The Low Down on

Heidi Alexandra Pollard

Chief emPOWERment Officer

UQ Powerwww.UQpower.com.au

Heidi Alexandra Pollardwww.UQPower.com.au

Focus for this session

• Why you need to be on LinkedIn now

• How to stand out from the sea of sameness

• Hacks to boost your online profile

• Positioning yourself as a thought leader in real estate

Who remembers these?

WHY YOU NEED TO BE ON

MORE THAN EVER BEFORE

• Globalisation Changes Our Community

• Increased Consumer Choice and Uberfication

• Technology Takes Private Lives Public

• Increased competition from online disrupters eg: realestate.com and open agent

SHIFT HAPPENS

How do you respond to inbound email?

You’ve got Mail!

How do you respond to LinkedIn messages?

LinkedIn Messages

The Rise of Social Media?

• Social media is simply another step in the evolution of communication.

• The ability for social media to provide a 'one to many' vehicle which can amplify to a 'many to many' communication of ideas and content now means there is scope for businesses (and individuals) to spread their message quickly, efficiently and cheaply.

• LinkedIn is a professional online networking tool that works particularly well for business-to-business (B2B) relationships.

• It is like a directory of valuable business contacts and, just as with ‘offline’ networking, you get to choose who you connect with.

• LinkedIn allows you to find people based on their profession, keywords, companies, education etc which makes it an extremely effective tool.

What is

What is

• LinkedIn has great Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and therefore ranks very high on Google. So, when you search for a name on Google or any other search engine, you will usually come across that person’s LinkedIn profile (if they have one).

• LinkedIn like any business relationship is still about give and take. It does take a bit of work (10 minutes every 2 days) to get the best results.

Why choose

• LinkedIn is an incredible tool for building visibility and community on the web.

• It’s the largest professional network, with over 467 million contacts.

• That’s a lot of opportunities to build your brand, succeed professionally and stand out as Unique.

• If you don’t yet have a company website you can use LinkedIn to ensure there is information about you and your business available online.

Stats and Facts

• LinkedIn started on May 5, 2003

• It went public in May 19, 2011

• LinkedIn has 332 million members

• 2 new users join every second

• 42 million unique mobile visitors per month(This is a 45% increase in just 12 months )

• LinkedIn’s user goal is 3 billion registered users

• 25 million LinkedIn profiles are viewed every day

• 41% of users visit LinkedIn via mobile

• The average number of connections is 930.

https://press.linkedin.com/about-linkedin

build connections group

discussions

collaboration opportunities

share your expertise

Why LinkedIn?

LinkedIn Stats

• 35% check it daily

• 32% check the site several times a week

• 42% update profile regularly

• 81% belong to at least one group

Who’s Using

• Top Level Executives- industry networking (22%) - Promoting their business (20%)

• Middle Management Professionals- To keep in touch with others (24%)- Industry networking (20%)

• Entry Level Employees- Job searching (24%)- Co-worker networking (23%)

BEST TIMES WORST TIMES

7am – 9am 10pm – 6am

5pm – 6pm

Best times to use

The challenge then for agents and experts is in the online world it is even harder to

stand out.stand out.

associationWha

t is

a B

RAN

D?

name

logo

Why branding?

Take water + sugar + fizz + a can = costs less than 30c

Write Coca-Cola on the can and charge $3.90

Coca-Cola spends more on its brand than on its product

Brand U

The term branding has long been associated only with companies until Tom Peters famously said

“We are the CEOs of our own companies: Me, Incorporated…

Your most important job is to be marketing the brand called You.”

Brand U Challenges

1. I don’t know what makes me unique and how to position, package and sell it!

2. I’m flat out exhausted and in overwhelm just doing my job.

3. I don’ know which things really matter when building my personal brand.

Building Brand U

1. Start thinking of yourself as a brand. What do you want people to associate with you when they hear your name? What topic or key message do you want to be known for? What are your top strengths and qualities?

2. Grow your personal power. Get help to develop your personal power, your self-worth, your ability to say yes to the opportunities in alignment and no to those that aren’t. The answer is not outside of you, it’s inside.

3. Go hack yourself. Learn strategies to improve your personal productivity. Be focused, not busy.

Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle

“People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.”

UQPower.com.au

Your Golden Circles

UQPower.com.au

Know your WHY

EG: My WHY StatementTo help people and companies identify and leverage their unique power so they can increase their impact, influence and income.

Know your WHO

Whether it’s peers or service proiders in your professional network, potential business partners, or others in your Circle of Influence, understanding your audience will help you tailor your LinkedIn profile to speak directly to them.

WHO are you talking to?

Ask yourself

• Who will look at your online profile?

• What do people want to know about you?

• Where will they use this information?

• Why is your profile important?

• When and how often do you update it?

• How will you use your profile to your advantage?

How to make it work for you

• It’s not enough to have your LinkedInprofile up and wait for something to happen.

• You need to engage in it actively to get results by participating, sharing and connecting.

• In business there is a direct correlation between your ability to build, manage and leverage professional relationships and your success. Ie: Your Network = Your Net Worth

• We prefer to do business with people we know, like and trust - LinkedIn can get you there pronto.

7 to improve your UQ

1. Add a positionCreate a compelling profile, not a resume rehash!

Update your employment history and professional accomplishments. Be sure to include your current position or job title and make sure it is aligned with your ONE THING – your Unique Power you want to be known for.

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Secret TipAdd in what you do or your tagline – not just your title – it’s a great for keywords.

The more skills and job titles that match recruiter or business searches for candidates, partners and suppliers, the higher volume of traffic your profile will receive. In turn, better traffic means you’re more likely to be the target of a new connection or opportunity.

2. Add a photoA professional looking photo or ‘headshot’ means you are putting your best foot (or face) forward. It also means people will recognise you which adds to the Know, Like and Trust factor. And when meeting up for a coffee with someone you met on LinkedIn you can spot them.

You can increase your LinkedIn views by 14X by including a photo

People are visual

Take a look at this eyepattern research for a LinkedIn page.

Notice how the eyelingers much longer on the photo that anywhere else on the page.

That’s why you need a great headshot.

Avoid these mistakes

Nooooo….

To add to the PRD Brand

Use a professional headshot that either has:

1 - the PRD brand or logo behind

2 – on location in your core area with a recognisable landmark in the background

Change your banner

Every 90 Days

3. Add at least 3 skillsLet people know what you’re good at, and then get endorsed by your connections.

Remember to include your ONE THING – what makes you Unique makes you stand out.

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Endorsements

4. Join and interact in relevant groupsA great feature of LinkedIn is its groups. There are literally thousands of groups on LinkedIn where people discuss different topics. A great strategy is to join and participate in group discussions that your target market is part of. Demonstrate your expertise and position yourself as an expert. This will build trust and attract more business. Or create your own!

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Group interaction tips

•Answer questions to highlight your subject expertise

•Communicate. Show interest. Look for ways to help.

•Be yourself. Be real. Be yourself.

•Don’t always be in selling mode!

•Have fun!

5. Recommend peopleAn extremely powerful feature is that your clients can leave recommendations on your profile, which provides instant social proof and makes you more appealing to prospects when they look at your work profile and history.

Imagine searching for an accountant in your area and one has recommendations and the other doesn’t – which would you choose?

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Give and takeTo get recommendations remember to also recommend businesses you have liked working with instead of just hoping to be endorsed. It’s all about give and take.

Be genuine and bold – ask clients to leave a recommendation for you as part of your feedback process.

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Rockstar LinkedIn User

6. Publish ArticlesImagine searching for an agent in your area and one has published articles about market trends, where they see property heading, what’s hot as well as tips for buyers and sellers and the other just has a resume style profile – which would you choose?

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Include visuals

Include visuals

Extend Your Reach – Better Than A Blog

The Power of Articles

How you rank in your network

7. Create a business page

People can find you based on the keywords that you use, and likewise you can search for potential strategic alliance partners, find people and businesses in the same industry and email people directly without having to go through numerous channels. A LinkedIn Business page can act as an extra website so people can find out more about what you do. You can also post updates and information and read reports on the people that are viewing your page. Oh and share it!

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Make it work

•Aim to update it once a week

•Make it highly visual

•Start with an action verb or ask a question

•Include links to articles and presentations

•Update status – strictly business (this is not Facebook) but be friendly, interesting and use video to show and tell

Ask questions

Use video show & tell

Keep it Short & Sweet

Provide Great Info

Use Neverfail Lists

• Use LinkedIn to do research about people. For example, if you about to meet with the CEO of Goldmine Co. you can look him up on LinkedIn and find out more about him before your meeting.

• All recruitment companies use LinkedIn to find and screen suitable candidates.

• Remember to link your company website, business card, email signature to your LinkedIn page.

• Change your profile when you change campaigns eg: every 90 days

• Upload presentations like this one via SlideShare!

What else can I do with

Use it for outbound marketing

Use it for outbound marketing

Hi NAME

thanks for connecting.

Looking through your profile I notice (mention something specific about their career, business or location that is of interest)

I’d love to send a copy of my latest market trend report with my compliments.

What’s the best address to send it to?

GIVE

Use it for outbound marketing

Great NAME

The report is on its way!

I’ve also created a brief video to compliment the report, you can access it here (add link).GIVE

Use it for outbound marketing

Hi again NAME

I hope you found the video and report of use.

I’d love to add you to our database and send you any relevant properties in the areas you might be interested in or curious about. Would that be OK?

ASK

Use it for outbound marketing

Hi again NAME

I thought I would let you know that I’m heading to the (XYZ) networking event next (Add Date and time) and was wondering if you would like to come along and join me as my guest?

I heard the speaker (ABC) is very good and thought it might be relevant to you/your business.

INVITE

DISCUSSION

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt this morning?

What one thing will you do to power up your LinkedIn?