Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn

 

Are you using a LinkedIn professional profile as part of your digital branding effort? Many of us are. With 740 million members from 55 million registered companies in 200 countries, LinkedIn is the most widely used social media site for businesspeople . Most of these members do not pay for the service, opting to create free profiles and keep them updated so they show up in Google search results and other digital search tools.

But many customers opt to expand the utility of the LinkedIn site with fee-based enhancements to networking, messaging, and access to lead databases. Many of my clients ask if investing in these extra features is worth it for their business efforts. 

My response is always the same: It depends.

LinkedIn offers several tiers with increasing levels of enhanced services, accompanied by an increasing monthly cost. The exact composition of each tier and the prices charged may vary country by country, and of course the prices change over time. The following chart was compiled by Top Dog Social Media and provides these details.

Generally, the free LinkedIn profile option allows you to create a profile, populate it with indexable content, including a head shot and blog posts hosted elsewhere, and create a “cloud” of first-level LinkedIn contacts through invitation. Those first-level contacts will be notified of changes in your profile (new blog posts, changes in work status, or other affiliations) and generally promote “staying in touch.” In addition, a limited number of “instant messages” can be passed to first-level contacts via the LinkedIn system, bypassing regular email channels.

As you can see from the chart, higher levels of LinkedIn investment allow for greater access to messaging and intelligence about who is accessing your profile. They also offer additional features (like LinkedIn Learning, which are canned courses for viewing on demand) and search access to second- and third-tier contacts of your first-tier contacts). This becomes useful (a quantifiable benefit) if you are seeking leads for specific services. The two highest LinkedIn tiers (most expensive) provide access to databases that go beyond the profiles created by LinkedIn members. Generally, recruiters and HR professionals typically find these tiers cost effective.

So, the answer to “should you upgrade your LinkedIn membership” depends on the nature of your business, and, in particular, your “pacing” and the nature of your lead generation process. If you typically engage in heavy direct prospecting year-round for new or expanded business, or if your business is heavily focused on recruiting, a significant investment in enhanced LinkedIn services might be a good decision. Alternatively, if your business is highly cyclical and heavily focused on referrals, you might be better advised to spend the time and money on keeping your free profile fully populated with your latest professional accomplishments. This will enable prospects to “check you out” when considering doing business, and will allow you to get the benefit of a larger digital footprint in search results.

The good news is that LinkedIn makes it easy to try out an advanced tier of service through a free trial program and cancel if the services are not meeting your needs.

 

Business Networking in the Time of COVID

 Many are finding that the normal in-person networking events, even if permitted, are risky for themselves or their customers. In the service business, there are two “types” of business networking that are critical to business survival, despite the current pandemic:

•       Networking to find new customers
• o   Networking to remind friendly contacts and customers that you are still ready to service them.

If you’re looking for new customers, it’s a great time to sharpen your social media skills and open yourself up to new possibilities. Consider a tool like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, which gives great access to lead lists that fit the profile of customers you are already serving . You can also use blogs and social media content (combined with options like Facebook’s Boost  to help get fresh eyes on your business content and ideas. Both of these can provide great intros to new contacts. Further, careful audience selection will allow you to titrate your ad investment to the preferred customer location and profile.

“With all the new electronic (touchless) lead generation, I remind people not to forget the older techniques. Postcards to a tested list, and joint venture outreach with trusted professionals serving the same market can be highly successful,” says Service for Profit’s Tom Pencek.

But what about reaching out to friendly contacts? Well, it turns out that it’s easier than ever to do that while staying home – especially if you have the contact info of the people you’re trying to reach. In this case, it is all about choosing a method of contact that is most convenient for your audience.

I’m a big believer in periodic emails that are tailored for your target audience. I recommend MailChimp for this, as it is free for smaller lists (<2000 names). Podcasting is becoming more accepted as an outreach method for some customers as well. Walking with earphones and listening to recorded content seems to be common these days in Silicon Valley. Google has stepped up to create an educational series on Podcasting, and provides new podcasters training on how to get into this outreach method .

Bottom line, some contacts prefer a light touch. It’s a good idea to make an initial contact and ask permission before routinely sending them an ongoing series of emails or other content. Once that’s done, you can use anything in your newly expanded toolkit to effectively market your services and connect with customers.

Making a Daily Plan – Is It Worth It?

It’s easy to get distracted when working from home. Aside from calendared meetings that are difficult to change, requests from housemates, doorbells that demand answering, and the endless emails and texts that arrive all clamor for your attention, time, and a fraction of your working day. So how do you stay on course? Consider a daily work plan.

Many years ago, I had occasion to see a video by productivity legend Steven Covey.  In it he demonstrated conclusively why only by planning your work can you ensure that the most important or complex tasks and deliverables are completed on time.

I’ve always advised people to create their daily plan the day before, usually before shutting down for the day. Adding breaks, and plenty of time for what Covey calls, “the big rocks” (your top priorities for the day) helps to clear the decks and avoid missed deadlines. Alternatively, some people like to set aside 10 minutes first thing in the morning to plan – if they can ignore the phone long enough to get it done.

When planning, even when forced to work away from the office, it’s important to use a modality that is comfortable and consistent with your preferred working style. For example, some of us like to use traditional paper planners (like Franklin Planner) or simple lists, while others prefer electronic tools. It’s possible to use Outlook as a planning tool with readily available software overlays, or you could choose to use a more comprehensive planning tool that encompasses not only work activities, but the activities of daily life .

Whichever solution works best for you, be sure to be on the lookout for those “time wasters” that can wreck any plan. I have found the “start time delay” to be the biggest problem for me personally. There is always something to deal with before starting the workday, and frequently it leads to another task that just “must” get cleared. Excessive travel between appointments can also run out the clock, although with the growth of Zoom and Skype meetings, this time waster is less common.  

Finally, don’t overschedule. Allow for downtime during the day, a reasonable gap between meetings, and a heavy “think” session. Increase the number of scheduled tasks and meetings to your daily plan only after you’ve had success with a less aggressive schedule.

By following these simple steps, you will get increasingly adept at meeting daily objectives and higher lever goals. 

 

Tracking and connecting with clients, prospects, and contacts fills your services sales pipeline

 

I suppose it is common sense, but most of us have found that satisfied clients are the most likely to buy again, followed by persons that have already been contacted but haven't bought yet, followed by acquaintances that may or may not have a need for your service. 

Networking and word of mouth is a big investment. Don't waste time and money, and lose out on sales opportunity, by sloppy record keeping. Use a reliable tool to record and track all these highly valuable contacts.

I have found that routine emails or other "touches" is important if you want to keep these contacts viable. I call it shelf of mind (https://www.theoryaboutthat.com/faq#Be-Shelf-of-Mind)

I recommend to my clients that they use something simple, cloud based, and free to accomplish both contact tracking and email management: MailChimp. (http://www.mailchimp.com ) .  The free tool includes a database, and a limited number of emails per month.

Winning the attention of your prospects and customers

Jerry Kroth wrote a Thanksgiving message and I can’t get it out of my head. Dr. Kroth is a retired Counseling Psychology professor from Santa Clara University. Besides being a very competent teacher, he has a flare for writing, and has indulged his interest by publishing 15 nonfiction books since 1980 that Amazon considers still in print and available.   

As a lecturer he might have been able to reach from 20 to as many as 300 students in each session, but being a published author gave him a potential worldwide audience. Then about four years ago, Jerry discovered the power of YouTube, and began creating video podcasts to expand on the ideas in his books, tailoring them to an audience who either doesn’t read, or just doesn’t want to take the time. Although past offerings were viewed by less than 1,000 people, his latest YouTube offering, The JFK Assassination: What Really Happened now boasts over 200,000 viewers.

As Jerry, who is clearly surprised with the mass appeal of his message, wrote in an email to family and friends, “I realized that more people watched my one hour long video about the JFK assassination, than ALL the students I ever taught at my university in over 37 years of teaching. Can you imagine that! So I am sort of quietly celebrating something in the quiet of my own office. I'm 72, and I see 200,000 viewers, and I kind of wonder what it all means.”

I think Jerry’s experience of having a piece of work go “viral” is a heady thing. No doubt the topic, and the timeliness of the publication of the video and the book contributed to its broad appeal.  It is hard to realistically aspire to audiences of 200,000 without significant self-promotion, unless you have those kinds of factors working for you. But there are a few things business writers and creators of content can do to increase the rate as which audience members “share” with their friends, and to do a better job of winning audience attention for their message:

1.       Come up with a great story to tell. Storytelling as a marketing device is nothing new. There are marketing pros that are known for their mastery of this business art form, such as Nancy Duarte  and Michael Margolis. Some people object, saying that their message doesn’t lend itself to storytelling. But I maintain that it is a surefire way to engage with the reader (and the target) of your content. So make the effort.

2.       Master the format the audience prefers. If you look at Jerry’s video, you will find it well produced. Even though it is based on content from his latest book, Coup d'etat: The assassination of President John F. Kennedy, I have a bet with my wife that Jerry has not sold 200,000 copies of his book. Rather, I believe it is the video that has captured the imagination of the public, partially because of the accessibility of the medium. It is convenient to watch, and well produced. If you know your audience, you’ll shape your format to their preferences.

3.       Make sure your content has what I call a “you see Timmy…” moment. Like many of my generation, I was an avid fan of the TV show, Lassie, when I was a kid. You may remember if you’re old enough, the TV show with a Collie as the star. Timmy was the small boy of the household. Each episode had Lassie performing some feat based on innate animal wisdom that frequently confused Timmy. The last five minutes of the show frequently featured a heart-to-heart with Dad, when he explained the WHY of Lassie’s actions.

I believe for most content to be widely accepted and shared, it needs to make a point, a recommendation, or an assertion. It can’t be just about reportage. I believe you must offer a new insight or pose a thought provoking hypothesis. Take a stand in your message.

There is so much content being thrown at people these days. The Internet has removed the high cost of reaching large numbers of potential customers, and people are making instant decisions about what to read (or view) and what to ignore. Win their attention by focusing on: 1) a great story; 2) audience friendly content; 3) and a message with a point of view.