Social Media Club Sydney - 24 May 2010

Using LinkedIn to build your business and your professional

brand

www.michaelfield.com24 May 2010

What will we discuss tonight?•The people in this room are the leading lights on social media in this market•What could you possibly learn about LinkedIn that you don’t already know?

Social Media is mainstream•Everybody is playing with it, talking about it or advising on it•Everybody is using it

– watch the Twitter stream on Q&A,– follow your local café on FaceBook– compete with your friends on FourSquare to be the mayor of small bar

•Which platform should you be investing in and which will produce the most effective business outcomes?

Disclaimer•I do not work for LinkedIn•This is not a pitch and I am not selling•I don’t use all of the LinkedIn functionality•This is not a tutorial on how to use every aspect of LinkedIn•I have not tailored this presentation to your particular circumstance•The following examples are my personal experiences of using LinkedIn to grow my business and that of my clients

How do most people use LinkedIn?• Online CV• Online address book• Research tool• Join groups, post articles, post status updates across

multiple platforms

How do I use LinkedIn?• Online CV• Online address book• Research tool• Join groups, post articles, post status updates across

multiple platforms• Community builder and value generator

Connections – how many and what type?

1.Calibre of the connection2.Quality of the conversation

LinkedIn– Groups

How do I use Groups?• Join Groups that are populated by prospective clients• Engage in conversations• Start discussions• Ask/answer questions• Post news articles• Be helpful, decent and non judgmental

The story of Next Director

The history of Next Director

• In November 2008, I established a group called Next Director, for aspiring, emerging and practicing company directors

• The purpose of the group was to provide a forum for company directors to connect• Next Director provides practicing directors with the opportunity to contribute to

the director community through sharing their experience and connecting with emerging directors

• At around that time, I also launched a strategic marketing consulting business• My target market audience was C-suite executive and board/director level

The history of Next Director2008• Launched November

2009• February – 300 members• September 780 members

2010• January - launched Silent Director• February 1000 members• Today 1,700 members

Global reach

•47% Australia•30% United States•7% United Kingdom

* Remainder are from Canada, Chile, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Russian Federation, UAE, Japan, China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and New Zealand.

Role and influence

• 50% senior managers seeking directorships• 16% executive directors• 2% are Chairmen

* remainder are academics, regulators, governance advisors etc

Successes

• Global Fashion Brand – Introduction to the US market• Telco – Appointed to major project• Investment Bank – Access to $20mill+ in funding• TripIt – Multiple high level introductions100% of business generated has been INBOUND!

Starting a group – who do you need involved?

• If you absolutely MUST establish your own group, please consider the following guidelines.– Check and see if there is already a related group– Are they doing a good job? Perhaps they would appreciate some help?– Offer to manage or moderate the group– It may be better to join and support an existing group– Start by posting articles, asking/answering questions and engaging in the community

Starting a group – what is required?

• Strategy• Structure• People • Processes

Starting a group – what is the strategic objective?

• Staff engagement• Customer engagement• Competitive positioning• Trojan horse• Other

Starting a group – what is the appropriate structure?

• Open group• Invitation only• Membership criteria• Participation criteria• Segmentation (subgroups)

Starting a group – what processes do you need?

• Membership Guidelines• Participation Guidelines• Moderation and management• Content sourcing• Dispute resolution

Starting a group – who do you need involved?

• Members• Contributors• Moderators• Managers• Industry support• Influencers

What can you do right now to utilise LinkedIn to build your business and your professional brand

1. Develop a personal and organisational LinkedIn strategy

2. Establish and/or update your LinkedIn profile 100%

3. Invite friends, employers, suppliers, collaborators and influencers to connect

4. Ask for testimonials

5. Join relevant groups

6. Consider starting your own group

7. Post relevant, newsworthy links, articles

8. Ask and answer questions

9. Promote your LinkedIn profile on your website, email, blog etc

michaelfield.com

[email protected]

Mobile: 0417 900 109