LinkedIn - So Much More than a Resume Posted on April 24, 2018 in Hot Keynote Topics
LinkedIn has become the most powerful platform B2B (business to business) people have to demonstrate their experience and build authority in their area of expertise. In this article, Yvonne Adele expands upon her three-step philosophy to LinkedIn Success.
I've been on the platform for almost 14 years. It had become quite tiresome and gloomy by the time Microsoft purchased it. Their first few developments were a little clumsy and glitchy, but this past year has seen vast improvements leading to somewhat of a LinkedIn Renaissance.
LinkedIn is compelling and vital for any person who relies on a quality network of connections for their role - think business owners, executives, leaders, sales professionals and teams.
In my keynote (and accompanying optional workshop), I uncover a 3 step philosophy to LinkedIn Success using a fishing analogy (I love fishing but don't go enough!).
1 Bait the hook
2 Cast the line
3 Reel in the big one
Bait the hook
Ditch the resume style list of your achievements. Prepare your LinkedIn profile to ensure it illustrates your area of expertise, your level of experience and your authority in your area.
Make it more conversational - ensure you utilise the Summary section to write a 1st person introduction. Imagine you’re answering the questions: Who are you; What is your speciality area; What led you to this point; What are you working on now? The most recent THREE jobs are important to expand on, but anything beyond that can remain as a basic list.
Add multimedia elements to your profile such as Slideshare presentations; video; PDFs and articles. Ask for Recommendations from recent clients and colleagues.
Cast the line
Fish where the fish are. LinkedIn Groups are the most under-utilised, endlessly useful feature of LinkedIn. Find groups related to your area of expertise and interest, join them, join conversations by commenting first then launch a conversation of your own.
People in groups get 4 x more profile views.
Further to the standard search box, there’s a trick to finding great Groups to join: Go to the profile page of a colleague, competitor or industry leader. As you scroll down their profile, you’ll find ‘Interests’, usually towards the bottom. Hit ‘See All’ at the bottom of that box, then view the Groups they have joined. Join any relevant ones yourself.
You are 70% more likely to get an appointment when citing a common group. Get into a Connections habit. After every meeting, industry event, group email, webinar or networking function go to LinkedIn and Connect with each person you met. On the desktop, LinkedIn will often ask for that person’s email address. The trick is to use the LinkedIn phone app to search for that person and hit Connect. You won’t need to provide further information.
You don’t have to accept every connection request you get. If it doesn’t feel right, ignore it.
Write ARTICLES. You will notice the ‘Write an article’ button in the same location as your status updates. Articles are your way to demonstrate your thought leadership in a longer form. People searching the platform for the subject matter will find your article and connect with you.
Reel in the big one
B2B buyers are 5 x more likely to engage when outreach is through a mutual connection
The more connected you are to the right people, the more likely you’ll be the one who receives a referral when someone in your network is asked ‘do you know someone who…’.
Dale Carnegie research found 91% of customers would give a referral to a potential new customer, but only 11% of people ask for it. There’s a great technique for warming up a potential connection - someone you’re keen to connect with but don’t have any mutual connections:
Ensure you have the default ‘can see who viewed my profile’ setting on.
View the potential connection’s profile.
You’ll see within a few days, they’ll view your profile.
Send them a message and a connection request.
And finally - you know how LinkedIn lets you know when someone starts a new job? Remember this: new employees are 10 x more likely to make a buying decision!
UTILISE this LinkedIn information to reach out to your connections that start new jobs - then you’re part of the BUYING process rather than the SELLING process.
If you would like to know more about Yvonne Adele, click here to submit your enquiry or contact us directly on 1300 55 64 69.
ABOUT YVONNE ADELE| web profile
Yvonne Adele has been described in client testimonials as inspiring, interactive, vibrant, thought-provoking, well-researched, experienced, memorable, flexible, friendly and ‘a breath of fresh air’. A Microsoft graduate with a couple of decades of corporate experience, Yvonne created the Ms Megabyte brand/persona in the mid 90′s. This led to a national media profile and best-selling book (Conquer Your Computer). Ms Megabyte was also the author of Australia’s PCs for Dummies, and a Telstra Business Women’s Awards Finalist. Read More.
