1. Why does my businessneed Linkedin?The SophisticatedMarketers Guide toFrom brand building, to lead generation, to contentmarketing and advertising, Linkedin can help youbuild your business.Marketing and AdvertisingInformation Technology and ServicesFinancial Servicesawarenessconsiderationaction8:00 a.m. Most LinkedIn members look for inspirationearly in the day with peak consumptionat 8:00 a.m.PART 1: Why does my business need LinkedIn? 1PART 1:LinkedIn is so much more than a placeto find a job or an online resume.Its quickly becoming the go-tocontent publishing platform for theprofessional mindset.As more professionals are spendingmore and more time looking for newcontent and keeping in touch withtheir networks, it brings with it anopportunity for marketers.The idea of being a sophisticatedmarketer comes from the currentstate of the golden age of socialmedia marketing and how it istransforming into the enlighteningera. No longer can marketers justdo social, they need results andactionable insights in order to provethe value of their efforts. And nolonger are we forced to take a sprayand pray method to get our messageheard in the noisy world of social.The technology is in place that allowsus to take a much more refinedapproach, a sophisticated approachif you will, to social media marketingon the worlds largest professionalnetwork.

2. 2LinkedIn is so much more than a placeto find a job or an online resume.Its quickly becoming the go-tocontent publishing platform for theprofessional mindset.As more professionals are spendingmore and more time looking for newcontent and keeping in touch withtheir networks, it brings with it anopportunity for marketers.The idea of being a sophisticatedmarketer comes from the currentstate of the golden age of socialmedia marketing and how it istransforming into the enlighteningera. No longer can marketers justdo social, they need results andactionable insights in order to provethe value of their efforts. And nolonger are we forced to take a sprayand pray method to get our messageheard in the noisy world of social.The technology is in place that allowsus to take a much more refinedapproach, a sophisticated approachif you will, to social media marketingon the worlds largest professionalnetwork.A NOTE TO THESOPHISTICATEDMARKETER3WHY SHOULDI BE READINGTHIS GUIDE?4PART 1: WHY DOESMY BUSINESS NEEDLINKEDIN?56PART 2: LAYINGTHE FOUNDATION:TAP INTO POWERFULMARKETINGSOLUTIONS711PART 3: OPTIMIZINGYOUR PROFILE1214PART 4: EXPANDYOUR NETWORKOF INFLUENCERS1518PART 5: EASILYKEEP YOUR FINGERON THE PULSE1921PART 6: PUBLISHWITH A PURPOSE:CONTENTMARKETINGON LINKEDIN2242PART 7: EXPANDYOUR TARGETEDREACH:ADVERTISINGON LINKEDIN4349PART 8: UNLOCKTHE POWER OFLINKEDINS PARTNERPROGRAMS505325 SOCIAL MEDIAEXPERTS YOU NEEDTO KNOW54-55Table of Contents 3. 3A Note to theSophisticated Marketer2012 was the year of social. 2013was the year of content. And 2014 isthe year where they come together.Social media no longer lives in asilo but instead is a vital componentfor the success of many marketingcampaigns. With content fueling yoursocial marketing, we have arrived atthe age of truly integrated marketingstrategy, and its being led by a newbreed of sophisticated marketers.The sophisticated marketer issomeone who takes marketingtechniques, both old and new, andexecutes them in an overall integratedmarketing strategy.This type of marketer is grounded intimeless, Mad Men-era tactics andcombines them with new, moderntechnology. What worked during thegolden age of marketing still workstoday, but marketers need to adapt.Social media is their playground,content is their fuel, and platforms likeLinkedIn are the new black.This guide was written with you inmind, the sophisticated marketer.Everything you need to know aboutmarketing on LinkedIn, written bothstrategically, and instructionally.Its your one-stop shop to the vastopportunities that awaitincreaseawareness, influence perception,generate leads, and ultimately driverevenue with LinkedIn.Lets get started, shall we?Jason MillerSenior Content Marketing Manager,LinkedIn Marketing Solutions 4. 4Why should I beReading this Guide?The goal of this guide is to provide the absolute best, mostup-to-date, definitive guide for marketers to successfully useLinkedIn as part of their integrated approach to marketing.This guide is a labor of love for ushere at LinkedIn. We created it tobe a one-stop shop for everythinga marketer needs to know aboutgetting the most value out of LinkedInfor themselves and their company. Itsnot just an instruction manual, but astrategic guide with lots of input fromtop thought leaders and LinkedInmarketing experts combined with theexpertise of the LinkedIn MarketingSolutions team.And its all about how to truly tapinto the potential and power of socialmedia marketing. Thats becausesocial media marketing is no longera nice-to-have. Its a necessarypart of a successful integratedmarketing approach fordriving awareness, leads,and ultimately revenue.We call this the guide forsophisticated marketers because wefeel its time to take social mediamarketing to the next level, movingbeyond theory to enlightenedpractice. Its time to get real resultswith your social marketing, and this isthe guide that will help you. 5. 5PART 1:The worlds largest professional network187259,000,000+200225238PART 1: Why does my business need LinkedIn?Why does my businessneed LinkedIn?These days in the business world, relationships matter more thanever. Thats because people tune out irrelevant or promotionalmessages. But they do want to engage with companies that focuson sharing useful and relevant information and content. And thecompanies that inform and engage arent just sellingtheyrebuilding relationships.LinkedIn members comprise the worlds largest professional communityand they work in every size company. Consider that:There were 184 million unique visitors worldwide to LinkedIn in Q3 of 2013Plus, all these professionals are highlyreceptive to relationship building.They demonstrate this in what theydo while on the network. Time onLinkedIn isnt simply spent. Time onLinkedIn is invested in professionaldevelopment. And its reflected in thegrowing number of visits to and timespent on LinkedIn.Our members investment is born outof their professional mindset. Theprofessional mindset is aspirational.In other words, members are thinkingabout how to achieve their ambitionsand further their careers. As a result,our members are highly receptive toadvertising, content, and experiencesthat can help make them moreknowledgeable and, ultimately,more successful.Work is no longer a 95 activity1 of every 3 professionals on the planet is on LinkedInContent now garners 6x more engagement than jobs properties on LinkedInLinkedIn members are on our platform at all hoursand days throughout the week. But depending onwhere they are and what theyre doing, they may beaccessing the platform from their desktops, tablets,or mobile devices. In fact, we see desktop usagespike during the day, tablet usage spike in themorning and evening, and mobile devices beingused at all hours.115131150 161175Q311 Q411 Q112 Q212 Q312 Q412 Q113 Q213 Q313 Q413Source: LinkedIn Press Release 6. 6PART 1:As a growing number of professionalsspend more time reading newsand keeping in touch with theirnetwork through LinkedIn, you havean unprecedented opportunity tobuild and cultivate relationships withprofessionals the world over. Andthese relationships can translateinto revenues. Since 2010, thenumber of B2B and B2C marketersgenerating sales via LinkedIn hasgrown consistently. U.S.-basedagencies rate LinkedIn as the mostimportant social media platform fornew business.In fact, 50% of our members reportthey are more likely to buy froma company they engage with onLinkedIn. And a whopping 80 percentof LinkedIn members want to connectwith companiesbecause thoseconnections provide themopportunities to enhance theirprofessional decision-making. Allit takes is a sophisticated marketerwho seizes the opportunity toengage them.What do we mean by a sophisticatedmarketer? The idea of being asophisticated marketer comes fromthe transition of social mediamarketing from pure theory toeffective use. But marketers cantjust do social. Now they needto produce results and actionableinsights in order to prove the value oftheir efforts. Fortunately we no longerare forced to take a spray-and-prayapproach to getting our messageheard in the noisy world of social.The technology is in place that allowsus to adopt a much more refinedsophisticatedapproach, if you will,to social media marketing, using theworlds largest professional network.LINKEDIN IS THE #1 CHANNEL TODISTRIBUTE CONTENT% of B2B marketers who use varioussocial media sites to distribute contentLINKEDIN DRIVES MORE TRAFFICTO B2B BLOGS & SITES90% of the social traffic was driven bythe big three networks, with half of itcoming from LinkedIn91%85%81%73%55%othersLINKEDIN CONSIDERED MOST EFFECTIVE FOR B2B LEAD GENAmong top performing organizations, % of B2B Marketers who rated the SocialMedia Site on effectiveness in generating leads93%84%71%56%LINKEDIN CONTINUES TOCONSISTENTLY GENERATE SALESFOR B2B MARKETERSPercentage of companies who acquireda B2B customer through that channelB2C MARKETERS ARE RAPIDLYDISCOVERING LINKEDINPercentage of companies whoacquired a B2C customer throughthat channelLinkedIn LinkedIn is a platform enabling sophisticated marketers to forge By the Numbers:relationships with these professionals. Its no wonder LinkedInhas quickly become the go-to content publishing platform formarketers. In fact, a survey of LinkedIn members found that LinkedInis considered the most effective social network for delivering B2Bcontent1. And research conducted by Investis IQ2 found thatLinkedIn is the number-one social network for driving traffic tocorporate websites.1 Source: B2B Content Marketing report, Holger Schulze, 20132 Source: Dazeinfo1.5x 2.0x45%26%201061%39%65%51%2011 2013 2010 2011 2013Sources: 2014 B2B Content Marketing Trends/ North America, Content Marketing Institute/ Marketing Profs.Webbiquity, Aug 27,2013. Content Marketing gets Social, Unisphere research, 2013.HubSpot, State of inbound Marketing 2010,2011,2012. 7. 7PART 2:Laying the Foundation:Tap into PowerfulMarketing SolutionsLinkedIn offers a tremendous opportunity for marketers like you,whether you are focused on building your brand or generating leads.Our solutions allow you to target your messages and interactions tothe right audience, publish content that connects with that audience,and extend engagement both on and off the network.TARGETTarget with accuracy toreach a high quality audiencePUBLISHPublish relevant content ina professional contextEXTENDExtend through social sharingand drive quality trafficand data to your sitesIn fact...Accurate targeting, based on authentic data, is thefoundation of the LinkedIn platform. LinkedIns targetingis highly accurate because it draws from actualprofile data provided by and continually updated byour members. You can also target the 1st degreeconnections of specific members. And you can usetheir behavior on LinkedInlike what Groups theyjoin, and how much they share and commentto inform targeting. Marketers can use our targetingdata to tailor their messages and content.PART 2: Laying the Foundation: Tap into Powerful Marketing Solutions 8. 8PART 2:As the worlds largest professional network, LinkedIn is a powerfulpublishing platform. We help marketers directly engage LinkedInmembers with content and experiences that are professionallyrelevant. Think of it as publishing with a purpose.By using LinkedIn to buildrelationships with the worldsprofessionals, you can achieve afull range of marketing objectives: GENERATING AWARENESS INCREASING CONSIDERATIONAND PREFERENCE DRIVING TRAFFIC AND LEADS BUILDING COMMUNITY CREATING ADVOCACYThats because your campaigns willresonate more if theyre targetedto professionals with our targetedadvertising products. Your contentwill have greater impact and sharingwhen its published in a professionalcontext. And your effort will extendthrough the social sharing thathappens naturally on LinkedIn.You can also use LinkedIns API tocreate custom branded experiencesthat allow members to engage usingtheir LinkedIn login. This simplifiesthe need for them to enter additionaldata. Even more importantly, by usingthe API to access LinkedIns rich data,you can tailor the user experiencebased on profile data and encouragevirality by triggering your app topublish updates about a users activityon site.Plus, you can extend the qualitytraffic of LinkedIn professionals toyour own branded sites. Embeddingcalls-to-action in your creativeon LinkedIn ensures the flow ofinfluential, affluent and educatedprofessionals to your ownonline properties.Quote As far as Im concerned, other social networks can have the catsand the memes and the OMGs. LinkedIn is about content andconnection. As a professional marketer, thats what I care aboutmost, and LinkedIn delivers every day. If youre not keepingup with the industry using LinkedIn Pulse, youre missing theheartbeat of whats going on in digital.Jay Baer, Social Media & Content Marketing Strategist,New York Times Best Selling Author, Keynote Speaker,Social Pros PodcastPART 2: Laying the Foundation: Tap into Powerful Marketing Solutions 9. 9Some marketers approach brandingand lead generation as standaloneactivities. But when it comes tostriking the right marketing mix,its critical to balance branding withlead generation. Thats becausestrong branding paves the way forsuccessful lead generation. After all,brand awareness is all about makingprospective customers familiar withand knowledgeable of your brand.The goal is that they associate yourbrand with certain characteristicsand qualities and recognizeandtrustyour brand. Ideally, you wantyour brand to be seen as a trustedand credible authority on a chosencategory, topic or issue. With thatfoundation in place, prospects aremore open to responding to your ads,content and offers when youare trying to generate leads.In fact, the most successful marketerstake steps to ensure their brandingand lead generation strategiesare working in lockstep. LinkedInMarketing Solutions can help youaddress both branding and leadgeneration in an integrated,effective way..PART 2:Perform branding and lead generation in tandem forultimate effectiveness. LinkedIn is the only platform that the majority of B2Bmarketers consider to be effective.Content Marketing Institute 2014 Content MarketingResearch ReportSolutions Branding Lead GenerationSolution Branding Lead GenerationLinkedIn Display and Text AdsSponsored InMailCompany PageShowcase PagesFollow Company AdsCompany UpdatesSponsored UpdatesSlideShareContent AdsCustom API SolutionsLinkedIn GroupsLinkedIn PartnersPART 2: Laying the Foundation: Tap into Powerful Marketing Solutions 10. 10PART 2:Now that you understand the power of marketing on LinkedIn, let us highlight five strategic marketingopportunities. Well explore these in greater detail in Part 6 and 7:1. COMPANY PAGES:The best relationships are rooted ingreat conversationsand your toolfor starting those conversations is theCompany Update on your CompanyPage. Its no wonder Company Pageshave evolved from a nice-to-have toa need-to-have. Through a CompanyPage, you can market your business tothe LinkedIn community, telling yourcompanys story and giving customersand prospects a place to learn aboutyour business, your employees, andyour brand.2. COMPANY UPDATES:What resonates most with followersand drives engagement? When youcommunicate with them in a relevantand personal way. And throughCompany Updates, sent from yourCompany Page, you can do thatby tailoring your company statusupdate to your followers professionalinterests. Specifically, you can deliverhighly targeted content into the feedof LinkedIn members, increasing theirengagement with and loyalty toyour brand.3. SPONSORED UPDATES:While organic company updatesare a terrific way to connect withyour existing company followers,Sponsored Updates allow you toextend your reach by deliveringupdates into the feeds of membersbeyond those already followingyour company.4. DISPLAY ADVERTISING:Sophisticated marketers understandthat they must combine push andpull marketing to reach their targetaudience. For push marketing onLinkedIn, you can display ads onvarious LinkedIn pages, includingprofile pages, home pages, inbox,search results pages, and groupspages. With LinkedIn Premium DisplayAdvertising, you can take advantageof an uncluttered, premiumenvironment to reach a high-qualityprofessional audience seekinginsights and information. Or you candrive new customers to your businesswith our easy-to-use, self-serve CPCLinkedIn Ads platform that allows youto get your message in front of youraudience in just minutes.5. INMAIL:Through InMail, you can reach anyoneon LinkedIn without an introductionor contact information. You getprofessional, credible outreachwith your LinkedIn profile attached.INTEGRATION OF DISPLAY ADS WITHSOCIAL MEDIA IS STARTING TO PICK UP28%IntegratingNow44% 28%Planning toIntegrateNoIntegrationSources: Responses, Cross-Channel Marketing Report, 2012PART 2: Laying the Foundation: Tap into Powerful Marketing Solutions 11. 11Founder and CEO ofCopyblogger MediaLI: Do you regulary check your Pulsefeed? If so, how do you use it?BC: Ive just started following theMarketing Strategies category onPulse, and its a treasure-trove ofcontent all in one place. This hasbecome a great resource not onlyfor staying up to date on the latestideas from others, but also fuels ourown content sharing on othersocial networks.LI: Whats your best advice for writinga compelling company page update?BC: Tell a story. And moreimportantly, relate that story backto your ideal prospects problems ordesires. Even if the story focuses onthe founding, evolution, or growthof your company, make sure peopleunderstand that all of those greatthings happened because of thevalue you provide your audience,customers, and clients.LI: How can a business besttake advantage of LinkedIn forlead generation?BC: LinkedIn, unlike Facebook andTwitter, is all about business. Themindset and intent are naturallymore receptive to solving businessproblems than the kind of socializingand sharing that happens elsewhere.That said, you still have to lead withvalue to generate qualified leads.LinkedIns focus on content marketinghas primed the audience to expectinformation and insight first, andthen a call to action that takes therelationship to the next level. Forthose who have been doing contentmarketing from their own sites foryears, LinkedIn becomes an essentialoutpost for that content, mixed within-person engagement.LI: Where do you see LinkedIn in5 years?BC: LinkedIn appears to be all in onbecoming a true media company. Iveheard some grumblings from earlyLinkedIn fans that the company andsite are losing the singular focus itstarted with, but I see it differently.A business education hub of the sortLinkedIn is building can only increasethe value of the ecosystem.LI: Whats something thats not in yourLinkedIn profile?BC: Ive made no mention of thefact that I used to practice law in myLinkedIn profile. Some people maystill hold that against me. ;-)PART 2:Ask the Expert:Brian ClarkPART 2: Laying the Foundation: Tap into Powerful Marketing Solutions 12. 12OptimizingYour ProfileWhether someone is searching forpeople, jobs, companies or groups,we provide the most relevant resultsbased on your professional identity, yournetwork, and how the people in yournetwork engage with LinkedIn. Plus, oneof the first steps many members takewhen receiving content from a companyor another member is click through tothe personal profile or Company Pageto learn about the sender. Thats whyits critical for you and your company tomaintain complete and optimized profiles.How You Can Benefit from anOptimized ProfileAs a marketer, you can use LinkedInfor networking and to further yourprofession. After all, these days veryfew people end up working for a singlecompany their entire career. So whetheryoure actively seeking a new position ormaximizing the job you are already in, itswise to make sure your profile is set upfor maximum exposure and engagement.In addition, adding rich media contentsuch as SlideShare presentaions, videos,and infographics to your profile is afantastic way to showcase visual assetsto profile visitors.How Your Company Can Benefit froman Optimized ProfileIt goes without saying that your companyand all of its employees should optimizetheir LinkedIn profiles. After all, anoptimized profile can boost the visibilityof your company and its content in thesearch resultsboth on and off thenetwork. Thats because search engineslike Google scour pages and URLs forkeywords, and LinkedIn profiles offermany opportunities to embed keywords,such as within the LinkedIn URL, otherURLs you list within your profile, jobtitles and descriptions, and content linksyou include. So if your company and itsemployees have optimized their profiles,you could very well gain an advantagewhen prospective customers aresearching for companies, products andservices like yours.PART 3:This infographic highlights all theopportunities for getting the mostfrom your profile.Every day we see millions of professionals find others and get foundthrough LinkedIn search.PART 3: Optimizing your Profile 13. 13PART 3:Here are five things you need to know about LinkedIn Search, assummarized by Stacy Donovan Zapar, the Most Connected Womanon LinkedIn: Reap the Rewards of Networking1. When people search LinkedIn,the results are sorted by relevance,which takes into accountthe following: 1st level connections withprofiles that are 100% complete(or close to it) and have themost in-common connections/shared groups, ranked indescending order 1st level connections with thefewest in-common connections/shared groups, rankedin descending order byprofile completeness 2nd level connections rankedin descending order byprofile completeness 3rd level connections rankedin descending order byprofile completeness Shared group members(outside of your network),ranked in descending orderby profile completeness Everyone else (those outside yournetwork), ranked in descendingorder by profile completeness2. Keywords in your name, headline,company name, job title and skillsrank higher in the search resultsthan keywords in other sections.3. Using all fields and optionsavailable to youlike joining50 LinkedIn groupsboostsyour ranking.4. Use a variety of keywords andterms in describing what you doand offer to show up in a varietyof search results.5. View LinkedIn search trends to seehow many times youve shown upin search results and how manypeople have viewed your profileover the past three monthsandthen adjust your profile as needed.Did you know the size of your LinkedIn network andparticipation in LinkedIn Groups can significantly increaseyour visibility on the LinkedIn network? 14. 14CEO of POSSIBLELI: What factors are most importantto you when considering advertisingchannels for your clients?SA: Our top ones include audienceconcentration and relevance,segmentation and targetingfunctionality, and the ability to extendor amplify channel content acrossother owned and earned properties.We also leverage our social listeningand marketing sciences technologiesto identify opportunities for the brandwithin each channel and witheach audience.LI: What types of clients should beleveraging LinkedIn more than theycurrently are?SA: I think that clients with investmentsin content are missing a massiveopportunity to leverage their LinkedInpresence. They could use LinkedInin combination with their ownedproperties to precisely target, share,and then realize return on their contentinvestments. But for this, they need acomprehensive strategy that integratesthe LinkedIn platform, their content,and their CRM efforts.LI: What is the risk of a client not havinga company presence on LinkedIn?SA: The biggest risk, especially for B2B,is a loss of discoverability. LinkedInis becoming the de facto startingpoint when searching for partnersand evaluating solutions. A thoughtfulLinkedIn presence is not only a greatopportunity to increase your visibilityas an individual. Corporations can alsouse it to turn both their workforce andfollowers into brand ambassadors.LI: How are your clients marketingobjectives different on LinkedIncompared to other social networks?How does that impact your clientscontent strategy?SA: Most social networks only serveopportunities at the top of the funneland provide limited ways to engage.You can tailor the LinkedIn platformto each clients marketing objectivesand use it as part of a larger contentstrategy. The platform makes it easierfor brands to serve audiences withcontent tailored to the individualboth in terms of depth and timing.This makes content smarter andrelevant at scale. As a result, it candrive engagement lifecycles ratherthan one-off opportunities.LI: How do you compare the audiencetargeting capability of LinkedIn withother social networks?SA: There are three major ways LinkedIndata is better for targeting: Recency,authenticity, and standardization ofdata. Recency means that people tendto keep their LinkedIn in profiles upto datesomething they rarely do onother networks. Authenticity meansthat they are who they say they are.You cant put a fake job title up onLinkedIn. And the standardization ofuser generated data makes it easier toanalyze and integrate the platform intoyour content strategy.LI: How are marketers getting it wrongwith LinkedIn?SA: They think of it simply as a hiring,prospecting, or one-dimensionaladvertising platform. Its actually aversatile content platform with precisedata that can be integrated into avariety of programs on and off thesite. For example, B2C brands oftenmiss the opportunity LinkedIn providesto enhance or expand distributionnetworks or channel partnercommunication plans. They also missthe opportunity to build programsaround LinkedIn that leverage contentto drive engagement lifecycles andstimulate organic community building.The platforms capabilities in this areaare unmatched and underutilized.Ask the Expert:Shane AtchisonPART 3: Optimizing your ProfilePART 3: 15. 15PART 4:Expand your Networkof InfluencersIn late 2012, we made it possiblefor any LinkedIn member to followan exclusive group of Influencers onLinkedIn. From C-level executivesand entrepreneurs to world leadersand philanthropists, these Influencerscontribute unique business insightsand spark thought-provokingdiscussions on a range of issues.Displayed via Pulse, the Influencersprogram is a source of truly originalcontent. But more importantly, itsmeant to inspire, inform and makeyou a better marketer.The Influencer program numbersmore than 300 Influencers (asof October 2013), and we addinspiring thought leaders to theprogram frequently. And you candirectly engage with any of theseInfluencers, either by Liking a postor jumping into a conversation abouta post. Moreover, through threadedcomments, you can reply to a post byan Influencer to start conversationsand debates with others who arereading that post. You can mentionother people to draw them into adiscussion, and get notified when yourcomment has received a response. It thrills me to see LinkedIn gaining ground as aninteresting place to hang out. Ive long held that LinkedInis the dark horse of the social media platformsor, atleast, its the workhorse of the bunch.If Twitter is where you go to meet people you dontknow and Facebook is where you go to talk withpeople you already know, then LinkedIn is where all ofyou can meet up to get stuff done together.Ann Handley, Author of Content Rules, Chief ContentOfficer at Marketing ProfsPART 4: Expand your Network of Influencers 16. 16In addition to joining in richconversations, you will see whichInfluencers and topics are driving themost interestperhaps sparking anidea of your own for a post or contentasset. Plus the ability for LinkedInmembers to like and share Influencercontent lets you quickly find outwhat the people in your network arereading and reacting to, helping youunearth new ideas. Want to broadenyour horizons? Take advantage ofdiscovery modules within LinkedIn tohelp you find more relevant contentbased on the people youre followingand the posts youre reading.PART 4:Consider these examples:625,000LinkedIn FOLLOWERSBill Gates is an Influencer with over625,000 followers. One of his postsgarnered over 1,600,000 views, morethan 10,000 thumbs up, and over4,000 comments.11,000LinkedIn FOLLOWERSThe Numbers Speak for Themselves:The average Influencer post garners nearly49% of Influencerfollowers are director-leveland above22% are entry-levelprofessionalsJoe Pulizzi, a speaker, entrepreneur,author, and founder of ContentMarketing Institute with over 11,000LinkedIn followers. One of his postspulled in nearly 38,000 views and over140 comments. Its easy to be part ofsuch a rich discussion!30,000VIEWSPART 4: Expand your Network of InfluencersYou can follow an Influencer without being connected to them. 17. 17LinkedIn Expert & Author:LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day,International Keynote Speaker,Forbes Top 20 Most InfluentialLI: What type of content bestconnects with audiences on LinkedIn?Is there a specific type of content youprefer to consume on LinkedIn?VR: Thats kind of an apples ororanges type question when itcomes to LinkedIn. Im a fruitsalad gal myself!LinkedIn Influencers and Pulse: Firstof all, LinkedIn truly understands theimportance of good content. Rightnow its the only social media siteto have its own blogging platformfueled by the worlds thought leaders(LinkedIn Influencers.) These people,most of them household names(best-selling authors, Fortune 500CEOs, Heads of State) create contentspecifically for LinkedIn. You canfollow not only these Influencers,but also channels of content (thanksto the Pulse interface that LinkedInpurchased last year.) In fact, LinkedInrecently updated the Pulse app tointeract more freely through theLinkedIn interface, so that yourPulse App on your iPad or iPhonewill actually monitor what you do onLinkedIn and make suggestions foryou. You can also very easily share thiscontent through Pulse.I think Pulse is a great place to findrelevant business content to sharenot only on LinkedIn, but other socialsites as well. When a client needs agood business article to post to theirFacebook page or Twitter-stream,I can often find something relevanton Pulsequickly and easily. SoPulse gets more of my attentionthan any other RSS feed or newsaggregator I use.LinkedIn Update Mentions: As longas you are connected to a person,or follow a company, you can sharetheir content and mention them inan update.I wish I had the time to check on myhomepage every hour and read all theupdates from every one of my 29K+connections, but I dont. (OKand tobe honest, I really wouldnt want to!)Chances are, you dont either. So I relyon LinkedIn Status Update mentionsand LinkedIns new(ish) Notificationstab to see what people are sayingabout me, what content of mine theyare sharing and their comments on myupdates. So while I dont listen toALL updates, I listen to the onesthat involve me in some way.Group ContentFor (soft) market research, considerLinkedIn Groups. Groups are full oflike-minded targeted audiences. Askquestions. Ask for help. Occasionallyshare an article you like. I love thecontent and interaction on some ofmy Groups and I know I can alwaysgo there to get quick answers to myquestions and find out the latest andgreatest in the sales world. It justtakes some time to find these goodgroups. I recommend asking yournetwork what groups they like andwhy. (For instance, I am a raving fanof Jill Konraths Group: Fresh SalesStrategies because it always offersfabulous ingestible content).LI: How do you make sure personaltime spent on LinkedIn is productive?How does this differ from othersocial networks?VR: LinkedIn is probably less likelythan some of the other social sitesto suck you into the rabbit hole ofsinging cats and surfing dog videos.But messages, updates, Groups andPART 4:Ask the Expert:Viveka Von RosenPART 4: Expand your Network of Influencers 18. 18PART 4:Ask the Expert:Viveka Von RosenPulse, can certainly suck you in. Itsusually all good stuff and relevant toyour business which means you mighteven spend more time there since itsallowed. I recommend schedulingyour LinkedIn (and other social) timeto make sure you have a start andstop time. I also suggest you createa checklist that covers everythingyou need to do on LinkedIn (monthly,weekly and daily).LI: How are marketers getting it wrongwith LinkedIn?VR: Basically marketers do these threethings wrong: Selling too much Not making use of the tools Not realizing its potentialSelling:I always tell people you will neversell yourumstuff on LinkedIn.The likelihood of someone seeing anupdate you have posted on how yousell the best gadget and then buyingit is unlikely. LinkedIn is about creatingrelationships with people. Once youhave established a connection and aremoving from the know each other tothe like and trust each other level ofengagementonly then do you have agood chance of sharing your productsand services with someone likely topurchase them. But these relationshipstake effort and nurturing. Establishingthat sense of like and trust mightseem like a lot of work, but the payoffcan be monumental. Getting peopleto buy from you on LinkedIn means atime investment, but to me it is wellworth it.Tools:LinkedIn has so many cool littletools. My favorite is their SharingBookmarklet. To find the SharingBookmarklet, you just come downto the Tools link and then on theright hand side click on the tab thatsays Sharing Bookmarklet. Dragthe Bookmarklet button up to yourbrowser bar. Then no matter what webpage youre on, all you have to do isclick on the share on LinkedIn link andyou can easily share that page.Not all websites are LinkedIn-centric.so if you find a website, blog post orarticle that doesnt have the LinkedInshare button, you can still share it byclicking on the Share on LinkedInbutton. You can post the page as anupdate or as a tweet. You can post itto your Groups, by clicking the Groupoption and typing in the name of theLinkedIn Groups you wish to share thepost with. You can even send it toan individual.This is a very quick and easy way topost helpful, useful, and interestingcontent with your network. Theseupdates will show up on yourconnections homepage as well asin your profile under activity.Potential:Hopefully some of the things I havementioned will open a few eyes tothe potential of LinkedIn. There isjust so much you can do with it. Itis a completely under-utilized toolfrom Groups to Company Pages andbeyond. But I guess thats why I havea job! If you have questions about howit can help with prospecting, lead gen,relationship building and top of mindawareness, please feel free to reachout to me! http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/LinkedInexpertPART 4: Expand your Network of Influencers 19. 19Easily Keep your Fingeron the PulseIn fact, like most marketers, youprobably find its increasingly difficultto figure out what matters most whenreading news across multiple sources.Millions of professionals invest theirtime on LinkedIn, staying on top ofindustry news through Pulse, the newsapp and content brand for LinkedIn.Pulse offers a more relevant newsexperience with content tailored toyour professional interests throughoutLinkedIn. Its the main vehicle for oursocial news experience across weband mobile. And its a key way formarketers to stay current on all thelatest insights and trends.Access more relevant contentWith the LinkedIn Pulse app, you canaccess full articles and rich graphicsfrom a wealth of resources, throughour partnerships with more than750 publishers, such as HarvardBusiness Review, TechCrunch,and Fast Company.Pulse makes it possible to accesstailored news based on your interests.Specifically, you as a marketer caneasily leverage all the great businessknowledge flowing through LinkedInin the form of news, Influencerposts, industry updates, discussions,comments and more. And becauseyou can customize content based onyour preferences, you can zero in onwhat matters most to you. Think ofPulse as your daily newspaperone that lets you stay up to speedwhether youre on your desktop,mobile phone (Android or iOS),or tablet!PART 5:With all the news websites, blogs, and newsletters out there, stayingin-the-know can be time consuming.Easily discover newprofessional contentWeve not only improved the overall search functionalitywith faster auto-complete suggestions, but weve alsomade it easier for you to find Whats New acrosstimely world events and whats trending amongprofessionals like you worldwide.PART 5: Easily Keep your Finger on the Pulse 20. 20Organize your daily readsLists in the Pulse app allow you toorganize your channels into topicsof your choice, such as Technology,Sports, Favorites, or Must Reads.Any Channels or Influencer contentthat you follow on LinkedIn.com willautomatically sync with the Pulseapp, and you can also add anyblog or news feed via the robustsearch functionality on Pulse. As aresult, you gain instant access tothe most relevant and personalizednews content that maps to yourprofessional interests.And heres a suggestion for aChannel to follow right away for freshinsights on marketing from LinkedInInfluencers and top sources such asThe Wall Street Journal, Ad Week,Mashable, and more: the MarketingStrategies channel https://www.LinkedIn.com/channels/marketing_strategiesShare with your networkWeve made it even easier for you toshare news and insights from yourPulse app. With the new, enhancedsocial featureseasily accessiblewithin every piece of content at thetop of the screenyou can see whatother professionals are talking aboutand instantly like, comment or sharean article with your professionalnetwork on LinkedIn.PART 5:Jumpstart yourPulse experienceWhen you download the new Pulse app on iOS or Android,you will be prompted to sign in using your LinkedIn profile.Once youve done this, we will automatically bring in thechannels, Influencers and LinkedIn content you followinto your Pulse experience. Additionally, Pulse will offerpersonalized content recommendations that are customizedto your LinkedIn preferences and professional interests.Delivering Smart RecommendationsWe display stories based on a proprietary algorithm that weighs yourinterests and the stories trending among professionals worldwide.PART 5: Easily Keep your Finger on the Pulse 21. 21PART 5:PART 5: Easily Keep your Finger on the PulseCEO @TopRank Online Marketing,Author: Optimize, Public Speaker:Integrated Search, Social,& Content MarketingLI: Do you regulary check your Pulsefeed? If so, how do you use it?LO: I check LinkedIn daily includingthe Pulse feed. I follow a number ofthe thought leaders and also lookfor the news stories my network isengaging with. The feed offers contentthat I can interact with through liking,commenting, sharing on LinkedIn orcurating to our broader community.LI: Whats your best advice for writinga compelling company page update?LO: This might seem like a cart andhorse situation, but its importantto have an audience. Updating acompany page to 2 followers vs. 200just isnt the same. As with any otherpublishing platform, think of who yournetwork is and what theyre interestedin. What do they expect? Givingpeople what they want in the form ofuseful content, tips and informationabout changes at your company is agreat way to attract more followersand better engage those that youalready have.From a writing standpoint, writesnappy, compelling titles. Checkubersuggest.org for popular keywordsand consider using specific phrasesin the title and description, but onlyif they make sense and add value tothe message. You can attract morefollowers to your company LinkedInpage through search on LinkedIn aswell as organic search.LI: How can a business take advantageof LinkedIn as part of a contentmarketing strategy?LO: Content participation on any socialnetwork or web platform should beinformed by a companys businessand content marketing strategies.Are customers there and what arethey doing? What are they interestedin? What opportunities are there forthe brand to be valuable to thoseprospective customers?For most companies that sell intothe business market, participating onLinkedIn should be a no-brainer. Thespecific way LinkedIn is used dependson the company, industry and productmix. It also depends on what kindsof opportunities there are to bethe best answer on LinkedIn for thethings customers are interested in.At a minimum:1. Ensure executive LinkedIn profilesare filled out and optimized2. Make sure the Company Pageis robust.3. Curate useful news as statusupdates and on the Company Page4. Use LinkedIn as a follow upafter meeting people online andespecially at offline events wherebusiness cards are exchangedBeyond that, LinkedIns social networkplatform provides many opportunitiesto engage with prospects, supportindividual and brand thoughtleadership and connect with othergroups like industry media andprospective employees. Whether itstargeted advertising or curating a mixof industry and company news on thebrand page, companies that want toattract and engage other businessesneed to be on LinkedIn.Ask the Expert:Lee Odden 22. 22PART 6:Publish with a Purpose:Content Marketingon LinkedInEarlier we underscored the importanceof delivering relevant content in orderto build relationships with your targets.LinkedIn provides the followingsolutions for delivering relevantcontent to our members: Company Pages, ShowcasePages,Follow Company Adsand Company Updates Sponsored Updates SlideShare Content Ads LinkedIn Groups Content Marketing Score Trending ContentCompany Pages, Showcase Pages,Follow Company Ads and CompanyUpdates: Be Found and Connectwith Those that Matter MostMore than 3 million companiesleverage their Company Page topromote content and buildrelationships. Company Pages arewhere you can catch the eye ofprospective customers by featuringthought leadership content oranything else that would be relevantto your target audience, includinglinks to your latest and greatestwhite papers, eBooks, case studies,and how-to content. By deliveringuseful and engaging content, youllfoster engagement and help yourmessage spread faster. In fact, ourresearch shows that Company Updatescontaining links can have up to 45%higher follower engagement thanupdates without links.And rememberintegration withcommon Social Media Managementvendors including Adobe, Hootsuite,Percolate, Salesforce, Shoutlet,Spredfast and Sprinklr make it easierfor you to manage your Page andCompany Updates.Mobilize your Employees toAmplify your MessageBest-in-class companies encourage their own employeesto share content on LinkedIn with their networks,significantly increasing content reach. This is especiallypowerful for companies whose sales reps are connectedto the right decision makers.LINKEDIN: A KEY PLATFORM FOR B2B CONTENT DELIVERYHow effective are these Social Networks in delivering B2BContent (% of respondents)% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Effective Ineffective I dont use itSource: Customer Engagement: The Role of Content in the IT Purchase Process & Connecting ContentMarketing to Sales Follow Up. IDG Enterprise, Sep2013. N=1,138 range of industries worldwidewere surveyed in Spring 2013.PART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 23. 23PART 6:Showcase Pages: Reach and Build a Relationship withSpecific AudiencesLike many companies, yours likelyconsiders many parts of its business tobe important. And to give each its dueattention, you likely have more thanone voice. With Showcase Pages,you can build a presence and presenta unique voice for every importantpart of your business. By creatingdedicated pages for your moreprominent brands, businesses, andinitiatives using Showcase Pages, youcan extend your LinkedIn presence.In other words, you can create adistinct platform for each aspectof your business that has its ownmessage to share with its own targetaudience. Its a unique way to directlyengage the right people in the rightcontext. And just as with CompanyPages, your administrators will be ableto monitor performance throughdedicated analytic tools within theShowcase Page experience.5 steps to engaging followers on LinkedIn1. Establish your presence2. Attract followers3. Engage followers4. Amplify through the network5. Analyze and refine When I ran marketing at a mobile startup, we routinely comparedthe impact of each channel at each funnel stage. We plottedchannels along two dimensions: volume of names and costper lead. LinkedIn topped all other lead sourcesacross bothdimensions and at every stage of the funnel. When it came tocontent distribution and lead generation, LinkedIn quickly becamethe first dollar budgeted each quarter.Joe Chernov Former VP of Marketing at Kinvey,now VP of Content at HubspotPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 24. Did You Know Fun Fact:There are more than 1.5 million unique publishers actively using the LinkedInShare button on their sites to send content into the LinkedIn platform(Q1 2013 earnings) Content Marketing is the planning, creation, promotion,and measurement of content to a target audience withthe goal of satisfying customers and affecting a businessoutcome. LinkedIn offers an incredibly useful platformfor research, ideation and the amplification of contentto specific interest groups from your target customersto the Influencers that inspire them to take action.LinkedIn is essential for achieving contentmarketing results.Lee Odden, CEO @TopRank Online Marketing, Author:Optimize, Public Speaker: Integrated Search, Social, andContent Marketing8:00 a.m. Most LinkedIn members look for inspirationearly in the day with peak consumptionat 8:00 a.m.24PART 6:The more the merrier on the socialmerry-go-round. Here are somesimple, effective strategies forattracting more followers with yourcompany updates: Engage your colleagues.Employees are 70% more likelyto engage with your companyupdates, so dont forget toask them to do it! Initiatecommunication and make it easyfor them to respond. Cultivate a larger followingwith a multi-channel approach.Encourage your teammates to adda link to your company page intheir email signatures. If needed,ask your designer for help creatinga customized banner or button. Add a Follow button to yourwebsite. Your web team can pullcode for a Follow button fromdeveloper.linkedin.com to addto your blog or website. This letsLinkedIn members follow yourcompany with a single click.Attract More FollowersPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 25. 25PART 6:Follow Company Ads: Encourage Members to Follow YouWant to encourage members to followyour Company Page or your ShowcasePage? Use Follow Company Ads todeliver personalized messages on thehomepages of your target audience,establishing the relevance of yourbusiness to these members andbuilding your Follower audience. Oncemembers choose to follow you, theirnew status will be shared with their fullnetwork: a powerful social means ofbuilding your audience further.HP has found incredible value bytaking advantage of the unmatchedtargeting available via LinkedIn FollowCompany Ads. In addition to allowingHP to target the people it wants toengagesenior-level decision-makersin various industriesFollow Adsempowered the company to increasefollowers by 300,000 in a two-monthperiod. Moreover, HP was the firstcompany on LinkedIn to hit1,000,000 followers.Accelerate relationships with your key audiences Maximize success by being easily discoverable Ensure follower quality through advanced targetingPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 26. 26PART 6:Company Updates: Engage Your FollowersLinkedIn Company Updates are apowerful way to reach and engageprofessionals with relevant contentacross multiple devices. They are sentfrom your Company Page and delivertargeted content into our membersfeeds, increasing their engagementwith your brand. But are your updatesoptimized? Keep the following bestpractices in mind when creating andposting your company page updatesto dramatically increase engagementand overall reach.1. Optimize introductions andheadlines by thinking like ajournalist, adding your point of view,asking thoughtful questionsto involve your audience, andincluding a clear call to action.2. Stand out in the feed by includinga compelling image or some type ofrich media.3. Attract an audience by aligning yourcontent to members needs andinterests by making it snackableand valuable.4. Keep your audiences attentionby producing content consistently,responding to timely events,engaging members throughcomments, and continuallyrefining your content strategy.5. Extend your targeted reach beyondyour Company Page followersby using Sponsored Updates topromote your best content.LinkedIn By the Numbers:EXECUTIVES RATE LINKEDIN HIGH ON VALUE THEY GAINFROM THEIR SOCIAL MARKETING INITIATIVES% rating value as either extremely valuable or valuableBranded Blog 64%1 IN EVERY 3 INTERNET USER VISITS A BRANDS SOCIAL MEDIA PAGEPaid Social Media advertising objectivesPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedInLinkedInTwitterFacebookYouTubeLinkedIn GroupsPrimarily branding related,e.g. raising awareness,influencing brand opinionsPrimarily direct-responserelated e.g. driving producttrails or site visitsA mix of bothmore thanhalf is brandingA mix of bothmore thanhalf is direct-responseADVERTISERS AGENCIES60%59%58%50%45%31%16%15%25%29%14%25%48%Sources: Content Marketing gets Social, Unisphere research, 2013, N= 217Nielsen, Paid Social Media Advertising Report, 2013. N = 500 U.S. digital marketing andmedia professionals 27. 27Follow the 4-1-1 RuleThe 4-1-1 Rule was coined byTippingpoint Labs and Joe Pulizzi ofthe Content Marketing Institute. Whileit was originally created with Twitterin mind, it can successfully be appliedto your companys content marketingstrategy using LinkedIn.The rule states:For every one self-serving tweet, youshould retweet one relevant tweet andmost importantly share four pieces ofrelevant content written by others.Its basically saying to share the love.Instead of constantly bombardingyour followers with demos, webinars,and whitepaper downloads, create acadence of helpful insights relevantto your audience. Mix in a bit ofindustry thought leader content; newsand trends are a great way to buildrelationships with prospects whilekeeping current customers in the know.Youll authentically engage inconversations, build awareness, andinteract with LinkedIn memberswithout giving the impression thatyoure a self-centered know-it-all. Its allpart of moving to the new marketingmindset of always be helping insteadof the outdated always be selling.PART 6:Consistent posting: Create an editorial calendar of updates within your company,and highlight relevant third-party material. Then share it with company followers.Building a cadence around the 4-1-1 rule will continually add value for your followers. Sell something, get a customer for a day. Help someone, get acustomer for life.Jay Baer digital marketing strategist, speaker, author, andpresident of Convince & ConvertPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedInSources: Tippingpoint Labs. www.tippingpointlabs.com4 New Tweets1 Retweet1 Self-servingTweet 28. 28PART 6:Sponsored Updates: Content Marketing in the Professional FeedOur members are already engagingwith high-quality content fromnews sites, thought leaders, theirconnections, and brands. WithSponsored Updates, you can jointhe conversation and appear alongwith that content. You can publishSponsored Updates with rich mediaand ensure relevance with robusttargeting functionality. And thatmeans you can reach the rightpeople at the right time with yourbest articles, images, infographics,PDFs, presentations, and videos. Plus,Sponsored Updates are the only wayto reach LinkedIns mobile users atscale, since they appear in the feed ondesktop, tablet, and smartphone.Sponsored Updates are a powerfultool to: Raise awareness and shapeperception. Send SponsoredUpdates to your target audienceto rapidly increase awarenessand shape the perception of yourbrand, products, and services. Drive quality leads. Generatequality leads by sharing insightsthat professionals seek. Watchthat content spread via the peersharing that occurs naturally onLinkedIn. Build relationships with the worldsprofessionals. Publish your contentwith Sponsored Updates to createvalue and establish trust thatsparks ongoing conversations anddeeper customer relationships.Targeting optionsSponsored Updates allow you toreach a targeted audience beyondyour Company Page followers. Youcan define your audience usingcriteria such as location, companysize, industry, job function, andseniority. Remember, theres alwaysa tradeoff between targeting andaudience size. If you target toospecifically, your update may reacha very small audience.Performance trackingYou can promote updates in 20languages across the 200 countriesand territories where we havemembers. And within a minute or twoof publishing your update, youll seeimpression and engagement metrics.And reporting on your post will beupdated in near real time. That meansyou can track how well your postshit the mark and fine-tune yourstrategy instantly.Think of Targeted and SponsoredUpdates as being native advertisingSponsored updates are native to the browsing experience,incorporated directly into the members feed so as notto interrupt the stream of content.Bislr, a provider of marketing automation solutions, usedSponsored Updates to generate high-quality leads with a highconversion rate and at a lower cost. Plus, it generated additionalbrand awareness as a benefit of organic sharing.Read Case StudyPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 29. 29Getting a LinkedIn Company Pageis the first step to using SponsoredUpdates. All Sponsored Updatesmust first be created as organicCompany Updates.Similar to an ad unit, a SponsoredUpdate is sent to a member whenthey visit LinkedIn. SponsoredUpdates are clearly distinguishedfrom organic content to make sure ourmembers can differentiate betweenorganic and paid content. Currently,they are labeled as Sponsored.Links in Sponsored Updates can drivetraffic wherever youd like, includingyour content portals, relevant newsor articles, YouTube or SlideSharechannels, whitepapers, and eventregistration forms.Sponsored Updates are purchasedthrough a second-price auction.Heres how it works. Each time thereis an opportunity for a SponsoredUpdate to be shown, LinkedIn runsan auction to determine whichupdate to show. For any givenauction, there can be many bidsfrom competing advertisers lookingto reach that member. That meanswhen you sponsor an update, yourcampaign enters an auction todetermine whether its shown to yourtarget audience. Sponsored Updateinventory is non-guaranteed, but youmay adjust your bid and content toperform better in the auction.PART 6:How Sponsored Updates workAdobe used Sponsored Updates as part of its campaign to raiseawareness of the company as an innovator in digital marketing.As a result of the brand exposure in the LinkedIn feed, researchconfirmed that U.S. marketing executives were 50% more likely toagree that Adobe can shape the future of digital marketing.Learn MorePART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 30. 30Executive Director, Digital,Nissan UnitedLI: What factors are most importantto you when considering advertisingchannels for your clients?CD: It all depends on the goals of thecampaign or what we are trying toaccomplish. My focus is on a globalcampaign that transcends the US andEurope so a lot of what we are doingis branding. We look at platforms ashow can we best utilize our money toget in front of as many people as wecan to convince them the Nissan is aa brand for them. Question numberone is always, can we build the brandon this platform?LI: What types of clients should beleveraging LinkedIn more than theycurrently are?CD: Any organization that needs todo a better job of getting the brandin front of affluent people or just theright professional people. LinkedInis a great platform for targeting thistype of audience. The other type ofclient that needs to be on LinkedIn isany organization that needs to recruittop talent.LI: How do you compare the audiencetargeting capability of LinkedIn withother social networks?CD: The biggest thing thats come toour attention is we can trust theresults from LinkedIn. People areless apt to elaborate on LinkedIn thanthey are on other social networks.Sometimes you dont know if youreactually getting the person youretargeting, and my personal versionof why I prefer LinkedIn over othersocial networks is because I knowwho Im getting. I trust LinkedIn datanot because other social networksare lying about their data, but ratherbecause consumers are more apt toelaborate on other social networks.LI: How are marketers getting itwrong with LinkedIn?CD: They are seeing it as anadvertising platform and theyare not leveraging it as a contentplatform. Advertisers are trying todrive lower funnel activities insteadof participating in the conversation.I see LinkedIn as a way to continuethe dialogue in a way that naturallypromotes the value proposition of thebrand and I think many brands are stillusing it as an ad platform becausemost media buying agencies followthe path of least resistance and buywhat is easy. Getting the creative andcontent development teams involvedmakes it harder for them to buy.They can simply put an ad on thepage instead of engaging the creativeagency and building a plan that willbe better in the long run.Ask the Expert:Chris DAlessandroPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 31. 31PART 6:SlideShare: Tap into Visual Tendencies How to Use LinkedIn to Amplify SlideShare ContentWe are all visual thinkers. In fact,75% of the sensory neurons in ourbrains process visual information.Visual content can help set you apartfrom text-heavy competition, andSlideShare is the perfect channel foryour visual content.SlideShare is not just a repository foryour slide presentations. Its a socialchannel where you can establishyour brand as a thought leaderand authority around topicsand keywords.Through SlideShare, you can: Share presentations, videos,infographics and other documentswith your LinkedIn network Upload portfolios, conferencetalks, PDFs, marketing/salespresentations and more Embed videos in presentationsand add audio to make a webinarWith more than 60 million visitorsa month and 3 billion slide viewsa month (thats 1,140 slides persecond), SlideShare is the worldslargest professional content-sharingcommunity. And thats something youcant afford to overlook.1. Send Company Updates SlideShare content displays directly within theLinkedIn feed2. Sponsor your best content to extend its reach3. Use SlideShare Content Ads to pull SlideShare content into 300x250 adplacements on LinkedInIts almost not fair to ask for my take on SlideShare. I consider it one ofthe top three plays in my own content marketing efforts. I contributeto the SlideShare blog. I recommend it to everyone of my clients andam hired often to write and design the presentations.However, Im biased for many reasons. Atop the list: SlideShareand its integration with LinkedInaccounts for a massive chunk ofmy websites traffic, has a lot to do with the authority Ive gained incontent marketing and copywriting for the web, and is helping bringme all kinds of opportunities including new business, partnerships,and speaking engagements.If youre not using SlideSlide to distribute your content, youre missingout on, what, 60 million eyeball opportunities a month? And if you are,you know exactly how the service can align with your marketing goals.Barry Feldman, Feldman CreativePART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 32. 32PART 6:Here are nine tips to help ensure content domination on SlideShare:1. Keep your presentations shortand sweet: Between 1030 slidesis optimal2. Be visual: Shoot for an average of19 images in your 1030 slides3. Get to the point: Aim for anaverage of 24 words per slide4. Be the authority on your topic:Choose a topic and own it5. Focus on design and tell a story:Design your deck to pull the readerfrom one slide to the next6. Rev up the SEO for eachpresentation: Include keyword-richtitles, descriptions and tags inorder to give your presentationsa fighting chance in the world ofsearch engines as well as inside theSlideShare search resultsHave I got a story for you!7. Integrate your presentations intomultiple channels: SlideShare easilyembeds into landing pages andblogs and renders beautifullyin Twitter8. Repurpose your presentations:Slice and dice them into blog posts,infographics, webinarsand videos9. Make SlideShare part of everycampaign: Add a SlideSharecheckbox to your campaignchecklistIf you dont have a SlideShareaccount, sign up from LinkedIn toshare your presentations worldwideand drive more views and traffic.A good story captivates an audience. Think about your favorite book,TV show or moviethe plot and way it is told hooks you in. Now what if everypresentation you sat throughor gavewas that spell-binding?SlideShare Did You Know Fun Fact:More than 15 million pieces of content uploaded to SlideShare(December 5, 2013) In a recent conference, I was asked my opinion on what isthe biggest opportunity in B2B Content Marketing? Withouthesitation, I answered SlideShare.Michael Brenner, Vice President of Marketing and Content Strategyat SAP, Speaker, Blogger and Social Business Marketing LeaderPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 33. 33PART 6:Content Ads: Enhance the Member Experience withoutInterrupting ItOn LinkedIn, our members are activelyconsuming and sharing informationand insights. And you have anopportunity to share content withLinkedIns professional audienceusing Content Ads.Content Ads use images and videocontent that stand out above the foldon our uncluttered, clean LinkedInpage design. Use them to positionyour company as a thought leaderand engage your audience withwhite papers, videos, brochures andother high-value contentwithoutinterrupting the user flow and byenhancing their member experience.Our content ad unit delivers up tofive different items of content viadifferent tabs, including blog posts,case studies, white papers and video.Because the ads are RSS enabled, theyupdate automatically whenever livecontent featured in them changes.Content ads are extremely simpleto create: you supply us with assetsand content and well create your ad,including a preview for you to signoff, within ten working days. Youll beable to leverage the depth of LinkedInmember profiles for accurate targetingof your ad, and youll get accessto detailed analytics showinghow members interact with eachcontent tab.For ad specifications, visithttp://adspecs.liasset.com/category.php?category=Content+Ads.Standard Content AdStandard content ad enlargedPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 34. 34PART 6:SlideShare Content Ads: Enable Seamless Engagement SlideShare Content AdSlideShare Content Ads are the latestaddition to LinkedIns expandingContent Ads portfolio. Through theSlideShare Content Ad format, you can: Extend reach and discoverability ofyour SlideShare content Drive engagement by offeringuser value Demonstrate thought leadershipand industry expertiseWith SlideShare Content Ads,we combine SlideShares rich,professionally relevant content withLinkedIn Marketing Solutions uniquetargeting capabilities. SlideShareContent Ads give your content thereach it deserves, delivering in-depthpresentations through a 300 x 250ad unit that enables broad,flexible distribution.Your audience can interact with thepresentations in these ads just as theywould on SlideShare itself, scrollingforwards and back, and choosingwhether to expand the presentationor view it within the ad unit. Plus, youcan embed a lead capture form in yourpresentation, which LinkedIn memberscan fill in and submit directly from thepresentation. Importantly, they cando without interrupting theirLinkedIn session.Moreover, by combining detailedLinkedIn Analytics with SlideSharescontent viewing metrics and lead-generationforms, we provide auniquely in-depth view of engagementwith your content marketing.SlideShare makes it easy to take what youve already got to amuch wider audience. Andin stark contrast to most businessexperiences with social media todayit delivers measurementbased on real business activity, like leads.Todd Wheatland, Author of The Marketers Guide to SlideSharePART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 35. 35PART 6:LinkedIn APIs: Deepen Engagement, Share Content Network-wideLeverage LinkedIns professionalaudience and platform across yourother digital channels with a rangeof full-fledged APIs and plug-ins thathelp deepen engagement with youraudience and share content across ournetwork. You can use LinkedIns APIsto create custom branded experiencesthat allow members to sign in usingtheir LinkedIn login. This eliminatesthe need for them to enter additionaldata. Even more importantly, by usingthe API to access LinkedIns rich data,you can tailor the member experiencebased on profile data. You can alsoencourage your experience to go viralby triggering it to publish updatesabout a users activities.We offer developers powerfuloptions to leverage our content andconnections while keeping userson our site.Here are just a few ways you can takeadvantage of our APIs: Invite members to sign up toyour site using their LinkedInlogin credentials Leverage select areas of theLinkedIn identity to deliverrelevant content Plug LinkedIn feeds into your site Invite your users to share updatesacross the LinkedIn platformTo add a LinkedIn plugin to your siteor app, visit developer.LinkedIn.comto generate the required code andadd it to the source code of yoursite or app. The LinkedIn CertifiedDeveloper Program (CDP) makes iteasy to engage developers certifiedto work with LinkedIn data, who aretrained and supported by LinkedIn. Wealso offer options for working with abroader range of developers as well.Statoil Taps into LinkedInAPI to Create a Content HubStatoil wanted to shift its image from a big-oil company to aforward-thinking energy organization. Using a LinkedIn API,it created a content hub called Energy Realities that helped itreach the right audience and amplify its content andsocial actions.Read Case StudyPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 36. 36PART 6:LinkedIn Groups: Join the ConversationCompanies often talk about joiningthe conversation and establishingthought leadership. By participating indiscussions taking place in establishedLinkedIn Groups, you can join theconversation. And by creating yourcompanys own LinkedIn BrandedCommunities, you can start theconversation. Either way, youreestablishing thought leadership foryour company.Participate in Group DiscussionsAs a sophisticated marketer, you knowthat true and meaningful engagementwith prospects and customers issparked and maintained throughinteractions. The trick is finding theright forum for this engagement,and LinkedIn Groups is a terrific wayto become part of a communitycomprising your target audience.Plan to participateYou can join up to 50 groups butlets face ityou and your colleaguesmay not have the time to invest incultivating conversations, connections,and relationships at that volume. Onceyou pinpoint the groups that will provethe best investment of your time, itscritical to put in the time to participate.Weigh in on active discussions,and point fellow group membersto additional information of value,whether thats content published byyour company or another organization.The key is to position yourself as atrusted and helpful peer rather than asa marketer focused on reeling in thenext customer.LinkedIn Groups for BusinessHubSpots Inbound Marketers LinkedIn Group is another stellarexample of how a marketer can best utilize a group within LinkedIn.HubSpot now has more than 50,000 followers for its CompanyPage, and more than 96,000 members for the Inbound Marketersgroupsignificant audiences for its messages about bestpractices for inbound marketing.PART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 37. 37Through LinkedIn BrandedCommunities, you can create yourown exclusively branded forum: atargeted environment that establishesyour companys expertise and buildsa lively community endorsingyour brand. As the sponsor of theCommunity, youll leverage exclusivead positions to share company,brand and product messages; driveengagement with weekly emailsto Community members; and usecommunity management tools to stayinvolved in the conversation. Plus, youcan exclusively promote your contentand messages in the right-hand railwith units that support rich mediaand video.All Branded Communities encouragemembers to spread your contentacross their LinkedIn networks,sharing links to comments anddiscussions and promoting organicgrowth. Plus, you can use Join GroupAds to boost membership further,with content feeds to give potentialCommunity members a taste of thediscussions taking placeand promptthem to join (see the Advertisingsection for more on Join Group Ads).Real customers, real benefitsPhilips runs two communitiesdedicated to thought leadership inhealth and lighting. The communitieshave contributed to a significantrise in Philips net promoter scores.Moreover, the companys healthcommunity counts tens of thousandsof members and thousands of activediscussions, making it a role model forthought leadership on a large scale.Similarly, Microsofts CloudComputing community has attractedmore than 9,000 senior managersin relevant industries such as IT,engineering and consultancy.PART 6:LinkedIn Branded Communities100,000LinkedIn Membersjoin new GroupseverydayEngaging with fellow professionals on the issues they care about, and poolingtheir thinking to solve business problems. Starting a Community provides auniquely interactive platform for showcasing your thinking, driving collaboration,inviting feedback and engaging key stakeholders.You can find communities to join in the Groups Directory or view suggestionsof groups you may like. Heres how to create a new community focused ona particular topic or industry.PART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedInDid you know?There are more Groups on LinkedIn than nonprofit organizationsin the United States. 38. 38Remember: marketing creates thecontent but needs to work handin hand with sales to ensure theyknow the story and can carry theconversation when participating inLinkedIn community discussions.Your sales reps should be engagingprospects and customers in onlinevenues. After all, they need to interactwith prospective customers whereverthey are spending timeand beforethe competition gets there. Plus,listening to and participating in onlineconversations will provide your salesteam with keen insight into whatmost concerns your prospects. Theycan then offer relevant informationsuch as a link to an eBook, whitepaper, webinar or other contentthat establishes your company as avaluable and trusted resource.PART 6:Get aligned for community successInvest in Building a CommunityYou can drive increased membership of your community usingJoin Group Ads.PART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 39. 39We believe in the power of contentmarketing. Thats why were continuallydeveloping new resources that helpyou achieve even more from yourcontent marketing strategies andinitiatives. And we are certain youregoing to get tons of value from thesetwo new resources: Content Marketing Score Trending ContentGLOBAL MARKETERS ARE USING CONTENT MARKETING TO ACHIEVE THEIRGOALS, BUT DONT FEEL THEYRE BEING EFFECTIVE AS THEY COULD BE.96%93%88%using content marketingfeel theyre being effective38%41%48%AustralianUSUKPART 6:Two New Power Resources for Your Content Marketing ToolboxPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedInQuantify Your Content MarketingEfforts On LinkedInAs a sophisticated marketer, you knowyou need to prove the impact of yourcontent marketing initiatives. Ideallyyou want to: Understand the content and topicsthat resonate with your audience Measure the effectiveness of yourcontent-based campaigns Benchmark the success ofyour program See how you stack up againstyour competition Rank your brand witha comprehensive scoreLike the most effective contentmarketers, we bet you reach youraudience in multiple ways acrossLinkedIn, including via Groups,company updates, employee posts,sponsored updates, and influencerposts. The Content Marketing Scorefrom LinkedIn ties all of this outreachtogether so you get an integrated viewof how your efforts are paying off.Content Marketing ScoreClosing the Content Marketing GapSources: Content Marketing in the UK: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Content MarketingInstitute/DMA UK, Content Marketing in Australia: 2013 Trends Content Marketing Institute/TheAssociation for data-driven marketing & advertising (ADMA), 2014 B2B Content Marketing TrendsNorth America: Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs 40. 40Benchmark Your Content PerformanceThink of the Content MarketingScore as a barometer that helpsyour company, product and brandunderstand the impact of its contentmarketing efforts on LinkedIn. Byattributing a score to your content,the Content Marketing Scorequantifies the influence of yourcompany, product and brandon LinkedIn.The Content Marketing Scoreprovides this insight by: Highlighting the audience(s)consuming your contenton LinkedIn Quantifying your companyscontent presence andengagement on LinkedInIn other words, it tells you if memberswithin your target audience areengaging with your content. Andit can show you how you stack upagainst your competitors. You caneven see a breakdown of how youreperforming across the different areasof LinkedIn whether by Groups,updates, or posts.Turn Insights Into Content GoldAll that information is valuable,but we know insights are uselessunless you act upon them. And theContent Marketing Score makesthat possible by providing specificrecommendations on defining andadjusting your content strategy toachieve the best results possible.These may include suggestions toexperiment with new ways to increaseyour follower base such as SponsoredUpdates, encourage your employeesto publish more posts, or focus onyour content relevance.In a nutshell, the Content MarketingScore from LinkedIn: Analyzes who engageswith your content Compares you to your peers Suggests how to improveyour scoreTo receive your custom ContentMarketing Score, please contactyour LinkedIn account executiveor account manager.PART 6:A Dynamic DuoWhile Trending Content gives you insight into the hottesttopics across LinkedIn, the Content Marketing Score isspecific to your company, product and brand.Your Overall Content Marketing ScoreBy Target Audience and TopicWHO: Audience = Decision Makers WHAT: Topic = Leadership2501,4001,2001,0008006004002000CLIENTCMS ScoreBest in classinfluenceWeaker contentinfluence7 of 10Peers:BlackrockMicrosoftDellCap GeminiOracleCitiAmexAccentureSalesforce 41. 41Be Trendy (With Your Content)Your target audience is on LinkedIn.Now its just a matter of deliveringthe content that attracts and engagesthem. But how do you know justwhich topics will catch and keep their attention? And how do youknow which members will be mostinterested in your content?Whether youre new to contentmarketing or looking to drive evenmore engagement with your existingcontent, Trending Content fromLinkedIn can help you focus onthe topics that matter.On a daily basis, LinkedIn membersactively engage with content fromfour primary sources of inspiration,insights, and information onour network: News from publishers Peers on LinkedIn groups Thought leaders BrandsAlign Your Content Calendar WithYour AudienceWith LinkedIn, you can see trendingtopics across all those sources:LinkedIn Groups, news posts, thoughtleadership posts and discussions,and company pages. Youll see whichtopics matter, and which members aresharing the most content on any givensubject. Youll even be able to pinpointwhich topics are going viral.How do we deliver this invaluabledata? We evaluate influencer articles,network updates and sponsoredupdates to understand what contentmembers are sharing. Using a complexalgorithm built by our data scienceteam, we put each piece of contentinto one or more of over 17,000 topiccategories. We then layer on memberprofile attributes to understand who issharing the content.With all that insight, you can fine-tuneyour strategy to align with thelatest trends. That means you canincrease the likelihood of your owncontent going viral, and reach andengage more LinkedIn members. Toreceive your custom Trending Contentanalysis, please contact your LinkedInaccount executive or account manager.PART 6:Next-LevelContentTHE TOPICS THAT MATTER Your Target Audience is on LinkedInMarketers face a challenge in knowing exactly who'sconsuming their content and whether it's reaching theirdesired audiences. For more engagement, reach and viralitymarketers need to tune their content strategies to the types ofcontent trending for their target audiences.The Topics That MatterWHATS TRENDING*Top trending topics on LinkedIn, Dec, 2013 - Jan. 2014Source: LinkedIn Internal DataWho Shares the Most*Audiences sharing the top 15 most shared articles on LinkedIn, Dec. 2013Jan. 2014TOP TRENDING TOPICS(January 2014)Top Trending Topics(January 2014)leadershipFinancial Advisors Venture CapitalistsEntrepreneursPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedInYoung Upwardly MobileRetirementWomenMass AfuentsCareerChangersSmall Business OwnersChief Executive OfcersWhats Trending*Top trending topics on LinkedIn, Dec. 2013Jan. 20141 2 3 4 59 8 7 6EmployeeEngagementManagement Sourcing Self-Esteem Social MediaMarketingBusiness ForeclosuresDevelopmentFutureTrendsJobSearch10 Retiremententrepreneurshiponline advertisingmobile deviceshealthcareSource: LinkedIn Internal DataTrending Content 42. 42President, Global Digital,Data and Analytics at StarcomMediaVest GroupLI: What factors are most importantto you when considering advertisingchannels for your clients?LW: One of the things we say is thatits about behavior, not channels.From our perspective, when you startwith consumer behavior you usuallystart with data. We really believethat data helps to create experiencesand we use the phrase created bydata and creating its own data.You can use data to understandconsumer behaviors on a platform likeLinkedIn and then, as the consumer isengaged, he or she creates new datato help you optimize that experience.It starts with behavior which isinformed by data, which we useto inform content.LI: How are your clients marketingobjectives different on LinkedIncompared to other social networks?How does that impact your clientscontent strategy?LW: I would argue that the objectivesof a platform like LinkedIn shouldnot be different from other socialnetworks and that all networks shouldadder up to the overall marketingobjectives of clients. As you drill downinto the use case for LinkedIn, thereare absolutely some more tacticaland specific initiatives it could beleveraged for. But if youre talkingabout marketing objectives broadly,Id like to think that everything we doand all these things we create laddersup to bigger objectives like sales, topof funnel, etc. Too often in socialmedia, marketers get hung up onchasing the social networks specificmetrics and at the end of the day,what has to matter is that a marketersinvestments are moving the needleagainst the core macro objective.LinkedIn has proven effective forclients leveraging it across thespectrum of objectives ranging frombrand lift and consideration, to ROIand direct response. LinkedIn worksagainst key measures whether theyare top or bottom of the funnel.LI: How would you advise a marketerlooking to create more shareablecontent? Are there specific strategiesor tools you recommend?LW: We believe sharing is an indicatorof valuable consumer behavior.Weve spent a lot of time on toolsprovided by a company like ShareThis,which provide powerful indicators ofthe types of content that are mostsharable. Weve built a planning toolthat allows our planners to buy adsagainst content that is more likely tobe shared. Weve actually spenta lot of time in the space looking attrends of topics and keywords whichare another indicator of things beingshared. We partner with companieslike Visible Measures on the videoside. It can be different with video,and they have years worth of dataon the types of video content thatwill most likely drive certain earnedresponses. We also share that partto plan how our video content candrive greater shares because wethink its a strategic question. Its vitalto our strategy to think about theintersection of paid, owned,and earned.Ask the Expert:Lisa WeinsteinPART 6: Publish with a Purpose: Content Marketing on LinkedIn 43. 43PART 7:Expand your Targeted Reach:Advertising on LinkedInBy combining mass reach withaccurate targeting, LinkedInadvertising solutions allow you to: Engage your target from amongthe most affluent, influential,and educated audience onsocial media Increase awareness, credibilityand impact through the power ofsocial proof Drive traffic and leads to your siteHere are the LinkedIn advertisingsolutions at your disposal to help youachieve those results: Display Ads Sponsored InMailLinkedIn Display AdsThrough LinkedIn Display Ads, youcan reach a professional audience ina context where they actively seekadvice and recommendations frombrands and companies. All LinkedInDisplay Ad formats leverage theunique depth of our member profileinformation, offering targeting bysector, job function, seniority, locationand more: a targeted approachthat drives engagement, relevanceand response.PART 7: Expand your targeted reach: Advertising on LinkedIn 44. PART 7:LinkedIn Premium Display Advertising for Awarenessand Consideration at Scale With LinkedIn Display Ads, you44With LinkedIn Premium Display Ads,you can target the exact audienceyou want in a premium unclutteredenvironment. That makes it easier touse existing ad creative to drive brandawareness and consideration at scaleamong LinkedIns audience.Display ads give you a fantastic shareof voice. Thats because, unlike otherdigital publishers, LinkedIn onlyserves two visual ads on a page atany one time. Combine this with ourpowerful targeting capabilities andits a no-brainer.Heres an example of how CathayPacific realized these benefits. Therenowned airline wanted to increasebrand awareness within its targetmarket, so it identified LinkedInmembers who belong to LinkedIngroups related to business travel inAsia. It then targeted those memberswith Display Ads and Sponsored Polls.LinkedIns accurate targeting resultedin 1,324 poll responses from businesstravelers and a total of 97 productrecommendations. According to theinternational airlines Vice PresidentMarketing Americas, the campaignwas successful in spreading brandawareness and connectingwith customers.reach the right audience at the righttime on the most accountable mediumDepending on the type you choose, display ads can appear ona home page, profile pages, group pages, company pages, onmembers inbox and messages pages, or at the bottom of apage to catch the eye of members before they navigate away.From a marketing standpoint, the targeting is unprecedented.For marketing campaigns, LinkedIn can identify who to send itto and when to send it but with precision we have never seenbefore. The success stories are still building, but we will seemore B2B marketers drive success via LinkedIn over the nextcouple years.Craig Rosenberg, The Funnelholic www.funnelholic.com 45. 45Author, Maximize Your Social,Trilingual Social Media Strategy &Social Business Coach, Consultant,Trainer & SpeakerLI: What type of content bestconnects with audiences on LinkedIn?Is there a specific type of content youprefer to consume on LinkedIn?NS: The content that best connectswith audiences on LinkedIn isundoubtedly the type that makes usdo our job better as well as investin our professional brand. Without adoubt the recently added Influencercontent is of the highest quality, butthere is other great content to befound in Network Updates as well asrelevant Groups. It all comes downto content that is both relevant andtimelybut deep as well.LI: How do you make sure personaltime spent on LinkedIn is productive?How does this differ from othersocial networks?NS: I spend my personal time onLinkedIn 2 ways: 1) Keeping up-to-dateand engaging with my network,and 2) Business intelligence lookingfor information on people, companies,or news in my industry. I limit my timeand remain clear on my objectives.LI: What recommendations do youhave for marketers looking to connectwith target audiences on LinkedIn?NS: LinkedIn, like any other socialnetwork, is about people that areusing social media for communicationwith others as well as informationgathering. Professionals are notlooking to be sold to, but they areseeking out information that can helpthem do their jobs better. The bestapproach that I would recommendfor marketers to connect with theirtarget audience would look like acombination of the following: Establish robust profiles that makethem discoverable in LinkedInprofile search. Share relevant contentconsistently from their personalprofile. Reach out and connect with thosefrom their target audience thatthey know but have yet to connectwith. Proactively utilize their LinkedInnetwork for introductions to keypeople in their target audience,using LinkedIn Inmails when anintroduction is not possible. Engage in relevant groups. Create a group to representyour company. Promote your LinkedIn CompanyPage, build up a follower base,and engage with them. Utilize the potential that LinkedInAds has to help precisely connectyou with your target audience.PART 7:Ask the Expert:Neal SchafferPART 7: Expand your targeted reach: Advertising on LinkedIn 46. 46LinkedIn Ads is a self-serviceadvertising solution that allowsyou to place text ads on prominentpages across LinkedIn to reachLinkedIns professional audience. Yourtext-based ad includes a headline,description, and can even featurea 50x50 image. You specify whichLinkedIn members view your ads byselecting a target audience basedon characteristics like job title, jobfunction, industry, geography,company size, company name,LinkedIn Group, and more. You canalso control your advertising costsby setting a budget as low as $10 perday and can choose to pay on acost-per-click or impression basisall without any contractsor commitments.HubSpot creates marketing softwarethat helps businesses grow web traffic,generate inbound leads, and convertleads into paying customers. Thechallenge for HubSpot was findingadvertising venues with the right mix ofmarketing professionals who respondwell to HubSpots offers of freemarketing materials.HubSpot first experimented with adcampaigns on social networks otherthan LinkedIn, but the campaigns didnot yield satisfactory results. Theresa lot of distraction on other socialnetworks, Dan Slagen, the companyshead of paid marketing, says. Peopleare there for reasons besides improvingtheir businesses, or networkingwith other professionals. HubSpotalso needed to accurately target itscampaigns beyond simply just location,keywords, and interests, drilling downinto specific professional attributes ofits potential customersa capabilitythat other social networks donot provide.Using LinkedIn Ads, HubSpot has beenable to achieve clickthrough ratesranging from 0.1% to 0.3%with an average CPC of about $3,which is actually a fraction of thecost of paid search advertising,Slagen explains.PART 7:With LinkedIn Ads, weve been able to generatea clickthrough rate that is 60% higher than ouraverage across other social networksand atthe same time, the quality of leads comingthrough LinkedIn is greater than through othersocial media channels.Dan Slagen, Head of Paid Marketing, HubSpotLinkedIn Ads for Pay-Per-Click (PPC) PerformanceHubSpot generates quality leads with accuratetargeting using LinkedIn AdsPART 7: Expand your targeted reach: Advertising on LinkedIn 47. Your first connection with someone you dont know shouldsimply be to get a positive response. Dont look to do anythingmore. The simplest way to get a response, a valuable one atthat, is to ask for their expertise. Even LinkedIn understands howvaluable that request is that theyve made Expertise Requesta drop-down option when sending an InMail message.47Sponsored InMail: Deliver Directly to Members Inboxes Send a personalized message directly to a members inboxUsing Sponsored InMail, you canreach high-value, targeted prospectson LinkedIn with attention-grabbingmessages that speak directly totheir interests. You can designaterecipients by geography, job role,group membership, company size andother criteria.These notifications are prominentlydisplayed on the LinkedIn homepageand in members inboxes for highvisibility that cuts through the clutter.In addition, you can amplify yourmessage by including social mediawidgets that empower your audienceto easily spread your message to like-mindedprofessionals.Sponsored InMail is ideal for: Boosting conversion throughtargeted product andservice promotions Supporting display ad campaignsby emphasizing key messages andcalls to actionOur 60-day exclusivity rule preventsother companies from messaging