Presentation to MarketStar executives on June 12, 2013.

1. LinkedIn: Tips and Best Practices
Alex Lawrence: Vice Provost – Weber State University
Twitter: @_AlexLawrence (underscore before my name)
LinkedIn: /AlexOnLinkedIn
Facebook: /AlexLawrence
Blog: StartupFlavor.com
Google+: Gplus.am/Alex

2. LinkedIn Stats
 World’s largest professional network = 225 million members in over
200 countries and territories
 77+ million in United States
 Executives from every Fortune 500 company are members
 5.7 billion professionally oriented searches in 2012
 Revenue increased 72% last year to $325 million
 132 million unique visitors in first quarter of 2013
 Many companies block social networks but don’t block LinkedIn

3. It All Starts With Your Profile
 Has to be complete – get the 100% bar
 Has to be accurate (dates, titles, etc.)
 Needs a current photo
 The more detailed the better
 Needs recommendations (more on that later)
 Quantity over quality of connections

4. After Your Profile Is Legit…
 Start with all of your business cards, contact files and people
you email regularly – search for them
 Pre-write a custom request to connect, do not use the template
 Only connect with people you have met in person or online
 If you want to connect with someone new, find a way to
connect with them somewhere easier (Twitter)
 Follow up tweet, etc. connection with customized LinkedIn
request mentioning those interactions

5. Recommendations
 After profile is complete and you have high quality connections
 Get recommendations by giving them first
 Not all recommendations are created equal
 Good = specific results and stories (details)
 Bad = people that don’t really know you (generic)

6. Recommendations
 Asking is okay -- make it personal and polite.
Dear ____,
I’m sending this to ask you for a brief recommendation of my
work that I can include in my LinkedIn profile. It would
be great if you could include stories and details as a result of
working with me.
To make this easier for you, here’s a possible draft…feel
free to edit this or create your own. I’d be happy to do the
same for you in return!
[Insert your draft of the recommendation]
Thanks so much for your help.

7. Sample Recommendations
 Something like this for a draft recommendation:
 I’ve worked with Jane for the past two years. During that
time her department has increased sales from $20m to over
$40, which was nearly 50% more than the company had
hoped for. I’ve seen Jane earn the respect of her peers and
customers alike in addition to strong and measurable
performance. When I was promoted, I specifically asked for
her to join my team. Since that time, Jane has led a team
that has consistently been our top performer, beating quota
by an average of over 20%. Jane is a pleasure to work with
and a very reliable high performer – a great combination.

8. Recommendations
 Get at least ten
 You control which ones show up
 Okay to ask for a re-write or edit (if relationship warrants it)
 Make sure they are specific
 Customers and co-workers – get them while working together
and still there

9. Leads On LinkedIn
 Three types of leads on LinkedIn
 Jobs
 Who’s Viewed You
 Employees
 Great way to find talent online
 Customers
 Who makes the decisions and how do you get to them?

10. Paid and Unpaid Lead Gen
 Paid = targeted status updates
 Unpaid strategies
 Include and encourage employees – 70% more likely to
comment and share
 Join groups – lots of them out there or start your own
 Time your updates – morning and midday on weekdays
 Encourage participation – calls to action, spark discussion
 Keep it brief

11. Content = Interaction
 Personalize your updates
 60% interested in industry insights
 53% interested in company news
 43% interested in new products/services
 3 – 4 times a day and 20 times a month
 Comment on others updates daily
 In or out – faking it won’t work

12. Monitor, Analyze and Refine
 Individual status update performance (analytics) to refine:
 Time of day
 Length of update
 Content type -- question or comment, etc.
 Frequency – too much or too little?
 Are you a curator or an advertiser?

13. Maximizing LinkedIn
 Profile is 100%, current and full of accurate information
 10+ recommendations, each with great detail
 Joining targeted groups and sharing curated content
 Updating 3-4 times a day with posts you’ve experimented with
 Regularly having conversations on your profile updates
 NOW you can reach out to unknowns, get introductions, search
and prospect for leads, employees and (don’t tell M*) jobs

14. Maximizing LinkedIn
 When people look at your profile (remember, you can see who
does), lots of great content and activity
 Lots of great and detailed recommendations
 Useful links and articles about your industries
 YOU’RE AN EXPERT!
 Much easier to connect and get a meeting or phone call
 Numerous personal experiences reflect this

15. Thanks!
 Alex Lawrence
 @_AlexLawrence
 Facebook: /alexlawrence
 Linkedin: /alexonlinkedin
 Blog: startupflavor.com
 This ppt: