LinkedIn for small businesses: How to maximize your profile and connections

Richard Masters
LinkedIn for small businesses:
2013
11/05/20131 richard@rjmasters.co.uk

Structure of Slide set
1.Background
• 1.1 History &
purpose
• 1.2 Revenue
sources
• 1.3Demographics
• 1.4 Competitors
2.The main
Elements
• 2.1 Personal
profiles
• 2.3 Connections
• 2.4 Groups
• 2.3 Company
pages
• 2.4 Other features
3. Business
Development
• 3.1 The importance
of LI for Business
development
• 3.2 Keys to Success
• 3.3 The three stage
process.

1.LinkedIn: Background
LinkedIn has been around since 2003 and is an
established professional networking platform. It is
widely considered to be the best for B2B business
development.

1.1 History & Purpose
Started in 2003, so it
pre dates Twitter and
facebook
Growth in
Membership
impressive and by
early 2013 it reached
the 225 million
members milestone.
There are members
in over 200 countries
and 65% are outside
The US
Floated on the NYSE
in 2012 and has
shown impressive
and steady growth in
its share value since:
which is an indicator
that investors like its
basic business model

What is It?
In its simplest form it is a large searchable CV system. LinkedIn call it a
professional networking site.
It is essentially oriented towards a business people and professionals.
It is for professional interaction and not for personal posting
Membership now „de rigour‟ in the US and UK for business people and
professionals
Its main current revenue stream is from recruiters but it has some revenue
from subscriptions and advertising.
It is proving to be useful for business development for SMB‟s- particularly
in the B2B sector

Some key LI Statistics
Over 90% of LI users use the free version. The paid version is mainly the
domain of recruiters
Over 70% have more than 100 contacts and 20% have more than 500!
The are more than 1.5 mill groups. The majority of users join more than 10
groups
50% of users spend more than 2 hours on the platform
The main uses of the platform are : Researching people and companies;
Finding Jobs; Finding new business leads and business related networking
(source: http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/infographic-linkedin-user-statistics-
network-profiles-groups-applications/)

2.2 LI Revenue: 2012
Recruitment (“Talent
Solutions”) accounts
for over half of the
revenue (53%)
The next most
important revenue
stream is Advertising
(“Marketing
Solutions”)
Subscriptions
(“Premium
Subscriptions”) only
account for 20% of
revenue

1.3 Demographics 1: Countries
Over 65% of
members outside
the US
11 mill in the UK
Opening offices
worldwide. (Dublin,
India Netherlands,
Australia, Canada)
Available in 19
languages

Demographics 2: Industry
Office
based
industries
tend to
dominate
Service
industries/
Public
sector are
also heavily
represented

Demographics 3: Occupations
Majority in
higher paid
occupations
(£60k +)
High
proportion
have university
degrees
Managerial job
types
predominate
http://www.slideshare.net/LImarketingsolutions/linkedin-marketing-
solutions-in-90-seconds

Demographics: Age/Gender
Males are the
largest gender. This
is perhaps the only
social media system
where this is the
case.
The middle aged
age groups also
dominate. This
reflected the
seniority of the
membership.
New graduates are
the fastest growing
group

1.4LI Competitors
LI has different
competitors
depending on the
revenue stream
concerned.
In the small
business
marketing space
the main
competitors for
online advertising
are the portals and
the other social
media platforms
CV Systems Recruitment Advertising
Viadeo
Xing
Salesforce.com
Monster
CareerBuilder
Ecademy
Google
Facebook
Twitter
Directories
Other media

2. The main elements of LinkedIn
LinkedIn has undergone a major refocusing during the
end of 2012 and early 2013 with many of the peripheral
uses: Answers and Applications dropped and the core
functions strengthened.

LinkedIn Entities and Attributes
Stripped right
down, LI is built
around three
distinct entities with
associated
attributes.
These entities then
have relationships
between them to
form more complex
functions
Each of these three
entities is
examined in more
detail in the
subsequent
sections
Entity Attributes
Person CV Information ( profile,
education ,career,)
Relationships, Groups,
Companies. Updates
Company Products & Services,
Employees & Owners,
followers, Updates
Groups/Connections Owners, Members,
Discussions & Updates

LinkedIn Ecosystem
Another way of looking
at LI is as a networking
ecosystem based
around personal and
company brands and the
connecting processes
In this model, contacts
and interactions become
the central element, with
the other elements seen
as components of each
interaction.
Either approach works
for me but I have
structured this
presentation around the
entities view rather than
the processes view.
http://marketingland.com/something-has-changed-at-linkedin-
33190?utm_source=pluspost&utm_medium=plus&utm_campaign=stream

2.1 Personal profiles
This is the starting point of LI and many people do not get much
beyond this.
An 100% complete profile. Including a photograph, is seen as the
basic starting point to be taken seriously on LI. Over half of
members have achieved this!
There are a number of good guides on how to complete a good LI
profile. A number of these are referenced in the Resource
Document at the end.
However, in October 2012 LI introduced some major profile
changes. These have yet to be fully incorporated in published
advice. The revised basics are covered below:

Basic Information
The headline is
important as this is
key search field
The contact data
should be completed
as fully as possible
The remainder of the
data is generated
from elsewhere in
the profile
An up to date
business type
photograph is
essential

The Summary
This is crucial
as it is the main
area that is
read by visitors
The three
symbols are
the:
• Edit button (pencil),
• The add document
(square and +).
More on this below.
• The move symbol
(two ended arrow.
This allows you to
reorder the
elements in your
profile as you wish.

Added “Rich Media” Profiles
This is an important new
feature which allows key
information to be
showcased.
It allows you to add
documents, links,
images, publications
and videos to your
summary
In this example
Slideshare
presentations, You Tube
videos and Box
documents are shown.

Experience
Work experience in
chronological order are input.
If there is a company page
associated with the employer
then the logo is shown
As with the summary,
documents can be added to
highlight achievements.
The first two references for
that employment(see later)are
shown.
This data feeds into the
„summary‟ information shown
above

Volunteer Experience
This is a relatively
new area to the
profile
Aimed at
presenting a
balanced view of
individual and third
sector experience.
Includes
organisations and
causes you
support.

Skills and Expertise
This is another new area
You are prompted to identify
your skill areas.
Your contacts can then
endorse you for these skills
with the aim of highlighting
those areas considered of
particular expertise.
This feature has had a mixed
reception, some finding it
useful and some finding it a
sort of reciprocal exchange
without value.

Education and Publications
Education can be listed
in chronological order
and videos, images
and documents can be
added to enhance as
required
Publications can be
listed along with links
to online to stores such
as Amazon or other
websites. This is seen
as further evidence of
accomplishment.

Additional Information
this includes the following
information on: interests,
personal details and
professional certifications.
There are number of further
sections which provide
summary data on activities
collected elsewhere :
• Recommendations
• Professional Connections
• Groups you belong to.
• Companies you are following
Some of this data can be
edited to be shown in the
order you wish.

Other profile Information
There are even more optional
sections that can be added if
you feel you have information
to populate them
For example for self
employed people the projects
a can be useful to showcase
important projects you have
been part of.
Similarly additional
languages, awards or test
scores can be showcased

2.2 Connections 1: Who and
Why?
Connections are used to build professional networks on LI
These networks should be strategic networks to enhance your
personal career or your business.
Ultimately these contacts can be develop these into personal
contacts and then into better jobs or more business
Good acceptance criteria is: do you trust the person enough to
let them see your email address?
Generally best to aim for quality rather than quantity. A
manageable network size is between 100 and 400 connections

Connections 2: How?
The easiest way to start is to import your contacts from your chosen
address book (e.g. Gmail or Outlook) and select ones you wish to invite.
Go through your business cards and recent contacts and use the “people
search” function to see if they are members.
Always use a personal invite and not the default.
Make connecting part of your ongoing business process.
Ask your existing to connections to introduce you to new connections
LI will suggest to you people who you may know. The algorithm it uses is
surprisingly clever!

Connections 3: What?
The key activity is the update. This keeps your connections informed of what
you are doing. these can be posted directly to your home page
LI also posts notifications to your feed automatically on your new connections,
profile updates, activity in groups, participation in discussions etc.
This is also a major opportunity to share content to demonstrate your
knowledge and establish your expertise.
Taken together these show your network that you are professionally active and
busy
Ultimately it is up to you, and which of your connections you develop into
personal contacts. This is a vital aspect of business development (see later)

2.3 Groups 1: Why
Groups are an affinity group composed of members,
which naturally segments itself based on a shared
interest. Interests can be wide and varied!
The primary role of groups is to conduct discussions
of interest to the affinity group concerned. In addition
it is possible to post promotions and jobs to groups.
Once you are accepted as a member of a group it is
possible to connect directly to other group members
and increase your connections

Groups 2: Which Groups?
There are in excess of 1.5 million groups currently on LinkedIn so selection is
important.
Selection is via keyword search of the Group Directory which is accessed from the
main menu.
An alternative method is to look at the groups your existing contacts are members
of, as the chances are these will be relevant.
It is important to research the groups with care before joining. The next slide shows
the statistics for two groups with very different activity profiles. Clearly you are going
to get very different experience from each one!
It is possible to join up to 50 groups but generally the best strategy is to go for a few
groups and achieve a deep engagement. It is also sensible to join some groups just
to learn rather than participate.

Select groups with care
High comment to
discussion ratio
Lots of posts, jobs and
promotions little
comment

Groups 3: How to exploit
Participation in discussions is the key activity
This helps you establish a personal reputation
Generally it is best to lurk for a while before posting to understand the
dynamics of a group
Pick popular discussions to comment or add information to.
Promote your own content- but optimally in an indirect manner
Overt promotion tends to put people off and can have a negative effect
Connect with people whose ideas interest you or may form a useful future
business contact.

2.4 The Company Section
The company functionality was added as a major upgrade late
in 2010.
It was significantly refreshed in September 2012, giving it a
more up to date look and feel.
The Resources Paper at the end contains some detailed “how
to” type publications on how to create a LI company section
The main elements of significance for small businesses are
shown in the next diagram.

Main Elements
The diagram
shows the
main
elements in a
LI company
section:
• The company
profile
• Products and
Services (and
promotions)
• Employees
• Jobs
• Followers (and
Updates)

Company Profile
Can input basic
company
information to
create a
“Profile”
Can add a
headline banner
image to display
above the profile
Can also add
logos for
inclusion on
profiles and
posts

Products and Services
Individual products
and services can
be described in
some detail. Can
include images and
videos.
Recommendations
can also be
requested and
associated with
each
product/service.
Promotions can
also be associated
with each specified
product/service

Employees
Employees can
associate themselves
with companies
This allows a potential
client to get see the
skills and background
of a companies
employees
Company links are
also shown on
individual personal
profiles for current and
past employments

Jobs/Careers
This feature allows you
to display a simple list
of jobs.
In addition there are
paid options which
allow you to present
much more information
such as images and
videos.
The Recruitment (Talent
Solutions) options
allow you to search and
connect to suitable
candidates.

Followers and Updates
Companies can be
followed (followers)
These can be viewed
by company owners.
Insights into the
demographics of
followers are also
displayed.
Companies can also
send updates to
followers in the same
way as individuals can
to their connections.

Website Badges
Share and follow
buttons for
company pages
can be put on
websites etc.
In addition
special badges
which provide
summary
company
information.
These also allow
people to follow.

2.5 Other Useful features
Feature Content
linkedIn Today • Daily news curation service
•Structured into subject area to subscribe to
Key influencers • Updates from designated influencers
highlighted
•Can elect to follow them
Advertising(marketing
solutions)
• Display advertisements to dive awareness and
leads
•Targeted demographics
Jobs (job seeker) •Three levels of additional access
Recruitment (talent solutions) •Three levels of different access
•Target individuals based on their profiles
Sales professionals •Three levels of access
•Target individual decision makers to build
relationships
Signal
Feature Content
linkedIn Today • Daily news curation service
•Structured into subject area to subscribe to
•Can share and comment on individual items
Key influencers • Updates from designated influencers
highlighted
•Can elect to follow them
Advertising(marketing
solutions)
• Display advertisements to drive awareness and
leads
•Targeted demographics
Jobs (job seeker) •Three levels of additional access
Recruitment (talent solutions) •Three levels of different access
•Target individuals based on their profiles
Sales professionals •Three levels of access
•Target individual decision makers to build
relationships 11/05/201341 richard@rjmasters.co.uk

3. Business Development using
LinkedIn
This is the one of the main reasons for putting time and
effort into LI. You can progress your career- Me Plc- or
develop new opportunities for your business.

3.1 Importance for business
development
Recent (2013)
survey shows that
30% of small
businesses use
LI for business
41% also think it
also has the most
potential amongst
social networks
This ranks it
significantly
ahead of the other
social networks

B2B rather than B2C
HubSpot survey
of all users
shows that it is
in the area of
B2B that LI is
particularly
relevant
This is not
surprising as the
majority of the
members are
professional
business people

Most effective at lead generation
In particular LI
is seen as
being effective
at converting
visitors to
leads
(prospects)
2.74% is high
by any
standards

3.2 The keys to success in LI
Business Development
A recent in depth study of successful LI users by
Jill Conrath revealed the following:
• A relatively few people are successful in using LinkedIn for
business development.
• Those that are successful tend to be very successful!
• Successful people regard LI as strategic and put lots of time
and effort into it
• The key is to identify, develop and nurture targeted
relationships
• Treating LI as a “stamp collecting” exercise does not bring
success.
• Some of Jill Conraths key findings are presented in the next
two slides........

Only a few are very successful!
4.7% of LI users
generate lots of
opportunities using
LI. This is high.
A further 39.4%
have generated
several
opportunities
55.5% have
generated no
opportunities
4.7% Lots of
Opportunities
39.4% Several
Opportunities
55.5% No
Opportunities
Source: Jill Conrath http://bit.ly/Crack-LI-Sales-Code

What do successful people do?
Top sellers see LI as Strategic
and central to their business
development strategy.
Top sellers spend a lot of time
on LI
Top sellers spend time finding
and researching potential
contacts.
In more detail success can be
seen as a 3 stage process..
http://bit.ly/Crack-LI-Sales-Code
Source: Jill Conrath

3.3 The Three Stage process
Business development success on
linkedIn can be seen as a threes stage
process:
• Stage1 Establishing a presence
• Stage2 Identifying key prospects and leads
• Stage 3 Relationship development (lead nurturing)
• These three steps are described in more detail
below:-

Stage1: Establish your presence
• 100% completion is “de rigueur”
• Describe your qualifications, experience and
achievements
• Add multimedia evidence via the new “visual profile”
features
Complete your personal
profile
• Import contacts from your existing address books. Now
enhanced with Pulse integration Send out personalised invites
out to connect.
• Join or create a groups and contribute your expertise and
knowledge
• Invite other group members to connect with you
• Put your LI profile on your email signature to gain connections
Build your network
• Initiate and participate in group discussions
• Post status updates featuring news/comments etc.
• Use linkedIn curated news service(linkedIn today) and
share/comment on articles
Demonstrate your
knowledge and
showcase your expertise
• Showcase your products and services using text/images and
video and link it to your personal profile
• Encourage connections/clients/employees to follow your
company
• Use updates to post key content promotional material such as
blogs, white papers and offers etc..
Create a professional
company page

Stage2: Lead generation
activities
• Gaining Referrals from existing contacts is a key process ( see next
slide for details). Many LI users do not do this!
• Identify and approach individuals in your groups to connect, based
on their activities/profiles who would benefit from your offerings
• Advanced Search based on key is another vital prospecting activity
(see next slides for details). Only 26% of LI users do this!
Direct
Prospecting
• Post content, updates and offers with landing pages and CTA‟s to
attract prospects to your company pages
• Develop landing pages on your website to record leads from your
company page
• Include a lead generation widget on your website and direct visitors to
LI.
• Search other company websites employee sections for potential
prospects based on their profiles
Company
Pages
• Place targeted ads on individuals home pages
• Use LI demographics to target key prospect groups
• Develop a high converting landing page on your website to capture
the leads
Advertising

Referrals: A key source of leads
Referrals are vital as they are warm leads, who are, therefore, easier to
approach
The first place to look for new contacts is your existing first tier contacts
connections.
You can browse the basic details of second tier contacts and those of
fellow group members
These are your second tier contacts. You can ask your first tier contacts to
introduce you to their contacts.
LI also provides you with a list of potential contacts based on your profile,
groups and connections.
The paid subscription option allows you to contact third tier connections as
well

Advanced Search: Vital for leads
Next step is to identify
potential leads from
the general
membership
LI has an advanced
search capability which
allows accurate
targeting
The basic criteria can
be used to search.
Such as Job Title,
Organisation, Industry
sector etc.
Further criteria are
available under the
paid options.

Stage 3: Developing Leads into
Prospects then Customers
• Research prospects profiles to further qualify them
• Paid options allow broader and more in depth research
• Identify best leads to follow-up
• Can output to a CRM system or use LI Social CRM capabilities
(currently in Beta)
Consolidated list of
leads from
prospecting activities
• Some are referrals so can ask for an introduction
• Some in groups so can contact direct
• Paid options allow you a number of additional approach Inmails
every month
• Alternately look outside LI and search other social platforms or
Google to get telephone numbers.
Approach leads to
establish relationship
• Target information and content at specific prospects via in mails
to develop and nurture the relationship
• Ongoing qualification process to identify key prospects
• Engage prospect on other social platforms and via general
email
• Links to CRM systems again important at this stage
Develop
relationships and
qualify prospects
• The ultimate goal to get one to one contact to discuss business
with a well qualified prospect
• By this stage the relationship should be such that this is
achievable either face to face, telephone or video (Skype,
Google hangout etc) as both parties should see the potential.
Physical, phone or
video meeting.

Summary of LinkedIn
Linked In is a well established and respected professional networking
system.
It is relatively simple to set up and maintain a presence both as an
individual and as a company
It can be used for both personal career development and for gaining new
business.
For business development it is mainly a B2B platform
The key to successful business development is to treat it as strategic and
not a “stamp collecting” exercise.
Developing relationships, beyond simple connection, is the key to
business success

Resource Papers
Title View/Download Link (Box.net)
LinkedIn background: Resources
Doc
https://www.box.com/s/oxv4z2ksceiqgvsnrmyk
Personal Profile Resources Doc https://www.box.com/s/mk6vu7ew0u5auk8vkm
hx
Groups and Connections Resources
Doc
https://www.box.com/s/rf3wf3vi1n3jozy20jga
Company Pages Resources Doc https://www.box.com/s/8bk6uwx0c8cnm5oj24p
y
Business Development Resources
Doc
https://www.box.com/s/vsxfua47krve70bn0oyy
PowerPoint Presentation Slides https://www.box.com/s/3419bbohoqzscxr2l91h

Further information and contact
 Email: richard@rjmasters.co.uk
 Website: www.rjmasters.co.uk
 LinkedIn: http://lnkd.in/vTp8Kw
 G+
:http://www.google.com/profiles/richardmasters.richar
d
 Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/richardmastersj
 Twitter: www.twitter.com/mastersassoc

LinkedIn for small businesses: How to maximize your profile and connections

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