LinkedIn, Part IV: Company pages

Not only can LinkedIn users create a personal page, users can create business pages.  Just as with Facebook and other social media sites, LinkedIn will lead you through the process of building a business page so that you can connect with other users, ask them to provide recommendations, and promote goods and services.  A few things you will be asked to do when creating the company page:

1.  You’ll be asked to provide details about the business (company name, type of company and size, URL, industry, etc.).

2.  Indicate who will be able to post of the page – you have the option to limit posting to the person who creates the company page or allow other company employees to act as administrators, and, provide a contact email address.  (Image from LinkedIn's company page builder example)

One thing to be aware of when registering your company page – domain names with @comcast.net, @gmail.com, or similar are not considered valid. 


As with other web tools you use, LinkedIn will also provide analytics pertaining to the number of page views and unique visitors who view your company page, as well as the visitor’s demographics.  In addition, LinkedIn will compare these numbers to numbers for what they call “similar companies.”  So, if there are a fair number of “like” companies who have LinkedIn company pages you may see some valuable data; however, if there are few other businesses with company pages in your category – the available comparison statistics may not be of much use. (Image from LinkedIn's company page builder example)

To build a company page, click the “Companies” tab, select “Search for Companies,” and then click “Add a Company” link, which you will find on the right hand of the screen.  Right now you might find too many ag. businesses listed but why not be one of the first and create your page.  For some inspiration view LinkedIn’s slideshow of “The 12 Best Linked company Pages of 2012” at tinyurl.com/c2t4gr9. 

Take the time to not only update our profile often but to look through the LinkedIn “Help Center” feature as the tool is likely to continue to evolve.  You are bound to find a feature that you fell will benefit you or your business, such as recruiting for your business (for which a fee is charged), or learn about positions that you might be interested in.  Take some time and navigate through the system to become familiar with LinkedIn and make valuable connections. 

LinkedIn, Part III: Networking and groups

It is quite possible that even those who do not own a LinkedIn account know that the primary purpose is to build and enhance networks.  LinkedIn has a few tools that I have found useful to share with other LinkedIn users and to learn from others in my industry.

Tweet to your links

I am an active Twitter user and have connected my Twitter and LinkedIn accounts such that what I post on LinkedIn can also post to Twitter (I have also done this in a social media dashboard that I use, HootSuite, where I can select the tweet to post to Twitter and LinkedIn).  This is not mandatory; I do have the option of just strictly posting the content on just LinkedIn.  But, think about your audiences who follow/link to you on different social networks you might be involved with – might some of your postings apply to more than one audience?  If so, why save time and post to more than one network by clicking just one “share” button?

How to set up the ability to post to LinkedIn and Twitter simultaneously. 

Why have I chosen to do this?  The more often that my posts appear on any friends’, followers’, or linkages’ feed - the more often they (may) see my posts, topics I like to discuss or contribute to, and may be more likely to read these posts, access my other social media profiles, and view me as more of a resources who shares information that is of value to them. 

Provide and ask those you’re linked to for recommendations

Aside from sharing content on LinkedIn, I have also been asked, and obliged, to provide recommendations for some of my connections.  A recommendation is merely a shot description of the person’s skills, experiences you've had based on interacting with them, and similar.  Consider other businesses that you have relationships with.  If you were to endorse them on LinkedIn – could you help build their reputation and credibility as a leader in their industry? Certainly, you would not want to provide recommendations for each and every LinkedIn user you are connected to, so be selective and provide honest insight as your name, as well as reputation, is tied with you include in the recommendation.

An example of a recommendation I wrote for a guest lecturer who has spoken in one of the classes I teach at Penn State. 

It is not necessary to wait for someone to ask you for a recommendation in order for you to write one, rather anytime you click on one of your connection’s profile you are presented with the option: “would you like to recommend (name)?”  Pretty simple and straightforward just like your ability to add/select keywords that describe your connection’s skills or expertise. 

Join or start a LinkedIn group

The ability to join a LinkedIn group, based on an interest or industry, is one of the strengths of this social network.  Some specifics about groups:

·       You do not need to join most groups to view what members are posting, unless it is a closed group and an administrator must approve your membership before you can participate, but if you want to receive updates with about the group’s activities (posted on your feed page) you do need to join. 

·       You can join up to 50 groups and browse discussions, learn about promotions group members are offering (e.g. classes, special discounts on merchandise), job postings, and see a listing of group members. 

Groups can be very useful resources.  Members post questions and other members can respond or “like” comments.  My own experience with joining a group evolved from connecting with key group members to asking group members to suggest topics for a course I teach.  This informal exchange resulted in some interesting and diverse comments and viewpoints.  Even if you never initiate a discussion, it is interesting to learn from others about how they solved a problem similar to what you are experiencing or learn about potential opportunities. 

This is the message I wrote and that was posted on my group's page.  Other group members provide thought provoking and valuable replies. 

LinkedIn provides a few tools that can help you identify groups you may want join. You can:

• do a general search for a group based on keywords (as I write this blog there are 1.5 million groups) 
•  filter the entire list of groups by language and/or by instructing LinkedIn to only select groups that your connections belong to – doing this narrowed my results to 880. 

If you do not find a group that you want to join you can always create your own.  The process is very straightforward and you have the option of having an open or closed group.  Additionally, you can alert others about your group by using the “invite others” option in each group’s page.  By clicking on this link an email is generated with a brief description of the group’s purpose that you can send to others who might be interested in joining. 

In the last of this series of blog postings on LinkedIn I'll describe company pages and how easy it is for businesses to build their own.  

LinkedIn, Part II: Customize your profile page

This blog continues with last week's discussion about LinkedIn.  To learn about highlighting your skills, expertise, and your accomplishments - click here: LinkedIn Part I.

When I first signed up for my LinkedIn account I did not realize that I would be assigned a rather long and difficult to remember profile URL that was a mix of my full name and random numbers and letters.  LinkedIn gives users the opportunity to customize their public profile URL (I changed mine to www.linkedin.com/in/kathymkelley, which I think is much more professional than the automatic URL I was assigned when I opened my account …./in/kathleenmariekelley93dnc9el3).  

I suggest that users customize their URL as soon as possible, because first come/first served - if the URL is available now it may not be in the future.  My name is fairly common so I had to go through several combinations to get a URL that was short and made sense.  Customizing becomes even more critical when a business owner develops a company page (discussed in my next blog) and wants a LinkedIn URL that closely matches their website or Facebook URL.  Grab it while you can!

Not only have I customized my LinkedIn URL, but I have done something similar for the three websites (the maximum I can add) I've added to my profile:

• My Penn State Profile (http://plantscience.psu.edu/directory/kmk17),
• our Farm Business Management website (http://extension.psu.edu/farm-business),
• and link to this blog (http://farmbusiness.blogspot.com)

LinkedIn gives users a couple of labeling options when they add URLs to their profile page.   In the edit contact info option I have two choices for describing/labeling the webpage associated with the URL:

• I have the option of choosing one of the general/generic names produced (personal website, company website, blog, RSS feed, or blog) or
• I can develop a more specific label of my choosing, though I am limited to 30 characters or less.

I like the option to customizing and think it is more enticing to see a website labeled: PSU Farm Business blog rather than the standard LinkedIn “blog” label.  If an ag. business uses the generic “blog” title someone looking at the profile may have no clue as to the type of blog that they will find after clicking on the URL.   Better to provide a bit of information, even if the description is rather brief. 

Entering customized link descriptions and how they look on my LinkedIn profile.

As you can see, some of what I've described about LinkedIn is similar to what you might have had to provide when you built your website or even when you set up Twitter or Facebook accounts.  LinkedIn does have an extensive help menu and FAQ section – and LinkedIn personnel are responsive when users ask questions via their “Contact Us” form.  This is just the start of our LinkedIn conversation.  Do check back next week when I describe a bit about networking and company pages. 

Developing Relationships on Social Media: It Ain't Rocket Science!

In my last blog (Developing & Monitoring a Social Media Strategy), I made a note to myself to follow that up with a post about using social media (SM) tools for relationship development.  In order to prove that some things do, in fact, get accomplished when I have a TDL....

Step One: Embrace the Social-ness
As I learn more about social media, it's clear to me that the adjective "social" is much more important than the noun, "media."  The media are, in general, more similar to a telephone or email than they are to websites.  Where websites used to be made for one-way messaging, like a radio ad might be, social media are, by definition, made for two-way communication.  Social media tools allow a user to put something (which is commonly called "content") out there for feedback.  Alternatively, they allow a user to respond to something that's been put out there.  Since the dawn of humanity, people have interacted based on this basic notion.  Each of us knows how to do this, we just need to understand that what we know about interaction applies to these tools.  When this happens, the how-to question becomes easier to address. (UPDATE 4/10/12: Just ran across a nice post that delves into this notion a bit deeper with respect to Twitter.)

Step Two: Choose Your Target(s)
With whom do you want to interact?  Why did you choose that person?  What's in it for you?  What do you have to offer them in exchange for their time?  You may want to interact with customers, policymakers, others like you, consultants, etc.  Many of these have a presence on social media.  Develop and follow a priority list to decide who you will approach.

Step Three: Interact
Max Spiegel once told me that engaging through social media is like going to a dinner party. While we may use different tools to interact, the same rules of engagement apply.

1. Approach someone you wish to engage. Armed with the list developed in Step Two, send them requests to connect on Facebook or LinkedIn; follow them on Twitter; add them to your Google+ circles, etc. 
2. Strike up a conversation. If you are able to get their attention, start the conversation you want to have.  Respond thoughtfully to their content.  Ask them a question. Just be sure to get to the point relatively quickly.  Some people on SM are in greater demand than others and some people just don't give it as much time as others might.  One of the places where the analogy may break down is related to small talk. While fine, and expected, at a dinner party, it may get lost in the noise on SM.
3. Be respectful. In few cases would you be rude or inconsiderate to someone at a dinner party so don't do it on SM.  If someone talks to you, talk back.  Listen more than you talk.
4. Repetition can be a good thing.  You won't be able to talk to every dinner party attendee at the same time.  You'll probably need to introduce yourself several times and repeat a lot of stuff.  In SM, the odds of someone not seeing a single post can be very high.  Don't be afraid to put your content out there several times over the course of days or weeks.  Most people expect this to happen and won't hold it against you.
5. Don't oversell. We're talking about developing relationships here, not closing deals. Closed deals will come over time if you're successful in relationship development.

You may be thinking of lots of other appropriate aspects to this analogy, but I hope you get the point: the rules of interaction are basically the same.  Let common sense lead you. (To learn more about the type of info that consumers are requesting, watch this short video.)

Step Four: Don't Be Afraid to Move the Conversation "Offline"

Relationships that move past the SM-only stage are usually a good thing.  This may mean that the conversation needs to happen more efficiently or that it needs to be private.  It's the equivalent of setting a follow up meeting at the dinner party. 

Conclusion

This may all seem much too simple.  If so, then I may have hit my target.  Social media are simply tools, like the telephone or email, to communicate with people.  The key, really, is knowing how to use them.  Learn Twitter's language.  Learn how to use a Facebook page for your business.  Once you know that, you'll be able to develop and maintain relationships as you would in any other setting.

Killing social fears to become a better networker

Many people feel uncomfortable in meeting strangers. But if you don't meet strangers, how will you build your network? As an entrepreneur, you need to overcome your social fears so that you can talk about your product/service and build relationships with potential buyers, distributors, customers, employees, etc.

In an article for Forbes magazine, Bob Goodyear, technical product manager for Symantec, confesses to being a wallflower and having trouble mingling. On a recent business trip, Goodyear vowed to overcome his fear. Before the event, Goodyear said that he "researched all the companies that would be represented...so that when I saw the company's names on the guest's name tags, I had a piece of information about their firm to use as a conversation starter." Another technique Goodyear uses is to put a time limit on how long he feels he has to mingle. "I tell myself, Bob, there's nothing you can't do for 30 minutes."

Dr. Mark Goulston, a psychologist, has used Goodyear's strategies and has built on them. Goulston sets a goal for himself at social events. For example, he promises "to meet three new people and have them be glad to have met me." Another technique Goulston uses is something he calls "FTD delivery." Get to know people by asking how they feel, what they think, or what they have done or would do given a certain topic. By starting the conversation directed at the other person, you take the focus off of yourself (and lower your stress level).

Ultimately, saying "Hi" is all about believing that you have something worth sharing with the other person, says John Baldoni, a corporate communications consultant in Ann Arbor, Mich. "You can't be afraid of sounding incompetent," he says. "You have to believe that you deserve to have the interaction, that your company depends on you and that you have something to offer the other person in the exchange."

networking article

As an entrepreneur, do you fear social situations? Do you want to become a better networker so that you can attract new customers, distributors, employees, etc? What tips do you have for other entrepreneurs who want to become better networkers?