This document discusses how to use LinkedIn effectively for marketing. It begins by providing statistics on LinkedIn's large user base and growth. It then discusses how to identify prospective students and alumni on LinkedIn using advanced search and influencer identification. It recommends publishing thought leadership content on your Company Page and Showcase Pages, contributing to relevant Groups, and sharing visual content on SlideShare. The document emphasizes engaging with key targets on these platforms and measuring the results of one's LinkedIn marketing efforts. It provides examples of how non-profits and universities have successfully used LinkedIn in this way.

1. How to Make LinkedIn a
Marketing Machine
Greg Jarboe
President and co-founder of SEO-PR
MIT communications staff presentation
March 4, 2015

2. LinkedIn continues to grow among
professionals and college graduates
• Facebook remains by far the
most popular social media
site.
• While its growth has
slowed, the level of user
engagement with the
platform has increased.
• Other platforms like
LinkedIn, Pinterest,
Instagram, and Twitter saw
significant increases over
the past year in the
proportion of online adults
who now use their sites.
Source: Pew Research Center, “Social Media Update 2014,” Jan. 9, 2015

3. LinkedIn has more than 347 million
members and over 2 million groups
• Launched in 2003, LinkedIn
operates the world’s largest
professional network on the
Internet with more than 347
million members in over 200
countries and territories.
• There are over 39 million
students and recent college
graduates on LinkedIn.
• They are LinkedIn's fastest-
growing demographic.
• There are more than 2 million
LinkedIn groups.
Source: LinkedIn

4. LinkedIn became available to high
school students in September 2013
Source: http://youtu.be/YWp6AN00D_c

5. MIT has connected with prospective
students via LinkedIn for several years
Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, LinkedIn

6. MIT’s alumni group has 28,549 members
out of over 130,000 living alums
Source: MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alumni, LinkedIn

7. The Sloan School connects with alumni
and prospective students on LinkedIn

8. Other academic departments connect
with prospective students and alumni

9. However, LinkedIn answers only half of
the six questions that you need to ask
• Who are your key targets?
• What is your most relevant
and valuable content?
• When should you upgrade to a
Premium Account?
• Where should you publish?
– Company Page
– Showcase Pages
– Groups
– SlideShare
• Why engage your key targets?
• How do you measure results?
Sources: LinkedIn and Greg Jarboe

10. Find prospective students or alumni
who can impact your department
• Advanced People Search
– Size a potential audience
based on a specific profile
– Explore interests and activity
for the individual members of
that audience
• Group Profiling
– Group demographics
– Quality of content and level
of activity
• Influencer Identification
– Who are established
authorities around the
topic/niche
– Connect and dialogue
Source: Greg Jarboe’s Premium LinkedIn Account

11. Identify people who added MIT or
Caltech to their Decision Boards
5,201 people have added MIT to
their Decision Boards
1,228 people have added Caltech
to their Decision Boards
Source: Greg Jarboe’s Premium LinkedIn Account

12. 112,672 individuals on LinkedIn with
MIT or Sloan School listed in School
Source: Greg Jarboe’s Premium LinkedIn Account

13. Thought leadership articles are your
most relevant and valuable content
• In a nutshell, thought
leadership is about sharing
insights and ideas – and a
unique point of view – that
provoke new ways of thinking,
spark discussions and debates,
and inspire action.
• A true thought leader knows a
topic inside and out, has
formed a clear, unique and
defensible point of view about
it, and freely shares that
perspective.
• That said, there’s more than
one type of thought
leadership.
Source: LinkedIn, “The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to Thought Leadership”

14. When should you upgrade from a
Basic (free) to a Premium Account?
Source: LinkedIn Free and Upgraded Premium Accounts
Free Executive (What I have) Pro ($550/month)
Who’s viewed your profile Limited Unlimited Unlimited
Full profiles Limited to 1st and 2nd
degree
1st, 2nd and 3rd degree 1st, 2nd and 3rd
degree
Full name visibility Limited to 1st and 2nd
degree
3rd degree and group
connections
3rd degree and group
connections
In Mail messages None 25 per month 50 per month
Introductions 5 35 50
Open profile No Yes Yes
Premium search No Get up to 8 advanced
search filters
Get up to 8 advanced
search filters
Profiles per search 100 700 1,000
Saved search alerts 3 weekly 10 daily 15 daily
Reference search No Yes Yes

15. You can transform any account from a
resume into a marketing machine
Source: Greg Jarboe’s LinkedIn Profile

16. MIT’s communications staff can then
use an individual’s profile for outreach
Source: Bob Ferrara, LinkedIn

17. You should publish content on your
Company Page and Showcase Pages
• Your Company Page is the
ideal central repository for
your thought leadership.
• To complement the thought
leadership content, your
organization’s authors can
point people to other relevant
content by curating articles
about industry news and
trends as well as content from
LinkedIn Influencers.
• Through Showcase Pages, your
departments can segment
content to distinct audiences
who are interested in different
aspects of your university.
Source: LinkedIn, “The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to Thought Leadership”

18. You should contribute relevant and
valuable comments in Groups
• Spend time cultivating a
LinkedIn Group and you can
quickly establish your
company as a thought leader.
• When a LinkedIn Group is run
well and provides food for
thought, it can quickly develop
a loyal following.
• The natural by-product is that
group members see your
company as the leader in
whatever niche you’ve chosen
to focus on.
Source: LinkedIn, “The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to Thought Leadership”

19. You should also publish relevant and
valuable visual content on SlideShare
• SlideShare recently analyzed
more than 1,000 infographics
uploaded to SlideShare since
launch, and the results were
pretty compelling:
– Infographics were liked 4x more
than presentations, and 23x
more than documents on
SlideShare.
– Infographics were shared 2x
more than presentations, and 3x
more than documents on other
social networks, such as LinkedIn,
Twitter and Facebook.
Source: LinkedIn, “The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to Thought Leadership”

20. Why you should connect and engage
with your key targets on LinkedIn
• “You shouldn’t be on LinkedIn.
• “Share on LinkedIn.
• “Teach on LinkedIn.
• “Discuss, debate, learn, grow,
engage on LinkedIn.
• “But please, for the love of
Pete, don’t just BE on LinkedIn.
• “If you want to be a better
networker and make your
social presence into a useful
tool, stop ‘looking at’ LinkedIn
and start ‘engaging with’ it.”
Source: Liz Deforest, BlissBlog, and image courtesy of Hans Kylberg

21. All marketers know they’re expected
to prove the value they’re delivering
• Measure outputs:
– Company/Showcase Pages -- New
prospects and key influencers.
– Sponsored Updates – New followers
gained .
– Groups – New members and number
of comments per conversation.
– LinkedIn Pulse – Views, comments,
and shares .
– SlideShare – Views, shares, and
embeds.
• Measure outcomes:
– Quality leads generated.
– Executive-level meetings scheduled.
– Press briefings secured.
– Invitations to speak at conferences.
Source: LinkedIn, “The Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to Thought Leadership”

22. National Transfer Network is a non-
profit organization founded in 2014
Source: National Transfer Network

23. Targeted groups as well as education,
admissions, and transfer executives
Groups targeted
• Admissions University,
Association of Private
Sector Colleges and
Universities, Admissions
and Financial Aid, Higher
Education Administration,
Higher Education
Management, Higher
Education Professionals,
Inside Higher Ed, Leaders in
Higher Education
Job titles targeted
• Provost, dean of school,
assistant dean of school
• Registrar, assistant registrar,
admissions director or
assistant director,
admissions officer
• Transfer Admissions
director, transfer program
director
Sources: National Transfer Network and SEO-PR

24. Sean O’Brien’s account transformed
from resume into marketing machine
Source: Sean O’Brien, LinkedIn Profile

25. College Transfer Pathways LinkedIn
Group launched on June 12, 2014
Source: College Transfer Pathways LinkedIn Group

26. Published valuable content on relevant
topics and reached out to key targets
• Researched LinkedIn groups for
this target audience:
– 10 groups contained 30,000
admissions professionals.
– Joined all of the relevant groups.
– Members can message other group
members without using "limited in
mail credits.”
• Tested outbound messages to
target individuals in each group:
– Invited targets to join our new
group and contribute.
– Response rates for 4 groups were
over 25%.
• College Transfer Pathways grew
from 19 to more than 1,380
members in 5 months.
Source: College Transfer Pathways LinkedIn Group

27. 2-year colleges and 4-year universities
joining the National Transfer Network
Source: National Transfer Network

28. Rutgers School of Management and
Labor Relations established in 1947
Source: Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations

29. Bill Castellano’s account transformed
from resume into marketing machine
Source: Bill Castellano Ph.D., LinkedIn Profile

30. Rutgers EPE’s Workforce Research
Group launched on January 11, 2015
Source: Rutgers Executive and Professional Education’s Workforce Research Group on LinkedIn

31. Outreach targeted members of 14
groups with 12 job titles in 4 states
Groups targeted
HR Leadership Forum
Linked:HR (#1 Human Resources Group)
Human Resources (HR) & Talent Management Executive
Leadership Think Tank
The Project Manager Network - #1 Group for Project Managers
Human Resources Professionals
H.R. Professionals Association - HumanResources
Project Manager Community - Best Group for Project Management
PMI Project, Program and Portfolio Management: #1 group for
career advancement
Human Resources Professionals Worldwide
Human Resources IQ
PMLink - Project Management Link - Project, Program & Portfolio
Managers, PMP, PMBOK, PMO
Management Consulting and Employee Training
PMO - Project Management Office
Job titles targeted
human+resources+manager
marketing+manager
cfo
recruiting+manager
organizational+development
vp marketing
HR+Generalist
Recruiting Manager
Marketing Director
Senior Vice President
VP Human Resources
human+resources+director
Sources: Rutgers SMLR and SEO-PR

32. Response rates ranged from 15% in
Pennsylvania to 24% in New Jersey
Sources: Rutgers SMLR and SEO-PR

33. Rutgers EPE’s Workforce Research
Group has grown to 335 members
Source: Rutgers Executive and Professional Education’s Workforce Research Group on LinkedIn

34. Accurately targeted content marketing
on LinkedIn is the new best practice
• Who are your key targets?
• What is your most relevant
and valuable content?
• When should you upgrade to
a Premium Account?
• Where should you publish?
– Company Page
– Showcase Pages
– Groups
– SlideShare
• Why engage your key targets?
• How do you measure results?
Sources: LinkedIn and SEO-PR