Getting the Most Out of

LinkedIn

By Alan Belniak

http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanbelniak

Edited/Designed by Alessandro Bertolucci

http://www.linkedin.com/in/abertolucci © Keith Williamson

Why focus on LinkedIn?

It’s one of

the most

important

B2B

Social

Networks

REALLY!

A lot of

people

say so…

You can’t ignore it anymore

FACE IT

OK – I’m on LinkedIn.

Now what?

© Bob Smith

It’s

All

About

You

(Baby)

Actually –

it’s about your profile

© Duane Jones

Your profile is key

It’s your most important

asset on LinkedIn.

Never mind your insightful

messages, your

participations in groups or

whitepapers – you will be

judged on your profile - first.

So let’s see what we can

do…

First, add a (good) picture

Seriously folks – a profile pic from a

vacation spa, bachelor(ette) party

or other non-professional event

isn’t going to win you any favors

and will likely damage your

credibility towards potential clients,

employers, suppliers and partners.

And all-though we all want to

embrace our inner-Steve-Jobs, let’s

not over-do it. In other words –

don’t look like a pretentious git

(unless you happen to be the next

Steve Jobs).

BAD

GOOD

Too much but f’n amazing

© Patrick Moore

Are you still living in the 90s?

When you meet someone in real life,

you don’t tell them about the job you

had 4 years ago, Why would you do

that online?

Detail only those positions you’ve

held RECENTLY – meaning the

last year or two. If you must show

more – go head but keep it relevant

to your current position.

If you’re looking for work – that’s a different

story (and a different eBook)

People have short attention sp -- hey look, a bird!

By default – LinkedIn’s profile

order isn’t always ideal for

keeping people’s attention.

Plus your profile is competing

with advertising, email, and

other social media. So you

need to get their attention fast.

Luckily – your profile elements can easily

re-arranged by dragging them around

the page.

So start with your strengths or tailor it to

reach your goal or target audience.

TIP– pretend you’re doing an

elevator pitch about yourself.

Get a Custom URL

Once your profile is done you’ll notice the default

LinkedIn profile address for your profile:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/YOURNAME/8/369/0

Yeah – we know – it stinks.

Thankfully – you can customize it fairly easily (and free)

– to something more reasonable like:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanbelniak

Just click on the edit button

next to your profile URL and

you’re off to the races.

Photo By: http://www.anna-OM-line.com

Treat LinkedIn like a search engine for

ads… and you’re the product

Good: I sell stuff

Better: I sell enterprise software

Best: I help buyers find solution-

ready Enterprise software for

manufacturing environments, big

and small (I call it PLM)

Make your profile so it’s friendly to

people, and friendly to search

Friendly to search: use acronyms,

jargon, and the like that are known

in the industry (without overdoing it)

Friendly to people: what do real

humans say? ‘pee-el-emm’? Or

‘software for manufacturing’?

(without overdoing it)

Ok, how will people find me?

Again – your profile is key.

based on: http://www.christopherspenn.com/2012/03/the-biggest-linkedin-profile-power-tip-of-all

Strike a balance and know your target – you can’t be all

things to all people – find a target market and stick to it. “ ”

“Do you want to just wear the

minimum required amount of flair?”

Time to have some fun.

Be sure to add:

• Specialties,

• Skills,

• Applications - like SlideShare or

Portfolio, & make sure you edit your

three URLs/Links

TIP - If you can – make sure one is to an

active blog – or some kind of VALUABLE

informative page with a TRACKABLE call

to action.

© Thad Zajdowicz

Now that your hair is combed and your teeth are brushed…

GO MEET

PEOPLE!

© Larissa Kanno

You know – YOUR CUSTOMERS – and how to find them.

Very funny – but how do I do that?

Well - it’s all about them :

Typing in just a name is lame.

Jack it up!

Use the advanced search, and get

more. Limit your searching to a

particular industry that makes

sense for you.

Or, limit it to a geographic area –

maybe a car ride away! – Example: VP of Engineering within

50 miles of 02494

– This can be prospecting within a

car ride!

Search by title – target the people

with the check books

Using Advanced Search Effectively

People Searching

© Nelson Syozi

SORT YOUR RESULTS to see

good stuff up top, crappy

stuff at the bottom

DON’T keep re-inventing the

wheel save searches for

repeated use

SAVE TIME!

① People ask questions.

That means they need information –

target them and give them answers

② Limit the results.

Enter your terms and pick

‘questions only’ (use quotes, too)

③ Answer questions, intelligently

– with out the BS.

When answer questions, you can

become an authority on a topic –

meaning people will seek you out

which is a lot easier than chasing

them don’t ya think?

Using LinkedIn Answers for fun & profit

By limiting your results

you’ll end up with better

quality questions

That’s right - If you’re looking to

break into a specific place, follow

the company in advance.

See what they’re up to and see who

their employees are and what

they’re doing. It will help you identify

the right person to reach out to.

You might already know people

there! Past acquaintances, college

alum, et cetera.

Why is this important?

Here’s a simple truth:

Did You Know? You can search for AND follow companies?

WARM CALL > COLD CALL

LinkedIn Companies is a GOLDMINE

of business information.

Track new arrivals

Departures

Common skills

A cross-section of the enterprise

ecosystem for you to explore!

All you’ve got to do is:

Check out the Insightful Statistics

Knowing is half the battle … er … sale Know who you’re dealing with

Really – can you

ignore all this?

Oh! And Groups – don’t forget groups

Groups are people having

discussions on a topic.

They are probably among the most important

networking tools found on LinkedIn

We do not endorse the wearing of digital watches – that’s just cruel

© Andy Stafiniak

Did we mention there

are A LOT of groups?

Just as you did when searching

for People – search Groups for

a term, using quotes

Searching for Groups

Remember to FILTER

We’re not kidding…

so be specific and picky

© Jaures Villani

Use the group

statistics to tell you if

its worth it for you to

spend time here.

Speaking about being picky…

Don’t judge a group from its description

and/or number of members

Selecting the RIGHT groups

If it’s active,

popular and

open – then join

up and join in

the discussion

It can be a round-about

(ok, it’s sneaky) way to

send a message

to someone without

connecting with them on

LinkedIn.

Psst! – here’s a tip about Groups

How, you ask?

If this is checked on your

prospect’s Group setting – you

can contact him/her directly

without being a contact.

So JOIN a Group you

know they’re part of.

Just like with PEOPLE

and COMPANIES – you

can search for EVENTS

being organized by fellow

users and posted on

LinkedIn

EVENTS or how to network face-to-face with LinkedIn

Everyone knows that the best type of networking

is the “face-to-face” kind – and we’re not talking

Skype or FaceTime here.

So how do you use a social network like

Linked help meet people face-face?

Let LinkedIn TELL you.

Q

A

See what events are happening locally or nearby.

That seminar in Hawaii would be nice

but not too practical if you live in Boston.

See who is attending the event (Prospecting101)

Track the event (Prospecting101)

Connect with them in advance if you can – CAVEAT - being approached out-of-the-blue by a

complete stranger could be a bit – well – creepy, so

do so carefully or stick to people you have

connections with.

‘Follow’ the event on LinkedIn and stay updated

TIPS for searching for Events

“BUT I can’t afford it”

So what if you don’t go to the actual

seminar?

That doesn’t mean you can’t benefit.

Save the cash on the registration

fee and instead open a tab at the

nearby bar.

Look for the people with nametags and

lanyards (they are the easy targets!).

From a LinkedIn event page,

people can share the event.

Take a look at this tweet I

found.

Click through that event link

to learn more. It will go to

the LinkedIn event page,

complete with date, time,

location…. all the info you’d

want to know if you wanted

to meet someone face-to-

face.

Event Example

Take that URL and throw it into Google your

favorite search engine to see who else is

sharing it and/or attending it – make

inferences – MAKE CONNECTIONS!

Do ONCE – Update your profile

– Set up three saved searches

Do per week – Search a related industry

– Run a geographic search

– Run a keyword search

– Share content via the status update

– Review the companies you follow

– Answer a question; Ask a question

Do per Quarter – Adjust your profile

– Recommend two people

– Make / foster two connections

(introduce people)

Enough Talk – it’s time for ACTION!

LinkedIn doesn’t require a big time-commitment from you.

You can easily manage and benefit from it with a little effort – and a good calendar.

http://blog.eloqua.com/top-10-linkedin-tips-for-lead-generation/

http://socialmediab2b.com/2011/11/b2b-social-media-linkedin-group-

statistics/

http://www.slideshare.net/scrawforditm/power-prospecting-with-linkedin

http://press.linkedin.com/understanding-linkedin

http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2011/4890/leads-via-linkedin-groups-

most-likely-to-convert?adref=nl042511

http://www.christopherspenn.com/2012/03/the-biggest-linkedin-profile-

power-tip-of-all

http://www.hubspot.com/eBooks/learning-linkedin-from-the-experts

More Resources

Alan Belniak

b: www.SubjectivelySpeaking.net

t: @abelniak

l: www.linkedin.com/in/alanbelniak

Alessandro Bertolucci

w: www.bertolucci-design.com/

l: www.linkedin.com/in/abertolucci

Thanks!

Bonus: Check Out Who’s Checking You Out