Value of LinkedIn's Ecosystem

LinkedInA new territory for communications

SOCIAL HIVE

Executive summary 3Avant propos 4Entretien 5

B LinkedIn, a communications tool that’s underutilized 6

C LinkedIn’s Ecosystem 72.1 A look at the Company space 72.2 A look at the Careers space 82.3 A look at the Products and Services space 82.4 A look at the Group space 9

D Which strategy should you adopt? 103.1 Define your objectives… 103.2 …and possible focus areas 103.3 Structure your ecosystem 11 3.4 Activate your ecosystem 123.5 Best practices: Dell and Microsoft 133.6 A content strategy in line with different types of usage 143.7 The Company space: using your audience to generate clicks 15

E Resources 164.1 Entry level: Engage employees 164.2 The importance of involving high potentials 164.3 The role of top management 16 4.4 Community managers and ambassadors 174.5 The role of community animators 17 F Measurement 185.1 Performance measurement 185.2 Proposed KPIs 18

Check list: how can I develop my presence on LinkedIn? 19

Summary

LinkedIn Guide for Brands3

LinkedIn is the biggest professional social network in the world. Most companies develop their presence on it as part of their recruitment policy, but LinkedIn is so much more than just a recruitment tool – it’s a professional networking platform, and a B2B communications channel. According to a recent study*, LinkedIn generates four times more B2B leads than any other social network, including Facebook and Twitter.

So why are companies still not using LinkedIn to its full potential?

In this whitepaper we highlight the benefits an enterprise can reap from having a structured LinkedIn ecosystem and outline how to develop the right editorial approach for the ‘Company’ and ‘Groups’ spaces.

We believe that:

Most companies aren’t making full use of LinkedIn’s potential for communications and building their corporate image

Companies need to develop a dedicated editorial strategy and community management policy to encourage discussion, and increase awareness among their target audience (including potential employees, partners and industry professionals)

LinkedIn offers powerful business solutions with a range of tools that companies need to exploit if they’re to grow their influence

Employees act as potential ambassadors, and this fact should be leveraged on LinkedIn: those ambassadors can carry corporate messaging, share experiences and support the company’s values

When measuring the impact of your company’s LinkedIn activity, do take into account criteria beyond traditional HR indicators: as for any other social network (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), the commitment rate, active membership and reach prove to be the main KPIs

* Hubspot study, 2011: http://www.hubspot.com/eBooks/learning-linkedin-from-the-experts/

Executive Summary

http://www.hubspot.com/eBooks/learning-linkedin-from-the-experts/

http://www.hubspot.com/eBooks/learning-linkedin-from-the-experts/

LinkedIn Guide for Brands 4

SOCIAL HIVE

Today, the world of social media and digital communication is heavily focused on Facebook and Twitter, based on the significant audience and creative communications campaigns seen on them. LinkedIn by comparison is considered a somewhat humble and understated social network. But don’t be fooled - a look at some factoids about the global professional network tells a different story:

•Morethan161millionmembers,across200countries

•SinceDecember31st,LinkedInhasseenit’sfastestgrowthwithinthestudent and graduate demographic

•TwonewmembersjoinLinkedIneverysecond,-thatis1millionnewmembers every week

•RecruitingsolutionsproposedbyLinkedInareusedby82outof100ofFortune’s 2011 largest companies

•Morethan2millionbusinesseshaveacorporateLinkedInpage

•Asof31March2012,morethan400,000uniquedomainsactivelyusetheLinkedIn«Share»buttonfromtheirweb-sitesinordertosharerelevantcontent on the LinkedIn platform

LinkedIn – a neglected communications tool

LinkedIn is a corporate communications platform that is at once both deeply efficient and significantly undervalued

•LinkedInhasevolvedandgrownsignificantlyoverthepastfewyears.ItisnolongerjustanHRplatformthatcaterstorecruiters,candidatesandprofessional networking.

•WiththedevelopmentofLinkedInEnterprise,LinkedInToday,anda slew of social applications, LinkedIn has become a corporate communications platform, as effective as it is undervalued.

•Communicationdirectors,marketingdirectorsandevensalesdepartments should focus less on how to grow their fanbase on the company Facebook page and more on the opportunities that LinkedIn presents. They can share their company’s activities, develop expertise and thought leadership, leverage a network of employees to develop an e-ambassadors program and even generate commercial leads using LinkedIn.

• Inshort,companiescanreplicatewhattheycurrentlydoonFacebook,but in a more professionally appropriate and effective way to engage employees, business partners and potential candidates.

•Thiswhitepaperisnotmeanttobeadetailedmanual,butanintroductionto the opportunities that LinkedIn offers corporate communications and B2B professionals.

• Itisalsoaguideforcommunitymanagerswhowishtodeveloptheright editorial strategies on LinkedIn. If you’re looking to develop your company’s presence and reputation on social networks, we invite you to take another look at LinkedIn’s potential using our whitepaper.

DIGITAL IDENTITY

StanislasMagniant, EMEA Head of Social Hive, MSLGROUP

Twitter account: @msl_group

Sites:www.mslgroup.com


A PLATFORM FOR EDITORIALCONTENT

product called the LinkedIn Talent Pipeline that allows recruiters to integrate external sources into this working environment such as a candidate’s or an employee’s CV.

In addition, in the area of employer branding, we offer the Careers space, which allow businesses to promote themselvesanddisseminatejoboffers.Andwefullycontextualize this space based on recruitment needs and the company’s targets.

In addition to these products for recruiters, we offer the opportunity for advertisers to communicate through our marketing solutions. This offer includes both “classic” products such as text ads and posters as well as social networking opportunities offered exclusively through LinkedIn.

What benefits might one expect as a result of developing a content management strategy for a Company and Group space on LinkedIn?Creating a Company space helps increase visibility on the network. This space can then include paid marketing services. The company space helps in marketing the brand, both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C). You can also use our advertising solutions to reach a very specialized audience, by targeting your campaign based on member profiles.

Companies can publish articles and status updates on their spaceandallowmemberstofollowtheircontent.SinceLinkedIn is a professional network, following a company on it brings more opportunities to engage in a professional fashion, than on other social networks. This allows companies to create more involved communities around their brands and services.

LinkedIn has significantly evolved over the last year and added apps such as the newsfeed and LinkedIn Today. Can you share with us the reason behind this increased focus on content?Among other reasons, LinkedIn members log on to the network to access information about the sector they work in. Information plays a key role in the decision making process, andweneedtoofferquickeraccesstoit.ThatiswhyLinkedInoffers information applications such as LinkedIn Today, discussion groups, company spaces and members’ status updates. TherearemorethanamilliongroupsonLinkedIntoday.81%ofourmemberssubscribetogroupdiscussionsand50%areactiveparticipants.Inaddition,47%ofourmembersuseLinkedIn to find and understand the latest trends in their industry.

Tell us more about the editorial feature ‘LinkedIn Today’.LinkedIn Today is a fairly revolutionary tool in terms of content curation: it automatically selects and distributes to each user the information that is most relevant for him or her.

Articles are selected based on popularity amongst members on LinkedIn and what fellow industry members are reading. This allows our users to stay up to date with the current trends and receive a continuous flow of information about those trends. LinkedIn Today is a popular feature that builds visitors’ engagement.

Do companies use LinkedIn more as a source of information rather than a communications tool?

LinkedIn’s activity for recruiters is based on two pillars: sourcing and employer branding. The latter evolves around communication campaigns. In terms of sourcing, our flagship product is the Recruiter, which provides unlimited accesstotheentirenetworkaswellastheabilitytopostjobannouncements. We have also recently launched another

Laurence BretM A RK ETI NGDI R ECTOR,

L I NK EDI NEU ROPE

I N T E R V I E W


LinkedIn, a communications tool that’s underutilized

LinkedIn is a communications platform that the majority of companies have not yet fully integrated into their communications strategies. The 10 most followed companies on LinkedIn* animate their space with status updates (in most cases with newhiresandjobannouncements),but only five update their space with blog posts and only three have a proper community management strategy, which involves generating discussions on the page.

MOSTCOMPANIESHAVEAVERYPRACTICALAPPROACHTOLINKEDIN,USINGITPRIMARILYTOHUNTFORPOTENTIALEMPLOYEES.HOWEVER,LINKEDINHASALSOPROVEDITSELFASANESSENTIALCOMMUNICATIONSTOOLBOTHFROMANHRCOMMUNICATIONSPERSPECTIVEANDINTERMSOFACOMPANY’SIMAGEANDINFLUENCE.

1

COMPANY NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS

STATUS UPDATES

LINKS TO BLOG

ONLINE DISCUSSIONS

IBM 649,210

Hewlett-Packard 485,641

Microsoft 473,197

Accenture 467,689

Google 457,638

Oracle 321,910

Deloitte 317,242

Apple 286,192

CiscoSystems 264,104

Dell 277,892

LinkedIn pages of the 10 most followed companies* as of 10/05/2012

*AccordingtoTheTecnicahttp://thetecnica.com/2012/04/top-10-most-followed-companies-on-LinkedIn


LinkedIn’s Ecosystem

2

A Company space is created automatically as soon as a LinkedIn user declares herself an employee of a given company onherprofile.Soyourcompanymight already be present on LinkedIn, but you’re perhaps not aware, and may not control that presence.

There are two types of LinkedIn users to target: your employees and users who follow your company.

THECOMPANYSPACEONLINKEDINCANBECOMPAREDWITHFANPAGESONFACEBOOK:ITACTSASAHUBFORALLTHECOMPANY’SACTIVITIESONTHENETWORK

2.1 A look at the Company space

LinkedIn offers information and statistics for your company’s presence on the network, as well asaNewsspacewhichisopenforother users’ comments. Certain types of information are managed by the company, others are not.

Statistics : • Number of employees,

demographics, data and history

• Number of followers

A space dedicated to your subsidiaries

Logo and company branding

LinkedIn members who show up as employees

of your company

If your company has a blog or a Twitter account, you can promote these links

on your page

This space shows activities on LinkedIn, including: job offers,

new hires and appointments, blog posts and any other

communications published by the company. This space

can be managed to a degree. Messages published in

this space are visible in the information flow of members of the page. One can like the

news, comment and share it in the same way as on Facebook.

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PANY SPACE

More space for information about your company


The Careers space showcases your recruitment activities on LinkedIn: new jobannouncements,HRcommunications and other information about your company can add value to the space.

LinkedIn offers all Company spaces a special tab to promote their products and services.

Like in the Careers space, you have full control over the the content under this tab and you can target your content in line with your visitors’ demographics.

The space is fully customizable: you can add banners and a video to showcase products or services. Rather than adding an advertisement, consider more personal and original content

THECAREERSPAGEISUSUALLYINTEGRATEDINTOTHECOMPANYSPACE.YOUCANHAVEACCESSTOYOURCOMPANYSPACEWITHOUTVIEWINGTHECAREERSSPACE.

2.2 A look at the Careers space

2.3 A look at the Products and Services space

This space is completely under your control. It’s possible to personalize it by adding your company’s colors and your objectives.Thespacecanbefurther modified to match the type of visitor, so a communications professional would not see the same home page as an engineer for example.

The Careers space is paid for and is not mandatory

including expert points of view. Think about managing what you post here, keeping in mind the content should be consistent with the story you want to tell about your business.

The only social aspect of this tab is that LinkedIn members can recommend your products and services.

C

AR

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RS SPACE

Links to the Company’s career site

Statistics

Video campaigns

Personalized banners for different types of visitors

A personalized introduction depending on the type of visitor

Job offers at your company - personalised for

different types of visitors


Currentjoboffers,informationabout training sessions and best practices can all be shared on Group space. In addition, most LinkedIn users tend to look for expert opinions in the Groups.

UnliketheCompanyspace,a

AGROUPISASPACEFOREMPLOYEESTOEXCHANGEBESTPRACTICESWITHINDUSTRYEXPERTS.IT’SANOPTIMAL PLATFORM FOR EXCHANGEOFIDEASWIT-HINYOURCOMPANY!

2.4 A look at the Group space

Group space is not managed by the company, but by individuals.

Group news, updates on new members

Ads

A list of the most active users in the Group, which effectively highlights the most influential experts in the discussion space

The Group’s statistics

Logo and description

Launch a discussion or a poll

RSS feed with the latest discussions

The most commented on discussions. It’s possible to

like a status, add a comment and share it in the same

way you would on Facebook.

Types of messages : • Experience, knowledge and

best-practice sharing• Job offers or training sessions

G

RO

UP SPACE


Which strategy should you adopt?

3

Don’tonlythinkofLinkedInasa recruitment tool. LinkedIn in fact enables companies to build an image that attracts talent and makes people want to work for your company. In addition toadvertising,joininginthediscussions on LinkedIn also gives you the opportunity to polish youremployerbrand.So,lookbeyond traditional recruitment goals, and make sure you set new ones: reaching out to expert communities, attracting new suppliers, influencing professional communities, etc.

Defineafocusareathat’sinlinewith your expertise, strengths and the values of your organisation. Why would following you or participating in the discussions be an added value for a professional?

Are you considered a talent incubator in your field? Is your expertise acknowledged worldwide? Have you adopted an innovative management system? These are all assets that can add value when shaped through the prism of your ambassadors and your employees, and their stories and experiences.

ASWITHOTHERSOCIALNETWORKS,SIMPLYBEINGONLINKEDINISNOTSUFFICIENT.YOUNEEDTODOMORE.ANDBEFORETHAT,YOUNEEDTODEFINEYOUROBJECTIVES.

ONLINKEDIN,MORETHENANYWHEREELSE,THEBESTWAYTOADDVALUETOYOURCOMPANYISTOANIMATESPACESVIAEDITORIALCONTENT.

3.1 Define your objectives…

3.2 …and possible focus areas

To achieve your goals, be active on the site, and develop your own tone of voice. A member connects to the network on average 1-2 times a month. The challenge is to find a way to be there when they are connected and have the content you posted highlighted. You can help do this by interacting with more active members who log in several times a day, and exchanging experience and best practices with them.

Once you’ve defined your focus area, you will be in a good position to develop an editorial strategy for each LinkedIn space.

The Company SpaceThe Company space is the center of your LinkedIn ecosystem. It should enhance the visibility of the company’s news, its views, projects and goals. It should also be a hub for your entire LinkedIn ecosystem.

The Careers SpaceThe Careers space is the space dedicated to HR – opportunities, career paths, testimonials – a showcase dedicated to recruitment. The pages are most useful for medium or large companies that have to manage a significant number of prospective employees.

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The Groups SpaceThe Groups are the main spaces for conversation on LinkedIn, and need a targeted, clear and content-focused editorial positioning. A company can create and animate several groups based on various professional communities, its target, its core businesses or its geographical locations... The challenge is to structure these groups so as to be able to tap into both internal and external audiences that are broad enough to encourage dialogue and a fruitful exchange.



• Corporate information and news

1. First off, include this on the Company space

2. Add it to the Careers space, if that’s in line with your company’sHRandCSRpolicy

3. Add news to the Group pages only if it relates to those users

• Third-party content (*curation)

1. In the first instance, include this on the Group pages. This is essential if you’re going to animate conversations between professionals interested in the same topic (warning : make sure itdoesnotexceed50%ofyoureditorial content)

2. Include in the Careers space only if the content focuses on career paths within the company

3. Add to the Company space only if the article, which should be available online, provides a new perspective on the company

INORDERTOCREATEAREALLINKEDINECOSYSTEM,YOUNEEDTOCREATESYNERGIESBETWEENTHECOMPANYSPACE,THECAREERSSPACEANDTHEGROUPS.THEMOSTEFFECTIVEWAYTODOTHISISTOCREATELINKSBETWEENTHESESPACES,BUTATTHESAMETIMEMAINTAINTHEPARTICULARIDENTITYANDPURPOSEOFEACHPAGE.DOTAKEINTOCONSIDERATIONTHATUSERSSPENDLESSTIMEONLINKEDINTHANONFACEBOOK,THEREFOREIT’SBETTERTOCONCENTRATEONTHEQUALITYVERSUSQUANTITYWHERECONTENTISCONCERNED.

3.4 Activate your ecosystem

Focus on the three components of your editorial policy

• Thought leadership

1.Dependingonthetopic,addto the relevant themed Groups so as to encourage discussion and attract people to the Group through exclusive content

2. You can also add to the Company space to support the corporate vision, and leverage the discussions and the dynamism of the group

3. Add to themed Groups that are similar to the current Group in terms of either audience of subjectmatter

4. Add to the Careers space only if the content talks to top management’s vision or throws fresh light on HR and management policy

*Curation is the art of selecting, filtering, organizing, indexing and commenting on content across specific topics


Dellisoneofthe10most-followedcompanies on LinkedIn with nearly 270,000followers.Thecompanymakes the most of this significant community through a content management strategy: interesting articles, company news and an updated calendar help to turn this potential audience into an actual audience.

3.5 Best practices: Dell and Microsoft

Alongside the editorial approach, the company also engages in real-time community management activity: each post is monitored and as soon as a follower of the pageinquestionreacts,acompanyspokesperson responds. Thanks to this openness, the company has established a dialogue which helps engage people in the long-term.Moreover,Dellissharingitsmessages and values in a way that brings a strong human element to the brand.

Microsoft is one of the most active companies on LinkedIn and its Company page is exemplary. Followed byjustunder500,000people,Microsoft has embraced LinkedIn at the heart of its communications strategy. Working with both company and industry news as well as employee testimonials, Microsoft works off an editorial strategy focused on several new posts each day. That said, you can’t help notice that while their the community manager has adopted a very engaging way of posting articles, s/he is somewhat reserved when it comes to responding to comments.

Microsoft’s Company page is an example of a dynamic company, looking to the future and open to its followers’ comments.


Help on how to adapt each space according to how it’s used:

EACHSPACETHATLINKEDINOFFERSINCLUDESANUMBEROFCOMPLEMENTARYFEATURESANDTOOLS.WHILESOMECONTENT,LIKENEWS/SHORTUPDATES,CANBEFOUNDINALLTHREETYPESOFSPACES,OTHERTYPESOFCONTENTARELESSORMORERELEVANTTOANYGIVENSPACE.

3.6 A content strategy in line with different types of usage

GROUPS

TH

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TH

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Company News {TARGETEDAPPROACHNEEDED}

Curation

Thought Leadership {TARGETEDAPPROACHNEEDED}

Job Opportunities {TARGETEDAPPROACHNEEDED}

Discussions - -


LinkedIn now gives companies a legitimate way to talk directly to their target audience…..

EARLY2012ANEWFEATUREENABLINGCOMPANYSPACETOTARGETTHEPOSTSPUBLISHEDTOAVERYSPECIFICCATEGORYOFFOLLOWERSWASOFFERED.DOYOUWANTTOFINDOUTWHATACOMMUNITYOFSENIORTELECOMSPECIALISTS,WHOFOLLOWYOU,THINKOFONEOFYOURLATESTINNOVATIONSWITHOUTSPAMMINGOTHERS?NOWYOUCAN!

3.7 The Company space: using your audience to generate clicks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxGCKJAJlpE


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Resources

4

When you’re starting out, the most cost-effective and efficient approach is to let employees know, via your traditional internal communication channels, that your spaces and groups on LinkedIn exist. The core of your LinkedIn community are your employees. It may be useful to incentivize contributors so as to create a little competition.

LinkedIn provides a forum for high potentials. Their involvement in LinkedIn’s Groups discussions can humanize communications, highlight their talent... and keeptheminthecompany!Theycananimateoneormoregroupsbyposting articles, links and opinions... It’s a win/win strategy : personal branding is the motivation while you’re also helping develop the company’s employer brand.

As well as average users and high potentials, the role of top management can be crucialinbringingtolifeinternalandprofessionalcommunities.Simplypostinga«like»orcommentingonacolleague’spostcanbepowerful,andencouragefurther participation.

4.1 Entry level : Engage employees

4.2 The importance of involving high potentials

4.3 The Role of top management

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Creating a thriving social network is impossible without a community manager, andLinkedInisnoexception.Aquestionleftunanswered,apostthat’sbeenignored.... These are factors that can dampen enthusiasm in a community, and causeyouraudience’sengagementlevelstodip.Everypost,message,question...should be addressed, no matter how small or insignificant.

As far as professional communities are concerned, the level of expertise must be extremely high. That’s why you must identify Ambassadors, high potentials who embody excellence within their profession, their peer group, their role… These people need to actively participate in the animation of their thematic groups – supported by a community manager, someone who is responsible for the flow of communications, for measuring it and helping members and followers find their way around.

Community Manager Ambassadors

•Monitoring•Editorialplanning•Contentpublication•Commentsmanagement,

answering members/followers•Help/redirectmembers/followers•Actsasalinkbetweenthe

company and LinkedIn users•Alertmanagementshoulda

sensitive topic come up•Moderates

•Sectorsandtopicmonitoring•Contentpublication,providinglinks,

posting thought leadership…•Answeringquestions/commentson

expert topics•Engagesthecompany’semployees•Postsinthe‘Answers’spaceandthus

ultimatelyearnsExpertstatusontheir profile

4.4 Community managers and ambassadors

4.5 The role of community animators


Measurement

5

What are the KPIs for LinkedIn? If you decide to implement an editorial strategy, the KPIs should be the same as those of the other social networks where your company has a presence: engagement rate, audience, loyalty, etc. In addition, any impact on the employer brand, the number of CVs received, and the cost of hiring using traditional methods should be taken into consideration.

Quantitative

•TheengagementratefortheCompanyspaceposts(basedonthenumberofinteractions with the audience)

•VisitorstotheCompanyandGroupspaces• Internalandexternalreachrate•Thenumberofdiscussionswhereyourcompany’sexpertsparticipateonGroup

spaces (yours and affiliates’)•ThenumberofCVsreceived•Thenumberofinformationrequestsreceived

Qualitative

•Thetoneofcommentsreceivedacrossthecompany’sLinkedInpresence(Company and Group spaces)

5.1 Performance measurement

5.2 Proposed KPIs


Check list: how can I develop my presence on LinkedIn?

1. Audit what you have

How many pages are linked to your company and its focus areas (name, audience, employee usage rate)?

2. Define your objectives

Therearethreetypesofobjectives:

-Businessobjectives

-HRobjectives

-Image/reputationobjectives

3. Define your focus areas and structure your LinkedIn ecosystem

- Restructure your Company space, and if you have them, your Careers and ProductsandServicesspacesaccordingtotheobjectivesyou’vealreadydefined

- Outline your editorial strategy for spaces you manage

- Identify Groups in which your company can legitimately add comments, and also new Groups it can create

- Identify your internal ambassadors

- Produce a guide for employees as to how they can best be part of your company’s LinkedIn presence

4. Community management

Implement a community management strategy.

Contact [email protected]

DimitriGrangerdimitri.granger@ consultants.publicis.fr

Tel.:+33(0)144824500

Follow us

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Value of LinkedIn's Ecosystem