Thanks so much to my friend Marla Tabaka for inviting me to contribute to her inc.com column. It’s exciting to be featured in “Unlocked Secrets on LinkedIn” on inc.com.

Marla says, “All too often I receive resistance when I suggest to a client that she utilize LinkedIn to build vendor, partner, and prospect relationships. But what might first feel like an intimidating pilgrimage into foreign land can result in a journey of growth, connection, and prosperity. All it takes is a little know-how—and the willingness to put yourself out there.” 

Where are you on your LinkedIn journey?

When I speak to groups and ask, “Who here is on LinkedIn?” usually at least 80% of the hands go up. When I ask “Who here believes they are optimizing their LinkedIn network’s potential?” maybe 10% agree. There is always room to make more progress – and get results.

Every time I work with Marla she makes me think.

I’ve written about PR and LinkedIn before. This time, Marla sent over a list of challenging questions like . . .

• Who is LinkedIn for? What types of businesses do you recommend use LinkedIn as their primary social media marketing tool?
• What’s the difference between leveraging LinkedIn versus Facebook and Twitter?
• How do you research connections and target customers for business development tips on creating relationships on LinkedIn?

Marla did a marvelous job of framing the LinkedIn information in with her life coach perspective.

Marla Tabaka is a life and business coach who helps entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses grow their companies faster. She serves as a Success Coach for Make Mine a Million and helps award recipients grow their businesses to $1 million and beyond. Marla has 25 years of experience in corporate, start up and entrepreneurial ventures.

Here’s a clip from the LinkedIn secrets post.

Once you have set up your company page think about how you can integrate LinkedIn throughout your sales and marketing strategy. Rozgonyi has the following suggestions:

• Utilize LinkedIn’s Card Munch app at networking events and on sales calls to connect to your prospects right away. Make sure you offer a free report or something else with value in your invitation to connect.
• Add LinkedIn’s blog application to your personal profile to pull in company blog updates.
• Install the slideshare application into your personal profile. Upload a PowerPoint about your company’s services and the presentation will appear on your profile.
• Invite customers to leave recommendations on the products and services page on your LinkedIn company page.

Are we connected on LinkedIn?  How do you grow relationships on LinkedIn?

Grab a LinkedIn Superstar ebook.

LinkedIn keeps getting better and better. And that’s why I like sharing these updates. Have you used LinkedIn’s Card Munch App, updated event interface or the group statistics feature? If so, I’m interested in your impressions.  Tell me – what did I leave out?

LinkedIn’s Card Munch iPhone app Digitizes Paper

Am I the only one out there who misplaces business cards? Maybe I have too many pockets. It’s time-consuming to search and rescue all the cards I pick up at events when I get back to the office.

Cards play hide and seek in my business card case, in my pockets, in my briefcase, in my car – and sometimes even in my wallet!

I love to meet people and exchange cards, but if we don’t continue the connection, what’s the point?

How quick would it to be scan one and you’re done? That’s what you can do with the free Card Munch iPhone app.

When to Use . . . While You’re There

1. at networking events – scan while you’re there and either toss or return the card, preferable, while you’re there
2. on appointments – scan, impress the client and send them a LinkedIn invitation, while you’re there
3. at a trade show – input new connections right away, while you’re there

Why to use the Card Munch iPhone app

1. automatically adds to your contact list
2. shows how you’re connected via LinkedIn
3. lets you recycle paper and preserve information

Side, but Big, Benefit: You don’t have to worry about whether or not you mistype when you input contact information on your iPhone.

Want more information? Join the group for members using LinkedIn mobile apps.

LinkedIn Events Gets More Social

I love the look of LinkedIn’s new event interface and I like the comment section. Now the event dialog can start before the event begins.

But, I do miss the option to confirm whether you’re a presenter or an organizer. Now you can only be an organizer. Since I set up events for clients and often add events where I’m speaking, I’d rather not be listed as the one in charge.

Also – it looks like, right now, that there is no way to delete an event.

Have you found any other kinks in the new interface?

While we don’t use LinkedIn as a primary registration site, we do use it as a promotional outpost. Why? It’s easy to set up, our event is in LinkedIn’s search and we can easily share – to twitter and Facebook – and invite people from LinkedIn.

Your event will stand out because there’s less competition for listings. In fact, the number of events that have a listing here is much lower in comparison to what’s really going on in Chicago. How do the number of listings match what’s happening in your area?

How to set up a LinkedIn event page:

1. Go to the more tab on the top nav bar. Click on events in the drop down menu. Click on create a group in the box at the top of the right column.
2. You’ll need the basics: time, date, place, registration site
3. Compose an event description that starts off with the most important details first, like names of speakers. You only have 200 or so characters to work with in the preview section, but you can add more detail in the complete description.
4. Write a great headline or event title that includes keywords.
5. Think about industries and titles: you’ll include those in the listing.
6. Add an image or a logo
7. Share the event via email, on networks, etc
8. Invite key people to visit the page and click attend so that they show up.

LinkedIn Group Statistics Reveal Dynamics

These beauties popped up on the eve of one of my LinkedIn webinars. That’s why I always check the LinkedIn blog right before I go on. It’s fun to “break news.” People love being the first to know – and I like to be the first to tell them.

To find statistics in groups you already belong to, click the more tab in the vertical nav bar. Look for statistics in the drop down menu. It should be the last item.

For groups you’re checking out, but don’t belong to yet, look for the group statistics icon on the right hand side of the page.  Click on it and you’ll see them.

smc-chicago-linkedin-group

What you get with LinkedIn group statistics:

Demographics snapshot of the members by level, role, location, and industry

Growth over time

Activity shows what’s going on inside the group

Information about groups your group can connect with for cross or co-promotions, event invitations and broader community discussions.

What do you find most interesting about group statistics?

Why you need group statistics:

1. Decide whether or not to join a group based on demographics
2. Target communications: to execs or entry level to save time and be direct
3. Track growth: if you’re the owner or manager you can see how your group is shaping up and how activity is flowing

Thanks for sharing your thoughts – how do you use LinkedIn as a marketing tool?

Want more information? Browse the wiredPRworks LinkedIn archive.

Would you like to connect with me on LinkedIn?

It’s the time of year when you have more buying power than ever. You can choose where to spend your holiday budget: big box or small business.

Thanks to American Express, Saturday is being declared “Small Business Saturday.  President Obama is a big promoter:

“From the mom-and-pop storefront shops that anchor Main Street to the high-tech startups that keep America on the cutting edge, small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the cornerstones of our Nation’s promise. Through events such as Small Business Saturday, we keep our local economies strong and help maintain an American economy that can compete and win in the 21st century.” President Obama via ABC News

When do you shop small? How to Participate in Small Business Saturday from American Express

Like the “Small Business Saturday” page on Facebook and pledge to shop small

Use these hashtags in your tweets #ShopSmall, #SBSPer

Tell your friends where and why you love to shop small

Follow @shopsmall on twitter for the latest Small Business Saturday News

BUY PRODUCTS, SERVICES and GIFT CARDS from Small Businesses

Keep in mind that a small business may still be online.

When I won a $25 American Express gift card as a Klout perk, I was inspired to create a special Small Business Saturday offer for small businesses.

As a small business owner for over 20 years, I like to give back to the community.

From now through cyber Monday, November 28, I’m offering a $300 discount on my December Lock In LinkedIn course for people and their companies.

Instead of paying $497, the Lock In LinkedIn Workshop price drops way down to $197.

That’s like having a $300 gift card! After that, the price goes back up to $497.

Lock In Linked Power Strategies Workshop teaches

what you need to do to raise your visibility and influence
why you need a social media strategy that supports your small business
how to maximize your efforts and minimize your social networking time
where to find connections that get you closer to your goals
leadership strategies that position you as an expert

To register for the December Lock In LinkedIn course click here on the orange LockIn LinkedIn box and use code smallbizsatli for a $300 savings.

Thanks so much to American Express for leading this effort and to all of our small business clients who give us the honor of managing their marketing and messaging.

When was your most recent purchase from a small business?

On November 15, I’ll be presenting a LinkedIn and Recruiting webinar for Ragan.com. If you’re looking for ways to increase your recruiting results using social media, you’ll want to check out this two day, four session, program.

I’m pleased to be presenting with Mike Dwyer of CruiterWorks on day one. Anthony Scarpino, Senior Director, Talent Acquisition at Sodexo and Brad Warga, Vice President of Corporate Recruiting at Salesforce.com will present each company’s case studies on day two.  Thanks to Kristin Hart-Maravich, Ragan’s webinar content producer and marketing manager for inviting me to present. Here’s what we’ll cover.

Social Media Recruiting Best Practices Webinar

Register for Ragan’s Social Media Strategies Best Practices webinar here.

Day One Session 1:
LinkedIn recruiting essentials: A guide to scouting and placing star performers
Barbara Rozgonyi, Principal, CoryWest Media, LLC

Day One Session 2:
How to use social media to target passive candidates and hire top talent
Mike Dwyer, CruiterWorks

Day Two Session 1:
Sodexo‘s 5 secrets to creating a best-in-class social media strategy
Anthony Scarpino, Senior Director, Talent Acquisition

Day Two Session 2:
How Salesforce uses social media and candidate relationship management to recruit, build social profiles and save time
Brad Warga, Vice President of Corporate Recruiting

All webinar content from ragan.com, copied here for your convenience.

• Avoid the BIGGEST mistake recruiters make on LinkedIn: If you’re doing it, you can fix it immediately
• Apply the 3 keys to make your company a leader on LinkedIn
• Expand your definition of “search” on LinkedIn—Why this gives you a competitive edge
• Integrate LinkedIn strategy with other social recruiting methods—on Facebook, blogs, YouTube, Twitter
• Use LinkedIn groups for recruitment—and what they can do for your business beyond the talent search
• Measure results and manage your exposure
• Shift your traditional recruiting tactics to online
• Target passive job-seekers
• Engage current employees as brand ambassadors
• Integrate internal and external communication strategies
• Avoid developing a “Ghost Town”–(an online community nobody visits)
• Make social recruiting part of your daily “workout”
• Meet your goals with a shoestring budget
• Identify the key elements of a business strategy through social media
• Set social media goals
• Integrate your social media and your strategy
• Choose the right tools that allow recruitment of select candidates
• Create long-term candidate relationships by building your own Candidate Relationship Manager (CRM)
• Identify and develop recruiters’ alternative skill sets
• Think strategically, not reactively – How to think a step ahead when finding new talent
• Find the best platform to do the job. Is it LinkedIn, Branchout, Data.com, Radian6 or Google?
• Build a social profile for candidates by pulling information from many social channels
• And so much more!

Reflecting on Recruiting Communications

One corporate recruiting project, for Anderson Consulting, now Accenture – my client at the time, enlisted the services of 15 people worldwide. We met over conference calls, in board rooms and even on the back porch of our project manager’s two flat. My assignment was to write the draft for an MBA strategy recruiting brochure.

The war for talent was on and Anderson wanted to win.

To do that, we would be inventive. We would position the company as a leader. And, we would set the pace.

How? One major initiative was to add a link to the recruiting website in the brochures. It seems almost an afterthought today when QR codes and social network icons are de riguer. Back then, in the late 90s, sending people online to find more information was a remarkable early adopter strategy.

Companies were only beginning to discover how to package information, products and services for the screen.

Around the same time, I contributed to recruiting projects for Sears as an internal communications consultant.

We wanted to feature success stories, but there was some hesitation. What if the leaders we featured now left to pursue careers somewhere else? Then we’d have to incur the cost of reprinting new brochures. Would we want to do that?

This strategy, too, now seems so outdated. Yet, even with all the innovation going on out there, there’s always room to keep improving. Because if you’re not, your competitors are.

I’m honored to be included with this group and look forward to sharing tools, ideas and a 3D strategy for scouting and placing star performers. Register for Ragan’s Social Media Strategies Best Practices webinar here.

Want a preview? Here’s a video Mike and I made. You’ll also pick up some great improv tips! Yes, and . . .

You know they’re out there, but where do you find them? Them = people you want to connect with. Connections = network. Network = opportunity.

[Here's an invitation to be on my A-list.]

On LinkedIn, you can start by importing your email address book and sending invitations only to people you know. If enough people click on “I don’t this person,” your ability to add connections may be limited.

To shape your network’s regional and industry access, you can check your network statistics in the contacts section. Then, search for new people to connect within the areas where you’d like to grow, and invite them to join your professional network.

To send an invitation from a profile, click on add this “person to my network.” LinkedIn will ask you how you know this person. You can send a standard greeting, but adding a personal touch only takes an extra minute or two and improves chances of your invitation being accepted.

21 Ways to Get Connected on LinkedIn by Sending Invitations to

1. Contacts in your email address book

2. Colleagues – former and current

3. Classmates – former and current

4. Group members

5. Business contacts

6. Twitter followers

7. Facebook friends

8. Email recipients, include LinkedIn in the signature

9. Friends and family

10. People you may know as suggested by LinkedIn

11. Networking contacts

12. Conference speakers and attendees

13. New prospects

14. People found using LinkedIn’s search toolbar

15. Key people on company sites

16. Professional or trade association colleagues

17. Bloggers you like

18. Real life contacts

19. Chamber of Commerce associates

20. LIONs [LinkedIn Open Networkers] who agree to accept invitations

Image: SOBCon opening party hosted by SMC Chicago copyright Phoebe Svoboda for thesociallens.com

Excerpt from “Success Secrets of the Social Media Marketing Superstars” published by Entrepreneur Press with Contributions from World-Class Social Media thought leaders: Keith Ferrazi & Tahl Raz: Relationship Strategy; Brian Clark: Psychology of Social Media; Mitch Meyerson: Online Marketing; Ann Handley: Creating Content; Gary Vaynerchuk: Building Mega-Followings; Andy Wibbles: Personality; Chris Brogan: Building Communities; Joel Comm: Success Qualities; Craig Valentine: Communicate with Impact; Starr Hall: Building Profits; Dan Janal: PR Strategies; Michael Stelzner: Go Viral; Denise Wakeman: Business Blogs; Julie Perry: YouTube; Paul Colligan: Podcasting; Mari Smith: Facebook; Deborah Cole Micek: Twitter; Dave Evans: One Hour a Day; Chris Garrett: Social Bookmarking; Kim Dushinski: Mobile Marketing; Shama Kabani: Online Video and Barbara Rozgonyi: LinkedIn.

How about YOU? Where do you find people to connect with?