Be Present & Active Use the bit.ly URL shortener in updates

Tips for Growing your Network Ask for Help!

LinkedIn E-mail Notifications You can control what email you receive (in settings)

Latest Changes in LinkedIn You can now block other users

If a user blocks another LinkedIn member, the two will no longer have access to each other's profiles.

If the users were connected, the connection will be broken, & neither user will be able to message the other.

Members are not alerted when they are blocked.

Select the drop-down arrow to right of the "send a message" button on that person's profile page; one of the options is "block or report."

Latest Changes in LinkedIn More detail is available regarding “who’s viewed your

profile”… OLD Version:

Latest Changes in LinkedIn Now

Questions?

Thank You! Megan Powers – add me on LinkedIn!

Twitter: @meganpowers

Instagram: @meganpowers_sd

E-mail: mcp@megancpowers.com

Website: www.megancpowers.com