Help Me Get More Out of LinkedIn!

Sheila Scarborough - @SheilaSTourism Currents - @TourismCurrents

There's more to LinkedIn than uploading your resume and waiting for something to happen.

No Magic Beans!

Photo credit rich13 Flickr CC

There are no magic shortcuts to building human relationships, which is what you're doing on LinkedIn.

Any marketing strategy asks....

What are your goals?

Who is your market?

Where can you get in front of that market (including online?)

Don't lost sight of your overall marketing goals.

Stop sign in Chickasaw.

What are your organization's goals?

How do you think your LinkedIn presence might support them?

Know what you are trying to accomplish on LinkedIn!

The social web has upended much of the traditional sales funnel. People are doing their own research ("self-qualifying") before they ever connect with you.

Do you have enough information out there to help them decide to email or call you?

There are a squillion social media platforms and tools. Stay focused.

Social media isn't the place to be "sales-y"

BUT

That doesn't mean that Likes/followers can't become sales opportunities & leads

"Hand out knowledge, not brochures"

Real Lawyers Have Blogs

Social media for B2B is like a trade show

Photo credit siebenthalercreative Flickr CC

You can have more than one booth on the B2B trade show floor, too (Twitter, Facebook etc.) but for now we'll focus on LinkedIn.

Your LinkedIn Trade Show Booth

People's personal profiles and activity on LinkedIn

Organization's LinkedIn Company Page

Two sides to a LinkedIn "booth" they feed each other. Your presence on LinkedIn is an ecosystem.

Elements of a strong profile:

MUST have a photo

Good headline "What do I do?"

Brand link should be to an active Company Page.

Give people many ways to contact you. Don't miss SEO opportunities & anchor text in the links to your website, blog, etc.

Your summary should be a quick, punchy, skimmable read, NOT your boring resume-speak.

The power of LinkedIn is in the Groups.

Quote from Kami Huyse don't build a network and then never talk to it.

New to LinkedIn ....

Publishing from your personal profile

My first post on the LinkedIn publishing platform. Went pretty well, but I haven't yet figured out how much time to give it or how to incorporate it into my business strategy. Lots of possibilities, though.

LinkedIn Company Pages

Your brand storefront on LinkedIn, similar to Facebook Pages.

Elements of a strong Company Page:

Big images at top (can have more than 1)

Product & Services tabs (now defunct as of 14 April 2014.)

Customize your description. Those are all keywords and help in search.

Regular updates (use photos & video in them)

New to LinkedIn ....

"Showcase" sub-pages for your LinkedIn Company Page

These replace Product and Services tabs.

Microsoft LinkedIn Showcase Page as example.

Microsoft LinkedIn Showcase Page as example, (cont)

Microsoft LinkedIn Showcase Page as example, (cont.)

How People Can Help Pages

Help create Page content (or at least ideas)

Like & Share Company Page updates

Tag the Page in their personal updates

Tell their other networks about it

Your staff's personal networks are important for supporting your Company Page.

"Hand out knowledge, not brochures"

Real Lawyers Have Blogs

No Magic Beans!

Photo credit rich13 Flickr CC

Takes time to build a Company Page following (4-6 months.) Consider buying LinkedIn Sponsored posts to get more visibility. Warning: they're expensive.

Thanks very much!

Sheila ScarboroughTourism Currents

@SheilaS@TourismCurrents