Want more sales? My top 8 linked in do's & dont's

www.conspicuous-cbm.com
Want More Sales?
My Top 8 LinkedIn Do’s & Dont's
For Referral Marketing!

WARNING MESSAGE!
• These are my personal DOs & DONTs for Referral
Marketing!
• They reflect my usage & my business goals - yours
usage and priorities might be different - thats perfectly
fine!
• LinkedIn’s UI (& their business model) is constantly
updated with new functionality or old favourites get
axed - so this list might change over time!
• The internet is full of excellent “how to” LinkedIn
articles + many social media experts who can teach
you the basics! This presentation is not one of them!

What You Will See
• Introduction
• Some Initial Thoughts
• Some Basic LinkedIn FactsThe Top 10 Dos &
Dont’s
• Some added hints, tips & tricksFinal Thoughts
• Final Thoughts
• Final Thoughts

• LinkedIn is a business-oriented & professional
social networking service founded in 2002. August 2014 -
LinkedIn reports >310 million acquired users in 200 countries.
• "LinkedIn is, far and away, the most advantageous social
networking tool available to job seekers and business
professionals today," according to Forbes Magazine.
• Is networking, word-of-mouth, referrals and recommendations
important to your business, then LinkedIn is probably an ideal
tool for prospecting and connecting for you ie Social Selling
• How can you make LinkedIn work for you for business
networking and referral marketing? Follow these DOs &
DONTs and see them work for you!
Introduction

• LinkedIn has evolved from being the “facebook for business”
concerned with job opportunities to being a fully featured sales
solutions for businesses looking to connect with its customers.
• Good behaviour on LinkedIn gets the same results as in real life
business networking.
• Getting great results from using LinkedIn to help your business &
marketing efforts as ever takes hard work, discipline, perseverance
and a plan!
• It ticks the 4 best low-cost marketing techniques available to all new
and small businesses:
1. networking (letting people know you exist)
2. reputation (building up perceived expertise, endorsements and recommendations)
3. social media (of course LinkedIn is one of the best)
4. referral marketing (social selling through asking for referrals, prospecting etc.).
Some Initial Thoughts

• It has now passed 300 million users & growing
• There are now over 1 billion LinkedIn endorsements
• 41% of LinkedIn visits are now via mobile
• LinkedIn has 5,000 employees & worth an estimated $7.5 billion
• 2.1 million LinkedIn groups
• Average time a user spends a month on LinkedIn is >20 minutes
• Top 5 countries by user numbers are. USA 93M, India 24M, Brazil
16M, UK 15M and Canada 9M.
• Top 3 fastest growing countries are Turkey, Colombia and
Indonesia
• ALL YOUR PAST, CURRENT & FUTURE CUSTOMERS IN ONE
PLACE!
Some Basic 2014
LinkedIn Facts

• Basic functionality of LinkedIn allows users (workers and employers) to create profiles and
"connections" to each other in an online social network which may represent real-world
professional relationships.
• Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection. However, if the
invitee selects "I don't know" or "Spam", this counts against the inviter.
• This list of connections can then be used in a number of ways - Obtaining introductions to the
connections of connections (termed 2nd-degree connections) and connections of 2nd-degree
connections (termed 3rd-degree connections). Users can find jobs, people and business
opportunities recommended by someone in one's contact network.
• Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates. Job seekers can review the profile of
hiring managers and discover which of their existing contacts can introduce them.
• Users can post their own photos and view photos of others to aid in identification.
• Users can follow different companies and can receive notifications about the new joining and
offers available. Users can save (i.e. bookmark) jobs that they would like to apply for.
• Users can "like" and "congratulate" each other's updates and new employments. Users can
recommend and endorse their contacts.
• Users can see who has visited their profile page.
• The "gated-access approach" (where contact with any professional requires either an existing
relationship, or the intervention of a contact of theirs) is intended to build trust among the
service's users.
The Basic Linked-In
User Functionality

• Available on web & mobile + ancillary services & applications eg Slideshare &
Cardmunch.
• Allows for Group discussions, company pages and special pages to highlight jobs
or specialised products or services which people can follow, and comment on
your updates.
• Keep abreast of the news - follow the LinkedIn blog where all new developments
are highlighted.
• LinkedIn derives its revenues from three business divisions:
• Talent Solutions: Recruiters and corporations pay for branded pages
complete with careers section. Pay per click-through Job ads that are
targeted to users who match the job profile. Access to the database of
LinkedIn users and resumes.
• Marketing Solutions: advertisers pay for pay per click-through targeted ads.
• Premium Subscriptions: eg LinkedIn JobSeeker for users looking for a job;
LinkedIn Sales for Sales Professionals + services paid for on a per use basis
like InMail.
Some More Functionality

My 8 LinkedIn
Do’s & Dont's
For Referral Marketing

• The point of being on LinkedIn is to connect with real professionals. You don't need to have more
connections than someone else. This isn't a popularity contest.
• Sometimes it's OK to ignore connection requests. Remember, this isn't Facebook or Twitter.
• Some people choose not to connect with anyone they haven't met or done business with in real life.
LinkedIn, after all, says you should only “connect with those you know and trust.”
• Others may opt to decline requests from people who seem like spammers or someone who simply didn’t
take the time to customize his or her connection request.
• Whatever your policy remember the bigger your LinkedIn network the better your ability to prospect into
companies and the less need there is to spend money on an expensive LinkedIn sales solutions.
• If you got to any networking event or meeting, then connect with the people there, and use LinkedIn’s own
inbuilt CRM tools to record where and when your met them and your follow-up actions.
• It is an efficient tool for keeping in touch and keeping the conversation going for people to meet, and to
introduce them to your connects.
• And remember the more connections you have the greater your reach for any Posts you write to build up
your perceived reputation and expertise.
No1 - Do Connect

• Fill out your page completely with all the important details of your business, employment history, education,
awards etc.
• An incomplete profile simply doesn't look good on LinkedIn. So make sure you fill out all the sections that
apply to your business.
• Be sure to put the most critical details about yourself or your business on top, so people won't miss them.
Explain exactly what your company is, who your clients are and how you help them.
• A LinkedIn profile with a photo is 11 times more likely to be viewed and updates with a photograph get five
times more shares. So, yes, you want to have photos on your page.
• You want to stand out on LinkedIn, right? There are hundreds of millions of people searching LinkedIn and
your profile should be easily found by the people who are searching for the types of services you provide.
• To help improve the chances of your name appearing in LinkedIn's internal search results, include keywords
in your profile that are related to your business and industry. Think of these keywords as the words a
potential client would type when searching LinkedIn.
• Don’t forget your awards, projects, causes you support etc to finish off your profile, and make you seem
even more rounded and desirable from your competitors.
No2 - Do Complete Your
Profile

• There are now over 1 billion LinkedIn endorsements LinkedIn has a new feature called "Endorsements." It allows users
to endorse skills or expertise of any members in their network - including skills they haven't listed. This allows potential
networking partners to quickly identify your strengths.
• So, how should you take advantage of this new feature? Before you send a mass email asking your entire network for
endorsements, remember that networking, first and foremost, is about connecting people with value. Whether it's
through your expertise, or someone else's skill, your goal is always be to bring value to your network.
• Consider these three tips for using endorsements on LinkedIn:
1. Endorse others first and endorse fairly.(just as with referrals). Begin endorsing your network first before asking for
endorsements from others. You'll equip others to see where their strengths lie but this means you have to be honest.
Don't just click on all the skills someone has listed, think about it and only choose those areas of expertise you'd be
willing to put your reputation on the line for. As a bonus, the people you endorse will be notified about your actions
though LinkedIn, which means they may return the favor.
2. Keep it easy for your 'inner circle.' Everyone has a professional inner circle of about 10 to 20 people we can call at any
time to ask for a small favor or advice. These are the people we should be approaching first, but it should be personal
and easy. Send your inner circle a personal e-mail or a call and ask if they've heard about the new endorsements feature
on LinkedIn. Then let them know that you've already endorsed them and you'd appreciate it if they could pick one or
two skills of yours to endorse. Not everything -- just one or two. That's how you can keep it personal and easy.
3. No mass e-mails. The last thing you want to do is send an e-mail blast to everyone on your list. A mass email or
message asking for a favor is likely to feel like spam and be ignored.
No3 - Do Ask For
Endorsements

• LinkedIn is a fantastic opportunity for business people to get that social proof that their
abilities and skills match their “marketing” message.
• Reputation is a key differentiator from your competitors who often have the same
professional qualification - having people recommending you (as with endorsements) is for
people to see that others value your work
• It is also a fair exchange also for free advice to be given a recommendation - CLICK HERE
• Recommend others first just as with referrals. Recommend people in your network first
before asking for recommendations from others. As with endorsements, start with your
Inner Circle or people who have especially impressed you. As a bonus, the people you
endorse will be notified about your actions though LinkedIn, which means they may return
the favor.
• So, how should you take advantage of this new feature? Before you send a mass email or
message asking your entire network for recommendations, remember that networking is still
about connecting people with value whether through your expertise or someone else's skill.
No4 - Do Ask For
Recommendations

• “For me, the No1 top marketing tip would be to write, write, write. Become an expert in your field so people want to follow
you because when they follow you, they’re more likely to do business with you.” - Ivan Meinser, Founder Of BNI
• 2014 LinkedIn announced its new content strategy that allows “all members” to create and publish long form content on
LinkedIn. This means that as a professional you can now display your knowledge and expertise to your peers and to the world. It
is easy to use and allows you to even embed images and links.
• How important is this? For Linkedin it will make it more attractive as a “go to” place for reading thought provoking insights and
also possibly the latest news and trends in an industry. It will drive engagement and also potentially increase time its users spend
on the platform.
• For you? As a blogger or online publisher you can now create and display your content on LinkedIn. This provides another
place to build thought leadership and create personal brand awareness through the power of content. For potential and current
thought leaders it is an opportunity to shine in an ecosystem of over 300 million global professionals.
• If you get the headline right and the topic resonates with your audience it can appear on the homepage of LinkedIn.
• This is what can happen according to one well know blogger Jeff Bullas on a recent post - >160k views in 24 hours + 736
comments, 2,146 LinkedIn likes, 7,129 LinkedIn shares and 1,110 retweets on Twitter. Appeared on the homepage of LinkedIn;
#2 ranked post for views on LinkedIn for the day; #3 article globally for the week!
• For him it demonstrated the new potential for writers and publishers on LinkedIn. Have something to say?….. then maybe its
worth crafting a LinkedIn post or repurposing one of your past top blog posts. As ever publish it first on your “owned” online
digital asset, such as your website or blog, then share it on LinkedIn to “earn” some additional attention and engagement.
No5 - Do Post

• Good behaviour on LinkedIn gets the same results as in real life business
networking.
• Sending LinkedIn messages to dozens of your contacts with sales messages is
not going to endear you to them! Slow down the sale to speed it up is
always good advice.
• At least uncheck the option “allow recipients to see each other’s names and
email addresses
• Try not to be offensive or too funny or too controversial in comments - this
is a worldwide social network. Humour and language does not travel well if
your indisciplined.
• If you are an Internet Troll by nature - leave it somewhere else, because if
not you will soon be perceived as un-referable!
• But do make an effort to reach out and inter-act with your contacts - keeping
touch on LinkedIn is as important as the real world - after all it is a social
network.
No6 - Don’t Spam

• LinkedIn is now a fully featured sales solutions for businesses looking to connect
with its customers.
• Good behaviour on LinkedIn gets the same results as in real life business
networking.
• Getting great results from using LinkedIn to help your business takes hard work,
discipline, perseverance and a plan!
• Being open for business on LinkedIn is the same as being open in the “real”
world - answer your messages and connection requests quickly.
• Make sure you connect LinkedIn to an email address you check to get alerts and
notifications or make sure you have the window or app opened constantly on
your connected device of choice.
• Not responding has the same impact here as in the real world - reputation is
damaged and people will then struggle to refer you on.
• This especially true of connection requests, recommendation requests etc. that
use a LinkedIn workflow - speed impresses slowness does not!
No7 - Don’t Delay

• Getting great results from using LinkedIn to help your business takes
hard work, discipline, perseverance and a plan!
• Twitter and Facebook have a different demographic and social
engagement model. How you converse on one is not the same as
conversing on another.
• Marketing messages can be the same across all social media platforms
but how you intereact with people is not always the same.
• Twitter has a one to many model which makes the conversations on
them very open. That can be a risk if people read into something you
did not mean to say and damages your reputation.
• Facebook’s personal aspects don’t translate to business - keep you
business message to your business fan page.
• So use LinkedIn for Business not for social fun, but remember to show
your personality - don’t be a robot!
No8 - Don’t Treat This
Like Twitter or Facebook

• Do you know you can keep a record of conversations and set reminders - LinkedIn has now become a
mini CRM
• Do you know you can post on it everyday - Blogging is now as easy as anything to build your
reputation
• Do you know you can exports your LinkedIn contacts into excel for use elesewhere - CLICK HERE
• Do you know you can post your Slideshare presentations and other evidence of your good work to
your profiles including photos, video testimonials etc.
• Do you know that you can create a company page and showcase pages to interact with you followers
with posts of interest on your business and products / services. Make sure it is complete and all your
employees link to it in their personal profiles.
• Do you know that you can set up a group to promote you and your business interests
• Do you know you can follow LinkedIn’s own “company” - LinkedIn Sales Solutions at
https://www.linkedin.com/company/linkedin-sales-solutions for more fantastic hints, tips and tricks on
social selling.
• Don’t forget the excellent LinkedIn Blog for more news, hints, tips and tricks.
• Do you know that if you have an iPhone, you can use the LinkedIn Connect app to remind you of all
those important anniversaries of your contacts to say well done or congrats - great for building
relationships!
Some added hints, tips &
tricks

• LinkedIn has gown and added more functionality over the last
10 years
• It has evolved from social connections to social selling.
• It is where all your customers for many businesses are present
(16M in the UK alone!) - the trick as ever is to find them &
connect to them!
• If you generate business through recommendations,
relationships and referrals then LinkedIn has to be an essential
part of your selling process
• Follow the DOs & DONTs to get the most out of LinkedIn and
make the most from this fantastical tool.
• Do this before your competitors do!
Final Thoughts

Contact Us
Phone - 07706 171851
email - stuart@conspicuous-cbm.com
Twitter - @conspicuouscbm
Linked-in - uk.linkedin.com/in/stuartwalton/
Linked-in - www.linkedin.com/company/conspicuous-cbm
Facebook - www.facebook.com/conspicuousCBM

THANK YOU

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