Presents

TechTalk:LinkedIn Or Left

Out

The Publicity Gal

Lisa Horn, CAS

Hello! I’m Lisa Horn, CAS, a.k.a. @ThePublicityGal, and I specialize in PR, content marketing & publicity using a journalistic approach. Authentic storytelling—not spin. I put my 18 years of promotional products industry experience to work consulting with a number of suppliers, distributors, and service providers on their publicity, catalog, social media and strategic communication efforts.

My LinkedIn Statswww.linkedin.com/in/lisakhorn/

Profile in Top 10% viewed for 2012

Joined February 12, 2009 500+ connections 135+ endorsements 11 recommendations received 9 recommendations given

What Should You Expect?

TechTalk is a workshop. This means you’ll be able to try the things we talk about while we’re talking about them and get help if you’re having trouble.

We’ll adjust the course to your learning needs. If there are section where you’re already proficient, we’ll speed up. If there are section that need more explanation, we’ll slow down.

Takeaways: What You’ll Learn

In today’s workshop, we will: Identify why LinkedIn is essential for

building your online reputation. Go through each of the profile sections so

you have the knowledge to complete yours 100%.

Talk about ways to professionally engage with others in your network and arm yourself with information when making sales calls.

Feedback: What Do You Want To Learn?To help me tailor today’s workshop to your specific needs: Is there a specific

topic you’d like addressed or question you’d like answered?

Get Social: Principle 1Bring Back Social “Networking”

Social “media” implies broadcastinga monologue.

Social “networking” implies connectinga dialogue, a conversation with engagement. Bring back networking!

Get Social: Principle 2Stop Advertising; Start Engaging

Social networking is like a cocktail party, so get dressed, comeprepared andact accordingly.

Product Or Service Purchasing Habits In A Digital Age

Before making a consumer purchase, from a book to a new car, what do you do? You put Google to work—by investigating the product, pricing and locations. And all this happens before dropping a dollar.

The same is true in business.

LinkedIn: Your Professional Presence OnlineHR managers examine applicants, and job seekers check out potential employers to determine if there is a good fit. Salespeople find information on targeted buyers to make the sale, and purchasing agents explore all the options online before agreeing to appointments.

It’s window-shopping in the digital age—and LinkedIn is your storefront.

LinkedIn: The Business Network

Why LinkedIn?

LinkedIn has 200+ million members in more than 200 countries and territories.

Every second, two new members join. Executives from all Fortune 500

companies are members. LinkedIn members did more than 5.7

billion professionally oriented searches on the platform in 2012.

Why LinkedIn?

More than 2.7 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages.

More than 1.3 million unique publishers actively share content on the platform.

Members share insights and knowledge in 1.5+ billion LinkedIn Groups.

What does all this mean? LinkedIn gives you access to people you want to know.

Keys To LinkedIn Success

1. Determine Your Goals2. Building A Complete Profile3. Making Connections4. Giving And Receiving Endorsements

And Recommendations5. Engaging With Your Network6. Finding And Sharing Valuable

Information

Key To Success – Determine Your GoalsWhy are you on LinkedIn?

To find clients, vendors, partners,contractors, employees?

Do you want people to find you when they’re looking for the same?

A mix of both?

Your goals should drive your entire presence.

Key To Success – Building A Complete ProfileUsers with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn. What makes your profile complete? Your industry and location An up-to-date current position (with a description) Two past positions Your education Your skills (minimum of 3) A profile photo At least 50 connections

Blueprint: Perfect LinkedIn Profile

Source: http://marketingthink.com/social-branding-how-to-create-the-perfect-linkedin-profile-blueprint/

Profile Element: Photo Don’t: Leave the photo

blank—this sends an unprofessional message.

Do: Have a professional photo taken in business attire—and smile!

Do: Size the photo between 200x200 to 500x500 pixels, and crop in on your face.

Don’t: Have anything other than you in the pic—not pets, spouses, shoulder or hand of person next to you in photo, etc.

Profile Element: Headline Don’t: Use the LinkedIn

default of your title and company name. BORING! Do: Think of this space as a newspaper headline or

book title. Would you read further? Do: Showcase your USP, value proposition, brand

statement, specialty, etc.—and do it creatively…in 120 characters.

Do: Use keywords to appear in search. Do: Understand your target audience and

tailor message specifically to them.RESOURCE: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2012/08/14/does-your-linkedin-headline-suck/

Profile Element: HeadlineExampleDonna Serdula, LinkedIn Makeover LinkedIn Headline Generator: A Guide To

Creating Highly Effective & Engaging LinkedIn Headlines Keyword-Packed Headline POWER Statement Headline

http://www.linkedin-makeover.com/linkedin-profile-samples/linkedin-headline-examples/

Profile Element: Custom URL &Contact Info Do: Claim your

custom URL.Ex: www.linkedin.com/in/lisakhorn/

Don’t: Forget to complete all the contact info fields.

Do: Include website URLs. Tip: choose “other” so you can name/brand the link.

Profile Element:Summary Don’t leave the summary

blank. This area can bethe difference of reading more about you vs leaving your profile.

Do tell a story about yourself. Be personable and authentic.

Showcase your skills and expertise. Include any metrics to offer proof.

Profile Element: SummaryExamples

http://www.linkedinsights.com/3-stunningly-good-linkedin-profile-summaries/

Profile Element: Projects—NEW!Use this area to put emphasis on particular aspects of your work that are not only key differentiators to what you do but also examples of your expertise.

It’s one thing to say you know how to do something; it’s another to show that can do it with tangible proof.

RESOURCE: http://www.starrhall.com/create-more-connections-using-projects-on-linkedin/

Profile Element: Skills & Expertise—New!In less than six months, 1 billion endorsements representing thousands of skills have been given. List at least 10 core skills

so others can endorse you. Begin by endorsing others first; many

will reciprocate in return.

Profile Element: Experience Don’t: Stop with this section

after listing companies and dates of employment.

Do: Include details about your responsibilities, skills gained, projects completed, metrics achieved.

Do: Explain what products and services company provides.

Do: Link projects from the previous section to you work experience

Profile Element: Organizations—New! Much can be learned from volunteer experiences, and there are valuable connections here, too. With this new section, now there is a place to include volunteer work for either civic or charitable organizations.

Profile Element: Honors & Awards—Reformatted This section has beenreformatted. What was once a freeform text box now has fields that identifyaward title, your occupation (to link back to specific positions, issuer, date and description.

Profile Element: Certifications—New! This field is perfect forour industry as thereare numerousdesignations thatpromotional consultantsmay have. This new dedicated section keeps all of this info in one place.

Profile Element: EducationThe education section contains school name, degree, field of study and dates attended. If you were active on campus, you can now add descriptions to provide details about your studies and give a better sense of your background and experience.

Example: Graduated with Honors in English. Minored in

Anthropology. Overseas Studies Program: 1 semester at Oxford, focus on English literature. Received National Merit Scholarship, 1997, and Washington Post Scholarship, 1998.

Profile Element: Volunteer Experiences & Causes—New!The more you have incommon with someone,the easier it is to sparkconversation because thereis common ground.

With this new section, you can share what’s important to you personally—and learn the same about others.

Profile Element: Additional Info

While not a super criticalpart of the profile, additionalinfo can give profile visitorsanother point of commonality.

Include things your interested in professionally and personally. And let people know your preferred method of contact.

Key To Success – Making ConnectionsThe power of LinkedIn comes from yournetwork of contacts: 1st Level: Those with

whom you are directlyconnected

2nd Level: Connections of the people in your first level

3rd Level: Connections of 2nd level contacts

Connecting: Sending Invites Don’t: Use the defaut:

“I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”

Do: Send a personal invite. Do: Include details of how you know this

person. Do: Give a reason why you’d be a

valuable contact

Connecting: Sending InvitesExample—Personalize It Specify how you

know each other

Add personal note

Include current andrelevant details

Connecting: People You May KnowIt’s easy to simply click“connect,” however this automatically sendsthe generic invite.

Instead, click on the person’s profile and click the invite button next to his or her picture. This brings up the window for personal correspondence.

Connecting: Receiving Invites Don’t: Simply accept

and do nothing else. Do: Say thank you! Do: Write a personal response to spark

conversation. This is networking! Inquire about something on their profile. Include a memory of a past meeting.

Don’t: Feel like you must accept every invitation.

Connecting: Acquaintances

Don’t: Send blanketinvites to people you don’t really know—LinkedIn will penalize you if more than 5 people say they don’t know you.

Do: Use the people you may know tool. Do: Introduce yourself to others with whom

you have common connections—and explain why you’d like to connect.

Do: Select the accurate way you “know” the person with whom you want to connect.

RESOURCE: http://www.linkedin-makeover.com/2013/02/22/linkedin-account-restricted/

See Connections GraphicallyLinkedIn’s new functionality makes it easy to see what you have in common with others. This is useful when evaluating potential connections as well as looking for similar interest with established connections.

Key To Success – Endorsements And RecommendationsPowerful public testimonials from others speak volumes about your skills and expertise. Endorsements: Easy one-click way to

indicate one’s skills; especially useful for those with whom you’ve had limited or indirect engagement.

Recommendations: More in-depth testimony; appropriate for those with whom you have directly worked.

Endorsements

Do: Add skills to your profile to get started.

Don’t: Feel like you mustendorse people for skillsthat LinkedIn auto-generates—endorse on what you know.

Do: Send a personal note to say thank you when an endorsement is received—it’s a great excuse to start a conversation.

Recommendations

Do: Recommend others. Direct Reports Colleagues Vendors

Do: Spend time thinkingabout the message.

Do: Ask for recommendations. Don’t: Be pressured into making

recommends. It’s OK to politely decline.

Key To Success – Engaging With Your NetworkRemember Social Principle 1: Bring “Networking” Back!

LinkedIn was built specifically for networking: Monitoring LinkedIn Today Updating Your Status Following News & Companies Joining Groups Taking Polls

Monitor LinkedIn Today

This custom newsfeeddetails what’s happeningin your network and allows you to jump into the conversation:

Updates with connections Shared articles Content from thought

leaders Group activities

Update Your Status

Updating your status is an informal way ofletting your network know what you’reworking on—and this could be something they need.

Status Update Success Story

Last night, I updated mystatus about this workshop.In less than an hour, 8people checked outmy profile—the first stepto potential new biz.

Follow News & Companies

By following news outlets andcompanies of interest, you can stay up-to-date on thetopics that interest you most.

This is especially helpful if youare looking for content toeducate yourself and youraudience.

Join GroupsGroups bring people awith common interests together in a forum for discussion and learning. Do: Join groups where

your customers are. Do: Join groups to be a thought leader as

well as ones where you’re the student. Do: Follow group rules and contribute

accordingly. Do: Give more than you get.

Example: Group RulesEach groupmonitor can sethis/her own rules,but these from the AMA arefairly standard.

Consult yourgroups for specifics.

Take A PollLinkedIn is alsoa place to doresearch and share opinions.

The poll featureallows you toquickly getinput on a topicof interest.

Key To Success – Finding And Sharing Valuable Information

Part of being a valuable member of any community is sharing info that is relevant to your audience. You can find information to share—as well as share your own—through: Status updates from your contacts Group discussions LinkedIn Influencers

Finding Relevant & Shareable Info

Thought-Provoking Content: LinkedIn Influencers

By recruiting today’s top thought leaders,LinkedIn has become a content destination.

Final Thoughts Content that has no real value (Happy

Monday!) is just noise. Don’t post unless you have something relevant to add to the conversation.

Think about your audience’s needs rather than your own—and build content from there.

Everything you post has the potential to build—and conversely detract—from your personal brand. Be smart about your content.

Make A Commitment

What top three things that you learned today will you implement immediately?

Make a commitment to do it and set a deadline.

Share your goals with others and keep each other accountable.

Connect With Me

http://thepublicitygal.com

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

http://twitter.com/thepublicitygal

http://www.facebook.com/lisakhorn.biz

You’ve been a great audience!