Author: tlburriss

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LinkedIn LinkedIn Network

Purposeful LinkedIn Networking

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In one way or another, you have access to nearly 610 Million people who are on LinkedIn. Even if these LinkedIn Members are not active on LinkedIn, purposefully networking on LinkedIn is a powerful way to get into the right conversations with the right people, at the right time.

I routinely remind my clients of two important business process facts of LinkedIn Networking.

#1 You do not have to connect with every Tom, Dick, and Betty on LinkedIn. No disrespect to all the Toms, Dicks and Bettys on LinkedIn, they could be fabulous people. I’ll tell them as well, not to connect with every George, Harry or Sylvia on LinkedIn either. I use a very deliberate philosophy to decide who I should connect with. Relevance is at the core of this philosophy. I use the word relevance broadly around life, business, career, community, industry, role, interest and curiosity.

#2 There are two people you should connect with on LinkedIn (and in life). I urge everyone who wants to get the greatest value from their LinkedIn Network to make a new connection every day of their life. The more you network on LinkedIn the easier it becomes to network on LinkedIn.

Many years ago LinkedIn used to show the size of our 2nd level network. Back when I only had a few thousand connections I remember this number being close to 13Million people. Today I am fortunate to have a large and highly relevant LinkedIn Network. As I research new LinkedIn Connections today it has become far easier to connect with them.

The old quote of “6 degrees from Kevin Bacon” has morphed into my quote, “2 degrees away from my Most Important Viewer”.

Here are the two people you should connect with on LinkedIn:

(A) People you can help

These are the people you could help in some way or another.

Maybe it’s your ability to encourage, motivate, inform or educate them through the content you share and the ideas you bring to relevant conversations.

Maybe you can help them through a direct conversation over a LinkedIn or email message or even a quick phone call.

Maybe you can help them by alerting them of future opportunities you discover from your LinkedIn Network that they could benefit from.

Maybe they need help connecting with that a LinkedIn Connection who could be the most profound connection and conversation they have ever made.

(B) People who can help you

These are the people who can help you in some way or another, either in business, life, community or career.

Maybe you can get encouragement, motivation or educated from their content and engagement in relevant conversations.

Maybe you can get into an open and mutually beneficial conversation with them via LinkedIn message, email, quick phone call or visit.

Maybe as your relationship and reputation grow with them, they would be able/willing to introduce you to your next great LinkedIn Connection, (i.e. a potential client).

Maybe these LinkedIn Members are actually your Most Important Viewer (target audience) and again, as your relationship and reputation grow with them, they would be open to a direct business conversation which could turn a LinkedIn Connection into a prospect or better yet a client.

You can adjust my definitions of People you can help and People who can help you as you wish to best fit your specific business or career goals. However, don’t disrespect the core definitions by driving them down to ‘people I can sell to’.

If you are not networking on LinkedIn for mutual benefit, as we should in life, I can guarantee you’ll get far less long term value from networking.

One of the truly rewarding aspects of networking with these two people on LinkedIn is that often one becomes the other. Sometimes you don’t see it happening until the person you thought needed your help introduces you to someone they know well who needs your services, products or skills. And, maybe that person you connect with who became a client, personally needs your help with their own goals.

Two additional important aspects of networking on LinkedIn, which I am committed to are:

  1. My research (searching) on LinkedIn is focused on people who can help me. This is typically influencers or my Most Important Viewer.
  2. I immediately engage with everyone I connect with on LinkedIn. I think it’s a huge missed opportunity when LinkedIn Members fail to do this.

The amount of time I invest in my immediate engagement is based on the potential value this LinkedIn Connection could have to my business goals. Often those I can help will get a friendly LinkedIn message thanking them for the connection and letting them know I will help them in any way I can. Those who I believe can help me (often the influencers or my Most Important Viewers) may get a phone call or business email message thanking them for the connection and inviting them to a conversation regarding their business goals or needs. No sales pitch, ever.

I strive to live by my edit of “Networking is finding, developing and nurturing relationships that mutually move people forward through life.” As I discovered the potential of networking on LinkedIn I encourage all LinkedIn Members to do the same.

If your sales team needs to understand and start networking on LinkedIn purposefully, let’s talk.

Teddy
336-283-6121
info@burrissconsulting.com

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LinkedIn

Are you paying attention to new LinkedIn features?

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New LinkedIn Features

One of the newest features is the LinkedIn Messaging Forwarding option.

See the post I put on LinkedIn regarding this feature:

So how can you use this feature?

Here are a few ideas:

  • Capture a link to 3rd party content via messaging and share it with a peer.
  • Share a great message from a peer with someone else who can benefit from it.
  • When someone messages you an article, video, or an image, you can share it with someone else who it may be useful for.

I’m sure there will be uses that are less than mutually beneficial, and even some less than authentic or ethical forwarding of messages. This occurs every day. I tolerate this misuse, while I look for better ways of using new features.

What about you? 

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LinkedIn

Top 10 LinkedIn Changes going into 2019

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Blink your eyes and LinkedIn will change.

Ok, maybe not that fast, but the application changes routinely and there is no expectation this will slow down. Actually, I expect significant changes throughout this year, some we will appreciate, some we won’t.

Here are 10 new changes you may not have noticed yet this year (2019):

#1 – LinkedIn Search results of LinkedIn Members who are ‘Connections of’ are limited to 1000, regardless of the filters you apply (or don’t).

LinkedIn says they are doing this to reduce server requirements from LinkedIn Searches.

#2 – The PYMK (People You May Know) has been redesigned into Recommendations for You.

This section of LinkedIn is still on your MyNetwork Page, below any pending invites. This section now includes People, Groups, COmpanies and Hashtags (Communities and content).

Teddy Burriss LinkedIn Recommendations for You Page

The content in these areas is displayed in a Gallery form, vs the older listing of People. More graphically appealing presentation.

#3 Group Navigation Column

LinkedIn Group NavigationWhen you are viewing any of your LinkedIn Groups, owned or just a member the left column of the LinkedIn page shows the Management button (if a manager) and your Recent as well as all LinkedIn Groups.

This makes LinkedIn Group engagement easier as you move in and out of numerous groups.

The top of the column has your LinkedIn Profile access.

The bottom of the column shows your Communities (Hashtags) and the Discovery button.

 

#4 & #5  – Email Address Privacy changes

There are two changes here.

LinkedIn Email Privacy

The first is you can make your email address visible to no one, your 1st level LinkedIn Connections, 1st & 2nd Level Connections or Anyone on LinkedIn. The default is your 1st level connections.

Email Address in LinkedIn Export

The second change is now when you export your LinkedIn Connections (alone or in the Data Archive function) you no longer get LinkedIn Member’s email addresses. LinkedIn Members have to opt-in to include their email address in this data. Only 3 of my clients opted-in to include their email address in this export.

#6 – Home Page Navigation Column

LinkedIn Home Page Nav

The left column on LinkedIn continues to change. Now you can see your entire Headline and the top three Analytics (per LinkedIn).

You also have your LinkedIn Company page access and basic analytics.

Below this is your LinkedIn Groups, most recent accessed and the entire list (via ‘show more’)

Lastly on the bottom of this navigation column are the #hashtags or LinkedIn Communities you are following.

This makes moving around LinkedIn just a little easier to do.

#7 – Group activity in your Newsfeed and Notifications

LinkedIn has committed to rejuvenating LinkedIn Groups. One task towards this goal is to include your LinkedIn Group activity in your LinkedIn Home Page Newsfeed as well as in your Notifications. Of course you could always turn this off, however, I encourage if you like the groups you are in, accept the notifications so you can engage in them.

#8 – LinkedIn Company Page Content Suggestions

LinkedIn Compay Page Mgmt

 

 

This is a rather interesting new feature of LinkedIn Company Pages. You can filter these content suggestions by Topics, Industry, Location, Function, Seniority, content from all LinkedIn Members, Page Followers, or your employees. This is a great way to find relevant and useful content for your Page followers, beyond your own content.

#9 – LinkedIn Communities

Followed HashtagsI’ve referenced #Hashtags and Communities a few times now. #Hashtags are getting new attention in LinkedIn in Posts, Articles, Company Page Posts, Comments, and even Group discussions.

I believe the term Communities is being replaced by Followed Hashtags.

If you want to be included in these topics, start using relevant #Hashtags in your posts.

I feel this functionality of LinkedIn may have some stickiness.

 

#10 – LinkedIn Search Home Page

LinkedIn Search PageIn their new theme to use gallery images, the LinkedIn Search page has three areas on it:

  1. My Connections
  2. People in my Company
  3. People who also went to the school I went to

I like the new gallery layout, easy access to their LinkedIn Profile, to send a message and see the first part of their headline and shared connections.

Pay attention to the changes occurring with LinkedIn. Some are an improvement, some may not be. However, understanding the changes and how to work with them can help you to be more efficient using LinkedIn as the application morphs.

Teddy

 

 

 

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quotations TLB

TLBurriss Quotes

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These are some of the quotations I’ve written from my own experiences and studies. I hope you benefit from them.

Categories
LinkedIn

Top 10 LinkedIn Wish List for 2019

Teddy Burris LinkedIn Wish List
Purchased Deposit Photos

As an unofficial Ambassador of LinkedIn, I publicly admit to you I have a Love & dislike relationship for the application. This is not so unusual and I’m sure I’m not the only one. However, I can’t do my business without this tool, regardless of the fact that my business is teaching people how to use this tool.

Here are 10 areas of LinkedIn, that if improved upon, my appreciation for this business tool would be far greater:

#1 – Merge LinkedIn InMails and Messages into a single page for Sales Navigator users.

It’s difficult sometimes to see all the messages from a lead, especially when we used LinkedIn to send messages to Members before we began engaging with them in Sales Navigator or if we use both LinkedIn and Sales Navigator to send messages to these leads now. A single screen of messaging for a lead would be a beautiful thing

#2 – LinkedIn Groups need to either be resurrected or shut down.

I know there’s a roadmap to resurrect LinkedIn Groups. However, this conversation started nearly a year ago and there have been no serious improvements in LinkedIn Groups for Group Members. I would prefer to see LinkedIn Groups survive and create a renewed environment for engagement, ideation, networking, and collaboration. Here’s a wild idea, maybe buy Slack and integrate it into LinkedIn instead.

#3 – Company Page Followers

Give us access to our Followers again. Let us see who they are and engage with them directly. Either via LinkedIn Messages or InMails. Let LinkedIn Members opt In or Out for this messaging. Most Importantly, let us see who our followers are again.

#4 – Add Block with Ignore or Accept on LinkedIn Invites.

Many of us who network purposefully will Ignore an invite and then either months or years later get a new invite from these LinkedIn Members. Today, once we Ignore an invite we can no longer message with those LinkedIn Members who have new pending invites to us. We need this changed. One way to do this is to add Block to the LinkedIn Network Manage All page like this (Accept | Ignore | Block). Put the responsibility back on the LinkedIn Members, rather than making a decision to block invites we Ignore. Give us the ability to engage when we want with our new pending connections.

#5 – Searching ‘Connections of’ needs to be improved.

Recently (1/2019) this function of LinkedIn Search has not been working as it should be. The number of search results of our 1st level connections via ‘Connections of’ is nowhere near complete, or even close to the purported  1000 result limit. The reduced search results are far too extreme to be a result of LinkedIn Member privacy setting functions. Even with Filtering, I have experienced search results that appear incomplete with no known reason.

#6 – Increased Engagement Features on Sales Navigator.

We can Like or Comment a lead’s content from Sales Navigator. However, there are no @Mentioning options at all when commenting. Furthermore, there are no Share functions. Both of these additions would help us engage with our leads at a higher level, which is important when nurturing the relationship with these LinkedIn Members from Sales Navigator.

#7 – Expanded LinkedIn Dashboard

The LinkedIn Dashboard that displays on our LinkedIn Profile page is useful. However adding other KPIs such as Network Size, Most engaging Post, Most engaged LinkedIn Member, Most connected Company, Most connected Role and/or Industry could give better insights into our actions on LinkedIn and help us make more informed decisions.

#8 – Add Region to Company Search

I know Sales Navigator is the LinkedIn tool we should be using for our prospecting. However, I never use LinkedIn Search for Companies because it’s only by name. Adding at least Region to this search page would give us some value in this search result page.

#9 – Data Export needs improvement.

I recently downloaded all of my content using the Data Archive Feature. It was by no means a Complete download of all of my data. There were no images and no videos from either Rich Media on my LinkedIn Profile or from Posts. It appeared to only include a few months of posts and none of my data from Sales Navigator was included.  I hope we can eventually download All of our Content, especially since the LinkedIn Terms of Services say this is our content.

#10 – Share the product roadmap with us.

At the very least it would be great if LinkedIn would give us alerts when they make permanent changes to the application. Not know why something that worked yesterday does not work today can be very frustrating for many LinkedIn Members. It would be a true sign of customer appreciation if we were given even a little warning of application changes. Heck, even a blog notice about the changes (beyond huge changes) would be nice.

Again, I have a strong Love/dislike relationship with LinkedIn. I truly enjoy working with the application and training others how to get value from this business tool.

I hope some of my Top 10 items on this wishlist were considered by LinkedIn.

Teddy