LinkedIn is still overlooked. Brands need to mobilise their staff.

By social media, social media training,

Since the turn of the year, I’ve already run three sessions for large companies who want their organisation’s staff to use LinkedIn more effectively. Here’s a summary of what I’ve presented on how staff can help their organisation win new business and build long-term relationships, plus some supporting tips from my Twitter network.

As an independent consultant, LinkedIn has been absolutely essential to me since I joined it as a first-million member in 2005. The network now has more than 575 million members worldwide and, crucially, more than one in ten (61 million) are senior decision makers.

Half (50%) of B2B decision makers use LinkedIn to make purchasing decisions, and yet so many in-house marketers that I speak to say that their sales teams are not making the most of the network. Given that 80% of B2B social media-driven leads come from LinkedIn, this is a massive missed opportunity.

LinkedIn and the Decision-Making Journey

LinkedIn appears at many stages of the decision journey, which is why it’s so important to be consistent and active, and play the long game when it comes to making and building business relationships on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is arguably most crucial at the top of the funnel – when potential customers and clients are researching suppliers. They want to know whom they are meeting and get a sense for how what you offer will help them achieve their own business objectives. If your competitors’ company and profile pages on LinkedIn are up to date and well presented, and yours are neglected or unengaging, who do you think has the edge even before initial meetings have happened?

It doesn’t stop at the top of the funnel. During a long sales cycle or business relationship, other stakeholders at the customer end are going to research your LinkedIn profile.

And that’s where good LinkedInship starts – with a stand-out profile.

Step One: Get your LinkedIn profile in shape

People buy from people, so you need to make a really good first impression:

  • Use a professional headshot is critical. Dress smartly and look directly at the camera
  • Make the most of the header section. You could use this space with a photo of you speaking at an event or receiving an award, for example
  • The headline gives you 120 characters to make your pitch. Who are you? How do you help people?
  • Get the important stuff in the first para of your career summary; Your purpose, your experience, your career highlights and any awards
  • Fill out your career experience
  • Include a call-to-action (e.g. contact me)

Step Two: Get networking!

Depending on your objective, LinkedIn offers different types of premium membership, for individuals, small businesses, sales people and recruiters.

When looking to connect with people, my personal protocol is that I have to have connected with that person either in person, online, or if a mutual contact has recommended contact. Strike while the iron’s hot if you met someone at a networking gig – maybe not that evening (bit keen) but certainly the next day, with a note that jogs their memory.

Always personalise your approach – never use the default message! Be clear on why you want to connect and do your research into whether that person will want you in their contact book.

I put out a tweet to my network to ask what advice they’d give to people wanting to connect. This is what they said:

Step Three: Maintain your account and remain active

Once you’ve sorted out your profile, that’s not the end of it. You need to be a proactive networker. Comment on other people’s posts so you come across as a familiar, expert face but without the hard sell.

I always recommend at least three status updates per week and one LinkedIn Pulse article per month, which I myself haven’t managed to keep to as I’m busier than ever now (nice problem for an independent consultant!).

Other LinkedIn tips, in brief:

  • Use email notifications and the mobile app to stay up to date
  • Avoid posting personal life content – that belongs on Facebook or Twitter – and don’t virtue signal (ever seen Crap On LinkedIn?)
  • Respond quickly
  • Don’t spam prospects or add them to your email list without their express written consent (hello, GDPR!)
  • Don’t criticise your own employer, competitors or other brands
  • Steer clear of politics, religion, sexuality and all the usual sensitive topics
  • Remember that humour is subjective
  • Never disclose meetings or customers that are not already in the public domain
  • Use groups to network, not to sell or spam with your links
  • Ask questions – tap into the wisdom of crowds

As with any social media, you get out what you put in and with LinkedIn, you’re playing the long game, so be a useful contact. You might not win the contact with someone this time but if you do the right things you can stay front of mind when they are next looking or move on.

This is why brands need to make sure all their staff – especially those with a new business remit – are networking well on LinkedIn and sharing their own brand’s content. The onus is on the brands themselves to keep that good content coming for their staff to share, and to train and trust them to network effectively. Marketers also need to monitor closely how many hits they’re getting from LinkedIn and the quality of those hits – how long did they stay? How many pages did they visit and what were they most interested in? Did they get in touch?

If you’d like to discuss social media training at your organisation, please get in touch.