BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT /
BRANDING USING LINKEDIN
Rockford Social Media Bootcamp – 7/24/09

Dana VanDen Heuvel
Dana is the founder of The
MarketingSavant Group and a
widely recognized specialist in
emerging marketing technologies such
as blogging, social media, RSS,
Internet communities and interactive
marketing trends and best practices
and speaks regularly on these topics
at industry events. Dana is the creator
of the American Marketing
Association “TechnoMarketing”
training series and the author of the
AMA Marketech ’08 guide to
marketing technology.

After-Event Slides & Resources
 The slides and resource links are available
electronically after the event:
clients.marketingsavant.com/socialmediabc

EXPECTATIONS!
 What questions brought you
here?
 What do you need to bring
back?
 What are you doing with social
networking & social media
today?
 What do you expect to be able
to DO after tomorrow?
 How should success LOOK, FEEL
and SOUND?

Social Networking
Q: What is “social networking”?
A: A social network service focuses on building online
communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or
who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of
others. Most social network services are web based and
provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail
and instant messaging services.
Social networking has encouraged new ways to communicate
and share information. Social networking websites are being
used regularly by millions of people.

Social Networking
“The most effective social
networking is all about
building relationships,
engaging with others,
and developing solid
word-of-mouth
marketing.”

Top 10 Social Networking Opportunities
1. Create an online profile that attracts attention and
opportunities
2. Tap into the hidden job market and prepare for
the killer interview
3. Recruit qualified candidates, donors, volunteers,
anyone…
4. Launch, market, and advertise your products &
services
5. Develop an online platform that promotes you &
your organization as useful, helpful experts

Top 10 Social Networking Opportunities
6. Develop your fan base
7. Publicize a cause, campaign or nonprofit org.
8. Share and exchange business information with
fellow business contacts
9. Conduct field or market research on a niche or
demographic
10. Find and analyze potential partners, investors or
vendors

Over Half of Online Adults…
 75% of online adults
18-24 have a profile
on a social network site
 57% of online adults
25-34 have a profile
on a social network

All the Digital People

Map Out
Your Cyber-
Social
Citizenship

Networking
Fundamentals

We’re All Connected
Q: What do Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and “six
degrees of separation” have in common?
A: People all around the world believe in them, but
they’re all myths.

 You want to tailor your social networking to the “real
you” not the “ideal, I could do this but after two
weeks I’m going to be back to my old self and
people will wonder where I am, self”
 All things being equal, people will generally do
business with, and refer business to, those people they
know, like and trust.

7 Keys to a Powerful Network
1. Your Character
2. Your Competence
3. Relevance of the people you know
4. Information you have about your network
5. Strength of your relationships
6. Number of people in your network
7. Diversity (of your network)
Source: The Virtual Handshake

Weekly Social Networking Strategies
1. Set Your Networking Goals
2. Block Out Time To Network

Set Your Networking Goals
 Make a plan
 The missing piece in most networking strategies is
the alignment of your activities with your business
objectives
 ASK YOURSELF:
 What do you want to accomplish with online
networking?
 How does that differ from where you’re at now?
 What’s working, what’s not?

Block Out Time To Network
 The more people you know, the less well you know
them
 What’s your action threshold?
 Your ability to actively network to both add & derive value
 In order to be proactive, and not just re-active, the threshold
is usually higher
 Put it on the calendar
 ASK YOURSELF:
 When’s your ideal networking time?
 How much time are you devoting/prepared to
devote?

Contact Map

Workbook
Time!

Yes, that workbook…

Let’s Talk
LinkedIn

First, A Bit About Profiles
 Your profile, on any network, is not a resume
 Your profile maps to your goals
 Network, job hunt, sell, attract, influence
 Thou shalt have a complete profile
 40x more likely to succeed when complete
 Public profiles are productive profiles
 “Butwhat about those creepy Internet
people?”

What is LinkedIn?
 LinkedIn is a business-
oriented social networking
site founded in December
2002 and launched in
May 2003 mainly used
for professional
networking.
 As of February 2009, it
had more than 35 million
registered users, spanning
170 industries.

How do we get LinkedIN?
 90% of all LinkedIn members joined in response to
an invitation from an existing member
 25 new professional members join every minute of
every day

Building Your Reputation on
LinkedIn

Regularly
Search and
Answer
Questions in
Linkedin
Answers
Section

Using LinkedIn for Business Development
1. Connect with
Clients, Former
Clients and
Prospects
2. Use Search to Find
Appropriate
Contact People at
Target Companies
3. Use Search to Find
Background
Information on
Prospect Personnel

Creating the Ideal
LinkedIn Profile
1) Upload a Good Photo
2) Complete Your Entire
Profile, Including
Previous Jobs
3) Use Email Address as
Your Last Name

Creating the Ideal
LinkedIn Profile
4) Use Keywords Liberally in Your
Profile
5) Link to Web Sites using
Keywords
6) Link to Blog RSS Feed

Creating the Ideal
LinkedIn Profile
7) Update Profile Often, but don’t
overdo it
 Participation in Q&A,
groups, adding jobs,
projects and the like and
adding connections are all
considered updates!
8) Create Status Updates (like
Twitter and Facebook Status)

Creating the Ideal
LinkedIn Profile
9) Use LinkedIn
Applications to increase
your social footprint
and further automate
your update regiment.

Activate Linkedin
Applications and
Connect to Content
You or Your
Company Creates
 WordPress &
Bloglink
 SlideShare &
Google Presentation
 Company Buzz
(Twitter Search)

Creating the Ideal
LinkedIn Profile
10) Invite Anyone You
Meet in a Business
Setting
11) Use Custom Intro
Text

Creating the Ideal
LinkedIn Profile
12) Find
Connections
Through
Linkedin
Search
o Name
o Company
o Location
o Keyword

Browse Your
Connections’
Connections to
Find People you
Missed or Forgot

Invite Contacts From Your Outlook
and/or Webmail Databases

13) Liberally Provide and Creating the Ideal
Request LinkedIn Profile
Recommendations
o Use Custom Invite Text
o Provide Some
Guidance to Reviewer
on Possible
Themes/Keywords

LinkedIn Messages – Break Through the Clutter
14) Send Messages to
Connections about
Events, Job
Openings, Requests
for assistance, etc.

Creating the Ideal
LinkedIn Profile
15) Join Groups (not
too many) and
Participate. Meet
People Through
Group Discussion
(or members list),
and Connect
16) Consider Creating
Your Own Group
17) Join the Link
Greater Green Bay
Group!
18) Join the New
North Social
Media Breakfast
Group

Network Socially
“The most effective social
networking is all about
building relationships,
engaging with others,
and developing solid
word-of-mouth
marketing.”
GET OUT THERE!

LinkedIn
Q&A
Need help after the presentation? Email dana@marketingsavant.com