Linkedin - Business and Social Media tools

How can social media increase
your business success?

a

Author: Jean-Francois MESSIER

This document is part of the “Social Media and Business” series
by JF MESSIER

Million
members 98%
use
160 of professionals
140

120 LinkedIn
100

80

60

40

20

0
Oct May Jan Jul Jan
2009 2010 2011 2012

Million
members
160
2%
of users realize
140 LinkedIn
is a gold mine
120 that can help
100

80
find
clients
60 (not only jobs)

40

20

0
Oct May Jan Jul Jan
2009 2010 2011 2012

25
increase sales using

Tips to
1 LinkedIn as part of an ecosystem
2 to 5 Optimize your profile
6 to 10 Deliver value for free
11 to 14 Connect with prospects
15 to 23 Grow your database
24 to 25 Join groups
… One more thing…

LinkedIn as part of an
ecosystem
Tip 1

1
Build a machine to engage,
and think of LinkedIn as one of the wheels.
Using a tool,
LinkedIn or any
other, will not
change your results.

Build a machine to
engage, and think of
LinkedIn as one of
the wheels.

Optimize your
profile
Tips 2 to 5

2 LinkedIn profile
Create a Don’t copy and paste
your resume as
that makes though you were

selling easy looking for a job!

Customers use the
internet to find
Don’t copy and paste your solutions to problems.
resume, but publications on Explain which
problems you can fix,
blogs or SlideShare
and what you are an
demonstrating what you expert in.
specialize in…
Using SlideShare is
especially powerful
“A picture is worth
1,000 words...”
Fred R. Barnyard

2 LinkedIn profile
Create a
that makes
selling easy Write a personal
tagline: That line of
text under your name
is the first thing
people see in your
The tagline profile. It follows your
name in search hit
should not be
lists. It's your brand.
your position.
Make it
customer
oriented: which
problems you
can fix or how
your specialty
can help them…

2 LinkedIn profile
Create a Websites: Make sure
you fill in your blog
that makes name AND company

selling easy
website to drive more
traffic.

Add three websites to
your profile, then
optimize their titles.

By default, LinkedIn
link names are “My
Company,” “My
Website,” “My Blog,”
“My Portfolio,” or “My
RSS Feed.” However,
links carry more weight
in search engines if
Make sure you their titles are relevant
fill in your to the pages to which
company they link.
website to drive
more traffic.

URL: When you set

2
up a profile, LinkedIn

LinkedIn profile
Create a assigns it a URL,
most likely with a
that makes combination of your

selling easy
name, numbers and
slashes.

Edit your public URL
so it includes your
name and/or
company. By
including such
information in your
vanity URL, the
search engines will
have a better idea of
what or whom the
page is about.

Edit your public
URL so that it
includes your
name

The LinkedIn
recommendation is the
new testimonial.

2 LinkedIn profile
Create a It’s credible, powerful,
and instrumental in
that makes establishing your
selling easy reputation.

It’s also the hardest
element of your profile
to complete.
Aim for a
3 out of 4
consumers do not recommendation from
trust traditional every customer. If you
advertising have fifty customers,
get fifty
9 out of 10 recommendations. If
consumers trust the you trained 5,000
recommandation of
a friend. attendees, don’t worry
about getting 5,000
recommendations.
Shoot for a hundred and
be proud that you’ll be
among the top 2% of
LinkedIn users.
Forrester Research 2009

2 LinkedIn profile
Create a
that makes
selling easy Make sure your profile
is public. Whatever
information you hide in
your public profile, you
block from search
engines as well. For
maximum human and
Make sure your search-bot visibility,
profile is public keep all your
information available
for public viewing.
Everything on LinkedIn
should be ready and
appropriate for public
consumption.

This is your chance to
show your personality,

3video
your communication
skills and your passion.
Make a One of the most
powerful ways to stand
out as a person of value
on LinkedIn is by
harnessing the power
of video. Very few
LinkedIn users have
video on their profile
because it’s a little bit
of a task to make it
work.
For starters, LinkedIn
does not currently offer
a YouTube plugin, but
upload your video to
YouTube, embed it into
a presentation with
SlideShare, and then
enable this application
on your profile.
“Video trumps all.” ─ Noah Rickun

For profile wow effect,
as well as to better

4 apps
explain what you do,
Use LinkedIn employ one or several
LinkedIn apps.

If you have a
PowerPoint
presentation, load it to
SlideShare and use the
SlideShare app.

If you blog, use the
WordPress app.

LinkedIn offers a
variety of useful apps to
choose from – explore
them to determine
which best reflect you
and your business.
Make sure you
integrate them using
‘More’ – ‘Get
My seven favorite apps More Applications’.

5 connect LinkedIn
to If you use Twitter,
connect your account
here and your
prospects will see your
most recent tweets
right on your LinkedIn
profile.

If you’re not on Twitter,
get with the program.
It’s not going to
disappear.

Update your status
automatically but use
#in so you don’t spam
your network.

Deliver value
for free
to leverage your network
Tips 6 to 10

An update can be: a link

share
Regularly to a great article, blog

6 an update
or upcoming event, a
quote or news about a
productive meeting or
connection.
Sharing an update is
one of LinkedIn’s best
networking features.
If you’re not using it,
you’re missing
To post an out. Why? Because
update, go to every time you share an
“Edit Profile” and update, your
look under your connections are notified
photo. Click on via email as well as on
LinkedIn’s home
“Post an update”
page. In just a few
and you’ll be able words you let your
to share up to connections know
140 characters. details about several
services your company
provides, without the
hard sell. Social media
is all about pull, not
push marketing.

7 Comment regularly Respond to updates
from others and show

on an update them you’re not always
thinking about
yourself.

Connecting with others
is why LinkedIn is social
media.

Remember, your
comment means
something to the person
who posted. Everyone
loves to be noticed.

share
8 blog posts This is one of the best-
kept secrets (until now).

If you’re a blogger,
share your blog posts
with some or all of your
LinkedIn groups.

A notable part of your
blog traffic will come
directly from LinkedIn.

9 value
Regular y deliver Remember to nurture
your first-degree
network.

to your first-degree contacts If you plan on asking
your contacts for favors,
please remember to
keep in touch with them
and to deliver value to
them (e.g., by sending a
web link to a resource
you think they might
find useful).

Otherwise, they will see
you as very utilitarian,
and that will ultimately
hurt your online and

Givers gain! offline reputation.

1. By communicating
about innovative
ideas and offering

10
compelling value.

Differentiate
2. By nurturing people
you are connected to
and developing real
yourself relationships. (Tip
13)
3. By knowing who the
people you are
connected to are,
and talking to them
regularly.

Keep in mind: with over
147 million members
and 55,700+ groups, it’s
tougher than ever to be
unique on LinkedIn.
However, these 3 points
together are a secret
that makes master
networkers and group
leaders stand apart from
their competition.

Connect
with prospects
Tips 11 to 14

Do you both know

11
someone in common via
LinkedIn?
Ask people you know
If so, ask that person to
well for their support introduce you.
Explain the value that
you may be able to
provide to their contact.
It can be hard to ask
people you know to
introduce you to
someone else: Many
people don't ask friends
to help because they are
too proud. But if you ask
your close friend for a
favor through LinkedIn, it
in approaching is very hard for that
prospects you don’t person to feel they can
say no. And of course, it
know but who they are will make approaching
your prospects easier.
connected to.

What kind of event?
1. Virtual event: web-

12
conference using a

Host an event
web-meeting tool.
2. Live event: lunch &
learn, or breakfast
web-conference or live-conference networking session

From a positioning
standpoint, there’s no
better way to become
known as a person of
value within your
community than to host
an event at which you
bring in a speaker.

If your goal is to attract
prospects for your
business, speak on the
industry rather than on
your product. Don’t use
the platform to make a
sales pitch.

13 smoother
Check references for
potential customers
Make your first sales meeting before meeting them for
the first time. Learn
more about the people
you are meeting so you
can discuss common
interests and
acquaintances.

Find your prospect on
LinkedIn. Click through
to the profile and look
for:
1. How you’re
connected to your
prospect
2. Previous
employment
3. Education
4. Websites

13 smoother
potential customers
can discuss common
interests and
acquaintances.

1. How you’re connected to LinkedIn. Click through
your prospect to the profile and look
for:
Often, you’ll find that you 1. How you’re
connected to your
have a mutual
prospect
connection that you can 2. Previous
reach out to for insight employment
and the inside scoop. 3. Education
4. Websites

13 smoother
potential customers
Make your first sales meeting before meeting them
for the first time. Learn
can discuss common
interests and
acquaintances.

2. Previous employment LinkedIn. Click through
to the profile and look
 Has your prospect worked for:
with or for anyone you 1. How you’re
connected to your
know?
prospect
 Have you done business 2. Previous
with a former employer? employment
 Perhaps you worked for 3. Education
the same company at 4. Websites
some point?

13 smoother
potential customers
can discuss common
interests and
3. Education acquaintances.

 Did you go to the same Find your prospect on
school? LinkedIn. Click through
 Did your prospect earn a to the profile and look
degree that is completely for:
unrelated to his/her 1. How you’re
connected to your
current position? For
prospect
instance, people who 2. Previous
attended law school but do employment
not practice. Or a VP Sales 3. Education
who studied molecular 4. Websites
biology. Makes for a fun
conversation.

13 smoother
potential customers
can discuss common
interests and
acquaintances.
4. Websites
 Does your prospect have a LinkedIn. Click through
blog or link to a non-profit to the profile and look
organization or foundation? for:
 If so, click! Read the blog 1. How you’re
and print out a post or two connected to your
to bring with you to your prospect
2. Previous
meeting.
employment
 Same thing for the social 3. Education
cause. Be prepared to 4. Websites
ask questions about your
prospect’s involvement.

Your goal is to grow the
number of green circles
in your direct and

14
extended LinkedIn

Make it a habit network. This will allow
you to search for people
to send a LinkedIn connection across your contacts’
extended network.
invitation after every meeting
Remember that your
customer’s LinkedIn
connections likely
include other people
working at the same
company and colleagues
working in similar roles
at other companies.

When you connect with a
customer on LinkedIn,
you gain visibility to their
first-degree network and
benefit from their
extended network when
you conduct searches.

Grow
your database
Tips 15 to 23

15
As a general rule, most
Don’t connect with your mother, people use LinkedIn to
father, kids, work colleagues keep in touch with work
or school colleagues.
or school friends
This means that most
LinkedIn users probably
use it exclusively as a
career networking or
contact management
tool.

Most people don’t take
the time to imagine how
else they can use
LinkedIn, for sales and
prospect acquisition, for
instance.

But because we are
sales specialist, we
should.

1. Find and invite old
acquaintances

16
2. Send invites to new

Grow
contacts
3. Optimize your profile
to appear in search
organically results 20-70 times a
day
4. Import your address
book into LinkedIn
5. Send mass emails
1. Invite old acquaintances and invite people to
2. Send invites to new contacts connect
6. Respond to Polls and
3. Optimize your profile Discussions so
people see you and
4. Import your address book into LinkedIn invite you to connect
5. Send mass emails 7. Get introduced: Also
consider a 2nd
6. Respond to Polls and Discussions degree connection.
7. Get introduced 8. Use the “Advanced
People Search”
8. Use the “Advanced People Search” functionality on
LinkedIn

17 visible
Be highly 1. Frequently initiate
valuable Discussions
2. Initiate relevant Polls
3. Utilize answers to
crowdsourced
research
4. Start your own
Discussion Group
5. Post your LinkedIn
URL on:
-> all company
stationary and
emails
-> company swag and
advertising

1. Go to TopLinked.com

18
and register as per

Grow
their instructions.
2. Review people on
TopLinked’s mailing
through groups list and invite them
to connect with you.
3. Join Open
Networking groups
and invite people to
connect with you.
4. Maintain high
visibility so Open
Networkers will see
you and send you
invitations
5. Seek out subgroups
(in Groups) where
people are looking
for more invitations.
(Tip 24)

Search for prospective

19
buyers using the
“Advanced People

Use Advanced
Search” functionality on
LinkedIn.
People Search The Advanced People
Search allows you to
conduct highly specific
searches for people who
You can specify the also have a LinkedIn
person’s: account.
 Industry
The best search results
 Company (current or are obtained by using a
previous) combination of industry,
 Job title (current or job title and keywords.
previous)
 City
 Country
 Keywords contained in
the user’s online profile

Network with people
online as you would with

20
anyone you meet offline.

Network online as you Genuinely network with
people online and treat
would offline them with the same
respect and desire to
build a relationship as
you would with anyone
you meet offline.

Don’t contact people
cold: Contacting them
cold via LinkedIn gives
no added value. The
value of LinkedIn is using
legitimate connections
to get where you want to
go, talk to who you might
want to talk to. Use
legitimate connections
you have to get a
personal foot in the door
with someone you might
want to talk to.

When you connect with a
customer on LinkedIn,

21
take the time to browse
their direct connections

Get introduced to and identify “Super
Connectors.”

“Super Connectors” Super Connectors are
people who have
hundreds of contacts in
their first-degree
network. By connecting
to a customer with so
many connections, your
extended network will
grow much more rapidly
than if you connect to a
customer with fewer
connections. Your goal is
to find ways of getting
introduced and
ultimately connected to
these Super Connectors
on LinkedIn.

When you invite
someone to connect,

22
include a personal
message. LinkedIn offers

Invite this as an option, but
fails to explain what your

new contacts properly options are. Let’s make
them clear:
 Option 1: Write a
personal note and
increase your
chances that your
prospect will accept
your invitation
request, grant you the
meeting, and buy
from you.
 Option 2: Be an idiot.

In your note, include a
sentence or two about
what you feel you can
offer your prospect, and
ask for the meeting right
then and there.

When you click “Add
[prospect name] to your

22
network,” you’ll be
presented with the

Invite following radio buttons
to answer the question,

new contacts properly “How do you know
[prospect name]?”

 Groups: the BEST
option, if available.
LinkedIn only
presents this option if
both you and your
prospect belong to
the same LinkedIn
Group. It shows your
prospect that you
have a mutual
interest.

 We’ve done business
together: my second
favorite option for
reaching out to
prospects

For €22, you’ll get all the
additional functionality
you need to advance your

23
LinkedIn prowess to
mastery.
Invest €22 in yourself Two that are worth it:
and increase your income
1. Use premium search
features: You get four
additional filters that
will make searching
for new prospects a
breeze: Seniority
Level, Interested In,
Company Size,
Fortune 1000

2. Get more insight with
expanded profile
views – extremely
helpful

Final note: LinkedIn claims that 50% of users expense their LinkedIn Premium
account to their business. You may want to check with your Managing Director to see
if you can as well. If not, however, you’re not off the hook. You’re in sales. You make
commission. It’s time to invest in yourself and increase your income.

Join
groups
Tips 24 & 25

Although it’s a business
oriented platform,
LinkedIn groups span

24 groups
both personal and

Join existing professional
interests. About sales,
marketing, management,
etc….

 Each group gives you
the opportunity to
meet new people who
share your interests.

Special bonus  Often, group
After you comment on members pose
a discussion, LinkedIn discussion questions
allows you to invite or post articles of
discussion participants interest. If moved, you
to connect with you. should comment on
It’s the easiest way to group discussion
connect on LinkedIn, posts, as well as
and it’s a way most creating discussion
salespeople ignore. posts of your own.

 Every group email lists
you as the Owner – and

create
the recipients will click

25
on your profile.
 You become known as
a person of value,
forever recognized as
your own LinkedIn group the group Owner.
 People will want to
connect with you as
the Owner. It’s an easy
way to grow your
network.
Special bonus  You control the
discussion. You can
You have instant lead the discussion in
communication with all a way that is
members. It’s the only interesting to you and
place on LinkedIn that to your prospects.
allows you to email
blast more than 50  Your prospects will
people at a time. reach out to you – if
you create the right
group, lead the right
discussions, and
present yourself as a
resource.

goals
Start defining

 Start defining
SMART goals
Example 1: I will spend
 1 hour a week answering 2 to 5 questions
S – specific
related to xxxxxxx in Polls or Group
M – measurable
Discussions. A – achievable
 I will also invite 10-25 highly targeted R – realistic
customers and industry influencers to be T – time bound
part of my network each week.
 I will keep a weekly report for tracking
people I start discussions with so I can
nurture those relationships as potential
clients.

goals
Start defining

 Start defining
SMART goals
Example 2:
S – specific
One of the secrets to being effective, and therefore a
M – measurable
Power User, is defining in advance what size of A – achievable
database is most important for you and who your R – realistic
prospects are. For some, 50 contacts is enough, while T – time bound
for others it’s 500, or even hundreds of thousands.

The number itself doesn’t matter; it’s the quality of that
database in relation to its size that counts. It depends
then on your conversion rates, F2F conversion rates,
and conversion from online engagement to face-to-face
engagement.

i.e., If you want 5 new customers <- 10 proposals <- 20
opportunities <- 200 online targeted prospects.

Conclusion:
10 mistakes to avoid
1. Using a tool, not building a machine to engage
2. Staying in broadcast mode like direct marketing or mass
advertising
3. Forgetting that every single person you come into contact
with is real
4. Being “afraid” to get out of your comfort zone
5. Inviting your colleagues and private friends
6. Giving up when obvious results are not there
7. Failing to be consistently visible
8. Putting forward an image that has mixed messages
9. Not realizing it’s the little things that lead to big things
10.Forgetting that there is substantial value in building your
brand’s reputation over time.

Bibliography
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Author: Jean-François MESSIER
Global New Technologies Director at Mercuri International
Mercuri Website: http://www.mercuri.net/
JF MESSIER’s blog: http://newsalespresentation.com/

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Slides from this document may not be repurposed without express written consent. Send permission requests to
jfmessier@mercurifr.com

Linkedin - Business and Social Media tools

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