To me, LinkedIn has always seemed like more of a place to hunt for a new gig than anything else. And since I haven't been in the job market for a while, I've paid it little mind.
Plus, I've always thought LinkedIn was kind of ... well, boring. If Facebook is a rave at a hip downtown hot spot, LinkedIn is a stuffy reception with piped-in music at one of those soulless function facilities conveniently located at the end of an exit ramp.
Does that sound harsh? For sure. But now I've realized that I couldn't have been more wrong.
While the early adopters flock to Google+ and our kids and moms become power-users on Facebook, LinkedIn is where business gets done. Execs from all Fortune 500 companies are there, and 59 percent of those active on social networking sites say LinkedIn is their platform of choice over Facebook or Twitter, up from 41 percent who called LinkedIn their most important social account a year earlier, according to a June report by Performics and ROI Research.
LinkedIn, it turns out, is a happening place. As of this spring, it has more than 100 million members in more than 200 countries, on all seven continents. In June--following a splashy and successful May initial public offering--LinkedIn counted 33.9 million unique visitors, up 63 percent from a year earlier, according to internet analytics firm comScore. That traffic meant it eclipsed Myspace as the second most popular social network on the web (after Facebook). (Of course, suggesting that LinkedIn eclipsed Myspace is a little like noting that the Rolling Stones are more popular than The Wiggles. The former remains relevant and continues to increase its audience, whereas the latter has limited and specific appeal--albeit to a passionate and loyal following.)
All of this adds up to making LinkedIn the dark horse in social networking. Or, as my friend Greg Straface calls it (he handles business development at Boston advertising and marketing agency PJA), the "unsung hero" of the social platforms.
It turns out--as I suspected--there's an awful lot of job searching going on at LinkedIn. But there's much more going on over there, too. Market-research firm Lab42 finds that top-level executives and entry-level workers use LinkedIn differently: Younger members use the site mostly to post résumés and network for jobs, while more experienced professionals use it to demonstrate thought leadership and expertise, promote their businesses, conduct market research and--perhaps most important--win new business.
So how might companies use it to win new business, specifically?
- Target searches for keywords you've identified as central to your business. For PJA, Straface targets "VP of marketing," specific ZIP codes and company names to identify key contacts to call, e-mail, InMail (send a message via LinkedIn's internal messaging system) or forward a hard copy of his agency's portfolio.
- Track who is looking at your profile and your staff's profiles. Straface then researches those companies in more depth, identifying their marketing directors and sending out the agency portfolio by FedEx to land on their desks the next day (and again following up with a phone call, e-mail or InMail).
- Research, or as Straface calls it, do "reconnaissance" work. Watching (via Google Analytics) which domain names visit the PJA site on any given day gives him a clue about which companies might be in the market for a new agency. Back at LinkedIn, he can research the top decision makers to proactively approach--again, via a call, InMail or portfolio outreach.
- Set up a company page. Setting up your business as a "company" on LinkedIn isn't going to generate a bunch of leads, but it does give you an opportunity to have a presence on LinkedIn beyond a personal profile to ratchet up your company's charisma. I like the way you can embed banner images and videos in your company page, as well as feed your blog posts and tweets. You can also feature your products on your page and seek recommendations for them. That's a kind of social proof that only enhances your credibility.
- Discern patterns. Notice who's connected in your industry. In the marketing agency world, for example, there are several key consultants often tapped to help companies with an agency search. Noting that one of those consultants is suddenly connected to several execs at a single company may indicate that the company is poised to begin an agency search. "Which suggests to me that I might want to get my brand in front of them both," Straface says.
- Participate in LinkedIn groups catering to your target market in order to engage in conversations with the right people. Seek out groups with lots of activity rather than simply lots of members. (You'll have to join them to get a sense of the activity.) For Straface, those groups target CMOs and business-to-business marketers. He monitors each group's discussion posts and responds thoughtfully with content rather than a pitch. The goal is to engage rather than sell outright.
Does all of this work? Yes, although it takes some focused effort. Straface says he spends anywhere from one and a half to two hours per day on the platform. But to him, it's worth the effort. PJA has won actual business via LinkedIn: inquiries, agency pitches and at least two new accounts worth between $300,000 and $400,000. Mining LinkedIn in this way, he says, "is only the tip of the iceberg."
Of course, be aware that your competitors are also able to apply these same tips and tricks; they are privy to the same social insights that could be giving them inside information about you. Your competition can also notice who you are connecting to, which could tip them off about new business in the offing. That's one of a few downsides of social media transparency. But that's a column for another day.
This article was originally published in the October 2011 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: The Link to Better Leads.
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Comments:
LinkedIn has so many great things to offer for individuals using it. It’s the most convenient way to stay connected with colleagues, clients and prospects. In addition, LinkedIn is an effective way to hunt for potential customers and for traffic generation. Yes, you cannot get instant results but with patience right tactics everything you effort will be paid in time.
LinkedIn is so much more powerful than people realise, business owners have the opportunity of going into rooms with thousands of potential clients and engaging with them, from the comfort of their home or office! wether it be Q&A's, getting involved in groups or engaging with contacts and sharing stories / blogs / ideas and of course products and services. This is a good reminder for businesses out there! @jrconsultancy:twitter
I have my account on LinkedIn but I am not use it regularly and I don't like to use it. It is not like social. Everyone is there for selfishness.
Interesting article, as is the case with Wassim's articles in general. In fact, Wassim is behind me getting into Linkedin networking... Good to read another nice article!
I haven't found Linkedin very helpful in attracting leads for my business. I have found that I get hammered from people wanting to sell me their wares so perhaps I'm missing the point as to what this social networking site is really for!
Not found much return from advertising on LinkedIN but for self-prospecting and staring a group has shown a much better return
this is an interesting post, relates to what im learning in my social media class. I will sure be using this article for my blog- Don't forget me. Remember the Best.
To extract full value from LinkedIn you need to know when your connections change their jobs. Know when your connection gets promoted, starts their own company, joins a new company or retires from their job. If you are a sales, marketing, recruiter, job seeker or recruiter you need to download JobChangeAlert iPhone app today. http://bit.ly/sYlzzN
Nice piece...will be adding it to my blog Startup Warfare
Excellent. Than you very much.
i can't agree more i serving ad to a niche group ie. people interested to do further research studies and find that LinkedIn may provide me with a more targeted approach
The one thing that is missing from this discussion is the fact that LinkedIn is really a "marketing channel" disguised as a networking site. Company pages don't generate leads or business because they aren't designed to -- they are designed to "tell" who we are and what we do and maybe let others know how great we think we are. Why in heavens name would that ever generate prospects. No one cares. Profiles are rarely designed to get leads (A grave mistake in my person opinion.) or generate business. Put something of value in your company page and profile and now you'll get readers -- give them compelling reasons to visit your site and engage your company and now you'll get prospects. Then you can get SALES! Put your resume on LinkedIn (Television in a new form) and you'll get nothing. If you don't believe that is true, why isn't your company running their resume on TV or other print media? Because it doesn't work -- and it's the same on LinkedIn. Think of it this way -- have you ever sent out resumes to get a job? Even when companies are looking for a good candidate your resume is likely to get you very little response -- and that is when it's being asked for!
Ann, thank you for this great article and in particular the research data!
Save a tree next time...smile
Excellent and very well presented with supporting research. So helpful!
I'm currently running a poll on LI to capture people's preferences for how they follow/engage with organizations they're interested in professionally. So far we've received almost 250 votes and over 50 comments, and the results are fascinating. I'd love to get close to 500 votes, so please check out the poll, vote/comment, and share it with others in your networks. The poll is open until November 18th. Here's a link: http://linkd.in/nUIJWS I've also written a number of guides for using LI more effectively, including a 3-part series on LI groups and a couple of pieces on status updates and the news feed. Folks who want to dive deeper can access those posts via the SMinOrgs blog: http://www.sminorgs.net/blog_index.html I'll be adding more posts about LI in the near future.
thanks for sharing this, Judith. I'm trying to use Linkedin more but still struggle with Facebook. I think it's my age... Amanda.
what if the majority of your audience is not on any of these social networks. go where your buyers are.
Great information - there's much more to Linked-In than growing your network. I personally use the platform to help promote community events and reach to my networks with general information. Autumn Edmiston, Principal - Rev-Up Marketing
Wow this is such excellent and valuable information. I had to print it out and keep it in my files as a reference. Thank you so much :-)
Useful article. Thank you. I'm new to Linkedin. I'm using it to find a job, build connections and to keep updated on what's happening "out there". I have not begun to use Linkedin to it's full advantages and it was very interesting to see how others are using it.
Great article and I hope the platform gets more and more popular. I'm always amazed that people are not joining LinkedIn. I have been interviewing candidates lately and when they aren't a match, I have asked them to link me on LinkedIn so that I could introduce them to someone that may be looking for their skills. For some reason most people don't. It's like they just hear that they are not a fit for our current positions and drop the ball. I don't get it... There is so much to gain!
It's because you can't do this with Google Analytics. You'd need another web analytics that tracks IP addresses, and then find who owns this IP.
Thank you Ann for our article. I for one, have not yet tapped into the whole Linkedin market. I'm coming to realize I need to hire the right people who are excellent at working the socail media opportunities for me. Your post pointed out clearly that I don't know what I don't know.....I'm making a phone call this moring, Thank You!
Excellent article. I do not used Linkedin that much, but I can see that more and more it has started increasing in popularity. So much that I re-updated my profile--something that I have not in more that four months.
Ann, well-stated across the board. As an executive recruiter, I find LinkedIn to be an invaluable resource to reach out to those passive candidates that may not be in the midst of a job search, but end up being thrilled they were contacted. I find the advanced search capabilities and fairly easy layout to be a big time-saver. As a career coach, I make it a big part of my methodology to insist that my clients enhance their LinkedIn profile, join groups to allow direct contact with its members, personalize all invitations to connect, and understand that virtually all hiring managers and human resources professionals go to Linked In (before Facebook, MySpace etc) to check out a candidate's profile before reaching out to them or their recruiter. All the best, Mark www.compasspointsadvisors.com
Excellent tips here. I will give them a whirl to help spread the word about my firm, Nao Media and Consulting.
The Layout and Clutter has been keeping me off LinkedIn ... (same as Facebook in the early days)
Surprised me too - I thought Myspace was on the way out!
We from Ramco Systems India have been using Linkedin to generate Leads but we could see any serious Closures. We might need to work on the strategy given below ...lets see
I'm obviously missing the boat. I've found Linkedin to be useless. Where do you go to find out how to do any of these things?
I have already formed many new connections via LinkedIn as well as deepened present business relationships through it. Being able to post updates and simultaneously send them to twitter and facebook has raised my business profile far more effectively than if I tried to do that through facebook or twitter. I was very dismissive of LinkedIN in its early days but now find it to be my main social networking 'channel'.
Hi Vicki. I managed to post a self-made promotional video on my Linkedin page using SlideShare. You add this application, then upload the video (check compatible formats). It took me about 2 hours of trial and error, but I've since posted other videos to friends' pages, so it is do-able. Hope that helps! Jeannine http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=31885322&trk=tab_pro
Common sense is not so common! (Voltaire)
I have found LinkedIn to be a great resource to generate cold and warm leads. And, those who actively use LinkedIn seem to be friendly in nature, and be much more open to connecting via a "cold" InMail than a "cold" phone call.
Interesting... I likes!
Sorry, this may be a bit off topic, however, mentioned in the article. How does one 'watch (via Google Analytics) which domain names visit the PJA site on any given day'. I use Google Analytics and can't seem to figure out how to do this.
Interesting to note that 53% think it's important to have a Myspace presence... the same as for Facebook and 14% increase since 2010. Somehow I do not believe that.
For me, the best information comes from group conversation. I find a great deal of useful advice and counsel in the active groups. Relationships can build into contracts. It's a natural evolution and even if I dont get contracts, I do keep up to speed in my area of expertise. Linkedin is quite useful. -dawn groves www.yourproductivitysucks.com
I have been using LinkIn for almost two years and I see that in my industry, the consulting engineering, architectural and construction industry, that senior decision makers don't use it. Many CEO's in the business in my east coast market are not registered and the ones that do have so few contacts that one can tell they are not using it. Most have no picture or bio. Do others see certain industries as using it for marketing and sales more than others (not recruiting)?
Just one point without going any further, because my knowledge and practice of all the possible techniques listed in that article are very limited. Mind you, but applying normal statistical rules of analysis tells us that results stemming from a 3.000 individuals, events, whatsoever kind of sample is relevant. That's the beauty of statistics which gives one the ability, with reasonable and minimal investment in data collecting, to infer conclusions pertaining to populations of several millions. And it requires reasonable math knowledge and common sense. I stop my comment at this point, because true relevance of a 3.000 sample analysis rests on the kind of questions asked. And that's something else than purely guessing and common sense is also required. BUT, common sense will be nothing without good unbiased questions and properly handled math/stat techniques.
A big problem on LinkedIn is the reliability of its statistics. One day 100 may view your profile, the next, it will state that 5 people viewed your profile during the past 3 days. The same with the times your profile appeared in searches, one day is 200 the next your profile appeared 11 times in search results during the past week. The Network Statistics Section is a bad joke. One can have 3200 first level contacts and a total network of 20 Million, the next day is 15 Million and if you refresh it can be 14 o 12 Million or may be 17 Million. Your value as a contact in LinkedIn is in part the size of your network (another part is the quality of your contacts). I know personally, people who control tens, even hundreds of millions in advertising budget who never put anything there as they notice this. I tried once to test, even though I am aware of the unreliability of their stats. Never got a lead (I get my leads from the groups.) Over the years, I was one of the first to join LinkedIn, I complained about this, but their corporate culture is 'They don't care.' They have very good customer service but is ineffective as they do not control this 'technical support' part. Is like those commercials where a caller try to reach customer service and get a 'My Name Is Peggy.' This is a thing that is comparable to going to a fine restaurant and the restrooms are dirty, smelly and without toilet paper. Is a bad impression. I suppose their IPO is not doing as well, as after the initial fever, the money managers notice this inability to convert (in part caused by the unreliability of their stats). Don't take me bad, is a great site and is far more serious than Facebook or MySpace but, until they put their thing together, they will be a person with enough pockets away or a better idea (and there many) to make them irrelevant as Facebook did with MySpace.
Great article! LinkedIn is an underutilized website and is great for generating leads.I definitely will share this article with my followers.
Interesting subject but how does this comply with the rules and regulations of LinkedIn usage that categorically state that you should only link to people that you know and that your network should be one of quality rather then quantity. For those with networks in excess of 1000 is that all 'quality' connections? What is 'quality' when it comes to social networks? LinkedIn's inference that it is a networking tool solely for keeping in touch with people you already know is 'quality', I'll give you that. I already have something that does similar, an address book! Wake up LinkedIn, people use it to promote their businesses and themselves to people they do not know, not to their mates.
Don't waste your time or money with Ladders...operative term here being money. Ladders is an over priced parasitic avenue that is no more effective than Career Builder or other like web sites. Unless you can write off the cost of the subscription as a business expense, do yourself a favor and keep your money. You'll be glad. :)
There are literally billions of people on Earth, and millions of people active on any of the popular social networking accounts, so the insignificant 500 or 2,997 (< 0.0001) surveys are NOT indicators of facts but merely guesses at best. Before you swallow all the marketing gibberish and spread more illiterate poison into our society, research and lOOk at the facts first! Don't become an illiterate junkie.
I would like to utilise my company page further on Linkedin, but so far have found it fairly unflexible and limited in options. The article mentions being able to embed banners and videos into a company page....could you tell me how this is done?
There are 5 suggestions made by Anne about "How to Track Leads". One is a useful reminder: "For Straface, those groups target CMOs and business-to-business marketers. He monitors each group's discussion posts and responds thoughtfully with content rather than a pitch. The goal is to engage rather than sell outright." In many of the Linkedin discussions, people pitch their product/services way too early and to too many in the audience. Most Linkedin discussions are simply one post with no discussion.
As for the jump in MySpace, I have heard that twenty-somethings are headed to MySpace because their parents have started stalking and embarassing them on Facebook! Just a possibility.
It is true that Linkedin helps professionals with lot of information and generates good business leads .
I, like many other marketing professionals, use LinkedIn to gauge interest and engage. Recently I received a message from a group moderator asking its members to please stop posting job openings and asking for positions. I appreciated his request, as some of the groups I am a member of have been swallowed up by people looking for jobs, instead of discussing the important attributes of their industry. There are specific sections of groups for job seekers. What people need to realize is that if they contributed to the conversations, they might be noticed for their expertise in their field and a job offer might come there way. The group aspect of LinkedIn is what I am most thankful for, as it opens up the path for people to engage and help one another.
the title of the story is very misleading, id take aa punt on the editor being an ex news international employee
Thanks for the great info. We have so many options that it's hard to pick the best one.
LinkedIn is the most appropriate place to look for leads and engage in fruitful discussion with a knowledgeable network around the world. The best part about LinkedIn Network is, people are willing to help and discuss diverse range of topics there.
Go to Analytics > Visitors > Referring Sites (expand to show all). or Analytics > Visitors > All Traffic Sources.
I obviously have a lot to learn about using LinkedIn to generate leads. I have generated connections and relationship, have tried to get my profile as clear as I can, but have not been attracting the kind of leads I would like. Your article makes some great suggestions which are helpful but I cannot see myself devoting an hour a day.
http://corcodilos.com/blog/4165/hey-babe-dont-i-know-you-from-somewhere This guy knows what he's talking about...
I wrote a blog post on how you can use LinkedIn and generate traffic / leads. For the ones that are interested in knowing more; http://www.hothitmedia.com/how-to-use-linkedin
I have got several leads for web services and internet marketing through LinkedIn over the years. Works well for B2B and B2C.
Saw the same thing as well... little strange
Clearly the survey conducted by ROI Research has little to no merit, the results would show that Myspace and Facebook are equally important to the average Social Network Account Holder in 2011...
Dan R. Friesland..... Linkedin is most assuredly my preference too. We are in the consulting and healthcare recruiting business ( www.accountablecaresearchpartners.com ) and for the most part, all that I have come into contact with are professional and are willing to connect if we have commonalities.
I have been a Linked In "Leader" since 2003 and the "Most Connected" user. Simply Put: It Works. Period.
Awesome article about using Linked In to generate leads..! Easy to setting the page/profile, Connections, tracking, Leads by the clients in respective Groups, News , Jobs for Unemployed, Last but final great thing i like Q&A to get every information.
Good wrap on LI. I've been using it for years, even got a letter from "Reid" congratulating me on being one of the early adopters of LI. I've always found it more useful for networking and branding than Facebook, which to me is more for socializing than business and is overwhelmingly trivial. I basically use LI as my business card, and I've even done some consulting in other countries through it. But on reading this, I find I haven't been as strategic with it as I might be. So thanks for the tips. One thing, I've noticed that since it has become more popular LinkedIn is becoming a spam machine, especially in some of the more generic group sites.
I should note those figures are B2B in an enterprise software space.
LinkedIn is as good a content marketing lead gen site as I've found. We are nearly 3x since before we started focusing on LinkedIn just 5 months ago.
My thoughts exactly. Another marketing flight of fancy dressed up in numbers and disguised as "research."
Perfect timing. I am going to use this information for my next presentation on social media.
no u
While it is up...the chart seems to indicate that the other social networks are far from down and out.
For me Linkedin had been as useful as mentioned above in the survey. No sooner I see a dip in sales, my first option would be LI. I would like to explore more but in a much strategic manner. Thank You LI...oh yes! just forgot to add- I login to LI along with my business email everyday.
Linked In networks to various national business prospects in various types of industries as well as putting us in touch with national companies who desire a local source to partner with.
@628a00dc4d8e34af68d4ce5782c51857:disqus - totally agree - combine the effort with consistency and you have a very powerful tool
Why has MySpace jumped from 39% to 53%? This makes me suspicious about the numbers.
totally agree, I know some marketing companies who reply on LinkedIn and make thousands of $ each month through LinkedIn only..
Great Post , Kindly share more of your thoughts @ saurabsen@gmail.com
When I look at the stats, I am not surprised that hiring and networking activities are disproportionately lower than I am sure what LI's core intentions were targeting. LI has become for many intents and purposes nothing more than a different flavor of facebook or the like. I know of several dozen or so people, myself included who network furiously within the various spheres in efforts to secure for one's self, or for others opportunities to get back to work. I really wish that tools were put in place to ensure that networking was the key focus as it once was. I have personally pointed several people in the right direction and assisted them with landing on their feet again. All the available jobs out there, and all the LI users who can make a true difference TODAY? Network people.....Unemployment would be back to 5-6% Come on........
I use LinkedIn whenever I am devoting time to cold calling. It is much easier to get in the door if you have a contact name in the proper department, even if it isn't the decision maker. 9 times out of 10, I am able to get the person I've called to give up the correct contact. It works for me when targeting high level execs or end users. Use the people search rather than the company search. Type in the company name you are trying to penetrate and when you find a job title that you think might be the right way to go, copy and paste that into a new Google search window and more often than not,it will cross reference back to the actual profile page of that person on LinkedIn. This isn't 100% but it is the most effective method I've found of finding real time current contacts.
Good article to share with students concerning practical, responsible uses of social media.
This is excellent Ann, Linkedin has been my favourite networking site and continues to be, as it consistently keeps abreast with the most contemporary professional issues. Keep it up!
Good article to share with my students when discussing practical, responsible online media use.
Great article Ann. LinkedIn has always been my favorite social network. I consistently have people find me via LinkedIn and receive inquiries about my services. I tend to get the majority of my business from LinkedIn.
LinkedIn was a critical tool for me when I was job hunting. But now in my current business developement position it has become an invaluable tool for networking and lead/contact generation. I use it now more than ever.
Good information.
At last! A simple graph thaty shows that LinkedIn is used for much more than resumes. I especially like the evidence that the further up the food-chain your ideal prospect is, the more likely that they will use Linkedin in ways that make them more approachable.
Why are statistics always misread so poorly in articles of all sorts. 59% say it is their "platform of choice over twitter and facebook"? That isn't what the stat says (see the graphic below the comment). All the platforms are over 50% so the question wasn't which you prefer, just which are important.
Powerful...like many things in life; efforts drive results. Ron
Good stuff. Anyone know of any similar articles about how to use facebook and twitter to effectively generate new contacts?
In my quest for knowledge and lifelong learning, articles like this remind me that my instincts are on target. So often we underestimate our own value. Focus is the key. MC
Really enjoyed this article as I am an amateur at this sort of thing I now realise I have to embrace these social networking sites to succeed in the business world.
Definitely a good article thank you.
Very good article. Thanks for the Mktg Agency example, which tells it better than all the descriptions of the service I've read. One question: " Watching (via Google Analytics) which domain names visit the PJA site on any given day gives him a clue about which companies might be in the market for a new agency." It's possible to find out the domain of the person visiting your website from Google Analytics? I can't seem to find that in my reports
This is a very interesting article. Looking at the results in the diagram What Do You Use LI For The Most I would say I would fall into the Keeping in Touch category, which would include former coworkers, friends, alumni, and former instructors. I'm not surprised to see that the category holding the lowest stats is Networking w/Former Employers.
The privacy issue is a huge concern, I am moving to Ladders
The privacy issue is a concern, I am moving to Ladders
Looks like somebody woke up!! A few errors/omissions, but you get that with journalism... How a journo at a site called "Entrepreneur" could only be 'getting' LinkedIn in October 2011 is beyond me, but you get that with websites...
Excellent article. I myself have effectively used the Answers section and more recently the targeted LinkedIn Groups to locate new leads and business. The most important line in the article regarding these sections is "The goal is to engage rather than sell outright." Helping people with solutions is the key to striking up a conversation to introduce your product or service. But only after you have solved their issue. I am going to use the first few tips more as these are areas I have not been addressing. Thanks again for the article. Anthony
Wow! Is that what passes for useful research and readable graphs at entrepreneur? Should have saved us all the trouble and just written the bullet points and the paragraphs that followed; you shouldn't pretend that they are the result of empirical research by tacking on a bunch of fluff filler in front with mind-numbingly poor graphs.
nice thing about LI. the member numbers are audited and non inflated. Anyone ever hear about FB's numbers being OTHER than self proclaimed?