Tag Archive: LinkedIn Advice

5 Ways to Use LinkedIn for Conferences

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#LinkedInChat, LinkedIn and Conference

January 24, 2012

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January 24, 2012


Double the ROI of your Conference or Tradeshow

LinkedIn:  Pre and Post Conference

Double the ROI of your Conferences

LinkedIn is an excellent tool for both preparing for conferences and as follow-up after a conference.  Let’s talk about some of the ways you can use LinkedIn to have more success, more sales, and more engagement before, during and after your conference and tradeshow travels!

1.  If at all possible, see if you can get an attendee list for your conference.  This is easier to do if you are a presenter.  As an attendee, you might have to pay for this list – or it might not be available at all.  However, if the conference is also posted as an event in a meetup, Facebook or LinkedIn Event, you will be able to see the other people who have marked themselves as interested or attending.  Its worth doing a quick even search in Facebook, LinkedIn and Meetup.com to see if your conference is listed there.

If you can get a list of conference attendees,  it would be a great idea to look them up on LinkedIn and see if you are connected.  You might want to use the advanced search in order to do this. The reason for that is you can check specifically by location and not spend a lot of time looking for people who might have the same name – but not be the same person –  as the attendee you were looking for.

2.  Once you have found an attendee that you want to connect with, send them an invitation. If you aren’t comfortable sending them an invitation, see if they are a member of the group and send a message through that group. If you have a paid account you can also send them an Inmail. But what a great thing to do! Set up a meeting before you ever meet.

3.  If you don’t have an attendee list, you can always set up meetings for LinkedIn members in the city that you’re traveling to! There’s no better way to make connections than to meet face-to-face. For more information about how to use LinkedIn when you travel go to http://linkedintobusiness.com/10-ways-to-use-linkedin-when-you-travel/.

4. As you begin to meet people make sure you gather their business cards. When you get back to your hotel room in the evening, invite them to connect with you on LinkedIn.  Do it as soon as possible.  While they still remember who you are.   Once you’ve added them as a connection,  make sure you tag their profile. For more information on how to tag a connection go to http://linkedintobusiness.com/tagging-your-way-into-toma-with-linkedin/.

Tagging will allow you to more easily communicate and follow up with your connections.  Tag your connections:

  • By the industry they work in
  • By the company they work for
  • By the name of the conference
  • By their area of expertise
  • Or all of the above….

…you can ===–in one fell swoop  - reminding them who you are  and what you do. Or even better, space use one of Bob Burg’s great referral techniques. Ask them what they do and who is their best client is so you can keep them as a referral partner.

It’s great to learn things at conferences and trade shows, but it’s even better to make connections whom you can do business with later on! That will vastly increased the ROI of the conference.

5.   Use the CardMunch App if you have an iPhone or iPad (BB and Android app coming soon)  LinkedIn recently bought CardMunch and it is one of my favorite new tools. It allows you to take a snapshot of the business card and upload that information directly into your database. You can then invite those people to connect with you on LinkedIn or just add them to whatever CRM system you are using.

The power of conferences is in the follow-up –  so use these tools to follow up with the people that you meet!

 

Tonight’s #LinkedInChat is going to be all about how to use LinkedIn at conferences and trade shows here are the questions will be asking:

  1. Do you attend conferences or tradeshows?
  2. How do you prepare for conferences and trade shows?
  3. What kind of research do you put into finding out who will attend or be speaking at the conference or tradeshow you’re attending?
  4. Do you use LinkedIn when preparing for a conference?
  5. How do you use LinkedIn when you are preparing for a conference?
  6. How are you at following up after the conference?
  7. Do you follow up after a conference or trade show?
  8. How do you follow up after a trade show or conference?
  9. Do you use CardMunch.com?

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Permanent link to this article: http://linkedintobusiness.com/5-ways-to-use-linkedin-for-conferences/

Treat Your LinkedIn Profile Like The Website It Is!

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LinkedIn Tips

November 8, 2011

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November 8, 2011


Formatting Your LinkedIn Profile

Make sure your LinkedIn profile is as least as professional in appearance as your website.  Is it formatted, clean, and free of spelling and grammatical errors?  I strongly suggest creating your LinkedIn profile first in a word document – not only so you can “catch” errors – but to get a better idea of what your profile will look like on the LinkedIn website.

Some sections of LinkedIn (“Current Experience Description”, “Summary” and “Contact Me” sections are the most visible) will allow you to “pull” in bullets and special characters.

In the product and services section of your LinkedIn Company profile you can now use bold and italics, but so far that is the only place.  (We’ll talk more about the great new features of the “Company Profile” in weeks to come.)

In your “Current Experience Description”, “Summary” and “Contact Me” sections I recommend CAPITALIZING WHAT YOU WANT THE EYE TO SEE.  Yes, I know its considered shouting, but when you are limited to formatting styles, you use what you have!

Also..

Make

Good

Use

Of

Whitespace!

Another bonus, if you’ve already created your profile in a Word document, sections of it can easily be copied into other social media platforms to keep your branding unified.  I’m a big fan of re-purposing content!

Finally, its just good to have a copy of your profile in case LinkedIn does something weird like closes or bans your account. (Yes – I’ve had both happen).  Rather than throwing your hands of in the air and quitting LinkedIn forever, you’ll only have a few hours of work cutting and pasting to create a new account.  But don’t worry.  I’m going to tell you what to do – and what NOT to do in the coming weeks.

Steps to take RIGHT NOW:

  1. Open a Word doc
  2. Open LinkedIn
  3. Click on ‘Select All” and copy your whole profile
  4. Paste into the word doc
  5. Take a look at the sections of your profile that have formatting potential
  6. Format those sections
  7. Cut and paste those sections back into LinkedIn

 

For these and other great tips, not only on LinkedIn – but Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Blogging too – consider joining the SocialMediaBizSchool. For only $37 a month and get access to some of the most successful social media “teachers” in their fields.

Here’s my Summary Section – Feel free to use it as a template:

WHY SHOULD YOU HIRE VIVEKA VON ROSEN TO DO YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?

• 25 Women Who Rock Social Media in 2011: http://www.toprankblog.com/2011/06/25-women-rock-social-media-2011/

• #44 in the 200 most fearless women on the web: http://bigmoneyweb.com/200-most-fearless-women-online-and-in-social-media/

• Listed by Mari Smith as having the niche quality of a social media superstar: http://www.marismith.com/ten-qualities-of-social-media-superstars/

BUT WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

• I will get you and your company found on LinkedIn which will get you more business leads

• I will teach you the correct ways of creating business and relationships on Social Media

• I will help you craft your company story, so that your branding crosses all social and marketing mediums.

• I’m easy to understand so what I teach you will stick.

• I’ve taught over 10,000 business people so I know what I am talking about – see my 86 recommendations.

• I’ve made the mistakes so you don’t have to!

►WHAT DO I DO?: I train individuals & companies to create a more powerful social presence via seminars, webinars, implementation, one-on-one training and consultation.

► MISSION: Linking people into their potential, MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA WORK FOR YOU.

►If you are feeling OVERWHELMED by LINKEDIN and all its new features, please ask about the TRAINING WEBINARS and WORKSHOPS we provide. We are not Authorized LinkedIn Trainers, nor Certified LinkedIn Trainers and do not provide Authorized LinkedIn Training or Certified LinkedIn Training. We provide training for basic as well as strategic use.

I WELCOME LINKEDIN INVITATIONS.

►Linked Into Business offers individuals, companies and groups LINKEDIN HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS and WEBINARS, and consulting as well as other social media presentations and trainings. 

WHY I AM HERE ON LINKEDIN:

• To network with other active, intelligent and generous B2B networkers.

• To offer LinkedIn training & advice.

• Drive attendance to our entrepreneur’s WORKSHOPS, WEBINARS AND SEMINARS

 

Social Media Business School’s Upcoming Schedule 

  • “How to Use your Fan Page to Bring in Leads”
Monday October 31st 11 a.m. PT (noon MT, 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET) – Andrea Vahl
  • “Creating Your Editorial Calendar: How to be More Efficient and Save Time on Your Blog”
Monday November 7th 11 a.m. PT (noon MT, 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET) – Denise Wakeman
  • “Let’s Get Engaged! The Dream Wedding of Online Video and Social Media.”
Monday November 14th 11 a.m. PT (noon MT, 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET) – Lou Bortone
  • “Twitter Etiquette: The Do’s and Don’t’s of Tweeting”
Monday November 21st 11 a.m. PT (noon MT, 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET) – Lori Gama
  • “How to Connect your Social Media Sites to Save you Time”
Monday November 28th 11 a.m. PT (noon MT, 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET) – Andrea Vahl
  • “Getting Found and Getting Business on LinkedIn”
Monday December 5th 11 a.m. PT (noon MT, 1 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. ET) – Viveka von Rosen

Remember, if you can’t attend the classes, they will be recorded and posted shortly after the class to watch at your convenience.

To sign up for the Social Media Business School just click here. Or go to:  http://www.SocialMediaBizSchool.com/?ap_id=linkedinexpert

And don’t forget to join our #LInkedInChat every Tuesday night at 5 PM PST, 8 PM EST

See you next week when we talk about finding your keywords and knowing where to put them to get found on LinkedIn!

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More of Your LinkedIn Questions Answered: Groups, Engagement and Job Seeking

Categories:

#LinkedInChat

August 16, 2011

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August 16, 2011


Your Questions Answered…

Every Tuesday night we do a #LinkedInChat on twitter to answer those driving questions you have that have not been answered.  Since some of you can’t make the chat, I decided to ask my Twitter following throughout the week what they wanted to know.  Each and every one of the questions and suggestions below could demand a full hour of LinkedInChat (and maybe we’ll do just that.) In the meantime, here are the questions for Tuesday’s LinkedInChat – brought to us from our great followers on Twitter!

For those of you who like to prepare for your chats with helpful answers and valuable website links  – here are the questions:

Questions:

  1.  @GetGravitas (Jay Lebo) suggests: “What are best practices for starting/running your own LI group.”
  2.  He also asks: “How about the truth about LinkedIn groups? (Is there really any value there?)”
  3.  Also:  “What are some good lead generation best practices for LI?”
  4.  @AreMorch (Are Morch ) Would like more “Tips on Lead generation/conversion.”
  5.  @prforsmallbiz asks:  “What is the best way contacting people without having to use InMail?
  6.  @MarcyK33 (Marcy Kremer) would like to know “more about status updates for company pages. Some have them, most don’t. Can’t find any info on them.”
  7.  @fundraisinisfun (Ephraim Gopin ) would like to know the “best way to find a job via LinkedIn”

 

Answers:

Groups:

I have covered (although not extensively – so please feel free to jump in!) how to use groups effectively on LinkedIn in a few blog posts and videos:

Using groups for more and better relationships:  http://linkedintobusiness.com/2011/04/using-groups-for-better-relationships-and-more-business/

Groups:  Your Rolodex on Steroids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXt2Ehlig7M

1.  There are a few groups I find useful (LinkChat, LinkedStrategies) and some groups I join merely for their size and ability t make my network bigger and me more visible (LinkedHR, Jobs and Toplinked).

2.  Groups are a great way to connect with warm leads.   If a member is interacting in a group that happens to focus on what you do for a living, especially if they are asking questions you can answer, then you have a wonderful opportunity to engage with someone who could very well become your next client or customer!

3.  This is even more powerful when you own the group because you can send these folks an announcement every week!  (Just don’t make it a sales message!)  Some great examples of how to do this well are LinkedStrategies (with Randy Schrumm and Nathan Keivman) and LinkedSignal (with Greig Wells)

4.  If you create your own group: Describe it well in the title and description!  Use your keywords and pop in a USP (unique selling proposition) What do they get for joining your group?  What is the WIIFM?

5.  Make sure to create group rules. (No spam or selling and whatever else your DO’s and DON’Ts are for the members of your group.)

LinkChat Group Rules

6.  Use and Manage Message Templates

  • Create, manage and automatically send custom messages to people interested in this group.
  • Create template
Request-to-join Message 
Create and automatically send a custom message to people who request to join this group.
  • Welcome Message Template:  Create a custom welcome message to people when you approve them for membership in this group.
  • Create template
Decline Message 
Create and automatically send a custom message to people when you decline their requests to join this group.
  • Create template
Decline-and-Block Message 
Create and automatically send a custom message to people when you decline their requests to join this group and block any future requests.

7.  MONITOR MONITOR MONITOR!  Don’t let the spammers get control.  You have control of your group.  Make sure to monitor it daily and get rid of those spammers.  Or let your group do it for you in the group settings section.  If you lock down what people can post to your group, you might get better content and keep and engage the members you do have more effectively.

 

 

Lead Generation on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is still a social media site – meaning you still have to engage with valuable information!  Some simple steps to find and engage others:

  1.  Use LinkedIn’s many tools to see who you can reconnect with -  Its always easier to sell to existing clients.  As my friend Adrienne Zoble of Zoble and Associates asks:  Does everyone you know know everything you do?  Use LinkedIn to find those folks and update them.
  2.  Send out engaging updates –but no more than once a day.  With the onset of Signal, updates are now searchable.  So share your knowledge with your tribe (and make sure your updates are visible to everyone.)
  3.  Tag your connections and send them a useful piece of information in a message (and your contact info at the bottom.)  This is not a sales pitch that will just be ignored.  Send them valuable content so they WANT to open the letter!
  4.  ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE!

Connecting on LinkedIn:

Last week’s LinkedIn chat was all about engagement and connecting (without InMails)– read more about it here:

Job Seeking with LinkedIn:

This one deserves its own blog post and LinkedInChat – and so will waive any responses until then.  Maybe we can get Greig Wells with www.BeFoundJobs.com to be our special guest?

Miscellaneous Answers:

Company Status Updates:

A company itself cannot do an update on LinkedIn – however, what you might be seeing is when a company feeds its own blog into the company page.  Like so:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, please join our LinkedInChat.  Every Tuesday night at 5 PM PST, 8 PM EST – for your LinkedIn Questions Answered!

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Looking for Mr. GoodLink

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Uncategorized

August 9, 2011

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August 9, 2011


Searching on LinkedIn

Looking for Mr. GoodLink on Tonight’s LinkedInChat

One of the biggest complaint’s I hear from people about LinkedIn is that they can’t actually find who they are looking for. Well we are here to help!  You don’t want to waste your time bumping in the vast noisy space of LinkedIn – meeting the wrong people – making the wrong connections.  You need the right tools and techniques to find Mr. or Mrs. GoodLink – the right person at the right time for your needs: (Client, Vendor, Partner, Employee, Reference, Employer, etc)

 

LinkedIn Search Interview:

First of all, listen to this short interview I did yesterday with Michele Price – @ProsperityGal on Twitter.   She was voicing her own frustrations with LinkedIn and its search tools.  Hopefully I answered all her questions and there eight be some useful advice in there for you to!  We covered:

  • Advanced Search
  • Searching through Companies
  • Searching through Groups (and “Reverse Engineering”)
  • Different ways of connecting:  Invitations, Introductions, Messages
Link to interview here:  http://bit.ly/mUrthF

 

LinkedInChat Questions:

And then join our LinkedInChat to answer – and learn from the questions below:

  • Q1)  Do you ever have problems finding the right contact on LinkedIn?
  • Q2)  Do you ever have problems connecting to that person when you find them.
  • Q3)  What are some of the barriers – that you have discovered – to a good search result?
  • Q4)  What are some ways you have found to circumvent these barriers?
  • Q5)  What do you think good connection etiquette entails?
  • Q6)  Once you are connected to someone – how many is too many messages to them?
  • Q7)  What do you consider spam?
  • Q8)  Do you have any final best connection practices to impart?

 

More resources:

Hour long interview with Michele:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/womeninbusinessradio-blog/id418094084

Do I need a paid account? http://linkedintobusiness.com/2011/04/to-pay-or-not-to-pay-that-is-the-question

Connecting on LinkedIn:  http://linkedintobusiness.com/2010/08/what-are-best-practices-for-connecting-on-linkedin/

LinkedIn LinkChat Group:  http://linkd.in/LinkedInChatGroup

More on LinkedInChat:

When: Every Tuesday night at 5pm PST, 6 MST, 7 CST and 8 EST

Where:  Twitter.com, Tweetchat.com, Tweetdeck.com (Choose your preferred Twitter chat service)

Hashtag: #LinkedInChat

Topic: All things LinkedIn – what you like, what you hate, useful strategies, favorite apps

Join our LinkedInChat group on LinkedIn:  http://linkd.in/LinkedInChatGroup

 

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10 Ways to Use LinkedIn When You Travel

Categories:

LinkedIn Tips

July 25, 2011

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July 25, 2011


URL to IRL

 

I love social networking – but the truth is, most of my business comes when I meet someone face to face  (F2F) or they see me speak.   As I prep for a 4 city speaking tour, I thought I’d record for you some of the things I do in order to really connect with my network.

How to turn your URL LinkedIn experience into a IRL (in real life) F2F meeting:

Using Postal Code Field in your Advanced Search

Advanced Search – Postal Code Field

  1. Use the location search to find people you know (but might have forgotten you knew) in the cities you are traveling to – and take them out to dinner.
  2. Use the location search to find SME’s you want to know in the cities you are traveling to – see if you can buy them a drink.
  3. Use the location search to find vendors who can help you in the city you are traveling to for better service, and sometimes better pricing.
  4. Use the location search to find potential clients you know in the cities you are traveling to – and see if you can get that f2f meeting since “you made a special trip to their city.”

Groups, Answers and Company Search

  1. Check out location specific groups on LinkedIn and see if you can connect with some locals that way.
  2. If you have any questions regarding lodging, travel or vendors for an event in the city you are traveling to – use LinkedIn Answers to ask the locals.
  3. Use LinkedIn company search to see if you can get some insider information or contacts at a local company – especially if they might become a client or employer.

LinkedIn Apps you can use for Travel

Trip It - The Forgotten App

  1. Use the “My Travel” app (TripIt) – to let people in your network know where you are going to be so they can contact YOU for a meeting.
  2. If they won’t or don’t respond to you on LinkedIn, send them an @message on Twitter using the Tweets application.
  3. Use LinkedIn signal to start a conversation with a local.

Did I leave something out?  Please let me know below.

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Permanent link to this article: http://linkedintobusiness.com/10-ways-to-use-linkedin-when-you-travel/

LinkedInChat and the Social Media Facebook Chat: YOU be the LinkedInExpert

Categories:

LinkedIn Expert, Social Media, Social Media Examiner, Social Media Speaker, Social Media Strategies, Social Media Strategists

July 4, 2011

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July 4, 2011


Social Media Examiner Chat:

On Friday July 1st, Andrea Vahl of the Social Media Examiner asked me to do a stint as their “LinkedIn Expert” on their now famous Facebook Chat.  (If you have not yet attended one of these – I highly recommend them!  They take place every Friday at 1 PM EST.)

Since not all my Twitter and LinkedIn friends are on Facebook, I thought I would bring the questions and answers to you!  And then – because I realized there are so many other LinkedIn Experts out there – I decided to bring the questions to the  #LinkedInChat so that YOU all could answer.

So on Tuesday July 5th , Tuesday July 12th and Tuesday July 19th – I will be posting the same questions for YOU to answer that  I answered on www.facebook.com/SMExaminer on Friday.  And for those reading this blog who don’t do Tweetchats and just want a transcript – I have the questions and answers posted below.

Tweetchat:

We hold out tweetchat every Tuesday night at 5 PM PST / 8 PM EST.  I usually hang out at www.tweetchat.com/linkedinchat – but you can use whichever tweetchat tool you most enjoy!

Here are the questions for Tuesday nights (So you can do the homework and be well prepared!)

Questions for Tuesday July 5th:

Q1:  How do I to build connections with people I don’t know on LI without coming off as some kind of creep?

Q2. Do 
you know of any surveys that include information on LinkedIn use by 
nonprofits

Q2.b. Can you point me to any nonprofits who are using LinkedIn
 creatively?

Q3.  How do you recommend marketing your brand or service without seeming like spam?

Q4: How to utilize/build engagement with a LI profile?

Q4.b  Is there any way I can build interaction with my target market?

Q5:  How can LinkedIn be used for Non-Profits that need to recruit donors/sponsors and gain funding?

Questions for Tuesday July 12th:

Q6: How can you link your tweets to post directly in your group or company page, so all your members can see them?

Q7.  What are some ways businesses can use linked ads to target for B2B?

Q8.  I cannot seem to get my head wrapped around how to use LI to promote our business to a geographically targeted market.

Q8b:  Is it worth it to upgrade from free to fee?

Questions for Tuesday July 19th:

Q8c: What are the real benefits?

Q9.  How do you get through the noise to make LinkedIn more valuable

Q10.  My company is very ROI oriented.  What do you recommend in terms of metrics and analytics?

Q11.  What are some of the best new applications integrating social media with other tools?

Q12. Would you share of few links or reference lists for “making the most of LinkedIn”?

Q13.  How often do recommending posting/ updating content on your linked in page?

Q14.  What are the most important not to be missed sections that MUST be used in your personal LI page and also for a company page.

 

Social Media Examiner Questions and Answers:

Q1:  I am into Social Media Marketing and want to know how to build connections with likeminded people as well as SM experts on LinkedIn. But I am obviously unknown to them. So how can I build connections on LinkedIn without coming off as some kind of creep??

Great question – I know LinkedIn says you should only connect to people you know, but I have found most folks will either accept or ignore (but not report you as a spammer) if you personalize your invitation and tell them why you want to connect.  You can always wrote something like this:

Dear (Name)

I see from your profile that you… Can I connect to you as a thought leader in that field?  If you feel you have received this invitation in error or simply don’t want to connect, please just ignore this message.

The best way to connect to them is through a group – or sometimes people have their email addresses in their profiles.  Never choose “I don’t know” a person. (LinkedIn will ding you for it).  If you do reach out to someone as a colleague, classmate, etc – just make sure you acknowledge that you know you are not..

Q2.  It appears that most nonprofits engaged in social media efforts take
 advantage of Facebook and Twitter way more than they do LinkedIn. Do 
you know of any surveys that include information on LinkedIn use by 
nonprofits (how that compares to FB and TW and/or how they are using it in its own right)? Can you point me to any nonprofits who are using LinkedIn
 creatively?

Excellent question – and I’m afraid I don’t really have a great answer for you since that is not my focus market.

Q3.  How do you recommend marketing your brand or service without seeming like spam?

  • Keyword your personal and business profile so people can find you – then its inbound and not annoying
  • Make sure you update with useful info – and keyword brand your posts – same as above
  • Join groups where your ideal clients hang out – again just sharing useful info so they respond to you.
  • Post and Answer questions in your industry – but don’t create a salesy and obvious question just so you can answer it yourself
  • Re-purpose marketing content using some apps (Box.net, Slideshare, Google Docs)
  • Carefully reach out to ideal clients – but just to get the phone call – NOT to pitch your product
  • Create a company template so everything is saying the same thing about your company in their profiles – that should get you started J
  • More here: http://linkedintobusiness.com/2010/10/b2b-best-practices-for-getting-found-on-linkedin/

Q4: How to utilize build engagement with Linkedin profile? Is there any way I can build interaction with my target market?

  1. Use the advanced search to find ideal client
  2. See if you share a group – if not you might join one that they’re a member of
  3. Initiate communication with them through the group (something in common)
  4. Ask them for a phone call once you’ve had a little interaction
  5. Ask them to connect

Q5:  How can LinkedIn be used for Non-profits that need to recruit donors/sponsors and gain funding?

Again – this is not my area of expertise – But I think engaging within shared groups might be your best bet.  Once you are connected to some ideal donors you can “tag” those connections and send them valuable and useful information they will find useful – NOT a sales call.  More here: http://linkedintobusiness.com/2011/01/tagging-your-way-into-toma-with-linkedin/

Q6:  How can you link your tweets to post directly in your group or company page, so all your members can see them? Right now they only post to your profile.

I really DON’T recommend that at all!  It’s annoying enough in a personal profile.  If you own the group you can post feeds – so you could create a feed with your tweetstream and import it that way.  But again I REALLY DON’T RECOMMEND IT.  Twitter and LinkedIn are a completely different culture.

You might try some tools like ObjectiveMarketer – it might work.  Not sure.

Q7.  What are some ways businesses can use linked ads to target for B2B?

  • Before you invest in LinkedInAds (and “Google” for free trial – there are a bunch of $100 certificates floating around) First use the new targeted (and free) banner ads in Company profiles – lets you create and target specific audiences with your company profile
  • Also – connect with @MilesAustin on Twitter – he knows a lot about this
  • Finally – use the LinkedIn option to create and test different ads. really, what works for Facebook Ads or PPT will work with LinkedIn – just be very very clear on your target audience.
  • Word of warning:   The only people I’ve heard that find LinkedIn Ads really work ore the folks who invest A LOT in them.

Q8:  I’m new to LinkedIn and just can not seem to get my head wrapped around how to use this to promote our business to a geographically targeted market.

Q8. A: Is it worth it to upgrade from free to fee? What are the real benefits?

Great question – I didn’t use to think so – but my mind has changed a bit since LinkedIn is further limiting our ability to connect.  At the very least the paid accounts will save you time – best case – gets you in touch with a client / partner / employee that results in more business!  More here:  http://linkedintobusiness.com/2011/04/to-pay-or-not-to-pay-that-is-the-question…/

Q9: How do you get through the noise to make LinkedIn more valuable? It seems the groups etc. are just getting muddled.

Yes – I agree with you.

  • I have really restricted what comes into my email box on settings – and I really only “listen” to a few groups anymore.
  • I also use the advanced search whenever possible to weed out some noise – with signal, answers, etc
  • You can disconnect from the worst offenders

I REALLY wish LinkedIn would restrict the ability to post ALL tweets.  Sigh

Q10.  My company is very ROI oriented.  What do you recommend in terms of metrics and analytics?

  • Great questions – there’s not much ROI on LinkedIn itself – although LinekdIn does have impression analytics in company pages and with the basic paid account there are some account impression analytics on the home page. 

  • Also Kout and even EmpireAvenue give some analytics – but really you might have to go with a paid service like Objective Marketer (Use code OMLIBPROMO for one month free trial)

Q11.  What are some of the best new applications integrating social media with other tools?

  • The LinkedIn Share button is nifty. They also have an “Apply with LinkedIn” button for job seekers.
  • A fab tool I recommend is Objectivemarketer.com
  • For more on LinkedIn tools you can visitwww.linkedinlabs.com

Q12. Would you share of few links or reference lists for “making the most of LinkedIn”?

Q13.  How often do recommending posting/ updating content on your linked in page?

  • I recommend once a day TOPS – hate it when people just blast their tweetstream into LinkedIn.
  • I play a lot within LinkedIn.com/signal – see what people are doing there and emulate what you think is successful

Q14.  What are the most important not to be missed sections that MUST be used in your personal LI page and also for a company page.

Here’s a post on Best Practices on LinkedIn (including Profile) http://linkedintobusiness.com/linkedin-tips-tricks/

‎1. Treat your LinkedIn profile like a website:

Make sure it is formatted, clean, and free of spelling and grammatical errors. I strongly suggest creating your LinkedIn profile first in a word document – not only so you can “catch” errors, but also so you can get a better idea of what your profile will look like on the LinkedIn website. In some sections of LinkedIn you can also pull in bullets and special characters. Alas – still no bolding or italics other than what LinkedIn itself formats. Another bonus, if you’ve already created your profile in a Word document, sections of it can easily be copied into other social media platforms to keep your branding unified.

2. Know your keywords:

Like any website, LinkedIn’s internal search engines weigh your keywords heavily in its searches. Make sure you place your most important search or keywords strategically throughout your profile. Some places you might want to consider are your

  • Professional Headline
  • Title Fields
  • Specialties
  • Interests
  • Recommendations
  • Education (Activities and Societies)

3. Keep your name clean:

Put only your first name in the first name field and your last name in the last name field. If someone is searching for you by name, LinkedIn will have a hard time finding you if your last name looks like this: Smith, PhD. John A. (johnsmith@gmail.com) LION 941-555-1555

4. Keep your photo professional:

I recommend a close up and a smile. A full body shot of you and your family, you and your car, you and that fish you caught last week is unclear and unprofessional. I have seen some artists use artistic renderings of themselves – which is clever if your image is still clear. LinkedIn doesn’t like logos.

5. Don’t ignore the “post an update” function:

LinkedIn’s update function is much more robust than it used to be (taking some tips from Facebook and Twitter). People can now “like” and “comment” on your updates – which helps to build relationships within LinkedIn. And with the introduction of LinkedIn Signal, the update section can now be a functional part of your SME (Subject Matter Expertise) and content strategy. Make sure you take a little time each day to “like” and “comment” on the updates of network as well. (*Found on the home page.)

6. Personalize your public profile URL:

Make sure your public profile reflects your name, your business, or your area of expertise: http://linkedin.com/in/linkedinexpert
Nothing says, “I’m a LinkedIn neophyte” like a public profile that reads: http://linkedin.com/pub/firstname-lastname9890734-akjshfiho
7. Personalize your websites:

When you edit your website, the drop down menu gives you the option of “other”. When you click on that, a new field opens up that allows you to type in your business name, website name, call to action, or description of your website. So instead of “Company Website” or “Personal Website” this section can read “Social Media for Women” or “Click here: IP Legal Advice”

8. Juice up your “Experience” section:

“Experience” is not your resume. Make sure the jobs you choose to list support each other. Make sure you put all your keywords in the title section.

9. Utilize the “Experience” description area:

Use the 1000 characters in the description section to tell people why they should hire you or your company or buy your product. Tell a “save the day” story. Put in a testimonial. “Experience” is a great place to list “wins”, different companies you have helped, seminars or workshops you have presented, a mini-shot of your personal website. Use this section as the foundation for your Company Profile

10. List your “additional education”:

Make sure you list your certifications and licenses as well as traditional education. LinkedIn has now added new sections where you can list areas of expertise, publications, patents licenses and certifications.

11. Get Recommendations:

LinkedIn tells you your profile is complete at 3. I recommend at least ten recommendations. And when you are asking for recommendations, give a bulleted list of what you might want them to say so that your recommendation is more than: “She’s nice”. If you are comfortable doing so, you might write a recommendation that the recommender can use or base their recommendation from. You might want to add some of the better recommendations to your website. Ask for recommendations form thought leaders in your field, old employees, and well-known clients.

 

 

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Double Header – LinkedIn on #LinkedInChat and #SMManners tonight!

Categories:

#LinkedInChat, #SMManners

June 28, 2011

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June 28, 2011


#LinkedInChat

So I’m doing double duty tonight – hosting my #LinkedInChat and then as a guest on #SMManners.

Where to tune in?

We are taking #LinkedInChat back to www.tweetchat.com until we get the bugs worked out at Stanzr – and I am still open to any information on a good tweetchat transcription tool that doesn’t cost and arm and a leg or take several hours to repair J

Tonight we’ll be talking about the different ways and strategies of finding, connecting and building relationships with people on LinkedIn.

If you want homework – the questions will be:

Q1.  How many connections do you have and what is the size of your network?

Q2.  Do you have any difficulty finding and connecting/ communicating with to the people you need to on #LI

Q3.  Do you use “Advanced Search” and what are your favorite strategies?

Q4.  Do you know about and/or are you using LinkedIn Signal?

Q5.  Do you know about how to use groups to “reverse engineer” a message?

Q6.  What do you consider spam on LinkedIn?

Q7.  What are your best “LinkedIn Communications Tips?”

Resources:

Transcript for tonight’s #LinkedInChat is here: http://t.co/VAmswAX

 

#SMManners

#SMManners is trying something cool and new!  A live simulcast WHILE doing the tweetchat:

Join us tonight at 10pm/est for Social Media Manners first simulcast event!

I’ll be taking your questions LIVE via our teleconference/twitter broadcast.

As always, we will be in our nest #SMmanners and you may attend the chat as you typically do on twitter, or you may call in to listen/speak to us live!  I suggest you do both!

▪       Social Media Manners LIve Line ~ 712-432-3900

▪       Access Code~ 157626

Simply dial in and you will be able to listen live!  If you would like to ask our guest a question, simply hit *7 and you will raise your hand.

Questions I will be answering:

  1. Why do some people think LinkedIn doesn’t work?
  2. What can I do to make LinkedIn more usable?
  3. I’ve heard you say: “LinkedIn is only as useful as the size of your network.”  What do you mean?
  4. What is kosher and non-kosher on LinkedIn?
  5. What are some of the best strategies you’ve used for yourself and your clients?

—————————————————————————————————

We hope to see you on one or both chats!

And remember, You can always carry on the conversation on our LinkedIn Group: LinkChat: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=3904551

 

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Do you think LinkedIn is at all useful to the B2C Market?

Categories:

#LinkedInChat, LinkChat, LinkedIn for B2Bs

June 14, 2011

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June 14, 2011


#LinkedInChat now on Stanzr and Twitter

This week we’ll be trying www.stanzr.com to do #LinkedInChat. You can join us at 5 PM PST, 8 PM EST on www.stanzr.com/linkedinchat or http://stanzr.com/3rcwx6yk

This week’s questions are:
Q1. Are you a B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Consumer) business?
Q2. As a B2B, do you also connect to people as a consumer?
Q3. As a B2C, are you connecting with individuals to help you with your business or buy your product – or both?
Q4. As a B2B or B2C – are you finding the right clients on LinkedIn?
Q5. What kind of B2C products “work” on LinkedIn?
Q6. What kind of B2C products “don’t work” on LinkedIn?
Q7. s there ever a time when you can use LinkedIn as a platform to sell your consumer product?
Q8 What, in your opinion, is the best thing for a B2C to do on LinkedIn to avoid what might be considered spam?

Here are some other LinkedIn user’s opinions to get your juices flowing. Do you agree? Disagree? Please share your opinions with us tonight on the LinkedInChat.

From LinkedIn Answers:

Gloria Katrina Bea
My personal take on this issue is that LinkedIn caters to another market. It has been branded and marketed as a “professional network”, primarily for business professionals looking for people in the same field. This is most probably the reason why this network has been limited to business owners and professionals only. Though I would say that there is always a chance to find a customer amongst our colleagues.

Peter Pudaite
I echo Katrina’s comments. 

The key thing is what segment of your market do LinkedIn users represent given they are mostly professionals? I think for those selling Blackberries it would be a very high percentage and it would make absolute sense to use LinkedIn as a marketing channel. For someone selling Disney products maybe less so. 

I think it is too easy to compare Linkedin vs FB and say 100 vs 500 millions users and other broad comparisons. You need to step back and look at the basics, what are your marketing objectives, what segment do these users represent, is this an effective way to reach/engage them, what stage of the purchase stage are they, etc…. Then make your decision based on the congruence or lack of.

Ed Han
I think it *can* be but it’s a bit harder to see the relevance. That, coupled with the often-encountered difficulty in quantifying social media ROI, may be making people skeptical. 

I think it also depends considerably on the business in question. Some businesses (e.g., a toy manufacturer) will have a much harder row to hoe in leveraging LinkedIn to connect with consumers, while others (e.g., a bookseller) will enjoy a much easier path.

Miles Austin
I believe it can be. As Gloria and Peter pointed out, the majority of LinkedIn users are professionals. A foundation of successful sales and marketing is to “fish where the fish are”. Hang out where your customers are! Wouldn’t you want to do business with professionals?

If I am a carpet cleaner, aren’t my potential customers “professionals” that spilled wine on their carpet this weekend? I believe the biggest strength of LInkedIn is it’s ability to foster relationships. If you have a strong, “professional” presence on LinkedIn, communicate within the Groups and channels where your prospects are hanging out such as regional or city focused groups you have an opportunity. 

Or try out an advertisement on LinkedIn that is targeted at the industries/titles that might need your services. Maybe hotels and property managers-they need to hire carpet cleaning services all the time. 

Include LinkedIn in your marketing activities, build a strong foundation of your own professionalism, and you will be surprised at your results. Let the competition continue to think that LinkedIn is only for B2B!

John Fawkes
Only for certain types of product. There are certain things which are business-y, but are sold to consumers. Sales books, professional development stuff, and the like. These are useful on LinkedIn, particularly if they help people land jobs, as the unemployed tend to be on LinkedIn more often, to prospect for jobs. For most B2C products I’d say no.

Steve Cassady
I think Linkedin can be a useful tool for business to consumer business. As several have pointed out, the majority of LinkedIn users are professionals. But even as professionals, we buy consumer products even though we may not be in that mindset on LinkedIn. How a company and an individual are represented on Linkedin adds to their brand reputation. 

As Miles Austin, states participation in groups is a great way to do this. For example, in several of my Kansas City local groups, there is a strong presence of B2C individuals. While they are not directly marketing their services (Roof Building, Carpet Cleaning, Jewelry Store, etc.) they are building a brand reputation discussing how they are addressing business issues in our Kansas City Business owners group. When I need those types of services, I will already have a brand awareness and affinity for them. 

Now I wouldn’t use LinkedIn as my sole or even primary Social Media presence for B2C marketing, it is a tool that should be in the portfolio and can actually be a two way benefit. Active engagement in Linkedin provides education and connections for all to benefit from. While I do not expect to see an ad for Coke products in Linkedin Ads, my overall brand feeling towards Coke is influenced by group participation, company news, etc.

Devin Pringle
As someone as mentioned, Linkedin is focused on an entirely different segment ‘working professionals’. However, I will say that I will follow a company that I have interest in as a consumer, where this platform becomes viable to confirm whether or not a company may be credible. For B2C, I would focus mostly on other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter – blogs if you are working on syndication and other content.

Kim Saldanha
The way i look at social media in general is as a geography. Linked in, is the hangout joint for professionals and therefore this is a consolidated group of consumers for a given set of products. While, smart marketers will use this channel, enjoy a first movers advantage in a truly uncluttered environment. The environment itself has not been set up to be able to truly market in the ‘B2C’ sense of the word.

David Zuckerman
Generally not for developing consumer base, but yes for developing sales channels, vendors, and recruiting. Most users don’t want to be solicited on LinkedIn. FaceBook gives you fan pages, blogging allows consumers to provide feedback, Twitter gives you ability to get frequent updates out there. LinkedIn isn’t the place for frivolity.

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LinkedIn Skills – Is It Worth Your Time? (Revised)

Categories:

LinkedIn Skills, Mashable, The Miami Herald

March 17, 2011

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March 17, 2011


LinkedIn Skills

I was recently interviewed by both Mashable and the Miami Herald about LinkedIn Skills.  Here’s my thoughts on the whole thing.

Skills is a double-edged sword for me.  I train people on how to optimize their profiles so they can be found on a LinkedIn search, and of course as more people realize that to get found on LinkedIn, all they need to do is optimize their profile more efficiently with keywords, the actual value of a traditional LinkedIn profile is decreased.  Many people are inputting experience formulated simply to get a higher result on the LinkedIn Search results thereby inaccurately displaying their real qualifications.  This is where I see the real strength of the skills, publications and certifications sections. You can of course fake all of the above, but since it doesn’t seem to affect search rankings, there is no reason to.

These results I can agree with...

Showing up in the skills search does NOT seem to be affected by how many times you put variations of your keywords in the skills section (Trust me – I’ve tested it!)  From what I can tell, LinkedIn is using a search algorithm that is either like – or combined with  – a Google search.  Or maybe someone in the back office is just picking their favorites.  Its hard to tell!  Many of the experts listed in the skills section do not have optimized profiles, and do not show up in a simple LinkedIn People Search under those same skills.  This indicates to me that perhaps the skills section more accurately displays those with true skills.  And I would highly recommend to LinkedIn users, job-seekers and candidates that they make sure to list their TRUE qualifications and skills in this section.  Not because it will get them found in a search, but because this is where you can differentiate yourself from the pack.

I would warn that you might be expected to prove what you claim to be true to actually be true.  Don’t list yourself as an expert in your field if you are not.

Bridget Carey from the Miami Herald recently interviewed me about the Skills section:

We both agreed the we’d “like to see the location tool focus more tightly on how the skill ranks in a particular region… and would like to see what nearby cities breed those jobs.”

As Carey states, “searching for a generic skill (video, office management) is pretty much useless… it will be interesting to see how this tool evolves, but for now, use it as encouragement to update that profile.”

As in most things LinkedIn, the idea of skills is great, and I think it has definite application.  I would encourage users to explore it, and to be aware, like many of the new apps (Signals, Groups Jobs) there are still some bugs that need to be worked out.  I’d also warn a recruiter that until we really know how the search algorithms work, not to disqualify a candidate just because they do not show up as the as one of the chosen professionals.

If you have no idea what this skills thing is, visit LinkedIn’s Blog on their latest offer:  http://blog.linkedin.com/category/new-linkedin-features/skills/.  You can find it under “More” in the LinkedIn toolbar (You know, that place where they stuck everything they ran out of room for?)

 

Here’s a few more cool things I discovered – Skills is a great place to find synonyms for your keywords.  As an example, I type in Social Media, and other skills that show up are:

Not only that, but they give me great descriptions I can use to amp up my profile and experience descriptions:

“Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.”

Play around a little, do a search or two, and let me know what you think!

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LinkedIn Profile Video Audit for……… Victor Canada

Categories:

LinkedIn Video Audit

July 30, 2010

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July 30, 2010


Now most of us cringe when we hear the word “audit”.  But it’s not necessarily a bad thing!

The Free Dictionary defines “audit” as:

au·dit(  (ôdt)

  1. An examination of records or financial accounts to check their accuracy.
  2. An adjustment or correction of accounts.
  3. An examined and verified account.

v. au·dit·ed, au·dit·ing, au·dits

  1. To examine, verify, or correct the financial accounts of: Independent accountants audit the company annually. The IRS audits questionable income tax returns.
  2. To attend (a course) without requesting or receiving academic credit.

So while I am not looking at Victor’s financial records, I am going to “examine, adjust, correct and verify” and while he might not get any academic credit, he will get some advice.  Hey – ya’ll asked for it!

Tips:

  • Use all 120 characters in your professional headline section to describe what you do,  target your ideal client or industry, use keywords
  • Make sure you have EVERYTHING you do for your company, not just your “official” title in the title section of you “experience” section.
  • Use those applications:  I like Slideshare, Box.net, Legal Updates, Amazon Reader, Tweets, Events, and the new Creative Portfolio apps
  • In the “Contact Us” section, tell people who you are willing to connect to, how you are willing to connect with them, who you will recommend and who you will forward introductions to.

If you want your LinkedIn profile audited, you can sign up for our contest below

I also do more in-depth audits and profile makeovers for individuals and companies.



LinkedIn Profile Contest: You might win a free audit ($250 value)
* indicates required



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