linkedin & why you should embrace it

LinkedIn - The Story So Far

Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003

As of 3 November 2011, LinkedIn reports more than 135 million registered users

in more than 200 countries and territories.


It is the world’s largest business related Social Networking site.

In June 2011, LinkedIn had 47.6 million unique visitors, up 63 % from 2010

77% of users are aged 25 plus

The average household income of a user is £70k

LinkedIn - Why Use It?

Create, develop and maintain business relationships

Create awareness of yourself among potential clients and candidates (“personal branding”)

Demonstrate your competence and expertise to establish the trust upon which business relationships depend

LinkedIn - Why Use It?

Increase your Internet presence

Does a wonder to your SEO Efforts

Networking

Platform for showcasing your expertise

Create Ad’ Campaigns

Meet your clients/prospects through events

Build a company page as well as your profile

LinkedIn - Best Practice

Maintaining a LinkedIn profile is one of the most important steps you can take to manage & control your online reputation.

LinkedIn’s high Search Engine Optimization means your LinkedIn profile page often appears at the top of search engine results


Find Who You Know

Start with your existing contactsLet LinkedIn scan your email address book to find out who you know is on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn will NOT automatically send connection requests to your contacts; you choose which contacts to invite


Personalise your URL

Change your LinkedIn profile URL (web address) from the default setting to www.linkedin.com/in/"yourname" E.g.: www.linkedin.com/in/guyoutram

Helps people find you when they search for your name within LinkedIn, Google and other search engines

http://www.linkedin.com/in/


Email MarketingInclude your LinkedIn URL in your email signature

Add a Photo to Your ProfilePhotographs personalize your profile and give you social media credibility - Keep it professional


Ask to Connect at Every Opportunity Whenever you have business interactions with people, ask them if they’re on LinkedIn and if they’d like to connect

Send connection requests after meeting with candidates and prospective clients


Acquire Enough Connections The more work experience you have the larger your network should naturally be.

The more connections you have, the more LinkedIn search results you will appear in (i.e. makes you easier to be found).

Rule of thumb? Multiply your age by 10 and that is the minimum number of connections that you should aim for.


Have a Profile Headline That “Brands” You

This is the single most important piece of real estate on your LinkedIn Profile, and you need to brand it as such!

Appears in search results next to your nameIt’s your elevator speech in a few words.

Be creative! Think of something appealing other than your title and company name?


Fill Out As Much of Your Profile as You Can

Make Your Profile Rich with Keywords

Don’t hide - Change the settings on your profile to “Full View”

Link to Yourself – Website, blog, Twitter feed

Give, and ask for, recommendations


Update your Status Regularly and Strategically

Watch Others’ Status Updates to Initiate Contact

Join Groups

Post News within Groups

Ask Questions Strategically


Answer Questions Posed by Others

Install Applications

Use the “Follow Company” Feature

7 Steps To LinkedIn Success:

1 Commit to connecting

With 5 current or lapsed business associates every day. When you connect with people, you and your business jumps to the forefront of their mind. When that happens, they remember you when someone needs the services you provide. Connecting = Forefront of their Mind = Leads.


2 Join up with 17 relevant Groups.

Over the course of 30 days, Why 17? Because it’s not 2 or 3, which is the number most people join. The goal is to spread your visibility online and the best way to do that is by joining 17 Groups, not just 2 or 3.


3 Answer 2 questions a week consistently.

Turning answers into leads is a longer term strategy. It may take 5 answers to generate a lead or it may take 25 or 50.The key will be to keep at it consistently over the long haul.


4 Start a discussion in each new Group

Every day for 5 days after you’ve joined with them. After doing it for 5 days, you’ll have made a few new friends in the group. If possible and appropriate the discussion will include a link back to your website to create more visibility.

If possible create an e- newsletter that they can download. This captures their data for re-marketing in the future.


5 Create a direct advert

The key here is to have a landing page on your website where you can collect people’s contact information when they sign up for something you’re offering. You should write and create a simple ad for this


6 Add applications on your Profile Page

If you want to make your Profile Page as engaging as possible then adding Reading Lists and SlideShare presentations are a good place to start.


7 Review and repeat the above steps

The key to making LinkedIn work will be consistency. It’s not easy,

You need to be there consistently so that you can build up a following and an audience to generate a steady stream of inbound leads.

LinkedIn – Other Tools:

Find Jobs & Post Jobs

Search companies

Polls – read & create surveys

Events – Find & Post

Next Time:

What is Facebook?

Why Use Facebook?

How To Use Facebook

Facebook Success for Business