getting the most out of linked in
DESCRIPTION
Linked In - why would you? This slideshow runs through how to set up and build a profile for yourself and your business on Linked In, how to make connections and manage them, what to post and Linked In ettiquette. Beginner to intermediate users. Information in this slideshow is current as at November 2014.TRANSCRIPT
Getting the most out of
Linked In
November 2014
Goals for this session
Find out what Linked In is all about
How to develop your own profile
How to express your personal brand
Making the right connections
Managing your network
Developing a page for your business
What to post
What is Linked In?
Social media for business/professionals
Approximately 5 million users in Australia
Global network
Approximately 330 million users worldwide
2 new users per second
Why Linked In?
Online rolodex!
Networking every day, 24/7
Nurture relationships
Stay top of mind
Establish your expertise
Optimise recruitment
Showcase products and services
Learning and sharing
But it’s not perfect!
‘Linked In Liars’ and ‘Half Truth Harries’
Self promotion meets content sharing – the fine line
False endorsements
Non-legit recommendations
Connection junkies
Getting started: your profile The sign up process is simple (there are video tutorials available)
PLEASE spell your name right and use correct case!
Build your profile
Dust off your resume
Be thorough – it will take a
couple of hours
Choose whether you wish to use
first or third person – and stick
to it
Linked In picks up your details to
create a kind of snapshot
‘business card’ to show others
Create a strong cover statement
or ‘headline’
Add video, presentations,
website, your blog and other
media
Choose a professional photo
Bad Photo Examples
Not human
Bad light,
fuzzy
Too small
Unprofessional
Not square
Too far away
Editing your profile
Editing your profile
Making connections
Understand connections (1st, 2nd, groups, following)
Use your business card collection
Do a search for:
Colleagues
Clients
Peers
Friends and family
Look at your connections’ connections
Use Linked In’s ‘people you may know’ feature under the connections button
Use a personalised invitation
Making connections well The personalised invitation
Better response rate – jogs person’s memory – makes you look good
Making Connections (continued)
• Use the email interfaces available
• Request an introduction (2nd degree)
Managing connections This isn’t Facebook – business, not personal! So you don’t have to have close
friendships to connect
You may be a target if you are in a desirable industry or have powerful
connections
Your have two options: confirm or ignore
If you don’t know them, try viewing their profile
Any valuable mutual connections?
In a related industry?
Posting interesting or relevant updates?
Are they in your target market?
You can ask questions via InMail (premium/paid feature)
If it’s an introduction request, you can ask your mutual connection questions
You can think about it – no need to immediately respond
Your personal brand Your profile
Your connections
Your business page
What Linked In shows about you
What you share
Your photo
Your interactions Your personal brand
Your company on Linked In
• You must have a personal LinkedIn profile set up with your true first and last
name.
• Your profile strength must be listed as Intermediate or All Star.
• You must have several connections on your profile.
• You're a current company employee and your position is listed in
the Experience section on your profile.
• You have a company email address (e.g. [email protected]) added and
confirmed on your LinkedIn account.
• Your company's email domain is unique to the company.
Why put your business on Linked In?
Ownership of the brand, control of messages
Staff can list your business as their employer
People can follow your company
Allows you to showcase products and services
Some SEO value
Recruitment
Why not? If you ARE your business and brand it might make more sense to focus on your
personal profile
If you don’t have a unique company domain
What does it look like?
Main sections of a company page:
- Home
- Careers (if you choose)
- Showcase (if you add)
- Analytics (only visible to administrators)
Editing your page
Company Profile (Home) in edit mode
Recruitment – paid job listings
Silver and Gold career pages
Generally used by large companies
Job ads approx. $200 per month (variable)
Targeted and cross-matched
You can also simply post a job ad as an update for free
Showcase
Your individual products (up to 10)
You may choose to showcase one or more of your flagship products
Generally the product will have its own dedicated website and brand
It can also be used to promote a major initiative or business unit
For example, Volkswagen could use it to showcase the Golf, or a telco
could use it to showcase its broadband service
Allows for targeted marketing
Add media such as images, videos, slideshows, etc. that directly
relate to the item being showcased
Review your page progress using
analytics
Click Analytics from your company page
Only administrators can see these
Allows you to compare your page’s performance with other businesses
You can compare statistics on your post with your other posts
Use these to learn and adapt/improve
You can also use Google Analytics on your website or blog to see what traffic
you’re getting from Linked In
Traffic from Linked in is generally fairly good quality – good dwell time and
deeper visits
Optimising your Page’s Performance
Add your Linked In page/profile link to your email signature
Get your staff on board, listing your business as an employer
Send In-mail to your (close) connections to let them know you have a
company page and invite them to follow
Share and comment on your own page updates using your personal profile
Respond to those who engage with what you post
Encourage staff to share/engage with your page updates
Join industry groups and contribute to relevant conversations
Learn to use the more advanced features – showcase, audience targeting, etc.
Considered shared administration
Post at strategic times
What to share (Updates) ADD VALUE!
Content curation
Relevant and appropriate (no cat videos)
Company, Industry, Product news
Website and blog updates
Partner and client news, if appropriate
Staff achievements
Mix it up: links, multimedia and images add interest for users
Linked In’s Share Bookmarklet to help you share content:
https://www.linkedin.com/static?key=tools
Other apps like Buffer and Hootsuite allow you to schedule your posts
Tag other users using the @ symbol and their name
You can write longer posts or reblog your blogposts on Linked In using the publishing
feature (click the little pencil shown)
Linked In Best Practices
Try to visit daily and spend a little time
Get mobile
Connect respectfully – quality not quantity
Stay professional and be considerate
Don’t spam or self-promote
Thank people for endorsements and recommendations
Engage – congratulate, share, respond
Be useful and provide insights that will help others
Join groups and leave those that don’t work for you
Resources
Linked In Help Center
Social Media Examiner
Social Media Today
Blogs
Watch and follow your heroes on Linked In
Thanks for your attention!
Find more of my slideshows on business communications and social
media at:
http://www.slideshare.net/SashaWasley/
www.razzedcommunications.com.au
Linked In: Sasha Wasley / Razzed Communications
Facebook: Razzed Communications
Twitter: @RazzedComms