Agenda• Introduction to LinkedIn• Strategies for Increased Visibility:

– Setting up your foundation: Profile Optimization– LinkedIn Blogging Platform - NEW– Exporting your LinkedIn contacts & importing them into workable

Excel file– Request a recommendation

Because it is the worlds LARGEST professional online network geared towards engaging with business connections.

* (300 million strong and growing)

Why LinkedIn?

Each Month…

184,000,000 Unique Visitors

Every Day…

172,000 New Signups

LinkedIn: TheB2B Communication Network

Why LinkedIn?• Connect. Find. Be Found.

– stay in touch with colleagues, prospects, partners, and brand advocates

– Useful for those interested in making business connections, cultivating leads, developing personal brands

• Power your career– Discover professional opportunities, business deals, and new ventures

• 50% of members are more likely to purchase from companies when they engage with them on LinkedIn.

• Learn and share– Get the latest news (LinkedIn Pulse), inspiration, and insights.– Can provide a rich online networking experience and can help you

quickly ramp up your visibility.

Purpose, Goals, Tactics• First You Must Ask: What is your purpose and priority “Why”

– Position yourself as credible an authoritative/thought leader, personal branding, business development, lead gen?

• You need to know who you are and who you serve– Who is your audience? What do they want to know?

– 60% of members are interested in industry insights– 43% are interested in new products and services

• Visibility– Leverage in and outside of your network by sharing valuable content

and strategic distribution • Optimization

– Headline, summary, groups, targeted keywords, testimonials • Lead Generation/Qualifying Leads

– Utilizing a “soft sell” approach to reach clients and prospects

Profile OptimizationYour LinkedIn Profile is not your resume. Use it to demonstrate the value you bring to your clients. (*Optimize using Keywords and URL links)•Profile Picture

– Clear, professional, 40% higher response rate•Headline

– Write a descriptive headline which includes relevant topics and keywords – Who you are, who you serve, what you do, what’s the outcome?

– (Example: B2B Software Professional | Specializing in Custom Software Solutions for Better Business Results)

•Summary– 30 second elevator pitch; 3-5 sentences; use bullet points if possible– Describes who you are, your purpose and goals, Include CTA (contact

you), visit the website– You to tell a compelling story that will capture the attention of your ideal

buyer. Keep it short and engaging (think of the buyers journey). Who are your prospects and what are the keywords that they are using? How are your clients benefiting?

Profile Optimization• Keywords

– Help prospects and clients find you online. You will receive higher profile views and expand network

• Throughout your profile..– Add links and upload files: you can feature white papers, case studies,

rich media such as videos, pictures, blogs (hint: repurpose existing content from your company blog page)

Customize Your URL!

Increase Visibility: Nurture Your Network

1. Provide Insight into or advice about a challenge someone is facing 2. Send an article you know will interest the recipient3. Introduce two people in your network to each other4. Let someone know about a meeting of a professional organization, a

networking event, a speaker, or some other event you think will interest them

5. Invite them to attend that event with you 6. Add an insightful comment to a post in LinkedIn Groups – stay engaged

with your audience. Ask thoughtful questions7. Publish a Blog on the LinkedIn blogging platform and distribute to

relevant groups - ALWAYS include a clear Call to Action > when compared to updates without links, including a link can drive 2x the engagement

The key to nurturing your network is to be intentional by creating a plan, a system, or a structure so you can easily stay in touch.

LinkedIn Publishing Platform• LinkedIn has a blogging tool for creating long-form posts

which will surface your content with far more visibility and aid in your credibility – *OTHER THAN PROFILE, ONLY OTHER PLACE THAT PULLS KEY WORDS FOR OPTIMIZATION– Publishing allows you to further establish your professional identity

and credibility– Recommended: Posting once/twice a week MAX, do not overload

audience with information. You don’t need to be creating brand new content for LinkedIn. Instead you can repost content from your own website, blog, etc.

*The best times to post on LinkedIn: Tuesdays & Thursdays, between

7am – 9am Local time

LinkedIn Publishing Continued• When you publish a long-form post on LinkedIn:

– Your original content becomes part of your professional profile. It is displayed on the “Posts” section of your LinkedIn profile

– It’s shared with your connection and followers (For extended visibility and reach, share post’s within groups that your prospects would find relevant)

– Your long-form post is searchable both on and off LinkedIn.• Keywords increase your chances of getting found

– Once you finish publishing a post DON’T FORGET YOUR KEYWORD TAGS and call-to-action (CTA)

• Add different formats and LINKS– Video, picture, PDF’s, etc.– According to LinkedIn company status updates with links resulting in 45%

higher engagement than those without links

LinkedIn Publishing: Content is KING!

• Try Different Topics:– Industry news– Trends– Fun Facts– Business Updates

As people like, comment, and share

your posts – your viral reach will continue to

grow

Before you know it, your updates and posts will mark you as someone in the know

– someone that your network can count on for the latest and greatest…

Demo: Exporting Contacts• Leverage your existing natural network

– Can provide a rich online networking experience and can help you quickly ramp up your visibility.

• Exporting into Excel– By Exporting your LinkedIn contacts you can sort, filter and edit. From

there you can easily add contacts to your CRM, create prospecting lists, and keep in touch with your connections.

Step 1: Go to your LinkedIn homepage, click on the tab “connections”

Step 2: Click the ‘Settings’ symbol in the top right corner of the page

Step 3: Click ‘Export LinkedIn Connections’ in the right column of the page

• Exported Excel spreadsheet captures your connections contact information including:– First name, last name, email address, company, job title

• Import file into your CRM or email marketing platform to nurture contacts

Step 4: Choose ‘Microsoft Outlook (.CSV file)’ and click ‘export’

Step 5: Save the document

Recommendations• Recommendations are your validation

– Viewers are influenced by recommendations• This is a place where employers, clients, or colleagues can

give you reviews• A good recommendation:

– Describes how you’ve worked together – gives specific examples of how the client/employee/friend

benefited from working with you. • Make it EASY

– Create the recommendation you are requesting. It may seem a little odd, but your connection will appreciate you drafting this up. Let them know it can be modified to their satisfaction

– Thank them!

Recommendations: How To

1. Hover over your profile photo in the top right corner of any LinkedIn page

2. Choose “Privacy and Settings” from the drop down menu

3. Under the “Settings” header on the “Profile” tab select “Manage Your Recommendations”

4. Click on the “Ask for Recommendations” tab at the top and follow the prompts

Additional Insights/Recommendations• Profile Optimization/Keywords• “Softselling” – Leveraging LinkedIn for broader reach,

prospecting, and strategic sales• Harnessing the Power of Groups through LinkedIn

Pulse– Groups: communities within LinkedIn that focuses on a

particular topic or interest– Groups have an established user base– Additionally, once you understand who your target

audience is, find out what groups they associate with, what do they want to know, what are they talking about?

10 Tips to Leverage LinkedIn(and gain new wins in lead generation from your LI network)

1. When you invite people to your network, be sure to always tell them why you want to connect and never send the default invitation. This starts building the relationship in a positive way that the invitee is more likely to welcome more conversation w you in the future.

2. Make an effort each week to follow-up with a minimum of 5-10 people who are already contacts in your network. Circle back around and let them know that you are reaching out to touch base.

3. If you have specific people you are trying to nurture a relationship with, pay attention to any status updates they post and then write a comment with the idea of creating a conversation around the comment. By asking a question in reply they are likely to respond back keeping the exchange going. (Licking “like” never gives you the same result.)

4. Be committed to post 3-5 posts (updates or blogs) per week that offer relevant content to your connections. If you are posting curated content be sure to add your comment in the status update as to what you find valuable in the content you are sharing. When your connections continue to see you posting regularly with good content, you increase your credibility and value.

5. Choose several key groups to be active in. Being active means starting discussions that are interesting with topics that will engage the members of the group. Ask the group a question that will solicit some type of response and then be sure to reply to all comments.

6. Move the relationship off line by inviting someone to meet with you. Again adopt the strategy of specifically letting the person know why you want to meet and what you hope to accomplish in the meeting.

10 Tips to Leverage LinkedIn(and gain new wins in lead generation from your LI network)

7. Create content that offers value and give it away for free. By offering a free PDF or slide share in the media section of your profile where you can share your expertise is a great tool to stay top of mind with your network.

8. If you regularly produce content such as to a blog, POST – this gives you the opportunity to share your content and adding value to your network. By being consistent and relevant you will stay top of mind with your network.

9. Mention someone in a status update by tagging their name in a post is a great way to stay atop of mind as long as you use this in a relevant way.

10. Thank people when they endorse you for a skill. Everyone enjoys feeling appreciated. When another member has taken the time to view your profile and endorse you, don’t let it go unnoticed.

Resources to note:•http://mashable.com/2014/08/07/linkedin-tips-and-tricks/?diuhfakdl&crlt.pid=camp.VOTqdzjOhit6