Thanks to the hundreds of people who already participated in the 2012 LinkedIn User Survey. I can’t wait to share the results with you in a few weeks. But if you haven’t voiced your opinion, the polls are still open, and by taking the survey you may be one of the three lucky participants who win one of my LinkedIn DVD training bundles, so don’t delay.                                 Click Here to Take The 2012 LinkedIn User Survey This week’s tip is a story about changes that are taking place in my business, but I am pretty confident it applies to your business as well. I would like to take you way, way back to the early ’90s.   In those days, when businesses wanted to buy a product like the one I sell, office furniture, they would start months before they were ready to place an order. Why? Well, you had to go through THE PROCESS to try to figure out which of the ten office furniture dealers in the greater Milwaukee area you wanted to work with. You might have started with your current vendor, if you could even remember who that was since it had been so long since you’d purchased any new office furniture (the stuff really does last a long time!). The next step was probably opening up a drawer in your beat-up old desk and pulling out your trusty Yellow Pages.  Let THE PROCESS begin. The steps of THE PROCESS went something like this:  Step 1 (several months before you need the furniture) Call to set up an appointment with many of the ten office furniture vendors. Meet live and in person with sales reps and try to ascertain the differences among the products. Use the pile of brochures you receive to prepare a detailed comparison spreadsheet. Undoubtedly schedule some followup meetings to be sure you are comparing apples to apples. Contact each dealer’s references. Step 2 (weeks or months later) Contact the three vendors from whom you’d like to receive a formal pricing proposal, and notify the others that they’re out of the race. Step 3 (a couple weeks later) Set up appointments with the three survivors. Each makes a formal presentation with a big, fat three-ring binder with lots of pretty pictures and the total price way in the back. Then go back and forth about changes in the proposal and negotiate your price. Step 4 (another couple weeks later) Notify the lucky winner and the not-so-lucky losers.  Done!  Now think about how that same customer goes about THE NEW PROCESS today.  Step 1 (potentially a long time prior to needing office furniture)   You are connected via social media and/or email to a few furniture dealers, manufacturers or experts. You receive updates, articles, white papers, and other resources on a consistent basis from some of them but not so much from others. Since it’s your job to stay on top of this area of your business, you check out the information that seems most interesting to you because you know someday you will be back in the market for office furniture.    Step 2 (just a month or so before needing to order the furniture)  Go online and investigate the available competitors and their products (you can do this anytime anywhere), using all the tools and sites on the Internet, including but not limited to: Google  Company websites  LinkedIn company pages  LinkedIn individual profiles Facebook business page Better Business Bureau Other industry or recommendation sites      Contact any of your friends who are connected to employees of these dealers and discuss their experiences. Read any online recommendations you uncover. This should help you narrow the field to a few good candidates.    Step 3 Set up appointments for formal presentations, negotiate changes and price, and then notify the vendors of your final decision.  Think of the time you saved by not having to meet with ten different vendors, not to mention all the trees you saved by not needing all those brochures.      Now, of course, this story may be a bit of a simplification of THE PROCESS or THE NEW PROCESS, but the idea you want to take away is that things have changed, and we all need to be part of the change or else we may find ourselves and/or our companies in the group that doesn’t even get contacted to be a part of THE NEW PROCESS.     Don’t get left behind. Be sure to: Choose the social media platforms that are best for you and your company Develop comprehensive profiles Use the keywords your potential customers are likely to include in their online search Regularly update your profiles Share important status updates with your connections Consider having a connections strategy that includes not only current customers/friends but others in your market who may be connected to potential decision-makers/influencers One last question: Would you be on the list of finalists a potential customer chooses after searching online for the type of products or services you offer?

Well, it is that time of year again when I am asking you to help me help you by participating in my LinkedIn user survey. As with all surveys, the more the merrier when it comes to participation, and your voice as part of this survey will help all of us be more effective in our usage of LinkedIn.   As a special incentive for participating, I will be giving away three customized LinkedIn DVD training bundles. Winners pick two of my six titles ($109 value). Completing the survey should take you no more than a couple minutes. Thank you for participating!                           Click Here to Take The 2012 LinkedIn User Survey I recently read a fascinating new book by one of my favorite business writers, David Meerman Scott, called “Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage.“ The premise of the book is because of the power of Internet searching capabilities and our ability to personally publish on the Internet, we can piggyback on major news stories, bringing not only our opinion to the discussion but generating a ton of potential PR and media coverage for us. Pretty cool concept, wouldn’t you say?   So, when I finished reading a January 6, 2012, Milwaukee Business Journal article titled  “Grading Twitter, Facebook efforts: Area firms have success through social media,“ I was taken back because they didn’t include my favorite social media platform, LinkedIn, and thought it would be a good time for me to newsjack this article and give you my LinkedIn scores for the four companies they graded: Harley-Davidson, Kohl’s Corporation, Summerfest/Milwaukee World Festival, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. My grades and comments will be focused only on the effectiveness and usage of the LinkedIn company page (access company pages by clicking “Companies” on LinkedIn’s top toolbar) and not on how the individual employees who are attached to the company page are doing with their personal LinkedIn profiles. These are some of the largest brands in the Milwaukee area in terms of size and reputation, so they may not be similar to your company situation. However, my comments are shared to educate you about how all companies can use the LinkedIn company page. FYI: Company pages is one of the topics I will cover in my brand new class “Unlocking LinkedIn’s Corporate Marketing Potential,” which will be offered on the morning of February 24. Harley-Davidson  (Overall Grade: C) Since Harley-Davidson is one of the world’s best-known brands, you might think they don’t really need to worry about some of the comments I am going to share. I know they have a big presence on Facebook and Twitter, as the Biz Journal article shared, but LinkedIn is another separate and distinct platform for business professionals who love their Harleys. As a matter of fact, there are 79 separate LinkedIn groups organized around people who have a passion for Harleys.    The good news is they do have a company page. I can’t say that for all businesses I analyze. So they get some credit for that, but the profile description and the Specialties section could use more interesting information and more keywords that their audience might use when searching for their company on LinkedIn.   They do have a lot of followers (over 7,600) but have not posted a single status update to those followers about interesting things going on at Harley. People did agree to follow, so they are waiting to hear from you, Harley. Also, they are not using the Products & Services tab, where they can include detailed descriptions, links to websites, video, and customer recommendations. This feature could be used for not only specific motorcycles but other services, like owners groups, etc.       For reference purposes, IBM’s company page has over 540,000 followers–more than any other company on LinkedIn. I bet Harley could top that number if they focused some effort on their company page. And as we are all learning, followers, friends, connections, etc. are the gasoline in the social media engine.      Kohl’s Corp.  (Overrall Grade: C+)  Once again, it’s hard to pick on one of America’s largest retailers since they are a powerhouse of marketing in general and specifically on Facebook and Twitter, but they have a lot of opportunity in terms of their LinkedIn company page. However, they do have a company page with more than 15,000 followers, and they’re using the Careers tab with a customized employment solution from LinkedIn. Check it out. It’s really cool.  Like Harley, the profile description and the Specialties should be beefed up with more description and keywords, and they should begin to communicate with those thousands of followers on a consistent basis. Rather than using the Products & Services tab for their thousands of products, they could use it to promote specialty services, like bridal registry, special credit card offers, etc.   Summerfest/Milwaukee World Festival  (Overrall Grade: D)   We all love Summerfest. It is the world’s largest music festival, but you sure wouldn’t know that based on their LinkedIn company page. They have a company page (well, sort of), but that is about all the credit I can give them. They should be encouraging followers. They currently have 278 followers, but more than 800,000 people attend Summerfest each year–many of whom are on LinkedIn and would probably love to hear from the festival they grew up with and still love so much.    Also, the Products &Services tab would be outstanding for promoting ticket sales. And with LinkedIn’s demographics (plenty of mid to upper level management professionals), this would be a terrific place to promote corporate packages and specials. Milwaukee Art Museum  (Overall Grade: Incomplete)     The Milwaukee Art Museum has yet to grab their company page. However, if you search for them in the company section of LinkedIn, a generic page started by LinkedIn automatically comes up because at least one of their 116 people has listed an affiliation with them. It looks like this: I hope this isn’t happening to your company, but you better check. I wish LinkedIn wouldn’t have this bare-bones page appear when a company doesn’t set up a page, but that is the process.   Similar to Summerfest, the Art Museum could certainly benefit by having more followers. They currently have 345. The Art Museum is a great place to host corporate events. Thus, the Products & Services tab would be a great place to display recommendations from satisfied companies who appreciated the museum’s outstanding special events and spectacular catered gatherings. Learn more about how company pages can help you promote your products and services, engage with prospective customers, increase your visibility in the marketplace, and much more by attending my brand new class “Unlocking LinkedIn’s Corporate Marketing Potential” on February 24, 8:00-10:00am at my office in Pewaukee. Click here to get more information and register. Space is limited.

I hope you are off to a great start in 2012. It is always fun to plan and consider what possibilities exist for the coming year. One of my goals for this year is to help you make LinkedIn a bigger and bigger part of your success formula.   Speaking of success formulas, I would like to thank you for your ongoing support and sharing my book with your friends and associates. This type of organic sharing has helped the book become an 800-CEO-Read Business Book Awards finalist for 2011. This week’s tip will be the final installment of the best new LinkedIn features of the past year. But I have to admit that when doing my research for this article, I learned the next two features were actually announced in late 2010. However, I am including them in this list because they are extremely powerful, and I wouldn‘t want you to miss them. At the end of the email I will tell you how to get your own downloadable copy of the entire list.    Company Products & Services  Who wants to have a free online display of your products and services, accessible by millions of people, with real people (including photos of their smiling faces) recommending your stuff, video supporting the details, sharing capabilities, multiple variations of the landing page based on your audience‘s profile, a full set of website analytics, and a link right to the place where they can buy your stuff?     Did I mention this is all free?   Well, welcome to the new and improved world of the LinkedIn company pages, including a Products & Services tab. This section is still in its infancy and we are all learning as we go here, but don‘t let that stop you from getting started. What are you waiting for?   Strategy Tip:    Add a company page, add some products and services, get recommendations, and learn like the rest of us. Oh, yeah, and don‘t forget to encourage followers. After all, they have given you permission to share with them. Gaining followers on LinkedIn is now a very important strategy for your company. Get busy, and start encouraging people to follow your company.   Included below is a link to some company success stories. Check out what they are accomplishing with this awesome LinkedIn feature.    Additional Resources:   LinkedIn Company Success Stories             http://marketing.linkedin.com/success-stories   LinkedIn’s Blog: Recommend your favorite products and services on LinkedIn Company Pages             http://blog.linkedin.com/2010/11/01/linkedin-company-pages/   Inc. Magazine: How to Launch a LinkedIn Company Page             http://www.inc.com/how-to-launch-a-linkedin-company-page.html   Hub Spot Blog: 11 Reasons Your LinkedIn Company Page Sucks             http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/28976/11-Reasons-Your-LinkedIn-Company-Page-Sucks.aspx    Share  When the clickable word “Share“ popped up all over the LinkedIn website late last year, I and many others didn‘t really realize we were just handed a very efficient way to “share“ our expertise even when we didn‘t start the conversation or write the content.    Many of us are working hard to establish ourselves as thought leaders in our industry and with the customers we serve. This has gotten so much easier with all these online tools available to us. Even the smallest businesses can join the game.   Simply put, the Share function on LinkedIn allows you to share content, discussions, products and services (and who knows what else will be added in the future) with all the constituencies that matter to you. This includes not only your first-level LinkedIn connections but your Twitter followers, any of your LinkedIn groups, and even people who are not on LinkedIn.    Strategy Tip:    Get used to this. Sharing is here to stay, and functions like this on LinkedIn and other social media sites are the way our audiences (who have given us permission to do this) will look forward to hearing from us. That is not to say it will replace traditional advertising, but who knows.   So, what is the tip? See what others are reading, looking at, referring to, and talking about. If it applies to some of your audience, get sharing. They will appreciate your doing so.    Also, if you and your company have developed, written or published any great information, be sure to post that in your individual and/or company updates. You just don‘t know how many of your connections and followers will then share it with their network, and on and on it goes. This is how you spell viral, isn‘t it?   Additional Resources:   Power Formula Blog: Are You a Good Samaritan on LinkedIn?             http://bit.ly/Linkedinsharing   Mashable Article: LinkedIn Launches Tons of New Link-Sharing Features             http://mashable.com/2010/04/21/linkedin-share/   Well, there you have it, the top LinkedIn features from 2011 and how you can benefit in 2012 by knowing about them. If you want to access the full list in a downloadable pdf document, go to my website and grab the 2011 Best LinkedIn Features on my Free Resources page.

Before presenting more of the best 2011 LinkedIn features, I would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season. I will be taking a few weeks off over the holidays and will be back with Part 3 of the best LinkedIn features of 2011 on January 8.  One final reminder about my first Beginners LinkedIn class of the new year. Start the new year off right and join me on Saturday, January 7 from 9:00AM until 11:30AM. Following the class, I will be offering a half hour of job-seeking tips for college grads from 11:30AM until noon. Special pricing is available for students and their parents. Click here to get more info or register.http://bit.ly/. Now let’s jump into Part 2 of my discussion of the best LinkedIn features introduced in 2011 and how you can benefit by knowing about them. (If you missed Part 1, you can read by clicking here) Skills This feature was added to make it easier to find individuals who have specific skills. LinkedIn added a Skills page to the overall site and now allows you to add a Skills section to your profile, where you can list up to 50 specific skills you possess.    I haven‘t found the Skills page itself to be particularly helpful as of yet. However, including Skills in your profile will help you in the LinkedIn search rankings for the keywords you include and will highlight those skills on your profile. Both of these are great reasons to do this.   Strategy Tip:    Add the Skills section to your profile, and include words that describe the skills you have amassed over the years as well as the words that are most critical to you on a going-forward basis. These words are not just the general functions you do, like finance, but specific details, such as budgeting, cash flow analysis, tax preparation, or even specific software you know how to use. Keep in mind you are trying to come up with the words someone will use when searching the LinkedIn database to find a person just like you.   In addition, check out the Skills feature on LinkedIn by clicking “More” on the top toolbar and selecting “Skills.” Then do a couple skills searches to see if you can gather any information that might lead you to other skills you may want to consider including.    Additional Resources:              Power Formula Blog: Your LinkedIn Profile: Which Direction Are You Going?             http://bit.ly/forwardprofile   LinkedIn’s Blog: Introducing LinkedIn Skills             http://blog.linkedin.com/2011/02/03/linkedin-skills/   Mashable Blog: How To: Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile’s New Skills Section             http://mashable.com/2011/03/14/linkedin-skills/   Additional Student Profile Sections  LinkedIn really came through for those of you younger people who were screaming for a way to differentiate yourselves when you are just getting out of college. In the past you may have thought the standard profile sections seemed perfect for your parents but not for you.   You can now add the following optional sections to your profile: Projects, Honors & Awards, Organizations, Test Scores, and Courses. These sections make it much easier to differentiate yourself from your competition by telling your unique story.             Strategy Tip:    Add all the special sections to your profile that you think will help break you apart from the rest of the pack. Include not only the facts of the situation, but add an interesting personal story or specific example that ties into the entry and demonstrates strong job-related skills if possible.    For example, if your Courses section includes a study abroad experience, share a story about the leadership role you took on the trip and how you succeeded in your role. This will help the reader understand what special skills you will bring to the workplace.   Additional Resource:                                         LinkedIn Blog: Introducing New Profile Sections Designed for Students             http://blog.linkedin.com/2011/07/15/student-profile-sections/                                   Volunteer Experience & Causes  In addition to our business story, most of us want to share with the world what matters most to us on a personal level. This new LinkedIn section not only helps you tell your story, but it helps your favorite organizations gain additional exposure.   In addition to listing the general causes you support (financial literacy, education, etc.), you can include a detailed explanation of each organization‘s mission and your personal involvement with them. Thanks, LinkedIn, for helping us help others.   Strategy Tip:    Significant volunteer efforts show the reader of your profile that you care about things outside of business and you work hard even when you are not at your workplace. Most people value these personal traits, and sharing this information in your profile may set you apart from your competitors and result in increased business and referrals.   Before meeting with someone for the first time, check out this section of their profile. It may give you some good conversation starters to get the meeting rolling. If a businessperson has taken the time to include this information, they are probably dying to have you inquire about the organization and their involvement. This is a home run.   Additional Resources:   Power Formula Blog: LinkedIn Gets A Heart             http://bit.ly/tltDZ6   LinkedIn’s Blog: Why Volunteering is Good for Your Career             http://blog.linkedin.com/2011/09/07/profile-volunteer-field/   Forbes Article: LinkedIn Report: Claim Your Volunteer Hours On Your Profile             http://onforb.es/u3BSQ5     If you’re looking for last-minute holidays gifts, why not give the gift of success! Order my book, The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success, on Amazon through Thursday and have it in time for Christmas!   Wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

You asked for it; you got it. Asked for what, you say? A beginner LinkedIn class on a Saturday morning and a special edition of my beginner class during the Christmas break so college students can attend with a parent.    On Saturday January 7th, from 9:00AM until 11:30AM, I will be teaching my famous beginner class, followed by an extra 30 minutes (11:30-noon) of special tips for college students and recent graduates. Special pricing for student and parent is $89 (regularly $59/person), including two copies of my book (the #1 selling LinkedIn book on Amazon for 32 straight weeks and counting).     Register here.   2011 was quite a year for LinkedIn. In March, they surpassed 100 million members and are now growing at a rate of one million users each and every week. In May, they were the first social media site to go public, starting off at $45/share and going as high as $122 before settling in around $90. As of this writing, shares are trading in the 70‘s. Congrats to Reid Hoffman, Jeff Weiner, and the rest of the LinkedIn team for one whale of a year.    You may be saying, Big deal. Good for them, but what does that have to do with me? I am just one of 135+ million members.    Well, it is a big deal because both of these bits of information should keep them in the game longer and allow them to continue to grow and improve the platform. The longevity of LinkedIn is critical to all of us who are investing our time and effort and growing our networks on the site.   With those thoughts in mind, I decided I would be like the thousands of experts in the world who put together a year-end “best of“ list for their area of expertise. Not only am I going to share the best new LinkedIn features of 2011, but in typical Wayne fashion I will also give you my thoughts on how you can best use them to grow your business along with additional resources for further exploration.    So, ladies and gentlemen (drum roll, please), here are the best new features released by LinkedIn for 2011.   Company Status Updates             This feature is just one of many great enhancements to the functionality of the company page (previously called the company profile). If you haven‘t begun formulating a strategy for using this feature, you are missing the boat - what could be a really big boat.    It is similar to the individual Status Updates, which I consider to be the number one way to stay in front of your connections with great information. However, instead of communicating with your connections, the company Status Update enables companies to communicate with followers.    Strategy Tip:    Add a company page, decide who is going to be your voice for your company Status Updates, encourage followers, and share your best stuff with those followers. If you don‘t think people who follow you for the sake of listening to your knowledge and expertise will ultimately consider you and your company in their buying decision as well as recommend you to their friends, you just don‘t get how business in the new online world works. They do and they will.   Additional Resources:   Power Formula Blog: LinkedIn Just Gave Your Company a Voice http://bit.ly/companystatusupdates   LinkedIn’s Blog: Company Status: Five Tips to Engage Your Followers http://blog.linkedin.com/2011/10/31/company-status-tips/              LinkedIn’s Blog: New Company Updates: Learn more about the Companies you follow on LinkedIn http://blog.linkedin.com/2011/10/06/company-status-updates/              Alumni   This feature is a major enhancement to what used to be called Classmates, and it is very popular because people enjoy doing business with and want to help people who attended the same school they attended.    With the Alumni feature, you can now more easily search by all schools you have attended and years attended. However, searching is not limited to the years you attended the school. You can discover where alumni work, what they do, where they live, and other miscellaneous profile information.   Strategy Tip:    List all schools you have attended on your profile, including high school and any industry specialty schools, access the Alumni feature, and then get out your old college sweatshirt and hat and start networking.   Additional Resources:   Power Formula Blog: LinkedIn Wants You To Go Back to School http://bit.ly/alumnilinkedinfeature          LinkedIn’s Blog: LinkedIn Classmates: Explore possibilities by connecting with fellow alumni http://blog.linkedin.com/2011/10/19/linkedin-classmates/     That is all for this week, but be sure to watch your email the next two weeks for the rest of the best new features of 2011.

What a hectic time of year. My calendar for December is just packed with family events, organization and association holiday parties, year-end planning and budget meetings, and kids’ concerts.    Even with so much going on, most of us are still trying to finish the year strong as it relates to our businesses and get in position for having a bigger year in 2012.    To help you prepare for a successful new year, I have four new LinkedIn training videos. Each video is action-packed and engaging, with practical tips and examples. These are not PowerPoint presentations or filled with webinar-style screen shots. They are high-quality videos of live training sessions taught by yours truly, and each concentrates on a specialized area of LinkedIn usage. They also come with all the applicable handouts that truthfully are worth the investment themselves. The new titles to choose from are:   LinkedIn for the Sales Professional:  Advanced Strategies & Techniques LinkedIn for the Human Resources Professional:  A Step-by-Step Guide LinkedIn for the CEO:  What Questions Should You Be Asking? LinkedIn for Non-Profits:  The Top 10 Strategies to Grow Your Organization   Of course, you can still order my always popular bestsellers:   LinkedIn Speed Training for Beginners Intermediate LinkedIn Power Formula Training   These videos are great for group training sessions. Who do you know wants to learn LinkedIn this holiday season?   As I jump into this week’s tip, I have to tell you that the idea for this one came from several of my faithful readers who said I better get this information out to the rest of you, and, by golly, they were right. This is a Red Alert: Better read this and act right away.     This summer, sometime in the dark of night, LinkedIn added a couple new settings and opted you in, and it has caused quite a stir in some corners of the user group. I don’t believe there was any ill intent. I think they were just trying to make us all internet advertising stars (wink wink). But I’ll let you be the judge of that.     LinkedIn added the following settings and opted in all users:   Manage Social Advertising   LinkedIn may sometimes pair an advertiser’s message with social content from LinkedIn’s network in order to make the ad more relevant.    When LinkedIn members recommend people and services, follow companies, or take other actions, their name/photo may show up in related ads shown to you.    Conversely, when you take these actions on LinkedIn, your name/photo may show up in related ads shown to LinkedIn members. By providing social context, we make it easy for our members to learn about products and services that the LinkedIn network is interacting with.   LinkedIn may use my name/photo in social advertising.   Partner Advertising   LinkedIn works with partner websites to show advertisements to LinkedIn members on their sites. This collection of partner sites is called the LinkedIn Audience Network. Advertisements shown to you on the LinkedIn Audience Network are selected based on non-personally identifiable information.    For example, advertisers are allowed to target their products and services based on broad categories such as Industry, Job Function, and Seniority. Your personal information is not shared with or sold to any 3rd party. LinkedIn is committed to clarity, consistency, and member control in all matters related to privacy and data.   LinkedIn may show me ads on its partner websites.   I am not going to tell you what to do, but if you decide you do not want to be an internet star and prefer to opt out, simply go to the top right of your LinkedIn account and hover over your name. Then select Settings. To get to these settings, select the Account tab (left side of screen), and under Privacy Controls you will see Manage Social Advertising and Manage Partner Advertising. After you click these headings,  you can then uncheck the box to opt out of participation.    I find it interesting that they call these privacy controls, and yet they opted us into having less privacy. Like I said, you be the judge.   For your additional reading enjoyment, the following articles present both sides of the argument.   LinkedIn Blog Post: “Privacy, Advertising, Putting Member First” NY Times: “LinkedIn’s Social-Ads Misstep” Forbes: “LinkedIn Social Advertising-Privacy Blunder or Missed Revenue Share Opportunity” LA Times: “LinkedIn Social Ads Stop Displaying Users Name, Photos”

I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend as much as I did. You can never have enough of long weekends, family time, great food (it is the official start to what we refer to in Wisconsin as “meatball season”) and another Packer and Badger victory.   Amongst all that, I did spend some time preparing for my upcoming talks this week, which include my last beginner LinkedIn class of 2011 on the evening of Tuesday, November 29 as well as a special nonprofit social media event I will be a part of on Tuesday morning, November 29 sponsored by the Milwaukee Business Journal. At this event I will be sharing the stage with Christina Steder from Clear Verve Marketing. She will be sharing the results of her latest survey on social media habits of nonprofits. This will be a great event for those of you who are interested in knowing how nonprofits are using social media. You can register here.   Because we are in the season of giving, this week’s tip will outline for you the LinkedIn features/applications you can take advantage of to help your favorite nonprofit.   1) Include information about the organization in your individual profile in the following ways: Add the profile section “Volunteer Experience & Causes,” and include not only the detail about your group but promote the general cause as well. My past blog post on this profile section, which includes an instructional video, will help you set this up. In the Experience section of your profile, list as a current job your title and/or involvement along with the name of the organization. You then have 2,000 characters to explain the organization’s mission, accomplishments, and needs. Once you do this, the organization will appear in the top box of your profile. You can list three websites on your profile. Use one of the three websites for a hyperlink directly to the organization’s website.  In your Summary section, consider having a special section to describe why this organization is important to you. Include in your Specialties section the name of the organization or other keywords that describe the group. You can then be found more easily if someone searches for people involved in your specific group or other groups with a similar mission or purpose. Use SlideShare or Google Presentation to share a Power Point or video about the organization. Use Blog Link or WordPress applications to connect the organization’s blog to your profile. List the name of the organization in your Groups & Associations section.  2) Use the Status Update Box on your home page or Discussions in groups you are in to:  Publicize an event Recruit volunteers Share results and accomplishments Ask a question of the group or your network that will help solve a problem Find employees, suppliers, and/or vendors for the organization 3) Use the LinkedIn Advanced Search function to find out who in your network knows people at the significant foundations and companies in your marketplace. Then facilitate an introduction to the staff of the nonprofit organization.   4) Search for and join groups in and out of your regional market that appear to be in the same space or have a similar mission as your organization. This is a great way to keep track of what others are doing, saying, going to, and sharing.   5) Start a LinkedIn group for the organization’s supporters, donors, and/or volunteers. A subgroup can be created to share information that is only pertinent to volunteers, for instance. Starting a group for an event you are planning can help you share information leading up to the event and wrap-up information after the event.   6) Use the Events application to promote the organization’s upcoming events. Check out this blog post on all the LinkedIn features that can help you increase attendence at your upcoming event.   Follow these six simple but highly effective steps — all of which can be done without leaving the comfort of your home or office — and then don’t be surprised when the phone rings with an invitation to join the board of your favorite nonprofit!

Happy Thanksgiving!   Sounds good, doesn’t it.  For me it conjures up thoughts of turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie, and a nice nap after a Packers victory. For you it might bring to mind shopping, which has now grown to a series of days called Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.    So for those of you in that mode and for the rest of us who do have to shop sometime before December 25, I am going to announce my own great deal — Wayne’s Really Big Book Sale.   Here’s the scoop. For one week only, through Sunday, November 27, you can get an autographed case of 36 of my books, along with your choice of one of my LinkedIn training videos (six titles to choose from) for the crazy, unheard of, probably never-to-be-done-again (based on what my wife says) price of $399 plus shipping. Just think of the number of people you can check off your list with this priceless gift (after all, it is signed by yours truly.) All you need to do is send an email to orders@powerformula.net (please include your phone number) or call 262-241-5807.     What are you waiting for? Time’s a wastin’ and supplies are limited. Of course, operators are standing by.   Also, don’t forget to sign up for my final beginner’s LinkedIn class of the year to be held on November 29. Feel free to bring a friend!   In preparation for my recent keynote talk on personal branding using social media tools, I revisited one of my favorite personal branding books, “Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future” by Dan Schawbel. In his book I came across a concept that really resonated with me, and that is the link between personal branding and LinkedIn. Here is his concept:   “You need to approach your career in terms of differentiation (standing out in the crowd) and marketability (providing something other people want or need). Why would someone choose your brand?  A robust professional network Endorsements from respected colleagues Previous accomplishments and cataloged results A diversified and unique skill set”  For my tip this week, I would like to address these criteria and help you see what parts of LinkedIn are available to help you with each of these. I have highlighted in parentheses the LinkedIn profile section or application that could be used to address these criteria.    ROBUST PROFESSIONAL NETWORK  (Connections)     This one is easy, so it seems. You should have a lot of connections on LinkedIn, right? If you look up “robust” in the dictionary, it does not mention anything about numbers or quantity. It uses words like “strong and healthy” and “rich and full-bodied.”    As you know, I am a fan of having lots of connections as long as they are “trusted” or other individuals that are included strategically, but what I want you to consider on this point is the strength and richness of your network. To me that means being able to count on most of the individuals in your network for help as well as having a network that is diverse in terms of industry, organizations, and regions or however you define diverse in your world.   ENDORSEMENTS FROM RESPECTED COLLEAGUES  (Recommendations and Box.net files for pdf files of letters of recommendation)     This is the only part of your profile you do not personally write. Recommendations are outside corroboration of the credibility and expertise you have described in detail on your profile.    Keep in mind that Dan doesn’t just say “endorsements,” but he adds “from respected colleagues.” What this means is we need to make sure the recommendations we receive are from the best name in the biz, if possible, and people and companies the person looking at your profile would take note of and say, wow – a recommendation from that person or that company; if they took care of them, they sure should be able to take care of me as well.   PREVIOUS ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND CATALOGED RESULTS  (Experience, Summary, Recommendations, Honors and Awards, Box.net files, SlideShare and Google Presentations)      People love to hear about and understand specific things we have accomplished, and these tools on LinkedIn are made to order for this purpose. Don’t hesitate to do some significant bragging in these sections. Remember – your competitor won’t hesitate to do so.   A DIVERSIFIED AND UNIQUE SKILL SET  (Experience, Summary, Skills, Recommendations, Honors and Awards, Box.net files, SlideShare, and Google Presentations)    Skills are defined as “the ability, coming from one’s knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well.”    The statement I hear from a lot of people on this point is they don’t feel their skill set is all that unique. My encouragement to you is no one has what you have, and the combination of your unique and diverse skills might be just what someone is looking for in a vendor/supplier or employee.    One thing that might help you craft the presentation of these points is to ask a couple of your closest connections just what it is they see that makes you unique in the marketplace. Do the same thing for them, and then work on making that documentation as compelling as possible.     Just think about how easy it is to tell your “differentiation and marketability” story with a tool like LinkedIn, which is so perfectly designed for doing just that. Now get to it!

This week’s tip is a result of my thoughts on a question I received from an attendee at my newest live class called “Using LinkedIn to Generate a Steady Stream of Sales Prospects,” which, by the way, the audience just loved. I will offer it again on February 20. Get the details and register here.    Speaking of live classes, my last beginner’s class of the year is the evening of November 29. Don’t miss this chance to learn more about LinkedIn and be ready to hit the ground running in 2012. Details and registration here.    The question asked at the sales class was, “What are the best ways to get the most exposure on LinkedIn?”    My quick answer was group discussions and Status Updates.   Upon reflection, I realize the question requires a more complete answer. Rather than keep the idea to myself, who better to share it with than all my LinkedIn friends, so here goes.    LinkedIn’s Top 6 Features for Increasing Your Exposure   Webster defines “exposure” as:    “presentation to view, especially in an open or public manner.”         That sure sounds like something we would all love more of, and LinkedIn is here to help.   I will start with the LinkedIn feature I feel will give you the widest exposure, followed by a short comment, and then a resource to help you learn more.   1.  Answers   Ask or answer a question here, and the whole LinkedIn world may see and hear what you have to say. You can search for questions by topic/industry and also set up an RSS to send you new questions that are posted in your area of interest.    When it comes to broad exposure, this is the home run on LinkedIn. I personally haven’t done a good job of leveraging this feature and need to make it a higher priority going forward.    Resource: LinkedIn Learning Center)   2.  Posting in Group Discussions    When it comes to exposure, the bigger the group the better. Also, the closer the group profile is to your target market the better as well. Remember–you can join up to 50 groups on LinkedIn. And as you might have guessed, my recommendation is that you find 50 great groups and join them for increased exposure, search ability, and information sharing.    Some of these groups are what LinkedIn refers to as open, and thus the discussions will also be available in a Google search, so you just might pick up some exposure that way as well.    Resource: LinkedIn Groups – Ca$h In on this Powerful Tool downloadable worksheet)  3.  Posting your own personal Status Updates and “liking” or “sharing”  your connections’ Status Updates    These will go out to your entire network.  Easy thought here: More Connections=More Exposure.    (Resource: LinkedIn Status Updates: The 7 Do’s & Don’ts blog post)    4.  Posting your own Company Status Updates and “liking” or “sharing” other companies’ Status Updates   Your Company Status Updates go to your company followers. Most of us are just beginning this journey of attracting followers, but just think about the exposure Hewlett-Packard gets when they send out a Company Status Update. Over 373,000 people may see that update.      The moral to this story is for maximum exposure, make sure you have a company page, attract followers, and make regular Status Updates.     When you “like” or “share” another company’s Status Update, the update appears in the Status Update feed of your entire network, and this is another great way for you to gain exposure.       (Resource: LinkedIn Just Gave Your Company a Voice blog post)     5.  ”Liking” or commenting on group discussions    This is a very easy way to gain exposure without having gone through the effort of finding the information or posing the question. Comments on group discussions appear in the discussion feed. The amount of exposure will depend on the number of members in the group.   (Resource: Are You Likeable blog post) 6.  Sharing information on applications like SlideShare, Blog Link, and Portfolio Display   When you choose to have any of these applications loaded onto your LinkedIn account, you are then directed to the actual website of the application to set up an account. Upon completion of the setup, you are then part of their site, and any presentations or information you post will be available to their users–giving you that additional exposure.     This may be a long shot, but if you put up a great Power Point on an area of your expertise and someone goes into SlideShare and searches that topic, your presentation, along with any profile information you have shared, would be displayed.    (Resource: LinkedIn Learning Center) What other features have you used to increase your exposure on LinkedIn?

I am calling this week’s LinkedIn thought:    The Power of Just One Business Card   The guys and gals who are smarter than I am in the space we call social media are saying the business card as we know it will be a museum artifact very soon. As archaic as the act of exchanging physical business cards may feel to some of us, I think the power of doing just that has been enhanced exponentially by what that business card represents.     Keep that thought in mind as I shift gears slightly to the concept or idea of the WIP (work-in-process) LinkedIn connection.    Many of you know (because you have attended one of my beginner classes or read my book) I have been a big proponent of your first-level LinkedIn connections being people you trust. This is also LinkedIn’s definition of what the site is designed for. My definition of trust is and has always been the following: Do I know them? Do I love them? Do I care about them? If they called, would I take the call and help them? But I have also always been a big proponent of the WIP LinkedIn connection and have encouraged people to pursue this tactic as a way to grow their network very strategically. It works this way.     Let’s say you are attending a networking event or a convention, and you do your usual thing of picking up a pocketful of business cards. You hope at least one of those cards represents the start of a new relationship that will lead to more business. After all, that is the reason you went to the event in the first place, right?     After the event, you pull out one special card and wonder if that individual actually liked the conversation you had with them as much as you did and whether they look forward to building a relationship that will go past the beer or plate of snacks you shared.   I am suggesting your next move should be to invite the person into your LinkedIn network as a “work-in-process connection.” By sending this invitation, you are saying: I liked you. Did you like me? I think we can help each other. I look forward to taking this relationship to a deeper level. Through me, people in my network are available to you if they can help you. LinkedIn helps you quickly move the relationship to a level of trust (and ultimately usefulness) because of the following techniques or features: The details on a person’s profile can give you tremendous insight about their history and interests — information you probably didn’t learn while drinking a beer with them.   By reviewing the groups the person belongs to, you can see not only who they like to hang out with but what they find interesting in both their work life and their personal life. You can now see who they know and trust by scrolling through their first-level connections. This could prove to be very valuable.  Wow. All of this detailed information about the person, plus the ability to ask for an introduction to anyone in their network, came out of collecting one business card. That is what I call powerful.