This document provides a marketing plan for LinkedIn to integrate its Pulse and SlideShare mobile applications into its core mobile app. The plan recommends allowing users to view sponsored content while exploring integrated content. It projects this will increase revenue in each quarter by 19%. The primary target market is companies using LinkedIn's Talent and Marketing Solutions, and the secondary market is active LinkedIn mobile users. Financial targets for 2015 are set at $2.924 billion in net revenue and $2.230 billion in net income.
2. Table of Contents
S Title Slide
Executive Summary 3
Industry/Market Analysis 4-5
Competition 6-7
Value Chain 8-9
Customer Analysis 10-11
Company Analysis 12-19
Expanded SWOT Analysis 20-21
Recommendations 22
Recommendations Value Chain 23
Recommendations Target Markets 24
Recommendations Objectives 25
Recommendations Balanced Scorecard Metrics 26
Recommendations Marketing Mix 27
Projected Profit & Loss Statement 28
Implementation Plan 29
Contingency Plans 30
Appendices 31-34
3. Executive Summary
S This plan underlines LinkedIn’s core mission statement of connecting professionals
by specifically looking at one feature of their business model, that of Marketing
Solutions.
S Marketing Solutions makes up 20% of company revenue and is projected to have the
highest growth rate out of any of their other segments,
S With LinkedIn’s acquisitions of Pulse and SlideShare, B2B marketers now have the
opportunity to reach a larger audience to generate leads through Sponsored Updates
and attract new followers to their company.
S This plan proposes to integrate Pulse and SlideShare into LinkedIn’s already existing
core mobile application so that users can see Sponsored ads while exploring content.
S The increasing migration to mobile activity over desktop proves the viability of this
plan, increasing revenue in every quarter by 19%.
S The primary target markets are companies who already use LinkedIn’s Marketing
Solution’s capabilities. The secondary target market are existing LinkedIn members
who use the mobile application.
S By executing these strategies, financial targets should be set at:
S Net revenue: FY2015- $2.924B
S Net income- FY2015- $2.230B
4. Industry/Market Analysis
S Industry Definition: Online Recruitment Sites acquire revenue through
offering job listing services as well as ad placement space.
S Searchable database to source job postings
S Archive resumes and profiles
S Numbers at a Glance
S $3.4B industry
S Growth rate of 14.4%
S Expected annual growth rate of 7.3% for the next five years
S Industry Trends
S Low unemployment less job postings
S Platform traffic originating from mobile devices
5. Industry/Market Analysis
S Trends (Continued)
S Existing businesses to increase workforce
S Growing talent gap companies competing for highly skilled candidates
S Candidate tracking and talent strategy development
S Total number of businesses in US will grow by 1.6%
S Legal/Regulatory Issues
S Lawsuits
S Security breach in June 2012
S LinkedIn user passwords posted on Russian hacker site
S Harvesting e-mail addresses without permission
S Spamming people to join the network
6. Competitors
S
LinkedIn Career
Builder
Inc
Indeed.com Monster.co
m
Core
Products
Premium
Subscription
sHiring
Solutions,
Marketing
Solutions
Job
postings,
Candidate
sourcing, HR
Software,
Workforce
Data
Job
postings,
Resume
finder,
industry
trends,
salary
search
Job posting
aggregator,
Resume
builder and
storage
Annual
Sales
Revenue/
Market
Share
$2.21 Billion
30.7%
$556 Million
17.7%
$434 Million
14.1%
$770 Million
12.6%
Holding
Company
Public Private Private Public
Strengths Social media
platform,
Software
strength,
Largest user
base
Data
Analytics,
Present in
20 countries
Supply/dema
nd portal
Aggregates
job postings
from all sites
Accounts for
54% of
online hires
Sophisticate
d algorithms
Twitter
partnership
Weakness
es
Privacy
issues
Too much
focus on HR
Saas segment
Pay-for-
performance
business
Undergoing
significant
restructuring
7. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
Core Products Personal profiles
Instagram
Messenger
WhatsApp
Messenger
Website/Mobile
app
Gnip
Premium
Subscriptions
Hiring Solutions
Marketing
Solutions
Annual Sales
Revenue/ Market
Share
$12.5 Billion
65.4%
$1.8 Billion
16.2%
$2.21 Billion
15.1%
Holding Company Public Public Public
Strengths More than 1B
active users (tons
of data)
Mobile driven
service
Professional
network
positioning
Weaknesses 92.2% of revenue
comes from
advertising
Does not have
diverse product
line
Competitive
threats (Facebook)
8. Value Chain
Suppliers Distributors Retailers CustomersManufacturer
Suppliers Customers
Computers for employees (Apple, Lenovo) Members
Construction personnel for office spaces Businesses
Third party interior design companies Consultants
Food suppliers for cafeterias Enterprises
Contract companies (Ex ZeroChaos Workforce Logic)
Contractors (non full-time employees)
Employee salaries
Employee Benefits (Health, 401K)
Cleaning services
Docusign
HR services (Background check companies)
9. Value Chain Continued
Suppliers
Content Providers – job
postings, resumes, etc.
Suppliers
Materials, Food and
Equipment
LinkedIn Corporation
– includes all
personnel and
functions performed
in-house
Digital
Website/
Mobile Apps
Customers
10. Customer Analysis
S Customer Needs/Preferences
S Quality content so members can stay informed about opportunities for
career improvement
S Content shared through features like SlideShare
S Sophisticated database to help businesses find top candidates
S Efficient software that businesses can use to market products and create
a pipeline of leads
S Easy-to-use mobile application for both customer segments
S Mobile constitutes 45% of online traffic; exponentially growing
S Customer Segments
S Primary: Businesses who purchase SaaS (Talent Solutions 60% of revenue,
Marketing Solutions 20% of revenue = 80%)
S Secondary: Members (free profiles, Premium Subscriptions)
11. Customer Analysis
Premium
Subscribers
Very Active Free
profile members
Companies that
utilize Talent &
Marketing
Solutions
Companies that
utilize one or the
other Solution
Consultants
Small
companies
Platinum
Gold
Iron
Lead
Businesses Members
Semi Active
Free profile
members
Passive Free
profile
members
12. Company Analysis
S LinkedIn’s was founded and headed by Reid Hoffman in 2002
S Launched in 2003 with a very slow growth rate (20 signups/day) but showed enough
promise to attract an investment from Sequoia Capital, a large venture capital firm
S 1,000,000 members and and introduced their first business lines: Jobs and
Subscriptions
S By the launch of public profiles, LinkedIn begins to claim the professional profile of
record and reaches profitability with the core features like Recommendations and People
You May Know
S Went global in 2008 with the opening of first international office in London and
launching Spanish and French language versions on the site
S Jeff Weiner becomes CEO in 2009 and brings focus and clarity to LinkedIn’s mission,
values, and strategic priorities
S By 2010 they had 90,000,000 members and in 2011 became a publicly traded company
on the New York Stock Exchange
S In the decade on LinkedIn’s existence, they acquired 225 million members and growing
at a rate of two members per second
13. Company Analysis
S Key Statistics
S Number of product lines: 3 (Hiring Solutions, Business Solutions,
Marketing Solutions)
S Number of employees: 8,700
S Number of countries where products sold: 200 countries
S 2015 Expected Revenue: $3.0 Billion, Profit: $2.6B
S 2014 Revenue: $2.2 Billion, Profit: $1.9B
S 2013 Revenue: $1.5, Profit: $1.3B
S Acquisitions
S Pulse
S SlideShare
S Lynda.com
S Bizo
14. Company Analysis-Positioning
LinkedIn
Position:
For the young, tech-savvy professional of the world, LinkedIn’s business
solutions provides a sophisticated network by efficiently using data to
understand the most important business problems for both user and
businesses
Businesses
Mid-size company that
needs Talent and
Marketing Solutions
Active Job Seeker
Recent college
graduates who are in
need of jobs
Passive Job
Seeker
Employees who have stable
jobs and are not looking for
a new one
15. Company Analysis- Core
Competencies
S Positioning: Offers the
largest professional social
networking site in the
world
S Massive amounts of data
• Quality
Software
• Service
Development
17. Perceptual Map for Social
Networking Industry
Low member count
Amateur
Professional
High member count
18. Perceptual Map for Online
Recruitment Industry
High # of Diversified
Products
Low Member Count
High Member Count
Low # of
Diversified Products
19. Marketing Mix
Brand Premium
Subscriptio
ns
Talent
Solutions
Business
Solutions
Marketing
Solutions
Product Job Seeker Recruiter
Recruiter Lite
Job Slots
Job Posts
Career Pages
Work With Us
Ads
Sales
Navigator
Business Plus
Lead
Accelerator
Sponsored
Updates
Sponsored
InMail
Display Ads
Text Ads
Place Online Online Online Online
Price $29.99 $64.99
Customized
$64.99
$47.99
Customized
Based on
Company Size
Promotion Digital
advertising on
LinkedIn site
Digital
advertising on
LinkedIn site
Digital
advertising on
LinkedIn site
Digital
advertising on
LinkedIn site
20. SWOT Analysis
Strengths
• Large Network: #1
professional social
networking site in the
world
• Diversified Revenue
Sources
• Recent Acquisitions
Opportunities
• Increase in mobile
use and presence
• Upward trends in
social recruiting
• Growth of Chinese
market
Weaknesses
• Violation of data
privacy
• Competitive
Disadvantages
Compared to
Facebook
Threats
• Market Saturation
• Labor market
issues could
restrict growth
• Increased
Regulations
21. Expanded SWOT
Maximize Strengths and
Opportunities
Minimize Weaknesses and
Threats
• Innovation: Continue to
enhance mobile application
offerings; integration to
core LinkedIn app
• Build International Market
Share: Offer LinkedIn’s
mobile app to Chinese
market to promote market
share
• Offer More Data: provide
personal analytic services
• Secure Facebook
Parternship: allow for
LinkedIn integration on
Company pages
through Facebook
• Improve Adaption to
Regulations: Create a
cost effective plan for
potential issues
• Marketing: Target new
core user; include blue
collar offerings
22. Recommendations
S Primary Recommendation
S Integrate existing Pulse and SlideShare mobile applications into LinkedIn’s core mobile
application
S Modify Pulse and SlideShare’s viewing capabilities to fit into LinkedIn’s app for seamless
content generation and engagement
S New product offering must be easy to use and have minimal bugs
S Sponsored Ads and Display Ads must be present and prevalent
S Update the Recruiter application to allow other kinds of business personnel to conduct
B2B activities
S Allow application to monitor and track ad reach to enable modifications for real time
changes
S Make instant sharing of B2B activities visible to other company employees
S Financial Objectives
S Net Revenue for 2015: $2.924B
S Net Income for 2015: $2.230B
26. Recommendation-Metrics of
Success
CUSTOMER
PERSPECTIVE
• EASY USE OF APP
• HIGH QUALITY ADS
• CONSISTENCY IN INNOVATION
• HIGH RATING IN APP STORE IS
CRITICAL
OPERATIONAL
PERSPECTIVE
FINANCIAL MEASURES
• CALCULATE R&D ROI
•VOLUME INCREASE IN AD SALES
•VALUE OF PER APP DOWNLOAD
•POTENTIAL CUSTOMER VALUE
•POTENTIAL BUSINESS VALUE
• QUALITY TESTING OF APPS
•MINIMAL GLITCHES, ACCURACY
• >99.5%
•
• APP CREATION TIME MAXIMIZATION
• EFFICIENT MARKETING TIMELINE
• PLAN
•
INNOVATION AND
LEARNING PERSPECTIVE
• 2 NEW APPS
• 1 LINKEDIN CORE APP
• 1 UPDATED RECRUITER
APP
• 90 DAY BETA TEST
• EDUCATIONAL TRAINING FOR
SALES DEPARTMENT
27. Recommendations- Marketing Mix
S Primary and Secondary Targets
S Platinum customers: 21-35 yrs. Old, professionals, with an average income of $55,000, and that
regularly check mobile applications and are highly attracted to easy to use applications that integrate
content
S Gold customers: Mid size companies who use B2B marketers to maintain the company brand and want
to attract top candidates through targeted ads
Product Place Price Promotion
Objectives Introduce the
new integrated
LinkedIn core
app and
Recruiter app
tailored to
mobile device
users
Offer free
LinkedIn core
app in app
stores and
linked on
company
website
Core LinkedIn
app will remain
free and
updated
Recruiter app
will be free with
subscription
Use marketing
budget to
allocate $50M
with 90%
majority going
to digital
advertisement
Strategies Research
proper methods
to integrate
Pulse and
SlideShare
content without
affecting
interface
Offer beta
format to
LinkedIn
employees to
test out first and
perfect for app
store
Monitor the
value of each
download and
determine if
tiered pricing is
the proper next
step
Advertise new
apps on
LinkedIn
website as well
as app stores
30. Contingency Plans
S Contingency plans if objectives are exceeded
S Pulse and SlideShare Integration
S Increase number of integrations to other apps like Sales Navigator
S Offer app in international markets abroad
S Recruiter app update
S Spend more money on researching other B2B needs worth offering
S Increase money on advertisement and promotion
Contingency plans if objectives are not met
S Pulse and SlideShare Integration
S Analyze interface and decide how to improve upon it
S Scale back expansion plan
S Recruiter app update
S Reassess marketing campaign and research more targeted business methods
S Decide whether integration should be deleted and go back to normal
