LinkedIn is one of the most powerful social networks and a great resource for business growth and expansion on the web. In order to find success on LinkedIn, it’s important to know not only how to approach the platform, but also how to become a person of influence once connected.
To help you tap into the power of LinkedIn for your business, we asked Gennia Holder, LinkedIn expert and social media consultant, to take time out of her busy schedule to answer the important questions for our readers on how to use LinkedIn to its greatest potential.
Q: For what types of people/websites is LinkedIn well-suited?
A: LinkedIn is a professional network, so whether you are business to consumer (B2C), business to business (B2B), job seeker, looking for joint venture partners, non-profit or for profit, a solo-entrepreneur or a Fortune 500 company, there is a place for you on LinkedIn.
Q: What is the difference between LinkedIn and other social networks like Facebook and Twitter?
A: There are a few differences:
- LinkedIn is all about business. Twitter and Facebook can be used as a platform for sharing more personal information.
- People tend to spend more time on Facebook and Twitter and the response time can be as little as seconds. LinkedIn, on the other hand, is used by busy professionals who tend to check in with a specific business purpose in mind (add connections, interact with group members, respond to discussions, etc.)
- LinkedIn rules state that connecting to someone means that you know each other. LinkedIn allows you to send invitations to colleagues, former classmates, friends and business associates. There are penalties for inviting people you do not know to connect and respond.
- Your LinkedIn profile is like a professional resume or a marketing page that you want everyone to see as opposed to FB where you might have a mix of colleagues, family and friends where you will have to be careful about what you’re sharing and with whom.
Q: Can LinkedIn be used as a traffic and lead generation tool?
A: Absolutely. The great thing about your social networking sites is that you can point people to connect with you on your blog, website or wherever you’d like.
A word of caution: Be careful about your approach.
The worst thing you can do is send the same message to everyone asking them to “buy your widget” thinking you can drive massive traffic to your site and generate hundreds of leads.
Remember, there is a “person” who will open that message. I’ve opened many messages from people on LinkedIn who would tell me what their company does and why I should hire them. When I did a little searching, I realized they never asked to be a connection, had not followed me on Twitter nor “liked” my Facebook Business page, yet they wanted me to do business with them. A big turn-off. They didn’t want my business; they wanted anyone’s business.
People forget that the first word is “social” in social networking or social media marketing. You have to remember that it’s a tool. Now, if you choose a tool, don’t be a hammer. I’ve heard it said that when you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail. May sound cliché but remember these two tips:
- LinkedIn is not a mass marketing platform. It is about relationship building. People do business with those they know, like and trust. If you go in like gangbusters, with every update stating how wonderful your company is and how you have the best widget and they should hire you, you will turn people off, gain a reputation for being a spammer and look desperate for business.
- Remember the 80/20 rule. Eighty-percent of your interaction should be sharing information and becoming a resource of value. Twenty-percent of the time, mention a product or service.
Q: What are some effective marketing methods businesses can use on LinkedIn?
A: You’ve got to have a strategy. What are you looking to accomplish? You can use LinkedIn as a method.
Are you looking to. . .
- increase your online visibility?
- generate sales leads?
- find joint venture partnerships?
- source donors or sponsors for non-profit?
Once you know why you’re there, it will help you determine with whom you should connect, how you will word your status updates, what groups you will join, on what discussions you’ll comment, and which questions you will answer.
Here are four methods you can use to market your business on LinkedIn:
Connections
This is where it all starts…with your contacts or database. The first steps are to:
- Import contacts from your email accounts.
- What are you doing with all those business cards you’ve collected? Invite them to connect with you on LinkedIn
- Once you connect with someone, you can instantly see who they are connected to. One of the first things to do is look through their contacts to see if there’s anyone they know you might want to connect with.
- Looking to connect with someone? See what groups they are in and join those groups.
Status Updates
It’s all part of the strategy. Give a brief update of your activities and craft them well. I once updated my status by saying I was “working on a profile for a mortgage banker”. A connection of mine, who I’d never met but was suggested to me because of my previous mortgage background, saw the update and asked me if I knew about the mortgage industry. She had been looking for a social media specialist with knowledge of her industry. She instantly became a client and has referred many new clients.
Groups
The great thing about groups is that they are highly targeted. Chances are, if there’s a niche, there’s a group on LinkedIn. If there isn’t a group, you can create one.
- Join Groups: the ones to which your target market belongs as well as peers in your industry. Don’t forget alumni, fraternities/sororities, associations, organizations.
- Write a quick introduction. When you join a group, the first thing you should do is write a quick introduction telling them why you joined and how you hope to add value or learn from others.
- Comment on Discussions: Comment often, share your latest blog post, news links or relevant events
Questions/Answers
Questions and answers are a great way to showcase your expertise. You can also get fast and accurate answers to your business-related questions. Receive business advice from hundreds of thousands of experts. According to LinkedIn, Answers is one of the best places on the web to share business knowledge:
- Ask your question and get fast, accurate answers from your network and other experts worldwide
- Showcase your knowledge, expertise, and interests by answering questions
- Stay up on the latest in your industry and functional area
Q: What are some of the biggest mistakes people make with LinkedIn?
A: People make many mistakes on LinkedIn, but these are the top two:
1. Approaching it like a mass marketing platform and forgetting to be social:
If you’ve identified a prospect, do a little research. See if they have a Facebook Page and become a fan. If they only have a personal profile, send a friend request WITH a message explaining why you want to “friend” them. Are they on Twitter? Follow them and interact in some way. Do they have a blog? Comment on one of their blog posts. Do they have a newsletter? Sign up for it. This way when you approach them, you’ll be coming from the perspective of someone who has an interest in them and their business.
2. Not having a complete profile
Most people don’t realize that in most cases, unless you have a name like “John Smith”, when someone “googles” your name, the first thing that can appear in the search engine is your LinkedIn profile. It may even rank above your website and other social media accounts. It’s like a mini-website and a first impression for your potential customers/clients. Make sure there is a professional headshot, links to your website and your contact info is there as well.
I also want to mention that there are closed groups and open groups. Open groups are indexed in Google as well as Questions/Answers. So there are times your discussions/comments as well as questions/answers can be found by people who aren’t even on LinkedIn.
Q: What is one final piece of advice you can give to businesses that sums up how to get the most out of LinkedIn?
A: Remember that people do business with people they know, like and trust (which takes time) and that you’re there to build relationships, engage in conversations and make your presence known. It’s a place to show your expertise, resources and knowledge with a warm personality – not by being a pushy salesperson. You do that by keeping your profile updated, carefully crafting status updates, joining discussions in your targeted groups, participating in Questions and Answers and reaching out to new and existing connections in a way that shows you are interested in more than their bottom line.
Here’s something that works whether you’re on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter…When you learn how to “socialize/network” online without being pushy you have a better chance of turning your prospects into people who will buy your products and services.
Once you are seen as a person who has the knowledge and expertise your prospects need and that you are sharing information for free, they start to see you as a resource and keep coming back to your blog, your website, your Facebook Business Page or your Twitter page.
5 Comments on "LinkedIn – Under Rated and Very Powerful"
Nice article, my particular gripe is the profile – I hate to see someone who cannot be bothered to put a photo on their profile, what are they hiding?
Jenna,
Excellent post. Your interview with Gennia covered a wide variety of topics and I found it extremely helpful (namely the section using LI to market your business). It reminded me of a recent post on my blog about the importance of sending customized LI invitations to prospective connections.
Below is the link to my post, “LinkedIn Invitations: Don’t Make This Mistake.” I’m curious to know whether or not you (and Gennia) have experienced the same thing/feel similarly.
http://joshuawoolery.posterous.com/linkedin-invitations-dont-make-this-mistake
Again, great post. Thanks for sharing with us all!
~Joshua
Thank you so much for the article! Gennia Holder is a one of the few Social Media Experts in the business that truly gets “IT”. She is able to move smoothly from topic and/or platform to guide you and your business in the right direction. She has truly been blessed with an ablility to teach and educate you through the process. 5 Star Rating!
Very well said, Gennia! It’s just not cool to send LinkedIn’s generic message to people you don’t know hoping they connect with you and magically send business your way.
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