Getting The Most out of LinkedIn

Getting the Most Out ofLinkedIn By Alan Belniak http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanbelniak Edited/Designed by Alessandro Bertolucci http://www.linkedin.com/in/abertolucci © Keith Williamson

Why focus on LinkedIn?

It’s one ofthe mostimportantB2BSocialNetworks

REALLY!

FACE ITA lot ofYou can’t ignore it anymorepeoplesay so…

It’s All About You (Baby) Actually – it’s about your profile© Duane Jones

Your profile is keyIt’s your most importantasset on LinkedIn.Never mind your insightfulmessages, yourparticipations in groups orwhitepapers – you will bejudged on your profile - first.So let’s see what we cando…

First, add a (good) pictureSeriously folks – a profile pic from avacation spa, bachelor(ette) party BADor other non-professional eventisn’t going to win you any favorsand will likely damage yourcredibility towards potential clients,employers, suppliers and partners.And all-though we all want to © Patrick Moore GOODembrace our inner-Steve-Jobs, let’snot over-do it. In other words –don’t look like a pretentious git(unless you happen to be the nextSteve Jobs). Too much but f’n amazing

Are you still living in the 90s?When you meet someone in real life,you don’t tell them about the job youhad 4 years ago, Why would you dothat online?Detail only those positions you’veheld RECENTLY – meaning thelast year or two. If you must showmore – go head but keep it relevantto your current position. If you’re looking for work – that’s a different story (and a different eBook)

People have short attention sp -- hey look, a bird!By default – LinkedIn’s profileorder isn’t always ideal forkeeping people’s attention.Plus your profile is competingwith advertising, email, andother social media. So youneed to get their attention fast.Luckily – your profile elements can easilyre-arranged by dragging them aroundthe page.So start with your strengths or tailor it toreach your goal or target audience. TIP– pretend you’re doing an elevator pitch about yourself.

Get a Custom URLOnce your profile is done you’ll notice the defaultLinkedIn profile address for your profile:http://www.linkedin.com/pub/YOURNAME/8/369/0Yeah – we know – it stinks.Thankfully – you can customize it fairly easily (and free)– to something more reasonable like:http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanbelniakJust click on the edit buttonnext to your profile URL andyou’re off to the races. Photo By: http://www.anna-OM-line.com

Ok, how will people find me? Again – your profile is key.Treat LinkedIn like a search engine for Make your profile so it’s friendly toads… and you’re the product people, and friendly to search Good: I sell stuff  Friendly to search: use acronyms, jargon, and the like that are known Better: I sell enterprise software in the industry (without overdoing it) Best: I help buyers find solution-  Friendly to people: what do real ready Enterprise software for humans say? ‘pee-el-emm’? Or manufacturing environments, big ‘software for manufacturing’? and small (I call it PLM) (without overdoing it) “ Strike a balance and know your target – you can’t be all things to all people – find a target market and stick to it. based on: http://www.christopherspenn.com/2012/03/the-biggest-linkedin-profile-power-tip-of-all ”

“Do you want to just wear theminimum required amount of flair?”Time to have some fun.Be sure to add:• Specialties,• Skills,• Applications - like SlideShare or Portfolio, & make sure you edit your three URLs/Links TIP - If you can – make sure one is to an active blog – or some kind of VALUABLE informative page with a TRACKABLE call to action. © Thad Zajdowicz

Now that your hair is combed and your teeth are brushed… GO MEET PEOPLE! © Larissa Kanno

Very funny – but how do I do that?Well - it’s all about them : You know – YOUR CUSTOMERS – and how to find them.

Using Advanced Search EffectivelyPeople SearchingTyping in just a name is lame.Jack it up! Use the advanced search, and get more. Limit your searching to a particular industry that makes sense for you. Or, limit it to a geographic area – maybe a car ride away! – Example: VP of Engineering within 50 miles of 02494 – This can be prospecting within a car ride! Search by title – target the people with the check books © Nelson Syozi

 SORT YOUR RESULTS to seeSAVE TIME! good stuff up top, crappy stuff at the bottom  DON’T keep re-inventing the wheel save searches for repeated use

Using LinkedIn Answers for fun & profit① People ask questions. That means they need information – target them and give them answers② Limit the results. Enter your terms and pick ‘questions only’ (use quotes, too)③ Answer questions, intelligently – with out the BS. When answer questions, you can By limiting your results become an authority on a topic – you’ll end up with better quality questions meaning people will seek you out which is a lot easier than chasing them don’t ya think?

Did You Know? You can search for AND follow companies?That’s right - If you’re looking tobreak into a specific place, followthe company in advance.See what they’re up to and see whotheir employees are and whatthey’re doing. It will help you identifythe right person to reach out to.You might already know peoplethere! Past acquaintances, collegealum, et cetera.Why is this important?Here’s a simple truth: WARM CALL > COLD CALL

Knowing is half the battle … er … saleKnow who you’re dealing with LinkedIn Companies is a GOLDMINE Really – can you ignore all this? of business information.  Track new arrivals  Departures  Common skills A cross-section of the enterprise ecosystem for you to explore! All you’ve got to do is: Check out the Insightful Statistics

Oh! And Groups – don’t forget groupsGroups are people having They are probably among the most importantdiscussions on a topic. networking tools found on LinkedIn © Andy Stafiniak We do not endorse the wearing of digital watches – that’s just cruel

Searching for Groups  Just as you did when searching for People – search Groups for a term, using quotes  Remember to FILTER  Did we mention there are A LOT of groups? We’re not kidding… so be specific and picky © Jaures Villani

Speaking about being picky…Selecting the RIGHT groupsDon’t judge a group from its descriptionand/or number of members Use the group statistics to tell you if its worth it for you to spend time here.If it’s active,popular andopen – then joinup and join inthe discussion

Psst! – here’s a tip about GroupsIt can be a round-about(ok, it’s sneaky) way tosend a messageto someone withoutconnecting with them onLinkedIn.How, you ask? If this is checked on your prospect’s Group setting – you can contact him/her directly without being a contact. So JOIN a Group you know they’re part of.

EVENTSor how to network face-to-face with LinkedInEveryone knows that the best type of networkingis the “face-to-face” kind – and we’re not talkingSkype or FaceTime here.Q So how do you use a social network like Linked help meet people face-face?A Let LinkedIn TELL you. Just like with PEOPLE and COMPANIES – you can search for EVENTS being organized by fellow users and posted on LinkedIn

TIPS for searching for Events See what events are happening locally or nearby. That seminar in Hawaii would be nice but not too practical if you live in Boston. See who is attending the event (Prospecting101) Track the event (Prospecting101) Connect with them in advance if you can – CAVEAT - being approached out-of-the-blue by a “BUT I can’t afford it” complete stranger could be a bit – well – creepy, so So what if you don’t go to the actual do so carefully or stick to people you have seminar? connections with. That doesn’t mean you can’t benefit. ‘Follow’ the event on LinkedIn and stay updated Save the cash on the registration fee and instead open a tab at the nearby bar. Look for the people with nametags and lanyards (they are the easy targets!).

Event Example From a LinkedIn event page, people can share the event. Take a look at this tweet I found. Click through that event link to learn more. It will go to the LinkedIn event page, complete with date, time, location…. all the info you’d want to know if you wanted to meet someone face-to- face. Take that URL and throw it into Google your favorite search engine to see who else is sharing it and/or attending it – make inferences – MAKE CONNECTIONS!

Enough Talk – it’s time for ACTION!LinkedIn doesn’t require a big time-commitment from you.You can easily manage and benefit from it with a little effort – and a good calendar. Do ONCE – Update your profile – Set up three saved searches Do per week – Search a related industry – Run a geographic search – Run a keyword search – Share content via the status update – Review the companies you follow – Answer a question; Ask a question Do per Quarter – Adjust your profile – Recommend two people – Make / foster two connections (introduce people)

More Resources http://blog.eloqua.com/top-10-linkedin-tips-for-lead-generation/ http://socialmediab2b.com/2011/11/b2b-social-media-linkedin-group- statistics/ http://www.slideshare.net/scrawforditm/power-prospecting-with-linkedin http://press.linkedin.com/understanding-linkedin http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2011/4890/leads-via-linkedin-groups- most-likely-to-convert?adref=nl042511 http://www.christopherspenn.com/2012/03/the-biggest-linkedin-profile- power-tip-of-all http://www.hubspot.com/eBooks/learning-linkedin-from-the-experts

Thanks!Alan Belniak Alessandro Bertolucci b: www.SubjectivelySpeaking.net  w: www.bertolucci-design.com/ t: @abelniak  l: www.linkedin.com/in/abertolucci l: www.linkedin.com/in/alanbelniak

Bonus: Check Out Who’s Checking You Out

http://gillin.com	2860
http://10.1.0.40	113
http://www.scoop.it	23
http://feeds.feedburner.com	13
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	13
http://www.gillin.com	10
https://si0.twimg.com	8
http://www.linkedin.com	5
http://us-w1.rockmelt.com	4
http://abtasty.com	3
http://socialmediatoday.com	1

Getting The Most out of LinkedIn

by Alan Belniak on Jul 16, 2012

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