LinkedIn Polls allow marketers to pose questions to LinkedIn users to learn more about potential customers. The company GrowMotor used a LinkedIn Poll to understand how their target clients use marketing plans. Their poll question asked whether users planned to write a marketing plan in 2011. This revealed that many understand marketing plans' importance but don't know how to write one. GrowMotor can now refine their messaging to emphasize how they teach effective marketing plan development and implementation. The poll also uncovered insights about different audiences that will help GrowMotor engage customers.

1. Using LinkedIn Polls
for Great Marketing
© 2010 GrowMotor All Rights Reserved

2. PUTS A QUESTION TO LINKEDIN
USERS
LinkedIn Polls is an application that

3. The Rules
1. 125-character limit for the question
2. Up to 5 different 40-character responses
3. Cannot select more than one answer
4. $1 per response; add an extra $.50–$1 per
targeting option

4. GrowMotor
We recently repositioned
our company and are always
trying to find out more
about our potential clients

5. Why LinkedIn Polls Makes Sense For Us
1. Decision makers for our services are active
LinkedIn users
2. We want to speak directly to a larger pool of
potential clients
3. We have a low budget and few resources

6. CHOOSE OUR POLL QUESTION
First we need to

7. Two Simple Goals:
1. Learn more about potential clients
2. Generate leads by alluding to the
respondent’s real problems

8. First, We Started Big
We brainstormed questions about
• Overall marketing performance
• Leadership
• Process
• Product development
• Positioning

9. SERVICES WE PROVIDE RIGHT NOW
Then we refocused the questions on

10. One Final Criteria
The results of the poll must help us market our
services and test our ideas about marketing

11. The Question We Chose
Are you going to write a marketing plan in 2011?
 Already done! We write one every year.
 Already done! This is our first time.
 We plan to write one in December.
 We might write one. We don’t know how.
 What is a marketing plan?

12. Why It Works For Us
1. We have clear expertise in marketing plans,
which is reflected in content on our website
2. We will learn how potential clients are using
marketing plans, which will help us
communicate how we can help them
3. Respondents might realize that their
companies need help with marketing plans

13. Guidelines For Writing a LinkedIn Poll
1. Keep it simple and clear. Our question is
straightforward and direct.
2. The shorter the better. Our question is only
40 characters long.
3. Use a casual, interesting tone. Our question
sounds like something you would hear in
casual conversation.

14. 50% DISCOUNT PER RESPONSE
Woohoo! Graeme has a LinkedIn Premium account…

15. Choose Up to 2 Targeting Options
We selected:
• Job Function—Business Development,
Creative, Marketing, Public Relations, and
Sales
• Geography—US, UK, Australia, Canada, and
South Africa

16. JUST ENOUGH RESEARCH
We selected 100 responses for $50. That is all we need for

17. ALL 100 RESPONSES WERE
COLLECTED
20 hours after we posted the poll

18. Overall Results

19. Some Observations
1. Most people wait until the last minute to do
their marketing plan
2. Many understand the importance of a
marketing plan, but admitted they don’t
know how to write one

20. Possible Potential Clients
Let’s find out more about the 16% that
responded:
“We might write one. We don’t know how.”
Let’s call them oranges

21. By Company Size

22. Some Observations
1. Most oranges come from medium and small
companies
2. Almost half of respondents from medium-
sized companies are oranges

23. By Age

24. 18-24 YEARS OLD
Oranges are young!

25. By Job Function
Oranges are in business development, sales, and
creative

26. Putting It All Together
Oranges, or people who understand the
importance of a marketing plan but don’t know
how to do one, are either:
1. Young entrepreneurs
2. Young people in tactical marketing roles at
medium-sized companies

27. SO WHAT?

28. REFINE OUR MESSAGE WHEN WE
TALK TO AN ORANGE
Now we can

29. We Will Emphasize That...
• We teach you how to write an effective
marketing plan and implement successfully
• We develop your first 2-year marketing plan
and calendar together
• Your marketing plan will read like an
instruction manual, so anyone can use it

30. Other Discoveries
1. People who responded “We plan to write
one in December” have a tendency to be
older and in small businesses
2. People who responded “Already done! We
write one every year” have a tendency to be
middle aged and in large companies
3. People who responded “What is a marketing
plan?” were all in the age range of 25-34

31. DID IT GENERATE LEADS?
What about our second goal?

32. BUT HERE’S WHAT WE LEARNED
Probably not…

33. Change Your LinkedIn Headline
Include your company name in your personal
LinkedIn headline because it appears at the
bottom of the poll
We should have
changed Graeme’s
title to Big Wheel @
GrowMotor before
we published the
poll

34. Marketing Performance Process™
1. Understand customers, problems, needs
2. Diagnose problems in current system
3. Articulate the story
4. Decide on the plan
5. Communicate the story to customers
6. Deliver the customer experience
7. Measure results & improve the plan

35. STEP 1: UNDERSTAND
LinkedIn Polls in the Marketing Performance Process™

36. LinkedIn Polls Can Help You
1. Make new discoveries about your target market
2. Confirm inclinations about your target market
3. Refine your message
4. Test product or service ideas
5. Discover new potential customers

37. PERSONAL CONVERSATIONS WITH
POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS
Always confirm your findings from LinkedIn Polls in

38. Use LinkedIn Polls If
1. You’re in B2B or your customers are working
professionals
2. You have a limited marketing budget and
limited resources for market research
3. You need to learn more about your target
market and get feedback from potential
customers (Hint: We all do!)

39. If You Want More
• Growmotor.com
• Facebook.com/growmotor
• Twitter.com/growmotor
• Linkedin.com/company/growmotor