For B2B marketing, by

   

Company  page  

Answers  sec0on  

Social  plugins  

   

Events  

Apps  

Groups  

LinkedIn  is  today  the  most  popular  professional  social  network  in  the  world.  It  is  increasingly  considered  a  relevant  B2B  marke<ng  tool,  and  many  companies  are  making  use  of  LinkedIn  to  increase  their  reach,  engage  their  audiences  and  generate  new  business.  If  you  want  to  communicate  to  a  B2B  audience  and  business  professionals  then  LinkedIn  with  its  150  million  members  is  a  good  place  to  play.  If  you  want  to  engage  with  the  business  leaders  and  execu<ves  then  it  is  the  first  channel  to  turn  to.    It’s  important  to  recognize  that  Linkedin  has  different  demographics  than  Facebook,  Myspace  and  other  social  networks.  Linkedin  is  older  (68%  are  35+),  wealthier  (66%  make  $60/year+),  and  beRer  educated  (72%  are  college  graduates).      35%  of  users  access  LinkedIn  daily  and  32%  access  the  site  a  few  <mes  per  week.  Another  16%  log  into  LinkedIn  a  few  <mes  per  month  while  8%  log  in  whenever  they  get  an  email  from  LinkedIn.    This  document  provides  a  few  <ps  that  can  help  you  make  the  most  of  LinkedIn  for  your  business,  and  generate  the  visibility  it  deserves.        

GENDER  

Male  

Female  

AGE  55+  

35-­‐54  

18-­‐24  

25-­‐34  

TOP  JOB  FUNCTIONS  

finance  3,817K  

admin  5,125K  

educa<on  5,363K  

Informa<on  technology  

5,633K  

consul<ng  

3,815K  

Engineering  

6,158K  

Opera<ons  7,801K  

support  3,868K  

Sales  8,730K  

entrepeneurs  9,666K  

50% of users are business decision makers in their company.

10,001  +  16,171K  

1,001  –  5,000  7,096K  

201  –  500  2,509K  

51-­‐200  2,734K  

5,001–10,000  3,547K  

501-­‐1000  2,372K  

11-­‐50  1,308K  

1-­‐10  252K  

COMPANY  SIZE  

There is a strong correlation between personal income and LinkedIn usage.

0   2   4   6   8   10   12   14   16  

Agriculture  

Legal  

Service  

Transporta<on  

Non  profit  

Media  

Arts  

Government  

Construc<on  

Recrea<onal  

Consumer  goods  

Corporate  

Educa<onal  

Medical  

Manufacturing  

Finance  

Hi  Tech  

Members,  in  million  

INDUSTRY  

A  company  page  allows  your  followers  to  stay  in  the  loop  on  your  company  news,  products  &  services,  business  opportuni<es  and  job  openings.  From  the  page,  you  can  share  the  story  of  your  company,  showcase  your  brand  values  and  personality,  and  drive  word  of  mouth.    

Various  way  to  display  company  informa3on  

LinkedIn  analy3cs  for  the  company  page  

Company  profile  

Various  tabs  available:  Overview,  careers,  products  &  services,  and  page  sta3s3cs  (visible  only  with  an  admin  access)    

Users  can  view  who  within  their  network  are  connected  to  the  company      

We recommend you visit the page http://linkedin.com/company/microsoft to view this example live, as well as the numerous possibilities such page offers.

!   Tip:  Add  your  products  and  services  Show  your  key  products  and  services  with  short  descrip<on,  direct  web  link  and  relevant  contact  within  your  company.  Ask  your  customers  to  recommend  a  product  or  service  you  delivered.    

!   Tip:  Engage  with  your  followers  Just  like  for  TwiRer  and  Facebook,  upda<ng  a  status  is  a  good  way  to  engage  with  our  audiences  via  your  LinkedIn  company  page.  A  new  status  is  a  conversa<on  starter.  It  can  be  about  a  new  project,  a  new  employee,  relevant  job  opportuni<es,  etc.    LinkedIn  members  can  comment,  like  or  share  your  company’s  status  update.    

!   Tip:  Tailor  your  message  to  your  audience.    LinkedIn  members  following  your  company  page  are  already  interested  in  hearing  what  you  have  to  say.  The  key  is  to  remain  relevant,  genuine,  authen<c,  to  the  point,  and  courteous.  Share  links  to  press  coverage,  industry  news,  product  releases,  photos,  graphs,  infographic,  videos,  surveys,  etc.    

!   Tip:  Think  quality,  not  quan0ty  A  key  element  to  get  your  followers  engaged  and  to  build  rela<onships  is  to  offer  quality  content  –  And  not  to  provide  updates  as  frequent  as  possible  just  for  the  sake  of  it.  Think  professional  informa<on  that  can  have  an  impact  on  your  followers,  and  ul<mately  help  them  in  their  day-­‐to-­‐day  tasks.  Offer  news,  <ps  and  other  insighlul,  relevant  informa<on  about  your  industry  or  business.  Use  news  module  to  link  to  the  recent  news  published  on  your  website  and/or  blog  so  people  have  easier  access  to  them.  

!   Tip:  Be  part  of  the  conversa0on.  Make  the  most  of  your  opportunity  to  network  with  your  followers  by  asking  them  ques<ons,  answering  theirs.  You  might  gain  valuable  inputs  into  what  is  expected  from  your  company.  It  will  show  your  willingness  to  be  ac<ve  and  to  connect  with  your  audience,  while  growing  your  influence  as  an  industry  expert.      

!   Tip:  Promote  your  page  Make  sure  people  know  that  you  have  a  company  page  and  how  they  can  follow  it.  Once  your  page  is  created,  you  have  the  possibility  to  share  it  with  your  own  network  by  clicking  on  the  “Share”  buRon  on  your  company  page  overview.  You  can  also  “Send  to  individuals”  to  send  the  link  to  your  page  in  an  email.  Remember  to  promote  your  page  in  newsleRers,  on  your  Facebook  page,  via  TwiRer,  your  website,  etc.  Just  like  any  other  social  network,  LinkedIn  offers  a  range  of  social  plugins  you  may  use  on  your  company’s  web  site  to  engage  more  with  professional  audience  and  to  promote  your  page.  For  more  informa<on,  see  below.      

!   Tip:  Adver0se  on  LinkedIn  Running  a  LinkedIn  Ad  Campaign  targe<ng  your  demographics  is  a  great  opportunity  to  promote  your  company  page.  Similarly  to  Facebook,  LinkedIn  offers  an  adver<sing  plalorm,  following  the  principles  of  a  ‘Pay  Per  Click’  ad.  It  is  easy  to  target  professional  segments  using  selec<ons  like  loca<on,  income,  job  <tle  and  industry.  This  is  very  similar  to  ad  targe<ng  on  Facebook  or  Google  AdWords.    

Read more about company pages here: http://bit.ly/KRaP0E

!   Tip:  Analy0cs  Only  visible  to  page  administrators,  the  analy<cs  tab  will  show  you  the  number  of  page  views,  unique  visitors,  clicks,  etc.  It  can  also  compare  your  page’s  performance  with  the  one  of  another  company  of  similar  size  and  type.  To  get  an  understanding  of  the  level  of  interac<vity  and  value  of  your  efforts,  review  LinkedIn's  analy<cs  for  your  pages  regularly.  It  gives  you  insights  into  what  works  and  what  doesn’t.        

!   Tip:  Speaking  in  one  voice  It  is  also  important  that  all  employees  have  a  consistent  profile  and  represent  your  company  the  right  way.  Create  a  checklist  with  a  standard  Headline,  Summary,  Website  links  and  Skills  that  all  your  sales  representa<ves  can  use  when  sesng  up  their  profile.  This  increases  your  visibility  while  ensuring  a  consistent  voice.    

!   Tip:  Ask  for  recommenda0ons  Request  LinkedIn  recommenda<on  from  happy  customers  willing  to  provide  tes<monials.  Write  honest  and  valuable  recommenda<ons  for  your  contacts  too.      

Company page!

Engage  

Promote  

Quality  info  

Tailored  message  

Share  &  Connect  

Analyze  results  

Just  like  any  other  social  network,  LinkedIn  offers  a  range  of  social  plugins  you  may  use  on  your  company’s  website  to  further  engage  with  a  professional  audience.  These  may  become  very  valuable  for  your  business,  maximizing  your  company  exposure  on  LinkedIn.      LinkedIn  offers  easy-­‐to-­‐use  wizards  that  will  generate  the  required  website  codes  you  need  to  implement  the  plugin(s)  of  your  choice.        !   Tip:  Follow  Company  Plugin  

This  is  a  simple  plugin  that  provides  you  with  a  “Follow”  buRon  on  your  website,  leading  your  visitors  directly  to  your  LinkedIn  company  page.  It  easily  helps  you  grow  your  company  page  community  while  keeping  in  touch  with  people  who  like  your  company.      

!   Tip:  Share  on  LinkedIn  Plugin  In  the  same  line  of  thoughts  as  the  plugin  described  above,  this  “Share”  buRon  can  be  embedded  on  your  website,  enabling  visitors  to  share  it  with  their  professional  network  on  LinkedIn.  This  is  a  great  tool  to  generate  traffic  back  to  you  website.    

!   Tip:  Recommend  on  LinkedIn  Plugin  Use  this  plugin  to  allow  website  visitors  to  directly  recommend  a  given  product  or  service  your  company  offers.  The  recommenda<on  will  be  instantly  available  on  your  LinkedIn  company  page.    

!   Tip:  Apply  With  LinkedIn  plugin  The  Apply  with  LinkedIn  plugin  allows  you  to  put  a  social  buRon  next  to  any  open  posi<on  described  on  your  website.  A  poten<al  candidate  only  needs  to  click  a  buRon  and  confirm  their  interest,  and  you  will  receive  an  email  with  the  applicant’s  details.  It  is  a  tool  to  help  you  get  more  candidates  for  open  vacancies  in  your  company.    

!   Tip:  Jobs  You  May  Be  Interested  In  plugin  This  plugin  helps  you  display  a  list  of  open  posi<ons  within  your  company  to  your  website  visitors.  Each  visitor  receives  a  personalized  list  of  open  posi<ons  based  on  his/her  LinkedIn  profile  data.  It  is  a  targeted  and  effec<ve  way  to  aRract  qualified  candidates.    

!   Tip:  Sign  In  with  LinkedIn  Plugin  In  contrast  to  tradi<onal  web  registra<on  or  signup  forms,  you  may  use  LinkedIn  Sign  In  to  have  your  audience  just  a  click  away  from  registering  on  your  site  or  signing  up  for  a  newsleRer.  Recent  studies  have  shown  that  85%  of  customers  prefer  social  login  to  tradi<onal  forms.  This  way  you  also  ensure  customer’s  data  is  correct.  

 

When  asked  to  name  one  of  their  favorite  features  on  LinkedIn,  79%  of  users  answered  Groups.  And  that’s  no  surprise,  considering  the  numerous  benefits  of  being  a  member  of  a  group:  You  can  connect  with  a  thriving  community,  drive  traffic  to  your  site,  gain  mindshare  in  the  industry  and  profile  yourself  and  your  company  as  experts.    

!   Tip:  Create  a  group  for  your  industry,  not  your  company.    Start  by  crea<ng  a  group.  A  general  rule  of  thumb  is  to  create  a  group  for  your  industry,  not  (only)  for  your  company.  More  people  sharing  the  same  interest(s)  will  join,  making  it  a  more  effec<ve  way  to  expand  your  professional  network.  Such  a  group  will  not  only  increase  your  indirect  connec<ons  but  it  will  also  aRract  poten<al  prospects  who  could  hire  you  or  whom  you  could  hire.    It  is  also  a  great  opportunity  to  demonstrate  thought  leadership  in  your  market.    

!   Tip:  Promote  your  group.    •  Invite  coworkers,  past  colleagues,  and  customers  to  join  and  start  discussions  within  your  group.  Leverage  your  

exis<ng  network  to  make  the  most  out  of  your  group  and  het  it  started.  It’s  a  snowball  effect:  The  more  members  your  group  has,  the  more  people  will  want  to  join  in.    

•  Promote  the  group  on  your  website,  blog,  email  signature,  newsleRers,  and  other  social  media  networks.  Make  sure  people  know  that  you  have  a  group  and  how  they  can  join.    

•  Invite  key  industry  experts/leaders/influencers  to  join  your  group  via  InMails  or  Introduc<ons.    •  Ini<ate  discussions  within  your  group  by  sharing  industry  news,  ar<cles,  vacancies  at  the  company,  etc.  The  

more  opportuni<es  for  interac<on  you  create,  the  more  valuable  your  group  will  be  to  the  community.  However,  remember  that  you  do  not  want  to  overload  your  members  with  informa<on.  Making  them  interested  and  curious  enough  to  ask  you  for  more  are  the  key.  Think  interac<ons,  relevance  and  authen<city.  

•  Use  the  “Manager’s  Choice”  feature  to  highlight  a  specific  ar<cle  or  discussion  within  your  group  –  Not  just  in  the  group  interface,  but  also  in  the  regular  email  sent  out  to  your  members.  This  is  a  great  way  to  build  the  momentum  around  a  hot  topic,  a  special  collabora<on  or  project,  or  a  new  whitepaper  wriRen  by  one  of  your  staff.    

•  Send  an  invita<on  to  join  your  personal  network  to  new  group  members,  crea<ng  an  addi<onal  opportunity  to  engage  with  your  community.    

 

!   Tip:  Join  other  groups  You  can  also  grow  your  network  by  joining  industry  and  alumni  groups  related  to  your  business.  Connec<ng  with  top  influencers  and  engaging  with  them  can  have  a  posi<ve  impact  on  your  credibility  and  reputa<on.  It  is  crucial  to  be  a  part  of  the  conversa<on  to  share  and  gain  knowledge,  as  well  as  to  connect  with  decision  makers  and  industry  leaders.  This  is  an  effec<ve  way  to  create  awareness  and  build  your  brand.  Remember  to  not  try  to  sell  all  the  <me  –  Providing  helpful  answers  to  people’s  ques<ons  and  ini<a<ng  interes<ng  discussions  is  a  beRer  way  to  connect      

!   Tip:  Show  leadership  Find  out  which  group(s)  your  prospects  and  customers  are  following,  join  them,  and  take  part  into  the  discussions  to  show  your  exper<se.  People  out  there  need  to  know  that  you  and  your  company  exist,  and  that  you  can  help  with  their  business.  Gaining  awareness  in  your  industry  will  increase  you  chances  of  gesng  new  leads.  Prospects  will  come  to  you  when  they  want  advice.    

!   Tip:  Join  other  groups  You  can  also  grow  your  network  by  joining  industry  and  alumni  groups  related  to  your  business.  Connec<ng  with  top  influencers  and  engaging  with  them  can  have  a  posi<ve  impact  on  your  credibility  and  reputa<on.  It  is  crucial  to  be  a  part  of  the  conversa<on  to  share  and  gain  knowledge,  as  well  as  to  connect  with  decision  makers  and  industry  leaders.  This  is  an  effec<ve  way  to  create  awareness  and  build  your  brand.  Remember  to  not  try  to  sell  all  the  <me  –  Providing  helpful  answers  to  people’s  ques<ons  and  ini<a<ng  interes<ng  discussions  is  a  beRer  way  to  connect      

!   Tip:  Answer  Ques0ons  on  LinkedIn.    LinkedIn  offers  a  sec<on  where  people  can  get  answers  to  their  business-­‐related  ques<ons  from  other  professionals  worldwide.  It  is  a  great  opportunity  to  share  knowledge  and  experience.    Visit  the  LinkedIn  "Answers"  sec<on,  and  ask  and  respond  to  relevant  ques<ons.  When  you  do  so,  it  shows  up  in  the  Network  Updates  feed  for  all  your  connec<ons  to  see.  You  can  also  gain  exper<se  points  when  your  answer  is  chosen  as  the  best  one  for  a  par<cular  ques<on.  LinkedIn  users  tend  to  trust  experts  in  their  subject  categories  and  are  oxen  contacted  directly.  When  answering  a  ques<on,  you  can  leave  links  to  relevant  ar<cles,  landing  pages,  or  blog  posts  on  your  website.  Remember  to  show  exper<se  without  trying  to  self-­‐promote  too  hard.    

You  can  install  apps  that  display  your  blogs,  porlolios  and  presenta<ons  can  give  your  visitors  a  much  fuller  picture  of  your  brand  and  personality.    !   Tip:  Use  Slide  Share  Promote  your  content  by  sharing  slides  from  past  webinars  or  presenta<ons.  If  you  already  have  a  SlideShare.net  account,  you  can  import  your  exis<ng  presenta<ons  into  LinkedIn.  This  will  reinforce  your  thought  leadership  and  help  drive  more  qualified  traffic  to  the  resources  you  host  on  your  site.  This  app  also  allows  you  to  autoplay  videos  when  people  land  on  your  profile.    

!   Tip:  Use  TripIt  Many  professionals  use  TripIt  service  to  keep  their  business  travels  organized.  MyTravel  app  for  LinkedIn  allows  you  to  see  who  from  your  network  will  be  close  on  your  next  trip,  so  you  can  get  in  touch  and  meet  for  business  or  leisure.  

 

!   Tip:  Use  Polls  With  the  app  Poll,  and  find  answers  to  your  business  and  market  research  ques<ons.  Your  poll  will  be  distributed  to  your  connec<ons,  and  their  own  connec<ons  too.  You  will  be  able  to  review  the  answers  based  on  gender,  demographics,  job  <tles,  etc.      

!   Tip:  Use  TwiQer  It  is  possible  to  sync  a  TwiRer  account  to  LinkedIn,  which  increase  the  amount  of  interac<ons  with  your  audiences.  Click  here  to  see  how  to  do  so.      

!   Tips:  AQend/organize  networking  events  Use  the  Search  func<on  to  find  networking  events  or  workshops  near  you  to  meet  other  professionals  and  promote  your  company.      You  can  also  organize  events  yourself.  Whether  it  is  a  major  industry  conference,  regional  networking  event  or  small,  informal  meet  up,  events  are  a  great  way  to  gain  exposure.  Once  the  event  is  created  and  featured  on  LinkedIn,  it  is  possible  to  see  how  many  people  have  RSVP’d,  who’s  interested,  etc.;  this  allow  you  to  track  the  popularity  of  your  event,  but  also  to  easily  break  the  ice  with  people  who  showed  an  interest,  and  approach  them  in  a  ‘targeted’  way.      

A  guide  for  company  pages  hRp://learn.linkedin.com/downloads/Linkedin-­‐Company-­‐Pages-­‐Guide-­‐03-­‐2011.pdf      How  to  make  the  most  of  adver<sing  hRp://www.varnmedia.co.uk/04/13/7-­‐<ps-­‐to-­‐get-­‐the-­‐most-­‐out-­‐of-­‐your-­‐linkedin-­‐adver<sing/    Learn  more  about  SlideShare:  hRp://www.linkedin.com/opensocialInstalla<on/preview?_ch_panel_id=1&_applica<onId=1200      Learn  more  about  how  to  add  video  to  your  LinkedIn  profile:  hRp://lewishowes.com/linkedin/add-­‐video-­‐to-­‐your-­‐linkedin-­‐profile/      

Catherine  Lazure-­‐Guinard  is  a  senior  marke<ng  and  communica<on  consultant.  She  helps  clients  gain  a  compe<<ve  edge  by  developing  and  strengthening  their  brands  image  among  various  stakeholders.    

Catherine Lazure- Guinard

Eugene Litvinov

Eugene  Litvinov  is  an  online  marke<ng  specialist  and  analyst.  He  has  many  years  of  experience  managing  online  brand  strategy  and  internal  communica<ons,  with  various  digital  tools.      

“We take great pride in the work that we do, the people we work with, and the brands that we build.“

Millstone  is  a  crea<ve  concepts  and  consul<ng  agency  with  marke<ng  and  communica<on  exper<se.      We  assist  you  taking  your  project  from  ini<al  concept  to  finished  product;  from  one-­‐<me  promo<onal  campaigns  to  long-­‐term  collabora<on;  for  start-­‐up  businesses  to  industry  leaders.  We  help  clients  improve  their  performance  by  adding  value  to  our  their  brand  experience  and  by  aRrac<ng  consumers  at  every  touch  point.    Our  work  is  based  on  a  mul<disciplinary  approach:  From  product  development  to  packaging;  from  employee  engagement  to  social  media;  and  from  merchandising  to  launch  events  –We  focus  on  the  essen<als  throughout  the  process  to  deliver  smart,  non-­‐nonsense  strategies  and  tac<cs  with  measurable  outcomes.        In  a  nutshell,  we  help  companies  op<mize  their  commercial  poten<al  with  ideas  that  are  crea<ve,  workable,  easily  implementable,  and  effec<ve  –With  ideas  that  make  sense  to  you  and  your  business.      

!   An integrated approach between marketing, communications and sales !   360-degree brand strategy !   Easily implementable solutions !   Proven results !   Short communication lines !   Fresh perspectives !   An international team !   Emerging markets experience !   Extensive knowledge of the retail sector

We offer:

Throughout  the  years  we  gained  substan<al  sales  and  marke<ng  experience  in  emerging  markets.  We  understand  the  characteris<cs  and  challenges  of  such  fast  growing  markets,  as  well  as  what  is  required  to  perform  and  make  the  most  out  of  this  excep<onal  opportunity.      We  can  help  you  develop  an  effec<ve  strategy  that  will  deliver  tangible  benefits  to  consumers  in  emerging  markets,  and  to  create  relevant  marke<ng  ac<vi<es  to  reach  your  objec<ves.        Millstone  also  has  an  extensive  network  of  professionals  around  the  world  –A  network  we  do  not  hesitate  to    use  for  added  market  intelligence  and  to  explore  ideas,  solu<ons  and  resources  necessary  for  success.  

“Our philosophy is that creativity and simplicity must be at the core of any brand to maximize its impact in a crowded marketplace.”

Contact  us!  To  find  out  more  about  how  we  can  develop  ideas  that  sell  for  your  business,  visit  our  website  hRp://millstone-­‐branding.com  or  email  us  at  info@millstone-­‐branding.nl.  

WriFen  by  Catherine  Lazure-­‐Guinard  and  Eugene  Litvinov,  from  Millstone  Branding,  June  2012.