LinkedIn Company Pages (who moved my cheese?)

While on LinkedIn today, I discovered yet another change, this time in the "Company" pages section.

During a visit LinkedIn tonight, I read a sponsored ad promoting tips on LinkedIn Company Pages.

I followed the link to a free download from Hubspot, which you can access here:

http://cdn1.hubspot.com/hub/53/Intro_LinkedIn_Company_Pages_Single_Page-Final-01.pdf

(Note: if that link doesn't work, you may have to try this, which requires you to fill out a short form for the nice folks at Hubspot: http://offers.hubspot.com/step-by-step-guide-to-linkedins-new-company-pages)

I'm going to be spending some time reading and updating my company's LinkedIn page, and encourage you to do the same.

Let's give each other's company pages a follow.
Here is my company's page on LinkedIn. http://www.linkedin.com/company/walsh-college
Reply to this blog with your company page address on LinkedIn.

Skill Endorsements (aka, LinkedIn Meets Pinterest)

LinkedIn recently launched a few feature, giving you the ability to click to endorse your connections' skills and expertise. 


Instructions on how to endorse your connections' skills and expertise can be found here: http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/31888

I first discovered this after receiving notification from LinkedIn that I had a few skills endorsed by my connections. I have to admit that I've added some skills and expertise to my profile, but thought it existed primarily to help my own personal / professional SEO efforts only. LinkedIn finally figured out a way to make this section useful. 

My first time accessing the "Skills & Expertise" to endorse my connections was somewhat addicting. I did this on my iPad and simply clicked to "refresh" and selected connections along the way to endorse. One click to "refresh" then hovered over and clicked any that I wanted to endorse, and repeat. 

Let's Connect on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/in/BrendaMeller

Twenty minutes and probably 50 endorsements later, I have to admit I was hooked. It reminded me of the same feeling I get when surfing through my friends pins and the "popular" set of pins on Pinterest. 

Nicely played, LinkedIn. 

You can only do this with first level connections, and it reminds me a bit of the "recommendations" on LinkedIn, but only a fraction of the effort is involved. I know that for me, I'm not going to endorse everyone. But I will be more willing to endorse vs. recommend since the latter is more time consuming. 

Was this blog helpful? Let's connect on LinkedIn, and please consider giving my "LinkedIn" skills an endorsement. 

10 LinkedIn Tips for Your Business

10 LinkedIn Tips for Your Business

You’re probably on LinkedIn and using it to gain new connections, but are you tapping into the power of LinkedIn to support your business? Here are 10 simple techniques that you can use on LinkedIn that will help.

1.           Modify your LinkedIn “Headline” to promote your business with a tagline or offer. This “headline” follows you around LinkedIn.

Modify your LinkedIn "Headline" to promote your business.

2.           Search your business name or product keywords using “SIGNAL” http://www.linkedin.com/signal/

Use LinkedIn Signal to search for keywords, company mentions, and more.

3.          Add Your Company Profile on LinkedIn (FREE!). Include video, contact person, product/services, recommendations from clients, and post company updates. People can “Follow” your company updates.

Add your Company Profile onto LinkedIn - free!

4.           Personalize EVERY invitation to connect. Include a frame of reference and explain why you wish to connect.

5.           Check out your competition: profiles, company pages, signal. Let them inspire you.

6.           In “ANSWERS,” answer questions and AIM LOW. Demonstrate your expertise.

7.           Add a professional photo (head and shoulders) to your profile. Be confident.

8.           Post Company Events (FREE). Reach business professionals on LinkedIn.

9.           Use all 3 Websites on Your Profile – but select “OTHER” and rename them with specific description.

Ex: Not “BLOG” but instead select “Other” and type: “Marketing Tips”

Ex: Not “Company Website” but instead select “Other” and type: “Walsh College”

10.       Be a Lifelong Learner: check out and follow connections’ reading lists for recommended books.

Presented on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 at the Grosse Pointe Inforum Affinity Group

Brenda Meller is an Inforum member, co-leader of the Inforum Troy Networking Group, and Director of Marketing Manager for Walsh College. She frequently speaks on Social Media through the Walsh College webinar series. Join upcoming LinkedIn 101 and 201 for Business Professionals webinars (free) at www.walshcollege.edu/Webinars.

Let’s Connect! www.linkedin.com/in/brendameller

How and Why You Should Use LinkedIn Events

LinkedIn has a great free tool that allows any LinkedIn user to create and promote personal or business events to your networks. If you haven't used this yet and you or your company holds events such as these,

• Webinars
• Open Houses
• Networking Events
• Customer Appreciation Day
• Education Workshops
• Business Training

you need to start using this immediately.

It's simple to use - FREE - plus gives you the ability to amplify your event by promoting it through social media.

After you're logged into your LinkedIn account, click the "MORE" dropdown then select "EVENTS"

You're now on the Event Home Page. Click on "CREATE AN EVENT"

Follow the step-by-step instructions to enter your event information.  IMPORTANT: FILL IN ALL FIELDS. I use my personal photo if the event is featuring a speaker or presenter. Or use your company logo if it's a company event (Your marketing person will thank you).

Add in additional details describing your event. In this example, I'm creating an event page that I'll use to promote this blog. Select an Industry if it applies to the event. Otherwise, skip that field. IMPORTANT: use the "labels" field like you would meta data, and include keywords and phrases to describe your event and the content. Also include a website where people can learn more about the event, the organization/company, or you. In this example, I'm using my blog address. Use every field. It's free promotion for your event, your company, or you. 

This step is NOT optional, in my opinion. Share your event message with your networks!

I'll tweet it and add in hashtags to describe the event. In this example, my hashtags are #LinkedIn, #EventPromotion, and #EventPlanning. This will help my event to get picked up by fellow Twitter users searching for my keywords.

I also will post on my Facebook page for my friends to read. In this message, I'm giving a shout out to Dana who asked me how to post events on LinkedIn, who was the inspiration for this blog.

That's it! In a few days, Google will have picked up your event and people searching Google will be able to find your event too.

So in just a few minutes, you've created an event that can be promoted FREE across your networks on
LinkedIn (let's connect - www.linkedin.com/In/BrendaMeller
Facebook
Twitter (follow me www.twitter.com/BrendaMeller)
plus, it's publicly searchable on Google.

Happy Event Planning!

Six Powerful Anti-LinkedIn Tips

"For the Anti-LinkedIn LinkedIn User."
Brenda Meller

Quite often I'm asked for tips on stuff that people want to avoid on LinkedIn, or how to disable a feature or prevent certain people or information from being viewed. Here are six helpful Anti-LinkedIn Tips (i.e., techniques that can limit or prevent activity). 

Follow the links to the step-by-step instructions courtesy of LinkedIn. :)

1. Prevent Your First Level Connections from Viewing your Other First Level Connections
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/52
Maybe you're a CEO or HR manager who wishes to use LinkedIn as a virtual Rolodex, but you don't want salespeople to harvest those golden connections. Sorry, it's an all-or-nothing feature (you can't selectively hide connections, says LinkedIn). 

2. Block People From Viewing Your LinkedIn Profile
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2839
Maybe you don't want your boss to see your stepped up LinkedIn activity. Or you've got an internet stalker (egad!). Follow these instructions to make your profile more private. Unfortunately you can't block individual users from viewing your profile. 

3. Stop Those Annoying Group Email Notifications
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/67
If you're like me, you've joined multiple groups and you're inundated with emails. Follow this link to tell LinkedIn how frequently to send you group emails or prevent them entirely.

4. Delete a Duplicate Account (and merge your contacts)
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/46
I was surprised to find this listed in LinkedIn help. In the past, you had to figure this out on your own. 

5. Disconnect From Connections
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/49
Maybe your LinkedIn efforts have helped you snag that dream job, and you no longer wish to be connected to your old boss. Go ahead and disconnect. They won't receive any notification.

6. Close Your LinkedIn Account
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/63
If you're finding no value in LinkedIn, yes you can shut down your account. I'd highly recommend you export your LinkedIn connections and printing copy of your LinkedIn profile first. You can thank me later. 

Exporting Your Connections List (with caution)

After you've been on LinkedIn for a while, you start to wonder about some of the information that's on your profile and whether you can export it, especially your connections list.


I know that once you hit the 500+ number, it's kind of a big achievement on LinkedIn. No longer does your profile show your total, but instead you're in the "500+" club. 


If you're considering exporting your connections list for email purposes - use caution. LinkedIn is powerful because it allows you the ability to cross-reference connections, and also because you're only a login away from reaching any connection. However, you want to be careful not to use a mass email approach with your connections, since people will connect to you based on a perceived mutual benefit of being connected. Once you send a mass email, you risk jeopardizing the relationship you have with your connections. 


However, the export connections feature can be used to help you sort and target your connections. 


Here's an example:


I frequently offer LinkedIn webinars through Walsh College. These webinars are free and exclusive to students, alumni, and employers who hire Walsh students and alumni. 


Occasionally, we have seats remaining in the webinar, and I offer those seats out to my LinkedIn network. I've also built up many connections in the job seeker community, including contacts at Michigan Works offices.


If I want to share the LinkedIn webinar info with these individuals, I could spend 10-15 minutes scrolling through advanced people search and typing in "Michigan Works." 


Or, I can export my connections list and sort by company, and hand pick those individuals who show Michigan Works as their employer. Then, I can send them a personalized email from my Walsh email box instead of through LinkedIn. 


To export your connections list:


1. Mouse over "Contacts" in your top menu bar, then select "Connections"

How to Export Your LinkedIn Connections

2. Scroll down to the bottom of your connections list page. Click the link that reads "Export Connections."
























3. Export as a CSV format. Save onto your desktop, then open the file in Excel and Save As an Excel workbook. From here, you can scan and search your connections list. This file will contain your first level connections information, including: first and last name, company, job title, and e-mail address. 


CAUTION: use this option sparingly if you're trying to contact people outside of LinkedIn. People do NOT like mass email. From my perspective, it's a lazy approach to using your technology and it doesn't create favorable impressions. And if you do use a mass email approach, you run the risk of losing connections. 


That said, the "export connections" feature can be a powerful tool to help supplement your LinkedIn efforts. 


Comments? Suggestions? Have you used this feature? 

Do I Know You? What To Do With Invites From Unfamiliar Names

The longer you're on LinkedIn and the more active you become, you'll notice you receive more and more invitations to connect to people you don't know. 


SIDEBAR:
If you're like me, you're personalizing your invitations to help others in your network understand why you wish to connect. If you're not doing this yet, please read this for instructions http://15minutesadayonlinkedin.blogspot.com/2011/02/personalize-your-invites-for-more.html


What do you do when you receive LinkedIn invitations to connect to people you don't know? Most people ignore the invitations. Or perhaps mouse over the name and review the person's profile to see if there is anything common or interesting. And then they either accept or ignore the invite depending on those results. 


Here's a technique to help you do two things:
1. Solve the problem of an ever-increasing list of invitations
2. Weed out the people you want to connect, and archive those you don't wish to accept.


Plus, using this technique, you'll create dialog with these individuals, thereby helping to further the effectiveness of your network. 


First, log into LinkedIn.  Then, follow these simple instructions:

1. Mouse over your "Inbox"
2. Then, click on "Invitations"

3. Just below the person's name whose invitation you've received, you'll see an "Accept" box with a dropdown arrow. Click that arrow, and 4. you'll see the option to "Reply (don't accept yet)."

5. Type in three words: "Have We Met?"
If you feel the need to be cordial, you can add a salutation, "Hi Russell," as shown here.
6. Then, click "Send message" and wait for their response.

At this point, I'll give the person a few days to respond. 


If I don't hear back within a week, I can probably correctly assume they don't use LinkedIn that often. This is not the type of contact that will help me nor my network, so then I'll go back in and "Archive" the invitation to clear it out of my invitation list. 


If they do reply back, their response can help you decide what to do next. Typically, I receive one of these responses (and my next steps in parentheses):


1. "Hi Brenda, no we haven't met, but your profile looked interesting and I thought we might be able to connect." (yes, I will accept this - since the person is explaining WHY they wish to connect. Plus, that's flattering!)


2. "Maybe. I go to a lot of events in Troy." (I might connect, after I look over their profile to see if I see anything of interest to me. If not, I'll archive it, since this is a lazy response and they aren't giving me any real reason to want to connect. I've given them an ample opportunity to explain themselves, which is more than many will do.)


3. "No, but your name came up in the LinkedIn search on my page. My apologies if I've done this incorrectly. I'm still learning how to use LinkedIn." (yes, I typically will accept this, since this is a genuine response and I like to help people to learn how to use LinkedIn)


4. "No we haven't met, but you know Joe Smith and Bobbi Jones and they both suggested I connect to you." (yes, I will accept since we share mutual connections whom I remember)


5. "Not yet, but I'd love to buy you a coffee and talk about my company's print solutions. We have a high capacity printer and we're based in Detroit." (no, since I don't want to be sold to. I want to connect for mutually beneficial reasons. I can find salespeople through my network if/when I need it.)


Regardless of their reason for requesting an invitation, please select the "Archive" option instead of "Report Spam" whenever possible. This helps to prevent other LinkedIn users from having their accounts locked up!