linkedin for professional development
TRANSCRIPT
LinkedIn Professional Development
LinkedIn Workshops Wiki
http://socialmediajobsearch.wikispaces.com Webinar recordings Presentation slides Other useful resources
Areas of Focus
Professional Development Brief overview of creating a profile
(covered in the last session) Establishing connections with who you already know Making new connections with industry professionals Discovering Job opportunities Business promotion Lead generation Competitive intelligence Determining ROI
Why LinkedIn?
LinkedIn has 147 million professional users worldwide (63 million in the U.S.)
LinkedIn is for networking professionally, post and find jobs, and answer questions and build thought leadership
LinkedIn is a great way to identify influential individuals at specific organizations
LinkedIn is a great tool to leverage your existing contacts to connect with potential customers online
Is LinkedIn Right for Me?
Consultants Connect with prospective clients and to make them aware of their experience
and services. B2B Marketers
announce new product launches or service offerings. Sales people
Research on prospects before contacting them. Job hunters
Expand their circle of business contacts and to stay in front of prospective employers.
Entrepreneurs Build awareness of their new company and to keep their sales funnel full
Small businesses Stay in front of customers and to reach out to new prospects
Large businesses Position their company in the marketplace and to let customers know about
new product or service offerings
Complete Your Profile (Overview) Complete your profile
Your profile should be 100% complete Work experience, schools, and other relevant information
about yourself People searching for contacts will make a decision to connect
or not based on profile information A complete profile will increase your visibility with employers,
recruiters, and prospects Upload a profile photo
People are more likely to connect with a person who has a picture
Get recommended Ask friends, colleagues, partners, and clients Adds to credibility in your industry
Optimize Your Profile for Searches
Customize your public profile URL with your name http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname
Optimize keywords in your summary section This section is indexed by Google Include keywords related to your industry You rank higher in search results for these
keyword searches
Making Connections: 1st vs. 2nd Degree Connections
1st degree connections People you're directly connected to You have accepted their invitation
to connect They have accepted your invitation You'll see a 1st degree icon next to their name in search
results and on their profile You can contact them by sending a message on LinkedIn
2nd degree connections People who are connected to your 1st-degree connections You'll see a 2nd degree icon next to their name in search
results and on their profile You can contact them through an InMail (paid feature) or
an introduction (free)
Making Connections
Your 2nd degree network is key This is what allows you to connect with
valuable people Build your 1st degree network first
This is the foundation of meeting new contacts
Making Connections (1st degree)
Upload your contact list from outlook, Hotmail, gmail or yahoo Do this under the “Add connections” tab Allows you to select those you want to
connect with Consider writing a semi-personalized
connection request message Search for past colleagues or classmates
1.
2.
Finding Existing Connections
Making Connections (1st degree)
Find people by company Search under the “Companies” tab Look for employees working in your
industry that you already know or have met Look for people you’ve done business with
1.
2.
3.
Company Search for finding people you know and new industry professionals
Making Connections (2nd degree)
Start asking and answering questions on LinkedIn Answers Allows you to interact and connect with thought
leaders Allow you to establish yourself as a thought
leader in your industry Update your status often
Your update appears in emails to your connections
Appears on update feed of you connections Allows promotion of what you’re working on
Making Connections (2nd degree)
Browse the networks of your 1st degree contacts Do this by visiting their profile and looking
at their connections Ask your 1st degree connection if he or she
can make an introduction
Making Connections (2nd degree)
Join groups that relate to your market Interact with individuals of those groups to
increase your visibility Use the “groups” tab on top of your profile
to search for relevant groups Allows you to connect with people just
because you’re in the same group Does not apply to every connection
Making Connections (2nd degree)
Use “advanced people search” Save your people searches
Create an email alert & LinkedIn will send you a message every week with new prospects.
Use “company search” as detailed above
Searching for Jobs
Option 1: Groups The Jobs tab in groups gives members a
place to share jobs and jobs discussions Option 2: Company Research Option 3: Linkedin Job Search Tab This is covered in more detail by the
previous workshop. You can access this presentation at:http://socialmediajobsearch.wikispaces.com/Linkedin
Business Promotion
If your organization does not have a business page, create one first
Create a group A great opportunity to reach and engage
potential customers online If no one has created a group for your
industry or brand, go create one
Starting a LinkedIn Group
Name is important Consider which keywords your target members will search for. Make sure your group name is clear and includes these
keywords Create a group for your industry or brand, not your
company People are more likely to join a group when it's not simply for
fans of your company Create a custom webpage for the group on your
website Set up a page on our website specifically for the group
Example: www.HubSpot.com/InboundMarketers This type of page will provide more context, engagement and
visibility for your group
Promoting a LinkedIn Group
Invite coworkers, past colleagues, and customers to join and start discussions
Promote the group On your website Blog Email newsletter Social media networks.
Invite key industry experts to join and engage If there are some key influencers in your industry, invite
them to join your community Integrate LinkedIn into all of your marketing efforts
Every time you go to a conference, notify your group Invite those you meet in real life to join the group
Managing a LinkedIn Group
Add discussions, news and jobs Use “Most Popular Discussions” to
highlight particular content or offers Send announcements
Announcements are emails sent by you through LinkedIn to your group members
LinkedIn Group Analytics
Lead Generation Using LinkedIn
2 approaches when using LinkedIn for lead generation
1. Provide prospects information about your company directly on LinkedIn
2. Start the conversation on LinkedIn, then drive the prospect to a landing page on your website
Lead Generation Using LinkedIn
Use Your LinkedIn Group Demonstrate thought leadership in your market Promote the group and grow the community Contact members of your group
Use other group memberships to connect with and contact those members
Use LinkedIn's DirectAds Allows you to present relevant ads to LinkedIn
subscribers Targeted by profile demographic information Similar to Google AdWords
Competitive Intelligence
Follow a company You will be notified of updates & announcements
Watch their senior executives/management Have they been promoted or are they leaving for
another company? Career Opportunities
Have they opened new positions to expand their business?
Could your indirect competitor becoming more of a direct competitor?
Are they opening more positions in a particular geography?
Hiring is a great leading indicator of potential long-term moves
New hires What experience are they bringing to the company?
Determining ROI
Measure your reach on LinkedIn (your contact database) Look at increases in new contacts Look at increase in your employees contacts
Monitor your groups Look at increases in membership Are people discussing topics and responding on their own?
Track your industry influence Are you giving/receiving recommendations? How many questions have you answered?
Were any of them voted “best answer”? Measure traffic to your website from LinkedIn
Determining ROI
How many leads have you interacted with on LinkedIn?
How many LinkedIn leads & interactions have led to closed deals?
Useful Apps
Cardmunch Free iphone app that turns business cards
into contacts Scan the card with your iphone camera No droid version (yet)
LinkedIn iPhone app Walk into any interview or client meeting with the ability
to look up the details and connect with over 50 million professionals worldwide, in real-time.
Exchange info with other users on the spot Slideshare
Post your PowerPoint presentations to share with everyone Integrates into your Linkedin profile page
Credits
Credits Hubspot.com Clearci.com Linkedin.com