A strategic LinkedIn approach for the enterprise [Whitepaper]

executive briefing series

A strategic LinkedIn approach for the enterpriseKristy Bolsinger | Senior Consultant, Ant’s Eye View

David J. Neff | Senior Consultant, Ant’s Eye View

antseyeview.com | Seattle + Austin + Silicon Valley

Introduction | 2

IntroductionAnt’s Eye View created this white paper to help enterprise brands unlock additional value using Linkedin. Often relegated to a distant third among large social networks, LinkedIn can drive tremendous value when used properly.

This report covers four primary functions:1. Business development

2. Thought leadership

3. Customer activation

4. Recruiting

Ant’s Eye View is a management consulting firm that helps leading brands on the journey to become an engaged enterprise. This report is released under a Creative Commons license. Click here to see our license and read more about what you can do with it. If you are interested in learning more about Ant’s Eye View please visit our website at antseyeview.com.

Table of contents

Introduction 2

Why LinkedIn matters 3

Business development on LinkedIn 4

Establishing thought leadership 8

Activating customer advocates 14

Recruiting on LinkedIn 16

LinkedIn Signal, a business intelligence tool 20

Conclusion 23

http://www.antseyeview.com

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/



Why LinkedIn matters | 3

Why LinkedIn mattersLinkedIn is the largest social network platform dedicated to professional networking.

It hosts some 150 million registered users across 200 countries and territories. The site is available in multiple languages including English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Since LinkedIn is primarily about professional social networking, rather than personal information, it’s a prime destination for enterprise brands looking to recruit employees, build business, grow thought leadership, or activate customer advocates.

LinkedIn by the numbers• 150 million users in 2012

• $8.9 billion IPO in 2011

• $154 million in advertising revenue in 2011

• Two new members every second

• 50% of members are from the U.S.

• 14 million students have profiles

• 4.5 million unique daily visits (mostly while at work)

• 45 million page views daily (mostly while at work)

• 4.8 million monthly visits via mobile devices

• 50% of users are company decision-makers

• 41% of people using LinkedIn for marketing have generated business

• 20% of C-level executives network professionally in an online community daily; 39% network online weekly

• 80% of companies use social media for recruitment; 95% of them use LinkedIn

• 65% of journalists use LinkedIn to conduct story research



Business development on LinkedIn | 4

Business development on LinkedInLinkedIn is considered the most effective social media channel for lead generation. According to a study by HubSpot, LinkedIn beats Facebook and Twitter by 277% for lead generation effectiveness.

3.0%

2.5%

2.0%

1.5%

1.0%

0.5%

0%

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Visit

-to-

lead

con

vers

ion

rate

0.69% 0.77%

2.74%

By LinkedIn’s account, 1.8 billion business leads were generated on its platform in 2011. For turning leads into sales, LinkedIn says its conversion rate beats all other social media platforms combined. It claims a visitor-to-sale rate of 2.74%, with Twitter and Facebook behind at 0.69% and 0.77%, respectively. Furthermore, LinkedIn also reports that 39% of its members are responsible for managing budgets.

LinkedIn is a boon for B2B marketers because it displays a user’s professional expertise, network with like-minded professionals and interest in new opportunities. B2C marketers will find that LinkedIn is less cluttered than Twitter and Facebook because of the typical type and volume of shared content. In other words, the signal to noise ratio on LinkedIn is favorable for marketers.

Three tips for generating leads/performing business development

1. KEEP YOUR COMPANY PAGE UPDATEDBeing top of mind for prospects requires focus on regular and consistent content updates. Set objectives, goals, strategies and tactics specifically for LinkedIn, and integrate it into content calendars. Salesforce, a global CRM company, frequently updates its LinkedIn page with well-designed, consistent content. Salesforce often asks questions of its audience and follows up with a video for deeper interaction. Cross-channel pollination of content like this can engage users on other platforms and highlight brand presence.

According to HubSpot, LinkedIn’s

visit-to-lead conversion rate is nearly

triple than that of Twitter or Facebook.

The HubSpot survey included 5,198 B2B and

B2C businesses.




2. USE THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES SPOTLIGHTAmplify lead generation on LinkedIn by using the products and services spotlight. A company page allows a brand access to a ‘Products and Services’ tab, where a brand can highlight specific offerings. This will help attract, showcase and curate recommendations from clients and customers.

HP, a global software company, showcases 19 products and services on its tab, including servers, printers, ePrint service, laptops, desktops and enterprise IT support. All can be reviewed and commented on by users.

3. HAVE PEOPLE RECOMMEND YOUR PRODUCTSOnce products and services are added to the LinkedIn page, a brand can ask clients and customers to visit its company page to recommend them. When a LinkedIn member writes a positive comment, the business benefits with trusted recommendations that show up under that product or service. When a user’s connections see those recommendations, the brand benefits by the sharing of content. When recommendations are curated and shared by other users, the brand benefits from the amplification of the initial share.

HP uses the rotating banner space to

highlight specific products and services.




Wild Apricot, a small software company, posts LinkedIn recommendations on its website home page, automatically sharing the voice of the customer with anyone visiting its website. This can be a simple way to syndicate content about the brand.

Wild Apricot pulls customer reviews of

each of their product lines from LinkedIn.




LinkedIn’s 150 million registered users means a brand has 150 million potential leads. Ant’s Eye View often discusses the power of the voice of the customer. This is when brands collect, analyze, and act on feedback from customers then incorporate their insights into company decisions. HP enables the voice of the customer on LinkedIn for its laptop and notebook business unit.

The strategy at hand is to provide targeted content that will activate the voice of the customer and motivate customers to share their stories, which can help authentically generate leads.

Dario Priolo of ProfilesInternational.com cautions marketers to think critically and strategically to monitor “real” return of a content-driven strategy:

“The problem was that most of the ‘leads’ were either independent consultants or job seekers. My warning to all marketers: Don’t confuse people filling out forms and downloading free content (a.k.a. ‘leads’) with people who have a need for what you sell and who are in a position to either drive or significantly influence the buying decision.”

On its Product and Services page, HP

highlights its ePrint service that lets

people print anywhere at anytime with

an Internet connection. This page also

highlights people in the user’s network

who have recommended HP.

SUMMARY

1. LinkedIn drives business value because

it’s based on a user’s professional

interests. This makes it a natural fit for

sharing brand based updates, news,

information, and driving traffic to

company-focused web properties.

2. LinkedIn Signal is a powerful customer

intelligence tool not found on other

social networks. The ability to filter

thousands of updates inside and

outside a brand’s network can help

uncover business development leads

or answer users’ questions with your

products or services.



Establishing thought leadership | 8

Establishing thought leadershipBeing an authority on a topic can help grow brand trust. LinkedIn’s tools can establish and build authority among customers.

Interactions on LinkedIn typically happen at a 1:1 level; those interactions help grow trust and improve authority. It’s possible, however, to scale that trust for a brand and the company behind it. Establishing thought leadership requires concerted effort across multiple channels, and LinkedIn is optimized for such activities.

LinkedIn’s feature set can help brands stay up to date on users’ professional networks in addition to establishing a corporate presence and disseminating news. These features can also work well in establishing thought leadership.

Thought leadership features

ADDING A BLOG RSS FEEDA brand can automatically syndicate its blog content via RSS feed to a LinkedIn page. This helps ensure followers have access to content, plus it’s a channel that doesn’t require updates. Brands should keep an eye on comments, questions and engagement opportunities, just as they do in other channels.

Groups are a powerful tool to establish and grow thought leadership. Members of each group opt-in so participation comes with a degree of built-in permission, awareness and respect. Within each group, a brand can participate in discussions central to its business or operations with members who share similar passions or interests. Discussions are particularly useful. The brand can interact with like-minded individuals, share information, and add insight.

Starbucks’ recent blog posts as shown on

its LinkedIn company page.




LinkedIn also provides data about group members, their location and career stage. This can help brands carefully target conversations, content and engagement efforts.

In Groups, discussions can be filtered and

sorted by popularity. At left is a popular

discussion around analytic tools and

a sample of activity, including recent

comments and profile pictures of

several users.

In the discussion area brands can see

individual contributions and options for

participation. Representatives can ‘like’,

comment or follow the discussion. Many

of these same actions can be used on

responses to the individual post.




On the home page of a group, brands

can drill into activity statistics. At left is

the overview provided on the default tab

of group statistics.

The statistics provide deeper analytics

about the group, including positions

held by individual members, work

functions, location and industry.




QUESTION AND ANSWERSLike Quora.com and other online knowledge sites, LinkedIn’s question and answer forum is easy to use and a good tactic to improve brand reputation and authority. Ask a question about a business topic, get an answer. Or, find a question and provide an answer.

LinkedIn makes it easy to find relevant

and targeted groups for participation

based on industry or company.

A “Groups You May Like” feature is based

on existing membership and profile data

of brand representatives.




Users who ask questions can mark answers as “best.” Those authors are recognized for their contribution. If a brand employee is recognized as an “expert,” LinkedIn will highlight their answers on the home page.

Content distributionCreating content is an effective way to establish authority. Quality content can increase traffic and links to the brand website, increase trust, and build customer engagement. Distributing content on LinkedIn that surrounds relevant topics can help build authority as an individual and showcase the company as an industry leader.

CONTENT FROM YOUR PROFILEIt’s easy to share content within the brand network or beyond using the share box. Consider sharing company related news, content from a professional blog, news articles and job postings.

LinkedIn’s question and answer

section allows users to ask a question

or answer others’ questions, or browse

existing conversations.




CONTENT WITHIN 3RD-PARTY GROUPSParticipation in groups can include sharing content. Consider the group’s focus and only share content that will be interesting, helpful or relevant to its members. Listen and observe all group norms and rules before sharing or participating.

CONTENT WITHIN OWNED GROUPSAlthough time-consuming, owning and starting a group can generate conversation around a particular topic. Ownership and active participation in a successful group can elevate brand reputation and further a brand representative’s personal, professional, or corporate objectives.

A main “update” field allows brands

to post a status update and/or share

specific pieces of content. Brands

can also opt (if they have previously

synced accounts) to simultaneously

post to Twitter accounts in addition to

customizing the audience (connections

only or anyone.)

Many groups require admission requests.

Depending on the group, some may have

selection criteria.

SUMMARY

1. A platform built on professional

reputations can establish authority and

thought leadership on individual and

organizational levels.

2. LinkedIn can be a primary content

strategy to understand competitive

intelligence or user generated content

plus a content distribution channel,

such as company pages, individual

status updates, etc.



Activating customer advocates | 14

Activating customer advocatesManagement consultant Peter Drucker has been quoted as saying, “The purpose of a business is to create customers.” That’s still true today, but social technologies have allowed us greater access to our customers than ever before. To that extent, Ant’s Eye View offers an update to Drucker’s maxim: “The purpose of a business is to create customers who create customers.”

Understanding the types of participants in any community is a critical first step in a brand’s efforts to engage and ultimately activate its customers as advocates.

Engagement Breeds AdvocacyWhen brands engage customers and build strong relationships based on respect and trust, customers will ‘like’ the brand – and perhaps love it, too. Brands can see this in situations where people talk negatively about services or products; detractors often bring out defenders. Even in absence of conflict, the love customers feel for company products can result in advocacy. On LinkedIn, customers have the ability to write recommendations for products; this can be encouraged, depending on how a company profile is setup.

LinkedIn provides data for the most

influential users within a group by the

week. Brand representatives can dig

into the group and see where users

are contributing.



Activating customer advocates | 15

Engaging as an individual on behalf of an industry and/or company can lead to recommendations. In reality, when people advance from ‘like’ to ‘love’ they don’t always make a public declaration. It’s acceptable for a brand to make a formal request in this area. Some tips:

1. MAKE IT PERSONALThere is nothing worse than a form letter, except a form letter from a friend or colleague. Make your request personal to your relationship with that person, but don’t pander.

2. BE AWARETake a critical look at the relationship and history with the individual. If the relationship with the person has been difficult with residual tension, do not send a request. If they don’t have sufficient experience with the brand, or have not known it for long, do not send a request.

3. BE SPECIFICThe more specific, the better. The writer/recommender should be given a clear focus, and the business will get the light it desires.

4. FOLLOW UP, DON’T BOTHERGive the writer time. If it’s been a few days, or a week don’t assume they have forgotten. They are likely busy. Silence doesn’t immediately mean disinterest or unwillingness. Wait a reasonable amount of time then send a polite and empathetic reminder. If they still fail to respond, assume they are unwilling to fulfill the request and move along.

Recommendations on LinkedIn can be a

valuable form of advocacy on a 1:1 basis.

SUMMARY

1. The power of any social network lies in

its users. LinkedIn’s users actively and

passionately interact with one another

in groups every day. Harnessing this

power and energy with customers

can help convert them from engaged

participants into advocates.

2. Customers may be engaging in

conversations about your business

and products in multiple channels

other than LinkedIn. By hosting and

fostering a community for those

conversations to take place on

LinkedIn, brands can demonstrate

stewardship and cultivate relationships

with users, leading to strengthened

relationships and advocacy.



Recruiting on LinkedIn | 16

Recruiting on LinkedInLinkedIn has several key advantages for brands looking to hire talent from around the world.

Why LinkedIn is optimal for recruiting employeesLinkedIn attracts business professionals who create profiles based on their resume and work experience. A user’s profile includes education, job skills, previous employment, recommendations from co-workers, volunteer work, awards and presentations. Compared to Facebook, where users list and “like” brands, TV shows and music, LinkedIn’s focus on the professional life makes it a solid fit for brands looking to recruit employees.

HIRING MANAGERSLinkedIn allows individual hiring managers to search and filter candidates based on multiple variables. This includes their online profile, work history, groups, job skills and the preferences shown above. Hiring managers can directly contact candidates using InMail, LinkedIn’s email system.

GROUP RECRUITINGLinkedIn users can join groups based on professional interests. Once in a group, users participate in discussions, interact with content, network with other members, post jobs and vote in polls. Brand recruiters can browse and observe potential hires based on their behavior in the groups.

Users can customize opportunity

preferences, which helps brands target

recruiting efforts.




SAP, a global software company, actively participates in the “SAP Community” group. Activities include posting content, encouraging lively discussions between members and posting job opportunities. SAP’s ongoing engagement efforts on LinkedIn have helped grow its group to 133,000 members and 55 comments a week. SAP knows that people in this group are interested in the organization because of the group is opt-in. This offers targeted recruiting opportunities than the random targeting of large online job boards.

Data and demographic information

about each group can help

recruiters narrow their searches

for potential employees.

For SAP and its partner ecosystem

(consultants, certification schools,

and development shops), the

SAP group on LinkedIn allows the

company to post targeted jobs and

recruit new employees.




ENTERPRISE HR DEPARTMENTSCorporate recruiters can upgrade personal accounts to become “talent finders.” This provides access to additional direct mails, full names, advanced search criteria based on qualifications, seniority levels, and saving lists of potential candidates.

Many large-scale enterprise HR departments have a presence on LinkedIn. Typically, that presence is a shared responsibility with the social business owners or enterprise marketing. This page is similar to a business page on Facebook.

A LinkedIn business page often displays current company news, plus current and former employees. Citi, a leading global bank, uses its LinkedIn business page for news and employee rosters, plus recruiting activities. It has more than 165,000 LinkedIn followers who receive Citi updates.

Company pages display numbers of first- and second-connection users and the number of brand employees on LinkedIn. Current employees can become a front-line touchpoint for brand recruiting.

A LinkedIn company page is free and follows a self-service model similar to a business page on Facebook. On the example on the following page, Citi has purchased advertising showcasing its work in urban center planning.

A brand can also upgrade its business page to several levels. With the gold career page, a brand can have five different versions to display content and job opportunities based on a user’s LinkedIn profile.

“Talent finder” levels have various costs,

but brands can get a break on pricing

based on annual purchase plans.




With the gold career page option, a brand can choose from multiple versions to display varying content and job opportunities.

Citi’s HR department upgraded its page

to a paid version, which allows them to

display a custom header, an about us

section and job descriptions.

The highlighted link takes users to a

Citi career page.

SUMMARY

1. On LinkedIn, recruiters can find

candidates for free or purchase

upgrades to expand their reach.

2. LinkedIn puts a brand’s employees

front and center. What employees say

and do on their LinkedIn profiles can

be syndicated across the brand page.

Higher levels of employee engagement

can drive recruiting value.



LinkedIn Signal, a business intelligence tool | 20

LinkedIn Signal, a business intelligence toolIf the future of social business is finding a signal in the extensive noise of web content, then LinkedIn Signal is a brand’s business intelligence filter. Signal (found at linkedin.com/signal) is an advanced business intelligence tool that allows brands to see and filter updates from LinkedIn users who make their updates visible.

Using Signal, brands can monitor LinkedIn discussions on keywords regardless of location. It provides access to nearly unlimited status updates, not just the first-level network. Other advantages:

• Search for keywords, topics, companies or people across the update stream.

• Save searches and check for updates later.

• Find trending links and Industry top headlines.

• Browse only relevant status updates from the stream.

• Search for keywords, topics or people across the stream.

• Get an auto updated real-time stream with rich content.

• Find trending links across any relevant topic.

Three tips for using Signal for business intelligence

1. USE FILTERSSignal can help brands find what’s important with ten filters for search:

1. Network and degree of separation

2. Employer

3. Location

4. Industry

5. Time posted

6. School

7. Groups discussing the topic

8. Topics/hashtags

9. Seniority of user

10. Update type (i.e. an update from a group or by topic)


http://www.linkedin.com/signal



2. SAVE SEARCHESSignal can combine the filters above with advanced searches on specific keywords. This can focus on competitors, products, or recruitment and talent acquisition. Complicated and frequently used searches can be saved for future use. They’re displayed on the Signal page and available at every log in.

Signal is best used by manipulating the

filters. Notice the various filters that are

on the left side of the page.

Within LinkedIn Signal, save custom

filters and searches for future use.




3. PAY ATTENTION TO TRENDING LINKSGoogle+, Facebook and other networks present endless streams of content. Twitter is known for its trending topics, but LinkedIn showcases popular links. A column shows the name of the link, an icon related to the link (if available) and the number of shares. The links are updated in real time as LinkedIn’s algorithm assesses their relevance based on topic, popularity, and how recently it was shared.

Trending links are highlighted in Signal.

SUMMARY

1. LinkedIn Signal provides business value

by filtering thousands of status updates.

2. Based on the amount of shares,

LinkedIn’s trending links section

highlights popular business content

versus having to shift through personal

updates on Facebook.



Conclusion | 23

Kristy BolsingerSenior Consultant [email protected] @kristy

David J. NeffSenior Consultant [email protected] @daveiam

ConclusionLinkedIn adds two new members per second. Unlike other social networks, LinkedIn focuses on professional information, much like an online resume, highlighting education, employment history and customizable opportunity preferences. Beyond professional representation, members can also join more than one million groups and actively share insights, knowledge, and participate in conversations. This networking capability makes it a significant resource and social channel for brands to engage with customers, develop business, grow thought leadership, or recruit new talent.

Business developmentLinkedIn is the top social channel for lead generation. Update the company page with relevant content, and engage regularly with the LinkedIn audience. Use the products and services spotlight to attract user reviews and comments, and drive traffic to the brand website.

Thought leadershipUsers have one million group options on LinkedIn. Use groups to understand conversations, share content and build relationships. With discussions happening all over the network, actively participate at an individual and organizational level.

Activating customer advocatesLike other social networks, interacting and creating a community for customer engagement is important on LinkedIn. Building relationships with customers can grow advocacy. LinkedIn might be the right platform to engage with customer networks and gather recommendations for products.

RecruitingLinkedIn can be ideal for recruiters. Members can use their accounts to search for job opportunities and corporate recruiters can upgrade personal accounts to become “talent finders.” Brands can post jobs or invite users to apply for them.

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More-Effective-for-Lead-Generation-Than-Facebook-Twitter-New-Data.aspx

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Design: Cathryn Rowe

Editor: Ben McConnell
