Friday, March 25, 2011

Linkedin for B2B – part 2


by Sarah Santacroce

In part 1 of this post I showed you how to update your profile in order to get the full benefits of Linkedin. As promised, let’s now look at how you can use your fully optimized profile to network, share content and ultimately generate leads for your business.

Increase your reach – add new connections

Doing business on Linkedin is only worth it, if you actually have people in your network. So from now on, make it a habit to always add new people to your network. People you meet at a networking event, new contacts, former coworkers etc etc.

Share content

In order to showcase your expertise in your industry, take advantage of the options Linkedin offers to distribute content. Maybe you have a content aggregation tool (such as Google Reader) set up. Just pick relevant content that you think would interest your network and share it on Linkedin. I recommend 2 – 3 updates per week. The unspoken rule is 20/80. 20% of your content (blog posts, promotions etc) versus 80% of other informative content.
  1. Status updates

    Linkedin Status updates
    Similar to Facebook updates, you can share your content on Linkedin. You put a personalized message into the “Share an update” box, then click on the “Attach a link” and paste the link of the blog post or other url you want to share. Linkedin automatically pulls in the information and even creates a little thumbnail for you. If you have a Twitter account, you can click on the box next to the Twitter bird and your update will also be shared on Twitter.

  2. Group discussions

    Linkedin Group discussion
    You can also take part in group discussions by sharing relevant information directly within the groups.
    Each time someone replies or comments on your content, you will get notified by Linkedin.

  3. Bloglink application

    If you write a blog, I recommend you use the Bloglink application ! You can enter your RSS feed and it will then automatically display your latest blog post on your profile.

  4. Events application
    This is a must for every company who hosts offline or online events. Whenever you create a new event, it will not only be displayed on your networks’ newsfeed, but also be registered in the event directory where other people can see it.

Get your content shared

    LinkedIn Buttons

    Just like Facebook’s “Like” button and Twitter’s “Tweet” button, Linkedin has a “Share on Linkedin” button. If you have a professional blog, grab the code and paste it after every post in order to increase the sharing of your content. Click here to get the HTML code.

    Linkedin Share buttons

                  Network and get new leads with groups

                  1. Become a Member of an existing group
                    Do some research on the available groups and locate the ones that are most aligned with your company's products, services, experience and industry. And join them!

                  2. Participate actively in the group
                    Share your insight and experience in the ongoing discussions to benefit the community in an unselfish way. Be honest and trustworthy with your advice and conversation. Every now and then share your own content (blog posts, links to your website, white papers etc), always remembering the 20/80 % rule.

                  3. Create new relationships and take advantage of inbound marketing
                    Becoming an active member within LinkedIn Groups will naturally attract people to your side. By sharing your knowledge and expertise with your group members you will be successful in acquiring recognition for thought-leadership in your field. This will organically lead to increased inbound marketing, meaning more people searching for you, instead of you chasing after them.

                  4. Take advantage of InMail option with Groups
                    One of the best bonus features of Groups is that you can send InMail to group members without having to upgrade to a premium account. If you share a group with a person, you can send them a personal message (InMail) and ask them to connect or get in touch by phone or whatever else you wish.

                    I’ll give you an example of how this can be useful (I have actually done this for a client, so I know it works): you are registered at a big convention or some kind of offline event. Rather than just hope for some successful networking, prepare in advance and get access to the attendee list from the organizer. Once you have the names, spend some time on Linkedin and see who you share a group with. Now send them a friendly message, introducing yourself and inviting them to connect for a quick chat at the upcoming event. Social Media networking, followed-up by a real-life meeting :-)

                  5. Create your own group
                    If you don’t find an existing group that suits your needs you can also create your own group. You can directly communicate with your group members, send them weekly messages, feed in your blog and much more. Read this article on 10 reasons to start a Linkedin group from Lewis Howes.

                  Answer Questions

                  Linkedin Answers

                  Answering industry related questions is yet another option to show your expertise to the Linkedin Community. Each time you answer a question, your entire network will be notified on their newsfeed. Questions are organized into categories and each category has it’s own RSS feed. I recommend you subscribe to the categories which are relevant for your business and receive daily questions directly in your favorite feed reader (Google reader for example).

                  Referrals

                  How many new customers do you get by word of mouth referrals ? I bet it’s quite a big number.
                  Every time you get a new referral it will show up on your whole network’s news feed ! For more information about referrals read this post by Jeanne Hopkins: 3 Strategies to get more sales referrals with Linkedin.

                  Linkedin DirectAds

                  Last but not least there are Linkedin’s version of Paid Per Click Ads. Linkedin Direct Ads allow you to target ads by industry, company, geography, job function, seniority, gender and age. Ads can appear as a media box, banner ad or text hyperlink. They are pay-per-click or by impressions and can be stopped at any time.

                  I like them better than Google Ads because they can be very targeted. You can even target just members of a specific group for example.

                  Linkedin DirectAd

                  New feature: Leads

                  linkedinads_leads
                  Just this week I received an e-mail from Linkedin, inviting me to test a new feature on Linkedin DirectAds.
                  Here’s how it works:

                  1. LinkedIn members who click on your campaign will be shown your ad's landing page with a single-click option to be contacted (see picture above).
                  2. The profiles of members who choose to be contacted will be shown in your account under the Leads tab.
                  3. You will be able to send a free follow-up message to them on LinkedIn.

                  I think this is a great new feature and I will definitely give it a try ! Remember: they are beta testing this, so it might not be available on every account just yet.

                  So, now it’s your turn ! How do you use Linkedin? Do you have any additional tips and tricks? Please share them in the comments below. Oh, and you find me on Linkedin under: http://www.linkedin.com/in/simplicityadmins

                  P.S. LinkedIn reached a 100 Million users this Tuesday!!

                  P.P.S. If you would like to receive this 2-post series about Linkedin for B2B in an easy printable format, just click here, enter your name and e-mail and I will send you the pdf file.


                  Friday, March 18, 2011

                  Linkedin for B2B – part 1

                  by Sarah Santacroce

                  When people talk about Social Media, they usually mention the BIG 3. Linkedin, besides Facebook and Twitter is part of those 3. With it’s over 90 Million registered users I think it deserves it’s ranking.

                  In this 2 post series about Linkedin for B2B I will show you how you can implement Linkedin in your overall marketing strategy, increasing brand awareness and augment leads in general. The first post will explain how to optimize your profile and promote it effectively, the second post will focus on content distribution and networking options that are possible with Linkedin Groups.

                  So let’s get started.

                  Treat your profile like you treat your website
                  What do you usually do when you inquire about a new business partner, supplier or customer ? You Google their name, correct ? If this person has a Linkedin profile, it will ALWAYS show up on the first page of the Google search results. Your profile will be the first thing people see, so make sure you make a good first impression.

                  1. Create a relevant and distinctive tagline for your profile
                    This is the title that shows on the very top of your profile, next to your picture. It is important because it defines you. Make sure it contains some of your keywords as it is indexed in Linkedin’s search engine. CFO or VP is not distinctive enough.

                  2. Upload a professional photo
                    LinkedIn, after all, is a social networking channel. So add as many personal touches as possible to maximize engagement and put a face to the brand. Remember, it is not Facebook, so no pictures with funny hats, your pet or your kids in the background.

                  3. Create link love to your websites
                    In the “websites” section you can include relevant URLs in your profile, and use links with anchor text. For example, instead of “My Website,” use a keyword to describe it such as “Small Business Mktg Solutions.” (see image).

                    Linkedin link love

                    You can also link to your product or service brochure for example. Just click on “Edit”, then on the dropdown menu choose “Other”. You can then define your own text and simply paste the url to your brochure or any other landing page of your website.

                    Edit links

                  4. Develop your 30 second elevator speech in your Profile Summary
                    What do you say when someone asks you “So what do you do?” at a networking event. The answer goes in the Profile Summary. Nicely packaged and easily digestible :-) I broke mine into different paragraphs so it’s easier on the eye.

                  5. Showcase your best skills and ignite the SEO potency of your Profile using the “specialties” section
                    Very important section again, because these skills are indexed in Linkedin’s search engine.

                  6. Customize profile url
                    Customize url
                    Make sure you create a vanity url for your public profile by clicking on the “Edit” button and giving it the name you wish. It will be much easier to remember and share than the long string of numbers that Linkedin gives you by default.
                  7. Leverage Third-Party Applications
                    Last but not least you can add applications to your profile. My favorite three are the following:
                  • Bloglink: automatically display your latest blog posts
                  • Boxnet: Add links to files like resumes and marketing kits
                  • Slideshare: Share business presentations and demos with your network

                  I will talk about these apps more in part 2 when I we get into the content distribution.

                  Promote Your Profile
                  In order to expand your network, LinkedIn marketing efforts – like anything else – must be promoted in other channels. Include a link to your profile on your website and blog, in individual blog posts, in email signatures, on your brochures and even on business cards.

                  So now that you have updated your profile, you are ready to add new connections, share content, join groups and take full advantage of all the possibilities that Linkedin has to offer. I will talk about them in my next post, so subscribe to my RSS feed or come back next week :-)

                  Btw, you can find me on Linkedin under http://www.linkedin.com/in/simplicityadmins

                  Wednesday, March 9, 2011

                  And the winner is ...

                  International Women's Day 100 years

                  First of all thank you to those who participated in the International Women’s Day Activity !
                  I hope you had a good day yesterday, there was quite some events (online and offline) to honor women (entrepreneurs or not) around the globe.

                  Now, as promised there is one lucky woman who will get a complete Linkedin Profile Makeover. Drum roll please ! The winner is…

                  Claudia Amendola from MT Virtual Assistant !

                  Congratulations, Claudia ! I will contact you to get started…

                  And for all the other ladies out there, here’s a video for you to keep the party going :-)
                  (via my good friend Cristina !)

                  P.S. Next post will be including my male readers again too !!!