3Pointer: 5 LinkedIn Secrets For 2012

January 27, 2012

Greg knows it.  J.D. lives it.  Mary worked it.  And two new members join it every second.

Welcome to LinkedIn, business’ Camelot with sprawling fiefs (or profiles) and good citizens (contacts) working their land (LI accounts) to expand their wealth (businesses) and unite their people (network). 

With 135 million members from 200 countries, LinkedIn is a social media behemoth.  What gives?  “Relationships are the most important thing about what we do and how we do it.  You have to develop trust,” said Greg Cox, president and COO of Dale Carnegie Chicago, publishers of How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age.  

Agreed: LinkedIn is all about relationships.  Which is why, J.D. Gershbein says, using LinkedIn starts way before you click, search, recommend, post or invite anyone.  3Points tapped this nationally recognized social media expert so readers could increase website traffic and exposure.  Gershbein’s book comes out this year, but he agreed to share top advice he gives companies starting with a rather shocking insight …

This much sought after consultant advises clients to create robust profiles, write personalized messages and invitations, monitor business activity by keeping the browser open, and respond to inquiries the same day.  To be sure, what you don’t write will be noticed too.  Slackers beware.  If you wait days to answer an invitation or log on intermittently, you’re going to miss opportunities Gershbein says. 

So, onto the five top LinkedIn secrets to power up your 2012 …

1)     A Company Profile Puts You On Their Radar.  A company page increases the number of places a business is seen.  List employees, emails, and services/products.  It’s free advertising on a major social media platform.  Innovative tips include: embedded banner images, videos, blog posts, tweets and product recommendations.  Fact: Businesses invest thousands on websites, but many people are searching LinkedIn, YouTube and Google first.  Route them to your site with a downloadable white paper or V.I.P. privilege.

2)     Power Profiles.  No excuses … expect your people to have a 100% completed profile.   Use LinkedIn apps to make robust pages with engaging blog posts, polls, reading lists and videos.  Spot when connections are making changes – hired, fired, retired or starting a new company.  Ambitious networkers will love these apps: Job Change Alert app and LunchMeet app, both for iPhones, or the TripIt app on LinkedIn.  LunchMeet broadcasts the time and location of your lunch and alerts like-minded contacts to join you.  TripIt connects you with people traveling to the same city.  Lastly, LinkedIn Answers is one of the most underutilized tools on LinkedIn.  Why not be the next expert in your field?

3)     Recommendations Build Credibility.  Gather LinkedIn recommendations like shells on a beach.  When you meet with a new client, give them a link to see the kudos you’ve gathered.  Best way to get recommendations?  Give them first.  On a company page, ask colleagues to comment. 

4)     Join Groups.  Key: join groups that are both inside and outside your industry like customer’s vertical markets.  Learn industry trends and news to help make more intelligent business decisions.  Post a question and you’ve kicked off a healthy collaboration.  Find other experts to help you grow your business.  The goal is to engage, learn and build your reputation, not sell directly. 

5)     Recruit and Track.  With job posts and advanced searches, LinkedIn has become a major recruiting tool.  It’s easy to identify top talent and send an email.  There’s even an upgraded service called LinkedIn Talent.  Tracking companies helps you mine for opportunities.  Use Google analytics to identify visitors to your website, then look them up on LinkedIn.  One ad agency did this and sent out a firm portfolio by FedEx the same day. 

So, what about Mary?  Here’s a true story about a LinkedIn user who followed one of Gershbein’s cardinal rules: keep your browser open to monitor a real-time string of business activity on your LinkedIn homepage.  This helped Mary notice a colleague was attending an upcoming event.  They agreed to meet up.  The colleague introduced Mary to a referral source that created a steady stream of revenue.   Point: Without LinkedIn, Mary would not have been in this story.

Now, is LinkedIn the Holy Grail of business social media?  That’s up to you to decide.  For sure, though, it’s a noble knight to add to your army of business tools.

Product Focus: Mobile Carriers; Which One?

January 27, 2012

-        Is the phone for business, personal or both?
-        What apps are useful to you?
-        Will your teen be on the plan?
-        What geographic regions will you call from most (CDMA is very strong in rural areas)?
-        How is your phone used in sync with other devices?
-        Do you travel internationally (GSM excels globally)?
-        Is 4G speed important to you?
-        Is phone selection a priority?
-        Do you want the convenience and personal touch offered by a carrier with a retail store?
-        Do you want the flexibility of SIM cards (a GSM advantage)?

"COMPARING THE BIG 4" CHART:

SOURCE: Billshrink



"COMPARING 4G SPEED" CHART:

SOURCE: Laptop, August 8, 2011