LinkedIn has become a valuable content channel. It presents a tremendous opportunity for B2B businesses to influence buying decisions. A recent study shows that 85% of LinkedIn users say that LinkedIn is the most valuable social network to deliver content.
Using this slide deck, Bernie Borges of Find and Convert and GetLinkedInHelp.com's Kristina Jaramillo co-hosted a recent webinar for marketers, business development professionals and business executives interested in learning how to combine content marketing with LinkedIn to influence buying decisions.
In this webinar, attendees learned:
1. How to integrate conversation-based content marketing into your LinkedIn marketing strategy.
2. Easy ways to add content to your LinkedIn profile to attract decision-makers and influencers.
3. What it means to be an influencer - and why most B2B companies are not!
4. How to become an influencer to attract the type of business opportunities you seek.
Contact information for Bernie and Kristina is featured within this presentation for you to connect and follow them to learn more.
4. Here’s What We’ll Cover Today:
How LinkedIn has become a content channel and the opportunity it
presents to B2B companies
How to integrate conversation based content marketing into your
LinkedIn marketing strategy – We’ll show you real case studies and
examples
Easy ways to add content to your LinkedIn profile so you can attract
decision makers and influencers – You’ll learn the biggest LinkedIn profile
mistakes that 98% of business leaders, small business owners and B2B
marketers are making
What it means to be an influencer – and why most B2B companies are
failing to influence buying decisions using LinkedIn
5. How LinkedIn Has Become
a Content Channel and the
Opportunity it Presents to
B2B Companies
6. Success…
Successful B2B organizations are implementing at least
13 different content marketing tactics.
http://www.slideshare.net/fullscreen/CMI/b2b-content-marketing-2014-benchmarks-budgets-trends-north-america-bycontent-marketing-institute-and-marketingprofs/3
7. Now, the question is…
How many of these content marketing tactics did you integrate into
your LinkedIn marketing strategy?
8. Change Ahead…
”Analyst firm SiriusDecisions predicts that by 2015, more
than 75% of leads will be sourced through inbound channels.”
Eloqua Social Media Playbook
http://www.sparkinboundmarketing.com/blog/2011/09/content-marketing-b2b-buying-cycle/
9. LinkedIn Keeps Their Inbound Content
Engine Running at High Speed!
…According to Dell’s
Digital Marketing Director
at the 2013 B2B Digital
Conference 2013 in New York
10. Your Buyers Have the Power
…In fact, 70% of the buying
decision is made before
Speaking to a Sales Exec.
http://www.chiefmarketer.com/b2b/connect-with-b2b-buyers-before-theyre-too-far-down-the-funnel-13092012
11. How to Integrate ConversationBased Content Marketing Into Your
LinkedIn Marketing Strategy.
12. Reach Prospects Before They Need You…
When your prospects are self-nurturing & looking for information
to solve a specific challenge, you want them in YOUR eco-system.
13. Case Study #1
AT&T gains $47M through a blog-centered social sales strategy
18
Months
Later
14. Case Study #2
MPi gains 20% increase in webinar registrations
Profile Makeover to Showcase Thought
Leadership
Relevant LinkedIn Discussions
Targeted LinkedIn Lead Generation
Emails
Provocative Blog Content
Educational Videos
Slideshare Presentations
Follow Up LinkedIn Strategy & Ongoing
Promotion
Thought Leadership Education
15. Case Study #3
B2B video content marketing firm re-attracts
previous client & submits $36K proposal
16. Case Study #4
Todd Wheatland writes the book on Slideshare integration
Demonstrate thought leadership
with Slideshare content
Repurpose existing content into
Slideshare format
Drag and drop editing on your
profile
17. Case Study #5
Joe Chernov wins awards for thought leadership
Demonstrate thought leadership
with Slideshare content
Repurpose existing content into
Slideshare format
Drag and drop editing on your
profile
18. Case Study #6
How I mixed PR, Content Marketing, & LinkedIn
90 New Connections + 30
New Group Members
Ongoing Exposure
Increased Exposure
Increased Credibility
19. Case Study #6 continued
How I used my radio show with LinkedIn to attract new clients & partners
Using LinkedIn to Find &
Connect w/ Influencers
Through Our Community, We Were Able to
Strengthen Relationships & Show Our Value Leading to…
Through LinkedIn
Discussions We Built
Awareness to Get
1000+ Downloads
Within 1 Week
4 New White Label Partners
20. Easy Ways to Add Content to Your
LinkedIn Profile to Attract
Decision-Makers and Influencers
21. Your LinkedIn Profile is a Marketing Tool
Most B2B marketers’
LinkedIn profiles are
resume-based rather than
Results and case-studydriven featuring
accomplishments & results
22. Case Studies Tell Your Story
A Content Marketing
Institute Study shows that
64% of B2B marketers rate
case studies as the most
effective content marketing
tactic! So we need to add it
to our LinkedIn Profiles!
http://www.slideshare.net/fullscreen/CMI/b2b-content-marketing-2014-benchmarks-budgets-trends-north-america-bycontent-marketing-institute-and-marketingprofs/3
29. …More ways WebAttract CEO, Mike Agron, attracted decision
makers and gained more downloads through his LinkedIn profile…
1. Use of Case Studies
2. Use of Videos to Support the
Content Offered in Profile
3. Content Relevant to Specific Audiences
30. Direct Prospects to Your Content
Chris Goward from WiderFunnel.com drives prospects from
his LinkedIn Profile to his website where he demonstrates
his thought leadership…
Live, clickable
link to case
study on
website
40. Your Organization is Not Influencing
Business Decisions on LinkedIn Because…
There is a strong disconnect
between lead generation and
thought leadership content.
41. Find New Ways to Communicate
A recent LinkedIn report shows, the old ways of communicating:
Static Editorial Calendars, Gating Content with Lead Generation Forms, etc.
…Don’t Work in Social Media.
42. Buyers are looking for….
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/b1eda72b#/b1eda72b/1
43. Your Organization is Not Influencing
Business Decisions on LinkedIn Because…
Here Lies Your
Connections…If there is no initial
interest, your connections become
dead connections;
you have no
engagement process.
44. Your Organization is Not Influencing
Business Decisions on LinkedIn Because…
Your leadership, sales, marketing
and business teams are failing to
show decision makers their
relevance.
45. Your Organization is Not Influencing
Business Decisions on LinkedIn Because…
…You’re not mixing blogging
with LinkedIn marketing.
90% of Inc. 500 companies use at
least one major social media
platform. But just 44% of Inc. 500
companies maintain a blog.
http://heidicohen.com/social-media-small-business-facts-you-need-now/
46. Your Blog is the Backbone
to Your LinkedIn Marketing
B2B companies that maintain
blogs generate, on average,
67% more leads per month
than non-blogging firms.
http://www.slideshare.net/toprank/war-of-words-mythbusting-social-media-seo-content-marketing
47. Your Organization is Not Influencing
Buying Decisions on LinkedIn Because…
…You’re not creating content for the different buying stages.
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/b1eda72b#/b1eda72b/1
48. Your Organization is Not Influencing
Buying Decisions on LinkedIn Because…
You are curating industry news
and acting as a resource instead of
creating and sharing the content
that decision makers engage with
11.5X more!
49. Key Takeaways
1.
Revise your LinkedIn profile to emphasize results and case studies. Show
decision makers, influencers and the media why they should to connect
with you.
2.
Create your own LinkedIn group and community to avoid having “dead
connections,” heighten engagement with prospects, generate demand
and increase the lifetime value of your clients
3.
Provide thought leadership content, case studies and best practices so
you have content for prospects in different stages of the buying cycle.
4.
Most importantly, take a strategic approach. Create your LinkedIn content
plan and test and measure everything.
50. Tune Into The Social Business Engine!
https://www.youtube.com/user/socialbusinessengine
Watch the full episode at thesocialbusinessengine.com.
Content marketing is widely used by B2B organizations to build awareness, engage and generate leads. As this report from the Content Marketing Institute shows, in 2014 B2B companies plan to use many content channels.----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:11) -----
The topic we'll address today is how you can integrate content marketing in your LinkedIn strategy. If you don't have a LinkedIn strategy, our hope is that you will be inspired to launch one after Kristina and reveal powerful content strategies on LinkedIn.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:16) -----This is an important topic for any business because we are well on our way to being an inbound eco system.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:16) -----And, LinkedIn understands this very well. LinkedIn has been in the content marketing business for several years now. If you didn't know that already, we'll make that very clear today.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:24) -----Some of us can remember the old days when sellers were in the driver's seat. Today, the roles are reversed. The buyer is in control with information on any topic just a click or two away. It's no surprise that buyers navigate as much as 70% of their buying process on their own before they engage in a sales conversation.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:24) -----With that back story, I'll turn it over to Kristina to reveal ways to integrate conversation based content marketing into your LinkedIn strategy.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:24) -----If you're not familiar with Slideshare, it's a social presentation tool. You upload PPT, PDF, documents, audio and video files and Slideshare converts it to a standalone URL. LinkedIn acquired Slideshare a couple of years ago…Todd Wheatland has become recognized as the guy who wrote the book on Slideshare. In Todd's book, he explains how easy it is and how valuabel it is to display your Slideshare presentations on your LinkedIn profile.
Joe Chernov is a great example of a how to display Slideshare presentations on your profile. Think of each Slideshare as a statement of your professional credentials. Give people a chance to consume your valuable content right on your profile. If they like it, you might inspire them to want to engage with you further.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:42) -----Just yesterday, LinkedIn launched a new feature available on Company Pages called Showcase. This feature allows a company with multiple products to build separate pages for specific products. This is ideal for large companies, or any company with a lot of products so customers can easily find and consume content of a specific product.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:42) -----Did you know that LinkedIn offers 5 mobile apps? These apps really make it easy to use LinkedIn anywhere. The LinkedIn app is nearly identical to the desktop version of LinkedIn, just on your iPhone or Android device. Pulse is a content curation app that you configure to get content such as news and articles on your favorite topics, consume the content on your phone and of course share it with your LinkedIn network. In the interest of time, I'll only discuss these two mobile apps. Visit linkedin.com/mobile to learn about the others. You'll be amazed at how these apps can take your LinkedIn experience to a whole new level.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:42) -----So, how can you influence buying decisions on LinkedIn through content marketing?
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:50) -----First, you might need to change the way you think. It's not just a numbers game. You shouldn't aim to have a gzillion connections.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:50) -----Rather, to be influential on LinkedIn you need to make connections that are meaningful to you. And, rather than having a passive relationship with your connections, you want them to take action. Now, let's be realistic, taking action is not always about a sales conversation.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:50) -----With all the opportunities to engage with content on LinkedIn, taking action can occur in many ways. For example, when you post a status update on your profile with a link to an article and others "like" it or comment on it or share it, that is action. When you visit a group and you comment on someone's conversation thread, or you start a new conversation thread in a group and others participate, those are actions. And, as insignificant as it may sound, these actions can create influence within your network.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 20:50) -----If your company is not creating influence on LinkedIn my prediction is that there aren't enough people engaging through content and with relevant connections. A social enterprise, or a social business embraces employee branding and actually encourages employees to spend productive time on Linkedin engaging with others through content marketing. Sometimes, a little training is all it takes to get a jump start on becoming influential on LinkedIn.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:04) -----The rewards are plenty. In fact, if more CEOs saw this data that proves the importance of building trust through social media engagement, we'd see more of them on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. And, we'd see more committment and budget to making the transition to becoming a social business, because customers want to interact with a social business.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:04) -----Another reason businesses are not influential on LinkedIn is because there is a gap between thought leadership and thought leadership….Too often I receive emails from people on LinkedIn promoting a product. That's called spam. I delete them and often remove them as a connection on LinkedIn. That's not the way to do lead generation on LinkedIn. The way to generate sales opportunities on LinkedIn is by building trust, credibility, thought leadership and relationships. And, you do that through content and real and authentic engagement with people.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:04) -----It simply boils down to being an authentic communicator on LinkedIn. Think about it, how else can you communicate in LinkedIn if it's not through content? Even when you send a message (email) to someone, if you're not sharing relevant content about something that might interest the recipient, you're spamming them!
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:04) -----Need more proof. Okay, here's more evidence that what buyers want from sellers is trust more than any other attribute. And, the path to building trust is by providing buyers highly relevant content that helps them in some way.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:04) -----Another reason you may not be building influence is because your connections are not engaging with you. Either they are the wrong connections, or you are not particpating on LinkedIn with content that can interest your connections to engage with you.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:19) -----Yet another reason you may not be building influence on LinkedIn (and this is a big one) is that you're sharing cat videos or something silly and totally irrelevant. Honestly, I've never seen anyone share cat videos on LinkedIn. But, I have seen people share content that is not relevant to me. I just ignore those connections. If you want your prospective buyers to engage with you, BE RELEVANT!
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:19) -----A huge missed opportunity for many businesses is not bloggging. It's amazing to me that less than half of the Inc. 500 have a blog.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:19) -----The data proves that businesses with a blog generate more leads than non-blogging firms. And, since LinkedIn is a content channel, it's a natural place to share your blog content. But, don't sell with your blog content. Don't post it saying "read my blog.." or something silly like this. Rather, inspire people with a key point about your blog content and share the link. Don't hesitate to share the same blog post 2 or 3 times spread out over 2 or 3 weeks. You might emphasize a different point each time you share the post.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:19) -----Another key factor in influencing buyers on LinkedIn is sharing content that is relevant to buyers in different stages of the buying cycle. The content at the awareness stage is very different than content that addresses "how to solve a problem" in the implementing stage. Consider that your content should not be a "one size fits all" approach.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:19) -----The mix of the content you share on LinkedIn should be a mix of content you curate and your original content. Even if you are not the author of the content, sharing content authored by subject matter experts in your business is an important part of the trust building process with buyers. So, mix it up. Don't be too heavy with curated content or originally authored content.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:19) -----Focus on building thought leadership to build trust for your brand. Use case studies, best practice and address each stage of the buying cycle. Be strategic in your approach to using LinkedIn. Do it everyday. Have a content plan. Use the built in Pulse content. Share your own content. Test to see what gets results. Measure results. Don't be afraid to experiment but err on the side of authenticity, not sales. This is a situation where selling less can produce more sales.
----- Meeting Notes (11/19/13 21:19) -----I invite you to tune into my new digital TV show Social Business Engine. I interview people on their social business journey. They share their wins and lessons learned. You'll learn a lot. Just go to our YouTube channel on the screen.