The document provides tips and best practices for using LinkedIn effectively. It recommends fully completing your profile, getting 10 or more detailed recommendations, regularly posting and engaging with connections by commenting on updates. It also suggests using LinkedIn to find leads through jobs, employees of interest, and customers by monitoring who views your profile. Both paid and unpaid strategies are outlined for lead generation through targeted updates, group participation, and content curation.

1. LinkedIn: Tips and Best Practices
Alex Lawrence: Vice Provost – Weber State University
Twitter: @_AlexLawrence (underscore before my name)
LinkedIn: /AlexOnLinkedIn
Facebook: /AlexLawrence
Blog: StartupFlavor.com
Google+: Gplus.am/Alex

2. LinkedIn Stats
 World’s largest professional network = 225 million members in over
200 countries and territories
 77+ million in United States
 Executives from every Fortune 500 company are members
 5.7 billion professionally oriented searches in 2012
 Revenue increased 72% last year to $325 million
 132 million unique visitors in first quarter of 2013
 Many companies block social networks but don’t block LinkedIn

3. It All Starts With Your Profile
 Has to be complete – get the 100% bar
 Has to be accurate (dates, titles, etc.)
 Needs a current photo
 The more detailed the better
 Needs recommendations (more on that later)
 Quantity over quality of connections

4. After Your Profile Is Legit…
 Start with all of your business cards, contact files and people
you email regularly – search for them
 Pre-write a custom request to connect, do not use the template
 Only connect with people you have met in person or online
 If you want to connect with someone new, find a way to
connect with them somewhere easier (Twitter)
 Follow up tweet, etc. connection with customized LinkedIn
request mentioning those interactions

5. Recommendations
 After profile is complete and you have high quality connections
 Get recommendations by giving them first
 Not all recommendations are created equal
 Good = specific results and stories (details)
 Bad = people that don’t really know you (generic)

6. Recommendations
 Asking is okay -- make it personal and polite.
Dear ____,
I’m sending this to ask you for a brief recommendation of my
work that I can include in my LinkedIn profile. It would
be great if you could include stories and details as a result of
working with me.
To make this easier for you, here’s a possible draft…feel
free to edit this or create your own. I’d be happy to do the
same for you in return!
[Insert your draft of the recommendation]
Thanks so much for your help.

7. Sample Recommendations
 Something like this for a draft recommendation:
 I’ve worked with Jane for the past two years. During that
time her department has increased sales from $20m to over
$40, which was nearly 50% more than the company had
hoped for. I’ve seen Jane earn the respect of her peers and
customers alike in addition to strong and measurable
performance. When I was promoted, I specifically asked for
her to join my team. Since that time, Jane has led a team
that has consistently been our top performer, beating quota
by an average of over 20%. Jane is a pleasure to work with
and a very reliable high performer – a great combination.

8. Recommendations
 Get at least ten
 You control which ones show up
 Okay to ask for a re-write or edit (if relationship warrants it)
 Make sure they are specific
 Customers and co-workers – get them while working together
and still there

9. Leads On LinkedIn
 Three types of leads on LinkedIn
 Jobs
 Who’s Viewed You
 Employees
 Great way to find talent online
 Customers
 Who makes the decisions and how do you get to them?

10. Paid and Unpaid Lead Gen
 Paid = targeted status updates
 Unpaid strategies
 Include and encourage employees – 70% more likely to
comment and share
 Join groups – lots of them out there or start your own
 Time your updates – morning and midday on weekdays
 Encourage participation – calls to action, spark discussion
 Keep it brief

11. Content = Interaction
 Personalize your updates
 60% interested in industry insights
 53% interested in company news
 43% interested in new products/services
 3 – 4 times a day and 20 times a month
 Comment on others updates daily
 In or out – faking it won’t work

12. Monitor, Analyze and Refine
 Individual status update performance (analytics) to refine:
 Time of day
 Length of update
 Content type -- question or comment, etc.
 Frequency – too much or too little?
 Are you a curator or an advertiser?

13. Maximizing LinkedIn
 Profile is 100%, current and full of accurate information
 10+ recommendations, each with great detail
 Joining targeted groups and sharing curated content
 Updating 3-4 times a day with posts you’ve experimented with
 Regularly having conversations on your profile updates
 NOW you can reach out to unknowns, get introductions, search
and prospect for leads, employees and (don’t tell M*) jobs

14. Maximizing LinkedIn
 When people look at your profile (remember, you can see who
does), lots of great content and activity
 Lots of great and detailed recommendations
 Useful links and articles about your industries
 YOU’RE AN EXPERT!
 Much easier to connect and get a meeting or phone call
 Numerous personal experiences reflect this

15. Thanks!
 Alex Lawrence
 @_AlexLawrence
 Facebook: /alexlawrence
 Linkedin: /alexonlinkedin
 Blog: startupflavor.com
 This ppt: