Discover how best to engage with prospects and customers in LinkedIn Groups

1. LinkedIn Optimisation
How to engage vertically

3. Eat that Frog! If it’s
your job to eat a
frog, it’s best to do
it first thing in the
morning. And If it’s
your job to eat two
frogs, it’s best to
eat the biggest one
first. ~ Mark Twain

4. Agenda
• SoftwareOne status
• 5 LinkedIn group do’s & don’ts
• 3 engagement tips
• In-mail re-cap
• 6 tasks to complete after
• Summary
• Q&A

5. Group Etiquette

6. Tip 1 –
Don’t spam connections

7. Personalisation is key

8. Good personalisation examples…
1. “It was nice meeting you at the ____ event. In
enjoyed talking to you about ____. Let’s be sure
to stay in touch.”
2. I am a fellow member of the ____ LinkedIn
group and I saw your comments about ____. Id
love to stay in touch so we can talk more about
it.”
3. I’d be interesting in discussing more about
challenge X. Perhaps we could exchange email
addresses and I could send you more
information that you might find of interest.

9. Stay Positive

10. Tip 2 –
Don’t be negative

11. Use B.O.PP
•Be Nice
•Offline
• Policed
• Post

12. Be responsive to comments

13. As an example…

15. Tip 3 –
Don’t post self-serving
content

16. Answer the 3 W’s
• Why?
• Who?
• What?

17. Content Types

18. Content types for groups
• Educational – trends
• Engaging – quiz/visuals/infographics
• Thought-leadership - opinion

19. Typical social media metrics
• Brand awareness
• Prospect/customer engagement
• Brand reach
• Brand endorsement

20. Decide on the right
platforms & content

21. Tip 4 –
Use LinkedIn appropriately

22. 5 things to do on
LinkedIn vertical groups
1. Identify members by organisation
2. Connect with members via In-Mail
3. Contribute to groups with engaging
questions
4. Contribute to groups with genuine answers
5. Contribute to groups with independent
content

23. Less is more…

24. Tip 5 –
Don’t post too
frequently

25. Before you post…
• Know the content calendar
• Have a clear theme
• Share relevant content
• Ask engaging questions
• Have engaging answers
• Have a clear set of KPI’s – engagement?
Brand awareness? Delegate registration?

26. Remember…
1. Be genuine
2. Be agnostic
3. Be helpful
4. Be relevant
5. Be informative

27. 3 Engagement Tips

29. Be Visual

30. Be thought-ful/provoking

31. In-mail communication

32. Why In-Mail often fails
• Subconsciously communicate “me-me-me” to
the recipient.
• Don’t compel the reader to talk with you after
clicking “accept.”
• Accidentally help prospects decide
to ignore the message

33. 3 best practice recommendations
1. Avoid starting your message with the word
“I”
2. Let’s decide – subject line
3. De-emphasis you and focus on the prospect

34. For example..
Hi _________ (first name),
As a member of the _________ (LinkedIn group)
group, I wanted to introduce myself. I’m
_______________(title or background) with
_______________ (company) and wanted to
connect with area professionals. If you are not
open to connecting, please ignore this invite.
Thanks!

35. Better yet..
Hi _________ (first name),
We both participate in the ____________ group
and should know each other because
____________ (insert specific, mutual benefit).
How can my network of colleagues help advance
your ambitions or bring you closer to goals?
Thanks for considering the connection. I look
forward to helping and hearing from you

36. Why it works?
• Emphasizing the other person by removing most of
the “I”s.
• Giving the recipient a reason to act. You’re clearly
stating “the WHY.”
• “Bringing to life” an appealing idea: making your
LinkedIn network available to advance their agenda.
• Creating interest. By asking a question we compel the
recipient to consider answering. By asking the
question we encourage the thought, “gee, how can
this person’s network serve me right now?”
• Being polite without inviting deletion and increasing
response

38. Define what success looks
like

39. Action…

40. After today
1. Share weekly relevant content agreed with
marketing in advance
2. Connect with relevant vertical members
3. Write two in-mails to group members
4. Contribute to two forum discussions
5. Post one new question for debate
6. Invite prospects to the ITAM group

41. Summary

42. Summary
1. Personalise communication
2. Be positive in forums and responsive
3. Don’t post too much and plan content
4. Be thoughtful, engaging and bold in content
5. Write engaging in-mails to achieve meetings
6. Define what social media success is and
measure