2014-10-28 LinkedIn Optimization for Nonprofits

Thrive. Grow. Achieve.

LinkedIn for Nonprofits – Optimizing LinkedIn to Attract Donors, Contributors and Board Members – Share Your Vision and Drive Visibility! Kelly Leonard , Taylor-Leonard Corporation Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Presented by: Kelly Leonard

© 2014 by Taylor-Leonard Corporation. Any use of this document including reproduction, modification, distribution, and republication without prior written consent of Taylor-Leonard Corporation is strictly prohibited.

Optimizing LinkedIn for Organizational Success

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Non-practicing Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Financial services/insurance professional.

Over twenty years internal audit, healthcare, and financial services experience encompassing federal government, private and public accounting environments, to include Fortune 100 companies. Ten years as a corporate trainer.

Oversees the Business Development practices of Taylor-Leonard Corporation (T-LC); an information technology and business development consultancy.

Launched BoostMyLinkedIn to maximize client results from LinkedIn. 3,000+ first level connections with 6-10 daily direct inquiries and opportunities. T-LC generated $500,000+ in consulting revenue within a 24-month period through LinkedIn network. Over the last 3 years, trained 3,000+ business professionals.

Kelly Leonard – CEO, Taylor-Leonard Corporation

Today’s Objectives – You Will Learn …

The relevance of social media/LinkedIn for non-profit organizations

How organizations are adapting to social media/digital technology

The importance of being A.L.I.V.ETM [Accurate, Locatable, Impactful, Value-Based, and Engaging]; personally and organizationally

The best practices for business professionals to get the most from LinkedIn

Strategies to effectively use LinkedIn to build relationships with potential donors, supporters, volunteers and more

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The Good News Is …

“90% of questions you have about social media are not in fact social media questions, they’re actually networking questions…”

– Kevin Knebl

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Social media technology allows people to talk about brands with unprecedented speed and volume…

Top Challenges?

Lack of Time

Inability to Measure Value / ROI

Difficulty Integrating Social Media with Other Business

Activities

Lack of Budget

Challenges can be overcome, if social media is planned and done strategically!

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What’s Your Strategy?

Why Is Social Media Important?

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If you're not actively using social media for your organization/business or brand then you're missing out on the potential to reach more than 73% of the adult population that has access to the internet according to a Pew Research Internet Project study

Why Is Social Media Important?

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Source: Elaine Fogel, “Nonprofits Must Reach Millennials with Multichannel Marketing

“If your [favorite] nonprofit organization wants to guarantee its sustainability and growth, it needs to build relationships with Millennials – those born after 1980. This generation is generous with their wallets and time.”

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Why is LinkedIn Important?

310+ MM members worldwide Users in over 200 countries,

available in 19 languages 42% of users update their

profile regularly Over 2MM+ Groups, with

1,000 forming every day Over 5 billion professional

searches each year More than 4MM Company

Profiles Millions of connections formed

every business day Vision create economic

opportunity for every one of the 3.3 billion people in the global workforce

Source: LinkedIn Internal

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Why is LinkedIn Important?

Millions of nonprofit professionals use LinkedIn to identify potential volunteers, board members, employees, and donors

https://nonprofit.linkedin.com/

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Why is LinkedIn Important?

Define your Strategy

What do I want?

1. Career Management

Job change Personal Branding Networking Collaboration

2. Talent Management / Recruiting

3. Networking 4. Entity Marketing 5. Business Development 6. Research

How Can LinkedIn Help?

1. Find jobs 2. Connect with decision makers 3. Showcase expertise 4. Company Profile 5. Announcements, Groups,

Discussions 6. Powerful search engine, survey

tools, and repository 7. Find talent, donors, volunteers,

clients, etc

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Get Started!

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Effectively building a personal profile is the first step to growing a strong LinkedIn presence because people do business with people they ...

Is My LinkedIn Profile A.L.I.V.E.TM?

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A – Accurate

L – Locatable

I – Impactful

V – Value-based

E – Engaging

"To attract attractive people, you must be attractive. To attract powerful people, you must be powerful. To attract committed people, you must be committed. Instead of going to work on them, you go to work on yourself. If you become, you can attract." -- Jim Rohn

Is Your Profile … Accurate

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Free of grammar/spelling errors?

Correct in all details – factual?

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters” - Albert Einstein

Users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn

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Is Your Profile … Locatable

Do your Specialties contain appropriate keywords which cause you to “rank” for your expertise?

What words would a potential client/partner use to search for your services/skill set?

• At least 5 skills • Profile photo • At least 50 connections • A summary

• Industry and postal code • A current position with description • Two more positions • Education

Is Your Profile … Impactful

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Are your Headline and Summary compelling?

1. “Tireless, caring Registered Nurse who helps pediatric cancer patients and their families feel at ease throughout treatment and recovery”

2. “PMP-certified project manager – Known for successfully leading multi-million dollar projects in developing countries”

3. “Global health professional specializing in the use of mHealth, eHealth, and informatics for maternal & child health”

What message does your profile communicate?

How do you want others to remember “your brand”?

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Is Your Profile … Value-Based

Does your Summary & Experience highlight your value proposition; succinctly written with measurable/quantifiable accomplishments?

Does your profile contain current recommendations that are directly aligned with your skills/abilities? Recommendations vs. Endorsements

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Is Your Profile … Engaging

Define your Connection Strategy

Grow your network.

Share what you’re doing – post meaningful content as an update, provide thought leadership/hot topics

Communicate with your network – comment on posts, follow their company, etc.

Profile Sections

• Profile Header • Background/Summary • Experience • Publications • Projects • Organization • Education • Certifications • Skills & Expertise • Recommendations • Volunteer Experience & Causes

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Each section in your personal profile is relevant in helping you to build your network, “brand”, expertise/credibility, demonstrate balance, and to rank.

WARNING! WARNING! Implementing these strategies will get you noticed. Temporarily turn off notifications.

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Profile Header

Professional headshot

Compelling headline

Contact info – email & contact #

Website & Social Media Links

Personalized LinkedIn URL

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Summary

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High impact, overview

2-3 paragraphs

highlighting

accomplishments & ways

you add value

Name drop when

possible

Establish a Call to Action

Specialties to drive SEO

Experience

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Snapshot of professional experience

Include current & past employment

Showcase relevant resume sections; focus on your value proposition & measureable accomplishments

Link to Company Page to drive brand /visibility

Mix text with bullet points, when possible

Give/Get Recommendations

Recommendations – Third Party Validation = Credibility

• Who are you connected to, have you delivered value to?

• Who are your current/past clients?

• Who has been a mentor to you?

• Is your profile reflective of the experience that would allow you to be recommended?

• Endorsements vs. Recommendations … Know the difference!

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Endorsements – Third Party Validation = Credibility

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The Good Quick, easy, painless

Visually attractive skills schematic The Bad Impersonal

Limited value

Viewed as “soft” recommendations

The Ugly

Often driven by ulterior motive

Additional Searchable Content/Sections

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Recall your strategy … use keyword searchable content

What’s Your Connection Strategy?

Counterintuitive to our childhood experience … “Don’t talk to Strangers”

What’s your philosophy Connect with no one … Connect with everyone Who?

Colleagues/Industry peers Former co-workers Supervisors Friends/Family People you meet Classmates/Alumni People interested in your cause/mission

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LinkedIn Helps You Expand Your Network

When in doubt, “X” it out! 30

Advanced Searches – Individuals

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Refine Searches By • Keywords • Title • Name • Industry • Relationship • Location

Benefits • Research perspective

clients • Discover how you’re

connected

Consider the value of LinkedIn Premium for more robust candidate searches

Let’s Apply It!

1. Provide the name of a prospect (person/key contract) you’d like to connect with ?

2. Provide the demographic information of your ideal member and/or volunteer?

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Once identified, what next step(s) would you consider?

I Made a New Connection … Now What?

• Send an email requesting a short, telephone conversation “Hi Judy! Thanks for connecting with me. I’d like to schedule a quick, 10-minute call with you; the purpose of which is to learn more about you, to share the same, and to explore ways to help one another. Please share the best time/number to reach you.”

• Consider their connections &

“People Also Viewed” for points of affinity

• Build value for “Following” your company page

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Marketing & Collaboration Wheel

Pulse

Personal profile [Saved]

Searches: Groups

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Company Pages

Posting Updates

Outlook Social Connector

Pulse - Read/Contribute Content

Pulse app and on LinkedIn.com

News application with content tailored to your professional interests

Follow Channels and share topical info

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Identify/Join Relevant Groups

Connect with thousands of

industry experts and like-minded professionals to gather insight and feedback

Follow and share topical info

Credibly expand your business network and uncover opportunities to collaborate

1,000+ groups are created every day with 100,000 users joining at least one group every day

WARNING! WARNING! Make sure your posts are genuine and that you're not spamming the group with worthless noise.

Group search word: “non-profit”

Leveraging Company Pages Organizational Development

Refine Searches By • Location • Industry • Relationship • Company Size • # of Followers • Fortune

Benefits • Research perspective

clients/companies • Discover public

information on companies & how you’re connected

• Find key executives within those companies

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Let’s Apply It!

1. Provide the name of an organization or company you’d like to do business with?

2. Provide the demographic information of your ideal corporate/strategic partner?

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Once identified, what next step(s) would you consider?

Create an impactful, high-level overview Grow your “Follower” base Post relevant Company Updates to remain “top of mind” & engage Followers Encourage your Team to “share”/ “like” posts to expand visibility

Build Your Company Profile … 4MM+ featured

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Grow your Following | The Employee Effect

Include a clear call to action in all posts

Ask thoughtful questions to engage your followers

Add visuals/videos to make feeds stand out

Align content to your members needs and/or interests. Balance

organization specific posts with trending industry news/information.

Create an editorial calendar but have some flexibility to accommodate

time sensitive entries

Measure/evaluate your results

Manage updates to keep audience’s attention. Avoid excessive posting.

Company Page Best Practices

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When in doubt … “Follow” the Leaders

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Update Best Practices – Personal & Company Page

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Be brief

Post regularly Companies that post 20 times/month, on average, reach

60% of their followers with 1 or more updates

Encourage your network’s participation Include a clear call to action in

all posts (read our latest blog, subscribe to …, register today, etc.)

Balance content You/Your Company, Industry, Miscellaneous

Consider leveraging Hootsuite, Buddy Media, Sprinklr, etc

Always add photos/videos to make feeds stand out

Time updates weekday morning/midday

Track your results

Process Frequency Call to Action View Updates P Daily Comment on successes of your network. Shows you have an interest

in them and keeps you/your services in front of them.

Check “Who’s Viewed Your Profile?”

P Daily Send connection requests to individuals you’re not currently “linked to”. For others, engage them in dialog by asking “How may I help you?”

Add Updates P/C Weekly Expose your network to hot topics, promote for speaking engagements, specials, etc. Always include a call to action!

Review Saved Searches

P Weekly/ Monthly This is your pipeline. As you receive results from saved searches, connect with them.

Make Recommendations

P Monthly / Quarterly

Set a goal to make recommendations. Think “givers gain”.

Join Groups P Monthly / Quarterly

Identify the groups containing former colleagues, alumni, peers and/or target market and join them. Contribute to the group by providing meaningful content.

Define an Operating Rhythm … 15 minutes/day

43 P = personal profile | C = company page

Key “Take Aways”

1. Finalize your Strategy

2. Optimize Your Personal Profile (Think A.L.I.V.ETM)

3. Expand your Network

4. Engage in Groups

5. Leverage Saved Searches

6. Complete your Organization’s Company Page

7. Adopt an Operating Rhythm

8. Get Help! https://nonprofit.linkedin.com/

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Kelly Leonard, CEO

Kelly.Leonard@Taylor-Leonard.com www.linkedin.com/in/ktleonard

240.994.4861 (M)

© 2014 by Taylor-Leonard Corporation. Any use of this document including reproduction, modification, distribution, and republication without prior written consent of Taylor-Leonard Corporation is strictly prohibited.