Some people use LinkedIn as an electronic Rolodex. But there's so much more you can do with it, as the world's premier digital social network. Here's how.
8. Your profile is key
It’s your most important
asset on LinkedIn.
Never mind your insightful
messages, your
participations in groups or
whitepapers – you will be
judged on your profile - first.
So let’s see what we can
do…
10. Are you still living in the 90s?
When you meet someone in real life,
you don’t tell them about the job you
had 4 years ago, Why would you do
that online?
Detail only those positions you’ve
held RECENTLY – meaning the
last year or two. If you must show
more – go head but keep it relevant
to your current position.
If you’re looking for work – that’s a different
story (and a different eBook)
11. People have short attention sp -- hey look, a bird!
By default – LinkedIn’s profile
order isn’t always ideal for
keeping people’s attention.
Plus your profile is competing
with advertising, email, and
other social media. So you
need to get their attention fast.
Luckily – your profile elements can easily
re-arranged by dragging them around
the page.
So start with your strengths or tailor it to
reach your goal or target audience.
TIP– pretend you’re doing an
elevator pitch about yourself.
12. Get a Custom URL
Once your profile is done you’ll notice the default
LinkedIn profile address for your profile:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/YOURNAME/8/369/0
Yeah – we know – it stinks.
Thankfully – you can customize it fairly easily (and free)
– to something more reasonable like:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanbelniak
Just click on the edit button
next to your profile URL and
you’re off to the races.
Photo By: http://www.anna-OM-line.com
13. Ok, how will people find me?
Again – your profile is key.
Treat LinkedIn like a search engine for Make your profile so it’s friendly to
ads… and you’re the product people, and friendly to search
Good: I sell stuff Friendly to search: use acronyms,
jargon, and the like that are known
Better: I sell enterprise software in the industry (without overdoing it)
Best: I help buyers find solution- Friendly to people: what do real
ready Enterprise software for humans say? ‘pee-el-emm’? Or
manufacturing environments, big ‘software for manufacturing’?
and small (I call it PLM) (without overdoing it)
“ Strike a balance and know your target – you can’t be all
things to all people – find a target market and stick to it.
based on: http://www.christopherspenn.com/2012/03/the-biggest-linkedin-profile-power-tip-of-all
”
18. SORT YOUR RESULTS to see
SAVE TIME! good stuff up top, crappy
stuff at the bottom
DON’T keep re-inventing the
wheel save searches for
repeated use
19. Using LinkedIn Answers
for fun & profit
① People ask questions.
That means they need information –
target them and give them answers
② Limit the results.
Enter your terms and pick
‘questions only’ (use quotes, too)
③ Answer questions, intelligently
– with out the BS.
When answer questions, you can By limiting your results
become an authority on a topic – you’ll end up with better
quality questions
meaning people will seek you out
which is a lot easier than chasing
them don’t ya think?
20. Did You Know?
You can search for AND follow companies?
That’s right - If you’re looking to
break into a specific place, follow
the company in advance.
See what they’re up to and see who
their employees are and what
they’re doing. It will help you identify
the right person to reach out to.
You might already know people
there! Past acquaintances, college
alum, et cetera.
Why is this important?
Here’s a simple truth:
WARM CALL > COLD CALL
21. Knowing is half the battle … er … sale
Know who you’re dealing with
LinkedIn Companies is a GOLDMINE Really – can you
ignore all this?
of business information.
Track new arrivals
Departures
Common skills
A cross-section of the enterprise
ecosystem for you to explore!
All you’ve got to do is:
Check out the Insightful Statistics
24. Speaking about being picky…
Selecting the RIGHT groups
Don’t judge a group from its description
and/or number of members
Use the group
statistics to tell you if
its worth it for you to
spend time here.
If it’s active,
popular and
open – then join
up and join in
the discussion
25. Psst! – here’s a tip about Groups
It can be a round-about
(ok, it’s sneaky) way to
send a message
to someone without
connecting with them on
LinkedIn.
How, you ask?
If this is checked on your
prospect’s Group setting – you
can contact him/her directly
without being a contact.
So JOIN a Group you
know they’re part of.
26. EVENTS
or how to network face-to-face with LinkedIn
Everyone knows that the best type of networking
is the “face-to-face” kind – and we’re not talking
Skype or FaceTime here.
Q So how do you use a social network like
Linked help meet people face-face?
A Let LinkedIn TELL you.
Just like with PEOPLE
and COMPANIES – you
can search for EVENTS
being organized by fellow
users and posted on
LinkedIn
27. TIPS for searching for Events
See what events are happening locally or nearby.
That seminar in Hawaii would be nice
but not too practical if you live in Boston.
See who is attending the event (Prospecting101)
Track the event (Prospecting101)
Connect with them in advance if you can –
CAVEAT - being approached out-of-the-blue by a “BUT I can’t afford it”
complete stranger could be a bit – well – creepy, so
So what if you don’t go to the actual
do so carefully or stick to people you have seminar?
connections with.
That doesn’t mean you can’t benefit.
‘Follow’ the event on LinkedIn and stay updated Save the cash on the registration
fee and instead open a tab at the
nearby bar.
Look for the people with nametags and
lanyards (they are the easy targets!).
28. Event Example
From a LinkedIn event page,
people can share the event.
Take a look at this tweet I
found.
Click through that event link
to learn more. It will go to
the LinkedIn event page,
complete with date, time,
location…. all the info you’d
want to know if you wanted
to meet someone face-to-
face.
Take that URL and throw it into Google your
favorite search engine to see who else is
sharing it and/or attending it – make
inferences – MAKE CONNECTIONS!
29. Enough Talk – it’s time for ACTION!
LinkedIn doesn’t require a big time-commitment from you.
You can easily manage and benefit from it with a little effort – and a good calendar.
Do ONCE
– Update your profile
– Set up three saved searches
Do per week
– Search a related industry
– Run a geographic search
– Run a keyword search
– Share content via the status update
– Review the companies you follow
– Answer a question; Ask a question
Do per Quarter
– Adjust your profile
– Recommend two people
– Make / foster two connections
(introduce people)