In this hands-on workshop, I identify why LinkedIn is essential for building your online reputation; go through each of the profile sections so you have the knowledge to complete yours 100%; and talk about ways to professionally engage with others in your network and arm yourself with information when making sales calls.
If you're interested in having a workshop done for your organization, contact me at lisa@lisakhorn.com.
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1. The
Publicity
Gal
Presents
TechTalk:
LinkedIn
Or Left Out
2. Lisa Horn, CAS
Hello! I’m Lisa Horn, CAS,
a.k.a. @ThePublicityGal,
and I specialize in PR, content
marketing & publicity using a journalistic
approach. Authentic storytelling—not spin.
I put my 18 years of promotional products
industry experience to work consulting with
a number of suppliers, distributors, and
service providers on their
publicity, catalog, social media and
strategic communication efforts.
3. My LinkedIn Stats
www.linkedin.com/in/lisakhorn/
Profilein Top 10% viewed
for 2012
Joined February 12, 2009
500+ connections
135+ endorsements
11 recommendations received
9 recommendations given
4. What Should You Expect?
TechTalk is a workshop. This means you’ll
be able to try the things we talk about
while we’re talking about them and get
help if you’re having trouble.
We’ll adjust the course to your learning
needs. If there are section where you’re
already proficient, we’ll speed up. If there
are section that need more
explanation, we’ll slow down.
5. Takeaways: What You’ll Learn
In today’s workshop, we will:
Identify why LinkedIn is essential for building
your online reputation.
Go through each of the profile sections so
you have the knowledge to complete yours
100%.
Talk about ways to professionally engage with
others in your network and arm yourself with
information when making sales calls.
6. Feedback: What Do You Want
To Learn?
To help me tailor today’s workshop to your
specific needs:
Is there a specific
topic you’d like
addressed or
question you’d
like answered?
7. Get Social: Principle 1
Bring Back Social
―Networking‖
Social ―media‖
implies
broadcasting
a monologue.
Social ―networking‖ implies connecting
a dialogue, a conversation with engagement.
Bring back networking!
8. Get Social: Principle 2
Stop Advertising; Start Engaging
Social networking
is like a cocktail
party, so get
dressed, come
prepared and
act accordingly.
9. Product Or Service Purchasing
Habits In A Digital Age
Before making a consumer purchase, from
a book to a new car, what do you do? You
put Google to work—by investigating the
product, pricing and locations. And all this
happens before dropping a dollar.
The same is true in business.
10. LinkedIn: Your Professional
Presence Online
HR managers examine applicants, and job
seekers check out potential employers to
determine if there is a good fit.
Salespeople find information on targeted
buyers to make the sale, and purchasing
agents explore all the options online before
agreeing to appointments.
It’s window-shopping in the digital age—and
LinkedIn is your storefront.
12. Why LinkedIn?
LinkedIn has 200+ million members in more
than 200 countries and territories.
Every second, two new members join.
Executives from all Fortune 500 companies
are members.
LinkedIn members did more than 5.7
billion professionally oriented searches on
the platform in 2012.
13. Why LinkedIn?
More than 2.7 million companies have
LinkedIn Company Pages.
More than 1.3 million unique publishers
actively share content on the platform.
Members share insights and knowledge in
1.5+ billion LinkedIn Groups.
What does all this mean? LinkedIn gives you
access to people you want to know.
14. Keys To LinkedIn Success
1. Determine Your Goals
2. Building A Complete Profile
3. Making Connections
4. Giving And Receiving Endorsements And
Recommendations
5. Engaging With Your Network
6. Finding And Sharing Valuable
Information
15. Key To Success – Determine
Your Goals
Why are you on LinkedIn?
To find clients, vendors, partners,
contractors, employees?
Do you want people to find you when
they’re looking for the same?
A mix of both?
Your goals should drive your entire
presence.
16. Key To Success – Building A
Complete Profile
Users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely
to receive opportunities through LinkedIn. What
makes your profile complete?
Your industry and location
An up-to-date current position (with a description)
Two past positions
Your education
Your skills (minimum of 3)
A profile photo
At least 50 connections
18. Profile Element:
Photo
Don’t: Leave the photo
blank—this sends an unprofessional message.
Do: Have a professional photo taken in
business attire—and smile!
Do: Size the photo between 200x200 to
500x500 pixels, and crop in on your face.
Don’t: Have anything other than you in the
pic—not pets, spouses, shoulder or hand of
person next to you in photo, etc.
19. Profile Element:
Headline
Don’t: Use the LinkedIn
default of your title and company name. BORING!
Do: Think of this space as a newspaper headline
or book title. Would you read further?
Do: Showcase your USP, value proposition, brand
statement, specialty, etc.—and do it
creatively…in 120 characters.
Do: Use keywords to appear in search.
Do: Understand your target audience and
tailor message specifically to them.
RESOURCE:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2012/08/14/does-your-
linkedin-headline-suck/
20. Profile Element: Headline
Example
Donna Serdula,
LinkedIn Makeover
LinkedIn Headline Generator: A Guide To
Creating Highly Effective & Engaging
LinkedIn Headlines
Keyword-Packed Headline
POWER Statement Headline
http://www.linkedin-makeover.com/linkedin-profile-samples/linkedin-headline-examples/
21. Profile Element:
Custom URL &
Contact Info
Do: Claim your
custom URL.
Ex: www.linkedin.com/in/lisakhorn/
Don’t: Forget to complete all the contact info
fields.
Do: Include website URLs. Tip: choose ―other‖
so you can name/brand the link.
22. Profile Element:
Summary
Don’t leave the summary
blank. This area can be
the difference of reading
more about you vs leaving your profile.
Do tell a story about yourself. Be
personable and authentic.
Showcase your skills and expertise.
Include any metrics to offer proof.
24. Profile Element:
Projects—NEW!
Use this area to put
emphasis on particular
aspects of your work that
are not only key differentiators to what you
do but also examples of your expertise.
It’s one thing to say you know how to do
something; it’s another to show that can do
it with tangible proof.
RESOURCE: http://www.starrhall.com/create-more-
connections-using-projects-on-linkedin/
25. Profile Element: Skills &
Expertise—New!
In less than six months,
1 billion endorsements
representing thousands
of skills have been given.
List at least 10 core skills
so others can endorse you.
Begin by endorsing others first; many will
reciprocate in return.
26. Profile Element:
Experience
Don’t: Stop with this section
after listing companies and
dates of employment.
Do: Include details about your responsibilities, skills
gained, projects completed, metrics achieved.
Do: Explain what products and services company
provides.
Do: Link projects from the previous section to you
work experience
27. Profile Element: Organizations—
New!
Much can be learned
from volunteer
experiences, and there
are valuable connections
here, too. With this new section, now there is
a place to include volunteer work for either
civic or charitable organizations.
28. Profile Element: Honors &
Awards—Reformatted
This section has been
reformatted. What
was once a freeform
text box now has
fields that identify
award title, your
occupation (to link
back to specific
positions, issuer, date and description.
29. Profile Element:
Certifications—New!
This field is perfect for
our industry as there
are numerous
designations that
promotional consultants
may have. This new dedicated section
keeps all of this info in one place.
30. Profile Element:
Education
The education section contains school
name, degree, field of study and dates attended. If
you were active on campus, you can now add
descriptions to provide details about your studies and
give a better sense of your background and
experience.
Example:
Graduated with Honors in English. Minored in
Anthropology. Overseas Studies Program: 1 semester
at Oxford, focus on English literature. Received
National Merit Scholarship, 1997, and Washington
Post Scholarship, 1998.
31. Profile Element: Volunteer
Experiences & Causes—New!
The more you have in
common with someone,
the easier it is to spark
conversation because there
is common ground.
With this new section, you
can share what’s important to you
personally—and learn the same about others.
32. Profile Element: Additional Info
While not a super critical
part of the profile, additional
info can give profile visitors
another point of commonality.
Include things your interested
in professionally and personally. And let
people know your preferred method of
contact.
33. Key To Success – Making
Connections
The power of LinkedIn
comes from your
network of contacts:
1st Level: Those with
whom you are directly
connected
2nd Level: Connections of the people in your
first level
3rd Level: Connections of 2nd level contacts
34. Connecting:
Sending Invites
Don’t: Use the defaut:
―I’d like to add you to
my professional network
on LinkedIn.‖
Do: Send a personal invite.
Do: Include details of how you know this
person.
Do: Give a reason why you’d be a
valuable contact
36. Connecting: People You May
Know
It’s easy to simply click
―connect,‖ however
this automatically sends
the generic invite.
Instead, click on the person’s profile and
click the invite button next to his or her
picture. This brings up the window for
personal correspondence.
37. Connecting:
Receiving Invites
Don’t:Simply accept
and do nothing else.
Do: Say thank you!
Do: Write a personal response to spark
conversation. This is networking!
Inquire about something on their profile.
Include a memory of a past meeting.
Don’t: Feel like you must accept every
invitation.
38. Connecting: Acquaintances
Don’t: Send blanket
invites to people you don’t really
know—LinkedIn will penalize you if more than
5 people say they don’t know you.
Do: Use the people you may know tool.
Do: Introduce yourself to others with whom
you have common connections—and explain
why you’d like to connect.
Do: Select the accurate way you ―know‖ the
person with whom you want to connect.
RESOURCE: http://www.linkedin-
makeover.com/2013/02/22/linkedin-account-restricted/
39. See Connections Graphically
LinkedIn’s new functionality makes it easy to
see what you have in common with others.
This is useful when evaluating potential
connections as well as looking for similar
interest with established connections.
40. Key To Success – Endorsements
And Recommendations
Powerful public testimonials from others speak
volumes about your skills and expertise.
Endorsements: Easy one-click way to
indicate one’s skills; especially useful for
those with whom you’ve had limited or
indirect engagement.
Recommendations: More in-depth testimony;
appropriate for those with whom you have
directly worked.
41. Endorsements
Do: Add skills to your
profile to get started.
Don’t: Feel like you must
endorse people for skills
that LinkedIn auto-
generates—endorse on what you know.
Do: Send a personal note to say thank
you when an endorsement is received—
it’s a great excuse to start a conversation.
42. Recommendations
Do: Recommend others.
Direct Reports
Colleagues
Vendors
Do: Spend time thinking
about the message.
Do: Ask for recommendations.
Don’t: Be pressured into making
recommends. It’s OK to politely decline.
43. Key To Success – Engaging
With Your Network
Remember Social Principle 1:
Bring ―Networking‖ Back!
LinkedIn was built specifically for networking:
Monitoring LinkedIn Today
Updating Your Status
Following News & Companies
Joining Groups
Taking Polls
44. Monitor LinkedIn Today
This custom newsfeed
details what’s happening
in your network and allows
you to jump into the
conversation:
Updates with connections
Shared articles
Content from thought
leaders
Group activities
45. Update Your Status
Updating your status is an informal way of
letting your network know what you’re
working on—and this could be
something they need.
46. Status Update Success Story
Last night, I updated my
status about this workshop.
In less than an hour, 8
people checked out
my profile—the first step
to potential new biz.
47. Follow News & Companies
By following news outlets and
companies of interest, you
can stay up-to-date on the
topics that interest you most.
This is especially helpful if you
are looking for content to
educate yourself and your
audience.
48. Join Groups
Groups bring people a
with common interests
together in a forum for
discussion and learning.
Do: Join groups where
your customers are.
Do: Join groups to be a thought leader as
well as ones where you’re the student.
Do: Follow group rules and contribute
accordingly.
Do: Give more than you get.
49. Example: Group Rules
Each group
monitor can set
his/her own rules,
but these from
the AMA are
fairly standard.
Consult your
groups for
specifics.
50. Take A Poll
LinkedIn is also
a place to do
research and
share opinions.
The poll feature
allows you to
quickly get
input on a topic
of interest.
51. Key To Success – Finding And
Sharing Valuable Information
Part of being a valuable member of any
community is sharing info that is relevant to
your audience. You can find information to
share—as well as share your own—through:
Status updates from your contacts
Group discussions
LinkedIn Influencers
54. Final Thoughts
Content that has no real value (Happy
Monday!) is just noise. Don’t post unless you
have something relevant to add to the
conversation.
Think about your audience’s needs rather
than your own—and build content from there.
Everything you post has the potential to
build—and conversely detract—from your
personal brand. Be smart about your content.
55. Make A Commitment
What top three things that you learned
today will you implement immediately?
Make a commitment to do it and set a
deadline.
Share your goals with others and keep each
other accountable.
56. Connect With Me
http://thepublicitygal.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lisakhorn/
http://twitter.com/thepublicitygal
http://www.facebook.com/lisakhorn.biz
If you’re only using social media as a broadcasting tool, you’re missing out on the power of connectivity networks such as LinkedIn offer.
You have a meeting with a new prospect. You have to expect that the prospect is talking to multiple promotional marketing firms, right? If the prospect is truly doing his or her homework, they are checking you out BEFORE the call to learn more about you. And they will make a judgment—right or wrong—about you based on what they find online (or don’t find).If you’re using social appropriately, then you’re also checking out your prospects online to see what commonalities you have so that this cold call feels a litter warmer.
POLLHow many of you are on linked in?How long? 1 year, 2 years, etc.Do you consider yourself active?Inactive, why?
2 new members join—one of these could be your next client.Fortune 500 execs—who doesn’t want to get some of this business? You typically don’t waltz right up to these guys. It’s who you know…and who knows you.5.7 billion searches—you can’t be found unless you have a profile!
Company pages—are you following the pages of your clients and prospects?Actively sharing content—there’s lots to learn, and there are many ways to begin conversation.
My goals—all of my business is referral, so I must provide social proof that I can demonstrate the skills and expertise that I claim to have. If you don’t tell your story, someone else will. Take control of the narrative.
Incomplete profiles are one of the most common mistakes—and it’s one of the easiest to correct with some time and attention.As a salesperson, would you want a 40% greater chance of a sales opportunity coming your way?The difference is in the details. The only way to showcase your expertise is by explaining what you do, how you do it and what makes you different than anyone else.
How would you put yourself together when going on an in-person interview?Think about clothing choices—have contrast with skin tone, wear a timeless style rather than something that will easily become dated.Think about colors—typically blue, green, burgundy and brown work best.Look put together—style your hair, women wear an appropriate amount of makeup (not too much), men groom facial hair so it’s neat.
Take charge of your headline. This little 120-character section is prime marketing real estate. It should explain what makes you special—and different from the 200 million other people on the network. And it should be compelling enough for your target audience to read more.In the article “How To Make Your LinkedIn Headline Stand Out,” author Jenny Foss, Ladder Recruiting Group says: Done well, your LinkedIn headline can be used to promote your brand statement, core marketing message, most enticing expertise, and all-around spectacularity (please don’t use that word in your LinkedIn headline.)Bottom line: Done right, your truly unique and “branded” professional headline can increase the inbound marketing power of your LinkedIn profile.
After the headline, this is the most important section. You have free reign to sell yourself in the summary. You have 2000 characters, so make them count.Andy Foote, Linked Insights: 3 Stunningly Good LinkedIn Profile SUMMARIES “Because it’s the only area on the Profile where you get to define yourself from scratch, with a blank sheet unencumbered by dates, labels or other text boxes. Because it’s personal – it’s where people look to find out what makes you tick. Are you in command of your narrative? Does your Summary do you justice? Or have you just copied & pasted your 5 year old resume as a temporary measure? How long is temporary?”Tip from the MarketingThink.com blueprint: Humanize the story of YOU to say who you are and what you have done…and speak in the first person. Include phone, twitter handle and blog URL in the top of the summary (note: all this info is in the contact drop down, so you’ll have to decide if you think this is redundant. If so, put this info at the end as a call to action.)
From the article “3 Stunningly Good LinkedIn Profile Summaries”Something interesting happened from the time this article was published on Feb 7. Kay Allison changed her summary copy. Here’s how it read in the Feb 7. article:“Harriet the Spy” was my Bible when I was a little girl. I copied her by spying on my neighbors and writing down what I observed in a little notebook as well as noting questions that their behaviors triggered. I even spent a summer eating nothing but tomato sandwiches.Today, I still “spy” on people, although these days, respondents give me their permission to ask them nosy question and pry into their homes.My passion is inventing new, more powerful and profitable ways to listen creatively to consumers…and then turning the insights that emerge into business ideas that generate $50MM in annual revenue and above.Our Passion Point Framework shows brands how to align with consumers’ passions. These clients no longer have to settle for incremental growth, they enjoy exponential growth.Send an email to [address] to learn more.Kay: Hardly any clients I speak with are completely satisfied with the new growth they are able to produce. Incremental growth generated by incremental changes is insufficient. Traditional marketing frameworks and methods of learning about consumer motivations are inadequate to the challenge. I partner with people in leadership positions who are responsible for producing new revenue of $10 million - $100 million, who champion the consumer, and who are decisive and clear. I make sure that their marketing and sell story is distinctive, meaningful, relevant and valuable to their end-consumers - and that it motivates those consumers to buy my clients' products. Paul: No one is good at everything. As much as you may be in command of your core offering, chances are your messaging doesn’t quite make the grade. I help businesspeople get their messages out clearly, concisely and accurately. My writing, editing and webinar management services help clients who struggle with content reach their target audiences with sharp, meaningful and relevant information. Whether it’s your blog, website, newsletter, book, social media accounts or more, getting to the point and conveying simply and strong what you do or offer is essential. That’s where I come in. And if you need helping setting up webinars/webcasts, managing them, moderating them, talk to me as well. I’ve conducted or supported more than 100 in the last few years. If I can't be of service, I may know others who can meet your needs. After all, creating and fostering relationships -- and giving back -- is a cornerstone of conducting business today.
From the resource: Create More Connections Using “Projects” on LinkedIn1. “Projects” allows you to name your project and input a URL. This then turns the title of the project into a hyperlink, leading the viewer of your LinkedIn profile to the project’s website and thus creating an inbound link.2. You can specifically relate your project to a position that you hold or have held. This can be a great way to show off your expertise in a current or previous position by showing viewers evidence that you know your stuff.3. Emphasize relevancy by stating when this project started, completed or if it is still ongoing. The more current, the more likely viewers will be to check it out.4. There is a character limit-free (at least as far as I can see) Description space where you can add details to get people interested in the project itself. (Disclaimer: Be aware that this will show up on your LinkedIn profile, so be concise and to the point.)5. The best part is that you can add “Team Members.” If you are connected to your collaborators on LinkedIn, you can add them here and their name will appear as a hyperlink to their LinkedIn profile. You are not, however, limited to just your connections. You can still add other collaborators to the list and they will appear as plain text. I recommend using this as a reason to connect to someone on LinkedIn (or encourage someone to get a LinkedIn profile if they don’t have one.)
However, this should not look like a cut-and-paste of your resume info. Make it more relatable. Professional yet conversational. This is “social” networking.
If it’s important enough to connect with this person, then you can take an extra minute to write a personal note.
Stephanie and I share 90 connections.Brian and I share 37 connections.
These give profile visitors additional insight into the kind of person you are to work with as well as the traits your value in others.
When asking for recommendations, you may want to give some direction as to what you’re looking for—a particular skill set, project, etc.
If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound?The same thing goes for your work. If you don’t let others know what you do, did it happen? Sure, but it doesn’t contribute to overall goals: establishing your expertise, getting visibility for your skills and showing that your business is active and vibrant—all things that go into forming opinions. Opinions that matter when it comes time to purchase. Think of it as indirect selling. Give example of Paul and RFP based on status update.
Gregg – is in broadcasting. Him knowing about my LI workshop could be useful if there’s a segment on using LI for biz and they are in need of an interview source.Nikki is the editor at Promo Marketing. Perhaps she didn’t know about my LI experience. Could be useful if I want to pitch an article to her based on this workshop.
Let’s hear some of the top 3 things.If you want me to check up with you on your goals, write them down on your card and the date you’ll have it done, and I’ll follow up.