LinkedIn for B2B eBook

LinkedIn
for
B2B’s

BY
VIVEKA
VON
ROSEN

LinkedIn for B2B’s | Viveka von Rosen
i

Table of Contents

LINKEDIN FOR B2BS 1

Actionable Tips To Get You Started 1
LinkedIn B2B Business Strategies Error! Bookmark not defined.
Some Facts to Know 3

Best Business Practices to Get Found and Generate Client Interest on LinkedIn 5
Optimizing Your Profile: 5
Growing your Network: 11
Targeting your Ideal Client 13
Staying Top of Mind: 16
Applications: SlideShare, Google Docs, Box.net 17
Weekly Goals 19

LinkedIn Profile Questionnaire 20

Some Nice Things People Have Said About Me… 30

2
1

LinkedIn for B2B’s
Actionable LinkedIn Strategies for Your Business-to-Business Company

Connect with Viveka
Email: Viveka@LinkedIntoBusiness.com
Website: www.LinkedIntoBusiness.com
Phone: (970) 212-4711
Feed: www.LinkedIntoBusiness.com/feed
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/LinkedInExpert
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/LinkedInExpert
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Viveka.vonRosen
Page: www.facebook.com/LinkedInExpertTraining
YouTube: www.YouTube.com/LinkedInExpert

LinkedIn for B2Bs
Actionable Tips To Get You Started

LinkedIn is a Social Networking Site where you can

potentially find up to ninety million other business people to
connect with, and research over one million Company
Profiles. The relationships you build open the way to new
Clients, Partners, Vendors, Mentors and Employees.

LinkedIn is a channel to increase, not a tool to replace your
networking efforts, and it is an excellent vehicle to facilitate
some facets of your marketing strategy.

LinkedIn for B2Bs 1

LinkedIn has become a professional social networking staple. Here are some benefits
resulting in active participation in LinkedIn.
1. Ability to be known – The ways you participate will help define your personal and
corporate brand. Contribute, give and share in a positive way and you can develop a
good reputation in these communities.

2. Ability to find others – With a moderately sized network you can develop a sufficient
reach when you perform searches.

3. Opportunity to learn and share – LinkedIn Answers is an excellent tool to showcase
expert advice.

4. Ability to connect with LinkedIn group members – There are many exclusive groups
that give you access to other members, people who share commonalities.

5. Opportunity to show you are plugged in to current technology – Active participation
in LinkedIn tells others you are serious and competent about networking and new
technology.

LinkedIn for B2Bs 2

Some Facts to Know
LinkedIn is the number one social media network for business, and is utilized by almost
every country in the world. LinkedIn just surpassed 90 million users and it’s estimated that
a new member joins every second. There are over 1 million
companies represented on LinkedIn in over 200 countries.

So that means 90 million people who might be your next
client, right? Wrong! What LinkedIn doesn’t tell you, is
that you are only as visible as the size of your network. So
if you have a small (5 million or less) network (1st, 2nd, 3rd
tier + group members) you are missing out on both your
own ability to be seen by others, as well as the ability to
find and target strategic clients.

LinkedIn for B2Bs 3

To become more visible, you will need to become a
“strategic open networker” (or pay for an account at
$24.95 a month.) A “strategic open networker” – as
opposed to a LION (LinkedIn Open Networker) -‐‑
doesn’t have to grow their first tier exponentially – but
will need to grow their whole network by inviting and
accepting connections from people with large
networks.

Remember – you don’t know who you don’t know –
and who might become your best new client. And if
your network is too small, you will never know them.

LinkedIn for B2Bs 4

Linking In to Cash Out: Best Business Practices to Get Found and
Generate Client Interest on LinkedIn

Optimizing Your Profile:
1. Your LinkedIn Profile is your professional identity,
autobiography, brochure or ad and brand on LinkedIn.
Think of it as a website showcasing your career, your
company, your product and your service. Like any
brochure or website, make sure your content is
grammatically correct and free of spelling errors.

2. Is your profile complete? If not 100% filled out you are sending the wrong
message. Why should a client invest in you, if you are not invested in

LinkedIn for B2Bs 5

yourself? (Hint: most people have 95% completeness because they need one
more recommendation.)

3. Use the Professional Headline in your profile to share your areas of
expertise and interest. You have 120 characters to work with. This field is
weighted heavily in both the LinkedIn Search and Google Search, so use
your keywords. Almost every action you take on LinkedIn is accompanied
by your Headline section and picture – so make sure they are engaging.

4. Your Photo should attract others by being engaging and
approachable. I recommend a close up of your face, and if you
are smiling or laughing, even better. This is a business site, but it
is a social networking site first. DO NOT have anything or
anyone other than yourself in the photo and DO NOT use a logo
(which goes against LinkedIn’s EUA – End User Agreement.)

LinkedIn for B2Bs 6

5. Use the Summary section to expand upon the information in your headline.
What is it your company does? Why should someone hire you? What’s in it
for them? List features but highlight the benefits of working with you and
your company.

6. This section is searchable, so include keywords
My keywords –
that are appropriate for your industry. You can ü My Industry
write your summary in a Word document first ü Job Title
and then cut and paste it into LinkedIn. This ü Offers
ü Products
will allow you to check spelling and grammar, ü Services
as well as create attractive formatting with ü My Clients
bullets and spacing. The most common ü My Company Name
y
ü My Client’s Industr
symbols and bullets will transfer over. You
have 2,000 characters to use.

LinkedIn for B2Bs 7

7. Change the link/url in your Profile by
editing the Public Profile so that it
es here:
includes your name, your company name n URL go
Linked I
or your expertise in your industry Name:
y:
(www.linkedin.com/in/linkedinexpert) Compan
Email:
and include it in your email signatures, :
Website In.com/
in/
business cards, other marketing collateral, www .Linked
and as a website link in your “about us”
section.

8. Put ALL your job titles in the “Title” field of the “experience” section. This
field is also heavily ranked in a LinkedIn Search. Most people will simply
upload a resume, which means the title field will only have one title in it.

LinkedIn for B2Bs 8

But my guess is you do more for your company than just “CFO” or “Project
Manager” or “Marketing Director”.

9. Invest in the “Update” section several times a week by informing your
network of recent work you have done, successes your clients have
experienced, good information from others, or just to be helpful. Make sure
you start your update with keywords and add a link to the referenced
website if possible. The new update section works much like Facebook and
will pull the icon from your website into the stream.

10. Link your update section to Twitter but choose
the “#in” option. Remember, LinkedIn works
differently from Twitter and your LinkedIn
connections might not appreciate your Twitter
“prolific-‐‑ness”

LinkedIn for B2Bs 9

11. Spend a few minutes every day looking through the connections and
comment or “like” their updates to build camaraderie

12. Ask for recommendations. When asking for recommendations,
remind people who you are and tell them what to say using
bullet points with keywords. You can then use these
testimonials on your website. You can only get
recommendations from your first tier (connections) so make
sure you are connected to some top people in your field,
famous folks, executives, etc.

13. Write recommendation for others – they will be prompted to write one back
to you.

LinkedIn for B2Bs 10

Growing your Network:

1. ONLY invite people already using
LinkedIn when using LinkedIn’s
connection tool. (Due to 3K limit)

2. Use the new “recently joined” tool at the
bottom of the home page to “catch” new
members and initiate their experience on
LinkedIn

3. Use “Company Search” to find new hires and congratulate them (building
camaraderie), discover executives (and the groups they belong too), connect to
someone who has left the company (to find out more about it), locate a mentor or
insider (to give you the inside scoop.)


4. Join Groups that have a lot of members (Toplinked, LinkedHR, Open Networkers) as
well as industry groups and alumni groups – you can join up to 50 groups – which
will grow your network, and will not cost you ANY invites.

5. I recommend accepting every invitation (although you might want to check out their
profile first.) Remember, it’s not just them you are connecting to; it’s their network.

6. Go to www.toplinked.com/top50.html and invite the top linked people (who have
less than 28K connections – new limit imposed by LinkedIn)

7. Join www.opennetworker.com (an affiliate site) and for $49 a year YOU will receive
invitations – from complete strangers – but they might know someone you need to
knew (And you can use this opportunity to ‘touch’ new folks who might become a
client – I get about 4 warm leads a week this way)

8. Connect to me and you’ll get over 2 million people in your network:

www.linkedin.com/in/linkedinexpert (vivekavr@gmail.com)


Targeting your Ideal Client
Once you have grown a decent network, you will have access to more people, including
target clients:

1. Use the Advanced Search which will allow you to specifically target the “type” of
person who would make an ideal client (sort by “relevance” and “expanded” view)
Use a Boolean Search (AND, OR, NOT “”) Invite the strategic people you find to
connect using groups if possible, or get “Introduced” through a mutual connection.
(HINT: Find experts in your field and invite them as a guest blogger on your blog or
speaker at your event.)

2. Find and “follow” ideal clients in groups (this is not the same as connecting – but
gives you many of the same benefits) – Use search within member section of a group
(Boolean)

3. Search “Companies” to find key people you might want to connect with (a wealth a
valuable information is often over-‐‑looked here)


4. Search by location when traveling and meet your connections IRL (in real life.) This is
one of the best practices I know to create new business relationships. And all it costs is
a cup of coffee or lunch.

5. Ask for the “introduction”. You only get 5 at a time, so it’s best to ask for an
introduction from someone who: 1. Obviously uses LinkedIn, 2. Knows and likes you.
If an introduction has not been passed within a week, withdraw it and go another
route.

6. Use the new “tagging” option in your LinkedIn Contacts list once
you are connected (only good for 1st level)

7. Download vCards of your 1st level connection and organize them
using Outlook, Act, Apple Mail, BatchBook, etc.

8. Do market research and gain knowledge with Polls, and then
share survey and poll results with your contacts.


9. Share useful articles and resources that will
be of interest to customers and prospects in
groups, link to articles and content that is
posted elsewhere, with a summary of why
it’s valuable to add to your credibility. List
your newsletter subscription information
and archives.


Staying Top of Mind:
1. Create and utilize LinkedIn Groups for TOMA (top of mind
awareness) and to showcase your expertise. You may want
to segment you group into sub-‐‑groups for segmented
audiences. Share your group within and outside of LinkedIn
with a URL shortening tool. Share it in twitter, Facebook,
email, newsletters, website, email signature, etc.

2. Use “Answers” to be a Thought Leader and Expert in your
industry. This is time consuming, but has proved a very
successful marketing strategy for some business owners and
industry specialists. I use Answers to mine for blog ideas
and cross-‐‑pollinate, then share on twitter and Facebook.

3. Create a Company profile to give your business credibility and elevate your success.
Make sure you optimize your profile so it can be found in a search for keywords, not
just company name.


Applications: SlideShare, Google Docs,
Box.net

LinkedIn Applications enable you to enrich your profile, share
and collaborate with your network, and get the key insights
that help you be more effective. Applications are added to
your homepage and profile enabling you to control who gets
access to what information.

Use any of these apps to post within your personal profile
documents highlighting your business, service or product

1. Box.net – Allows you to share the content of
any Word, Excel, PDF or mp3 documents. So
you can upload white papers, brochures,
interviews, calculators, etc.


2. Slideshare / Google Presentation – Embed power point presentations

• Industry presentation to show expertise

• Photos of product or service

3. Embed a video – very powerful!

4. Wordpress / Blog Link – Embed your blog into your profile for effortless repurposing
of content.

5. Post events (Optimize the title for Google ranking)


Weekly Goals
1. Update status at least once per week (with
links and keywords.)
2. Get back in touch with two “old” contacts
through LinkedIn, and reach out to some
new contacts.
3. Invite or ask to be introduced to one strategic
person a week, and follow up with them in
some way.

4. Attempt to engage in at least one discussion
in a relevant group per week.
5. Answer one question per week (repurpose with blog.)


LinkedIn Profile Questionnaire

LinkedIn sign in email: _______________________________________________________

Password: __________________________________________________________________

Other email addresses (Personal and professional, past and present)

1. _________________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________________

Website (Your most valuable landing pages):

1. Home Page: ______________________________________________________________

2. Testimonials: _____________________________________________________________


3. Services: _________________________________________________________________

Blog site: (Use Wordpress app for WP theme, otherwise BlogLink app)

Keywords / Keyword Phrases:
1. _________________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________________________________

5. _________________________________________________________________________

6. _________________________________________________________________________

7. _________________________________________________________________________


8. _________________________________________________________________________

9. _________________________________________________________________________

10. _________________________________________________________________________

Headline: 120 Characters that best describe you, your talents and the industry you want to work in (use
those keywords)

Example: LinkedIn Trainer | Social Media Trainer & Speaker ► Founder of Linked Into Business ◄
LinkedIn Expert | Twitter Training

Summary: 2000 Characters to go into more depth on who you are, what you offer, why someone should hire
you. Do you have a “How I won the day” story? Work with someone famous? Work with a fortune 500?
What do people like about you? (EXAMPLE)

♦ VIVEKA VON ROSEN: Social Media Strategist | Certified Life & Business Coach | Networking Expert | LinkedIn
Expert & Trainer | Social Media Enthusiast | Social Media Keynote Speaker
♦ INDUSTRIES: Social Media Training & Strategies | Small Business Incubator │ Workshops and Seminars | Business
Coaching | LinkedIn Training | Social Media Strategist |Keynote Speaking
♦ LOCATION: Fort Collins, CO


♦ MISSION: Linking people into their potential, MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA WORK FOR YOU.
Your LinkedIn Expert

♦Linked Into Business offers individuals, companies and groups LINKEDIN HANDS-‐‑ON WORKSHOPS and
WEBINARS, and consulting as well as other social media presentations and trainings.

♦If you are feeling overwhelmed by LinkedIn and all its new features, please ask about the training webinars and
workshops we provide. We are not Authorized LinkedIn Trainers, nor Certified LinkedIn Trainers and do not provide
Authorized LinkedIn Training or Certified LinkedIn Training. We provide training for basic as well as strategic use. I
welcome LinkedIn invitations.

♦I am a recognized LinkedIn Expert and Social Media Strategist, and social media keynote speaker and I CAN HELP
YOU AND YOUR COMPANY BE MOST SUCCESSFUL WITH LINKEDIN, Twitter and other Social Media Platforms.

Locally, I manage The Executive Center (est. 2003) with over 500 B2B associates in our network. I PERSONALLY coach
many of our members on Twitter and LinkedIn and am locally considered the "ʺLinkedIn Expert"ʺ.

Why I am here on LinkedIn:
► To network with other active, intelligent and generous B2B networkers.
► To offer LinkedIn training and advice.
► Drive attendance to our entrepreneur’s WORKSHOPS, WEBINARS AND SEMINARS


Specialties and Interests: 500 characters for specialties, 750 characters for Interests – add some more
personal interests. Use your keywords (think noun, verb and acronym,) Comma separated.

Example:
CURRENT – Executive and virtual offices, LinkedIn expert, cause related marketing, In-‐‑house IT, LinkedIn Training and
Advice, Social Media training, entrepreneur, trainer, training, instructor, instructing, speaker, speaking. networker,
networking, marketer, marketing, business, executive life coaching. Social Media Strategist. LinkedIn Expert, social media
keynote speaker
PREVIOUS – Medical Devices, automotive, education, publishing, writing, equestrian, spiritual counseling.

Best type of Client: (entrepreneur, small business, corporation, men women, marketing professionals, etc.)

Area of expertise:

Resume: (save as a separate text document – chronological)

Email list (Save as excel CSV – separate document)


How You Can Use Me…

At Linked Into Business, we believe that no matter what channels we use, social media
marketing comes down to these three strategies

• Creating
your
Social
Story

• Building
Relationships

• Managing
your
Social
Reputation
(including
Marketing
and
Monitoring)

There are three ways we can go about creating your New Media strategy:

• We
can
teach
you
how
to
create
and
implement
your
social
media
strategy
(Training)

• We
can
create
and
implement
your
social
media
campaign
with
you
(Masterminding)

• We
can
create
and
implement
your
social
marketing
for
you
(Execution)

If you need your Social Marketing done right now, call us for a free consultation on what
you feel your needs are, and we will work together to get your campaign up and working


immediately. If you need help getting set up on social media, integrating social media with
the rest of your marketing program, or getting a campaign launched, please give me a call at
970-‐‑212-‐‑4711 or shoot me an email and let’s get started.

Training For companies with employees, sometimes it is better for me to come in as a
trainer. In your training session/s, I will teach your staff about the culture and strategies of
new media and social media marketing. This will increase your staff’s capacity to work
independently and help them become more proficient marketers.

There are four ways I can engage with companies: Speaking (keynotes and breakout
sessions), Training, Training Camps and QuickStarts.

Masterminding Sometimes we just need a different perspective or a consistent voice of
encouragement. I can be your personal marketing trainer, either on-‐‑call as needed or as part
of a disciplined monthly program. Monthly programs include at least two one-‐‑hour
coaching sessions in addition to email and telephone support.


Execution or Implementation

If you just don’t have the time, we will work together. My team will take on the bulk of
implementation, from profile and network building to communication and marketing
strategies. I have a team of specialists who will create beautiful profile presences for you;
record and edit powerful video introductions; work with you in creating and implementing
your company voice; and increase brand recognition and social reputation. Together, we
can create a strategy to determine how much – or little – is needed.

Creating your Social Story

Each Social Medium has its own culture, and so in order to discover the optimal social
channels through which you can begin to tell your own social story, we need to first uncover
and develop your core story. It is only through knowing how to speak your core story that
you will be able to leverage today’s emerging technologies AND be well equipped to
leverage whatever technologies come next. Taking into account current and previous
branding efforts, we will craft not only a comprehensive story but will also uniquely modify


your story to attract the highest quality tribe to first listen to it and then begin to tell it to
their peers.

Building Relationships:

Are you clear on your target audience? Do you know where they live? Together, we will
discover and define specific, action-‐‑oriented opportunities for you to connect with your
target client. We will create the relationship strategies your company will need to develop
and support a true Tribe of “Evangelists.”

Managing Your Social Reputation:

A robust social media presence gives you control over your social reputation. Even if you
have detractors, through vigorous social media engagement you can be in command of your
presence and interaction. Your activity will also engage your customers and increase your
customer service ratings. We utilize existing marketing assets and create new marketing
content for your new media endeavor by focusing on media messages oriented to your end


user’s interests and concerns (which are, after all, what they’ll actually ACT upon). Paying
attention to the human interactions in your marketplace helps you stay focused on others; that
means I can help you establish, manage and grow both your online and word-‐‑of-‐‑mouth
communities.


Some Nice Things People Have Said About Me…

Mari Smith, Author of “Facebook in an hour a day”: “Viveka is an exceptionally
knowledgeable LinkedIn and social media trainer. I’ve had the great pleasure of featuring
Viveka several times on my various classes – including for the International Social Media
Association – and she always delivers. Not only does Viveka have tremendous expertise on
LinkedIn in particular, her teaching style is extremely effective. She has the ability to chunk
down and sequence everything you need to know to really optimize and succeed using
LinkedIn. I would highly recommend Viveka for your social media team as a speaker, trainer
and consultant. She will help you get measurable results, no question! Two thumbs way up.
” November 16, 2009

Susan Smith, Executive Director, The Alliance Academy: “Viveka is truly a Master of Social
Media and a pleasure to work with on any project. Her expertise has taught me how to
master LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. I no longer travel alone because Viv is always there


to guide me and ensure I make the most of my time and efforts. I highly recommend
engaging Viv for maximum results” March 25, 2010

Frank Cottle, Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Speaker, Executive Suite &
Virtual Office Expert, Alliance Business Centers Network: “It is rare today to find any
individual who is able to simultaneously maintain the proper balance of growth,
communications and experience. You have it all; and working with you has been both a
pleasure and a learning experience. Your expertise and sense of your surroundings, as well as
awareness of others, is a unique combination that is greatly appreciated by all that have
worked with you on our Alliance team and within the Business Center Industry at large. I am
looking forward to a long term and rewarding relationship. Frank Cottle – Chairman,
Alliance Business Centers Network” January 29, 2010

Robert Hayes, President, CynoCast.com: “She is very knowledgeable on every social media
site including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. As an experienced social media consultant,


she knows the ins-and-outs of each site like they were her own. We are fortunate to have her
locally right here in Colorado. You will also not find a nicer person to associate with. She’s
been a great friend ever since I met her.” September 21, 2009

Barry Plaskow: CEO, SuccessBug.com: “Viveka is a supreme master of anything related to
social media. She goes beyond the call of duty and is heavily respected by leading marketers
around the world. When it comes to Linkedin and other platforms, she is the go to person all
the experts are really using. If you are lucky to get her to work with you, grab the
opportunity!” Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert

Jim Davidson: “Viveka has an expert knowledge of LinkedIn and was able to help me create
a professional profile that will get me found on LinkedIn.” Top qualities: Great Results,
Expert, Creative


LinkedIn for B2B eBook

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

More from Viveka von Rosen

More from Viveka von Rosen (9)

LinkedIn for B2B eBook