crush it on linkedin: building trust, relationships and referrals

About Stephen Murphy

• Marketing Manager at PCG Digital Marketing, an Inc. 500 digital agency in NJ

• Founder of Get Busy Media, ranked a top 100 small business marketing blog by Technorati

• Regular author in LinkedIn & Business magazine, a publication with 13+ million distribution

• Keynote LinkedIn speaker with NJ Department of Labor and several other local entities

A Few Notes Before We Begin…

Everything is relative.What applies to one person might not apply to everyone else. Adapt these tactics to fit your personal approach.

LinkedIn is a tool, not a strategy.YOU are the key to your success. You will still have to put in the elbow grease and create a strategic approach to networking and lead generation. LinkedIn is a tool that helps you work smarter.

Act short term, think long term.Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you probably won’t see immediate results from your actions. Starting now lays the foundation for a successful future.

So, why LinkedIn?Largest professional network online with over 120 million users and growing

Excellent search engine optimization and personal branding opportunity

A living, breathing rolodex that stays updated automatically

A sales prospecting dream

What we’ll accomplish1. Optimizing your profile to build credibility, increase your range, and communicate your value.

2. Building a strong network that will help you get the most out of LinkedIn’s features.

3. Communicating and engaging with your network to establish yourself as an expert and generate new leads and referrals.

Step 1: Optimizing Your Profile

First impressions are key.

• Include a high quality, professional headshot• Use industry keywords to describe what you do• Include your area to decrease mistaken identities

State your value + purpose.

• Be honest and real. People want to learn about who you are and what you’re all about.

• Explain what you do in simple terminology – skip the jargon.

• Add relevant industry keywords after your summary to help support your qualifications.

• Include your contact information so that your connections can easily get in touch with you.

Highlight your experience.

• Include as many jobs as you can that are relevant to your current industry or position.

• Describe briefly what the company does, followed by your position description. This gives readers context.

• Don’t forget about those keywords! These are crucial for showing up in search results.

Share your skills.

• Pick from the existing list of skills, or include your own.• These are great ideas for keywords for the rest of your

profile too!

Complete your profile fully.

• Education• Websites• Social Media • Contact Information• Certifications• Add-ons (blog feed, SlideShare, Events, etc.)

Own Your URL

• Change your default public profile URL to a custom one so that you can easily add it to your resume, business card, personal website

• This is also great for SEO!

Test + Tweak Your Profile Changes

Step 2: Building Your Network

Guidelines for connecting.

• Only connect with people you’ve met before• Avoid “cold connecting” – you could get penalized• Send a personal message when connecting with

someone that might not remember you by name

Get started with email.

Tap your offline contacts.

• Go through old business cards, address books, rolodexes, etc. to find existing contacts.

Let others connect with you easily.• Email signature• Business cards• Social media profiles• Blog/personal website• Marketing materials

Step 3: Leverage Your Network

Get recommended for your work.

Recommendations validate what you say in your profile.

• Clients• Vendors• Industry Partners• Colleagues

Share important, relevant updates.

Establish yourself as a thought leader by sharing important news, blogs, and original insights.

Comment on others’ updates.

Pay it forward and comment on updates from others in your network. “Like” milestones such as job promotions or achievements. Offer insights for problems your connections may have.

Participate in group discussions.

Join groups that relate to your industry or topic of interest. Engage in existing discussions, and create your own to increase engagement.

Ask and answer questions often.

Asking questions can introduce you to other influencers that you may want to connect with. Answering questions helps you establish yourself as an expert in any given field.

Be consistent with your efforts. • Schedule time daily to use LinkedIn• Try to communicate with all your connections at least

once a year• Respond to comments and inquiries as soon as possible

Key Take Aways:

• Create a keyword friendly, optimized profile to get started with LinkedIn

• Build a large, highly targeted network filled with customers, employees, vendors, etc.

• Pay it forward and engage actively with others. Think, “What can I do for my network today?”

• Be regular, and make sure to measure your efforts.