So what is LinkedIn all about and what can it do for you?  The best description I’ve come across is that it’s a social networking site for grownups.  Unlike MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, it has been specifically developed for business people; its user profile is professionals aged between 25 and 65.  The premiss of the site is that there is no stronger recommendation than word of mouth (if you think about it, this is also the basis of PR – people put their trust in companies they hear others talk about, whether in person or in the media). 

Everyone inadvertently creates a network of contacts through their work and personal lives, but more importantly, these contacts have their own bank of contacts, whom you might not otherwise be able to access.  The idea is that everyone can benefit from the power of personal recommendations.  The ‘connectivity’ that is generated by being part of a group, even through remote connections, is a great way to open doors.

Perhaps because of the more mature age profile of users, LinkedIn has taken a little longer to really catch on – we 40 somethings are not natural early adopters of technology!  However, the argument is that once hooked, this market is likely to remain more loyal than the fickle younger audience.  Some business people (particularly recruiters) are using LinkedIn as their main marketing tool; and there is no doubt that it can deliver significant benefits, especially for those in the B2B sector.  It can be used to find new customers, jobs, suppliers or employees; as well as building brand and reputation, picking up trends in the market place and sharing industry information. 

But how can you optimise LinkedIn for your particular business and personal goals?  Here are a few useful tips to get you started, many of which I picked up at an excellent seminar I recently attended about LinkedIn.

1.  As with traditional networking, the usual principles apply – openness, transparency and honesty are essential.  Users should remember ‘the golden triangle’ of giving, asking and thanking

2.  Like any marketing activity, the starting point is to develop a clear strategy:

• Why are you joining LinkedIn? (long term goal)
• What specifically do you want to gain? (medium term)
• Who can help you – what types of organisations/positions do you need to target; and how are you going to go about it? (short term)

3.  Once you have answered these questions, you need to devote some time to creating the best possible LinkedIn profile – it should reflect your ‘personal brand’; think about the image you will convey from the information you provide and the way it is presented

Creating a profile

• Be creative, passionate, humorous, explain what you can deliver
• Have a professional headline
• It’s important to include a business-like photo
• Give as much information as possible in your profile to increase your profile rating (aim for 100%); LinkedIn can really increase your Google rating
• If you see ‘LION’ after a name, it stands for Linked In Open Networker  ie someone who is open to anyone joining their network; opinion is mixed about whether or not this is a good thing, but it does make it easier to build a substantial network quickly
• The summary should explain what you can deliver eg enhanced media profile to increase sales
• Make copy concise; break up with bullet points; write in the first person (needs to feel personal)
• Specialities: think about what terms people may be searching for and include a number of titles eg PR consultant; PR professional; public relations consultant; media relations specialist etc
• It’s important to include interests to make the profile more personal, but make sure they do not conflict with the personal brand you are trying to convey
• Recommendations are very important – aim to receive up to 20 and make sure you also give some!

Once you’ve done all that (and it really isn’t as onerous as it sounds), go through your address book and link up with as many contacts as possible.  It’s worth investing some time if you really want to maximise the opportunities offered by LinkedIn – a well-presented, informative profile and a strong network of first connections is a good start.

Other tips

• Include links to your website and blog (put URL, including http://, on all your message replies to make it easy for people to link through; again it will really help your company’s Google ratings)
• Ask and answer questions; start discussions
• Don’t use the status bar very often (no more than once a week) and only when you have something important to say eg new event.   Do not use for trivia as you would Twitter as your LinkedIn messages will be sent to all of your network and too many can be irritating
• Join relevant groups eg old school/university.  This connectivity increases the likelihood of someone choosing to do business with you
• Look for groups that will link you with your target audience eg businesses in a particular region or sector

LinkedIn is only the first step to establishing a relationship; the idea isn’t to do a hard sell, but rather to share contacts and information for mutual benefit.  It has huge potential for any organisation – a head hunter I know has built up more than 2,500 first connections, giving her a third level network of over five million people!  Now that’s an audience that most businesses could benefit from in one way or another…

LinkedIn

The recently improving Marketing Leeds are quick off the blocks with a campaign that – if its supported and successful – might, just might deliver a great deal of business benefit, tourism and profile for the region nine years from now. 

Their business to business shove for the ‘Back The Bid Leeds’ campaign has been a decent attempt at stitching together social media devices and online resources to spread support for the voting process for a Leeds bid to host games during the 2018 World Cup. 

The e-mail bulletin that we received from Marketing Leeds encouraging people to sign up as a supporter online and spread the word through the business community via e-mail footers and signatures isn’t too tired to be worth a go. 

The ability to tie in widgets for most of social media sites should really give the campaign the chance to spread virally through Facebook and LinkedIn as well as being shared on a number of blogs already too.

I doubt whether even something as enticing as being able to watch the world’s best teams playing in Yorkshire will encourage millions of people to get involved, but to my mind its far more worthwhile (and cheaper) way to spend two minutes than voting for ‘celebs’ on (lack of) reality TV shows. 

We are hopeful that Sheffield will get their bid support going too, we need some profile for Yorkshire globally and this possible opportunity is as good as it gets.

Leeds’ heritage as a European footballing city, and its die-hard supporters who are at Elland Road week in, week out regardless of their league status deserves to be recognised.  Long term thinking is what we need to really make a difference to the profile and fortunes of this city.

So, why not take two minutes, follow Big Boris’ lead and support the bid…in nine years time as you watch Gary Lineker managing England to defend the World Cup (OK, now I am getting carried away), you might be very pleased you did!

I’ve never been an advocate of using complex terminology, technical speak and marketing buzz words during my career in PR, and have always found that a straight forward and direct approach to business suited me just fine.

But that’s become more difficult as we have all embraced the myriad of new digital and social media over the past year or so that has brought a whole new language straight into mainstream culture.

I have been an avid ‘Facebooker’ for some time, having family spread across the world meant that was the best way to stay involved with people I know everywhere – it made sense for me.

Linkedin has crept through the PR industry and other professional services – especially recruitment – with an undeniable momentum. Last year we started using Facebook fan sites for clients who had ‘follower’ customers – restaurants, bars, websites and hotels particularly see the benefit.

Then came ‘Tweeting’ – and more than ever we have been drawn towards the world of blogging and social media as devices that are relevant for communicating with new publics, and not just for clients targeting ‘Yoof’ groups and geeks.

We have reached the point where social media PR is now relevant to every client, whether B2B or consumer to some degree or other. As an agency we aim to bring our trademark no bull approach to this exciting new opportunity.

Our challenges now are to filter the most relevant media devices for each campaign and client, to explain their relevance and implement them efficiently. That means getting to the bottom of every piece of jargon, every new trend and every facet of social media. If people can understand how this will benefit their business, they will use social media and benefit from it.

As a starting point, I found Darren Rowse A to Z useful.

We are already working with our clients to take the most relevant aspects of the social media mix for their businesses, and sew them together with traditional PR and media relations into a package that makes sense and delivers value.

Our use of digital media can amplify traditional PR results – media coverage – with very little additional effort, and funnel the benefits – sales and enquiries more directly to client businesses.

Just like media relations, this isn’t rocket science, but the devil is most certainly in the detail. We know some very clever specialists and we are learning from them and using the best expertise. Most of our clients want to get the most ‘bang for their buck’ – and by making social marketing relevant for their business – we can deliver that.

The social media and digital revolution is the biggest opportunity to get value for money profile in decades, and we hope to share some of our experiences of making social media relevant to all manner of business, tell you more about what the Appeal team are up to, and hopefully get your views too…