Is there real value in measuring your social media activity?

There are multiple ways to measure your social media engagement, but is there really any value to having a high score beyond bragging rights?

LinkedIn added in the Social Selling Index (SSI) when it changed the paid membership format, pushing the most useful functions to the Sales Navigator platform.

The SSI measures four factors and only measures within LinkedIn. Each factor has a 25 point scale. The four factors are:

-        “Establish your professional brand”

-         “Find the right people”

-         “Engage and insights”

-         “Build relationships”

You can make an argument for  including these in an index, but as the exclusive measurements, I think not.

First, brands have set components, but the value of each component and how you present it can vary from market to market, and from niche to niche within a market.

Second, these do not and cannot factor in the quality of connections you are making and the value of each viewer you are getting.  All profile viewers are not created equal.

Third, how you engage goes back to my niche statement above. Certain elements of the Government Contracting community will necessarily do less on public platforms because of the nature of the client and the business associated with that client.

Fourth building relationships in this GovCon is predicated on who you need to know: if you are focused on a single agency (account or agency based marketing - ABM) and a specialty area within that agency, your relationship building activity will taper off as you become more pervasive, and your SSI score in this category will probably fall.

Are you less successful? No.

The SSI is predicated on perpetual activity and growth. While I am in favor of a steady flow of activity, once you maximize the penetration into a specific account or agency, you will level off.

Depending on your industry, an average SSI score seems to run between 20-28, which does not seem very high. But factor in how many people do little or nothing on LinkedIn and it makes sense.

I see the SSI as a quantity over quality tool, and therefore not as useful as it perhaps could be.

Another popular social activity measurement tool is Klout.  Klout measures your social activity on multiple networks (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, FourSquare, Flickr, Tumblr, Instagram and others), and has multiple touchpoints for each that measure the level of your engagement.

There are some other social engagement measuring tools, but many ignore Linkedin and each seems to be limited in some way.

While I am a huge fan of LinkedIn, it is the not the only place you need to be active.  

LinkedIn still includes Twitter in its “share” function. Why? Because it will lead people back to LinkedIn. It no longer has a Facebook share, and I'm not certain if it ever had Google+. Not having these is myopic on the part of LinkedIn.

I found that as I did more writing on my own blog as opposed to writing on LinkedIn (sharing the same way, through groups, Twitter and posting the link on other networks) my Klout score went up, but my SSI went down. My Klout score runs in the low 60s (up from low 50s) and my SSI runs between 71-75 (down from mid-to-high 80s)

My issue with Klout is that it measures your activity, but again not necessarily the quality of that activity. It does make up for this by taking into account views, shares and other factors, which LinkedIn barely touches on.

The final answer on measuring social engagement must come from you. 

What are your criteria for success? Have you achieved your goals? Have you met key people and set up meetings? Have you won new business?

Neither the SSI, Klout nor any other tool can measure this for you.

Knowing your SSI and Klout scores is nice, but it may not be measuring your real impact on LinkedIn and social media in general.

Bragging rights for a high score does not necessarily translate into success.

Feedback is welcomed and appreciated!

(This post is adapted from LinkedIn for GovCon, which will be available soon via Amazon)

Wednesday, December 3, 2014- B2G Content Boot Camp

"Content" is a major buzzword these days, yet some do not distinguish between real content and sales material.

Whether you sell to the government, or to government contractors, good content, delivered to the right audience on a regular basis, helps you build a brand for your company and become top of mind. Being top of mind develops more qualified leads.

Small and medium size companies are struggling to stand out in the government market, to differentiate themselves from the competition.

Good content- content that delivers valuable information to potential customers, that is developed for and delivered to targeted audiences, can help you stand out to those you need to influence. 

Developing and sharing content does not have to bust your budget!

Content created properly and delivered through the right venues can

-          Help you persuade buyers and influencers

-          Make your company an information source for a particular product/service offering (yes, even products)

-          Develop the “top of mind” status that attracts both buyers and potential partners

-          Make your company a preferred source

-          And much more!

Content can take many forms, among them

-          Webinars and live events

-          Podcasts

-          Web radio

-          Media appearances

-          Video

-          Blogs

-          White papers

-          Ebooks

-          E-zines

-          Custom publications

-          And more.

You don’t need all of these, but you need to develop a platform that regularly delivers content to a defined audience if you wish to stand out and grow your business. 

And you don't need a big budget to develop a good content program.

The B2G Content Boot Camp will address these issues and more, including how to choose the format(s) best suited for you, how to create good content, then find the right venues to share it. The Boot Camp will include real-world examples and step-by-step processes to get started.

The B2G Content Boot Camp will feature expert advice on white papers, blogging, webinars, podcasts and more- each there to walk you through each step of content selection, creation and deployment. We will discuss developing content, finding other content to share, leveraging the content of partners and content delivery. Real-world examples and hands-on exercises throughout.

Among our experts:

-          Tom Temin, an industry icon, the Morning Drive co-host on Federal News Radio and formerGovernment Computer News editor. Tom is a white paper expert and ghost writer.

-          Mark Amtower, government marketing expert, author and blogger, radio host, columnist and LinkedIn guru.

-          Elizabeth Harr, "Visible Expert" and professional services marketing guru, Partner at Hinge Marketing.

We will accept only 30 attenders for the inaugural B2G Content Boot Camp.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

VP Sales, VP Marketing, VP Communications, VP BD

This will be an all-day session at the Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship, 9250 Bendix Road, Columbia MD 21045

Early Bird pricing is $595 for the day until Friday, November 21. then the price goes up to $695 – so reserve your seat today. Seats are selling now and we can only accept the first 30.

Registration fee includes a 100+ page workbook, beverages, snacks and pizza for a working lunch.

Contact me now to reserve your seat. markamtower@gmail.com or 301 854 9493

Details:  B2G Content Boot Camp,  

8:00am-4:30pm, Wednesday, December 3, 2014

at The Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship, 9250 Bendix Road, Columbia MD 21045 (in the Latimer Room) 

Speakers: Mark Amtower, Elizabeth Harr, Tom Temin

We will cover

1) The case for content marketing

a. What content marketing Is Not

b. Content marketing Is

- educational

- cost efficient

- search engine friendly

c. Growth and profitability 

d. Why is content necessary for B2G? 

- visibility

- credibility

- winning business

e. How and when should content be used for B2G?

- primes and subs

- agency personnel

2) Strategy

a. Overview

b. Differentiation

c. Positioning

d. Key Messages

e. Goals

f. Research

- Link to sales goals

- audience interests, pain points

- FedBizOpps

g. Content strategy – themes and topics 

h. Content strategy – resources needed 

i. Content strategy – channels and frequency 

j. Content strategy - distribution considerations

k. Social listening – monitor for trending topics germane to what you do

- Respond to emerging or breaking news

3) Creating content

a. Content audit - What can be repurposed?

b. Content platforms

i. Deeper dive with examples (content calendar)

ii. Flow content (blogs, articles, short videos)

iii. Premium content (registration required for webinars, e-books)

c. Monitoring the competition’s content

d. the role of graphics/visuals 

4) Promoting content

a. Staff engagement

b. Social media

c. Guest blogging

d. Traditional PR and getting media coverage

5) Nurture and convert 

a. Offer strategy for other content

b. email marketing

6) Metrics

a. Timeline

b. Google Analytics

c. Shares and downloads

d. Leads and contracts

7) Finding outside help 

a. How do you find and select outside services

Social Adopter, Adapter or A-Lister: where do you fit?

Six degrees of separation is rapidly shrinking.

Only twenty years ago, the launch of Netscape Navigator democratized the world wide web, which was often referred to as the "information super-highway". Navigator was a free browser that allowed anyone with an internet connection to look for anything that was available on the web. Admittedly, back then it was a lot less than today.

Service providers then started offering low-cost access to the new online communication tool - email. 

Younger people loved this stuff, especially college students who saw their peers developing and deploying these things. Now those students are professionals and executives themselves.

For those who were around back then, you may recall the resistance of company management to take this seriously, using this tool for business: email was going to be the biggest time waster ever, along with the "information super-highway", which was full of useless stuff. 

Only a very few B2G industry executives had the foresight to understand the value that would come to our market. Dendy Young, then CEO of Falcon MicroSystems, built the first e-commerce web site in the government market. He was also an advocate of email, stating in a keynote at one of my mid-1990s conferences that one day email would be an integral part of the government procurement process.

In Dendy Young we have the first B2G example of the internet trifecta: adopter, adapter then A-Lister. 

He adopted early, possibly in part because of Falcon's relationship to Apple, which meant Dendy more than most in DC had exposure to Silicon Valley.

He then adapted quickly, putting Falcon on the leading B2G edge of e-commerce.

He is an A-Lister because of his continuous appetite for learning and sharing information. 

Still, while Dendy forged ahead, most doubted. And waited. Email and company web sites did not catch on until later in the 1990s as a real business tool and it changed the way we do business. 

Then we faced the "irrational exuberance" of the dot-bomb era.

Eleven years ago social networks started popping up in a significant way, In May 2003 LinkedIn launched; in February 2004 Facebook followed. Others have come and gone.

LinkedIn, always my focus point, has 300 million members, over one-third in the US and about 2.5 million in the DC area.

There is absolutely no doubt that the migration to social networking platforms rivals any of the great human or animal migrations in history. Each hour, tens of thousands of business people and others are joining LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and other social networking platforms. Adoption of these platforms is ubiquitous.

But what happens then?

For many, little or nothing. Newton's First Law kicks in - a body at rest tends to stay at rest...

Why does little or nothing happen?

It is in part a herd mentality, and in part an assumption that your mere presence on a social networking platform will cause something to occur. 

During the past decade, as social networks have grown exponentially, the resistance to joining them has disappeared, but the actual use of them for business purposes for most companies still lags behind.

Research shows that companies that leverage social networks grow faster than those that don't; companies that develop social media strategies grow faster than those without a strategy; and that companies that train their personnel how to use social networks win more business as a result. Each of these three steps moves a company closer to those it needs to reach: buyers and influencers.

Six degrees of separation is shrinking as I write. Virtually everyone is now connected to at least one social network, probably more, so reaching out to anyone has become easier.

For those leveraging social media as a business tool and doing a good job of it, the results are palpable. For those waiting on the sidelines, well, keep waiting or give me a call. I train companies like yours.

I am not certain what the next big tech shift will be, but it will not replace social networks. 

Maybe it's time to call Dendy...



*I do coach companies and individuals on all aspects of LinkedIn. Drop me a line for details- mark@federaldirect.net 

Does Your LinkedIn Profile Have a Pulse?

Is your LinkedIn profile working for you while you sleep? Is it a tombstone or a cash register?

Every marketing research study I have seen over the past three years has shown a steady increase in people relying of social networks when it comes to researching employees, employers, business partners, suppliers, consultants, clients and more. The more recent studies show social media in the top two or three. 

Hinge Research (www.HingeMarketing.com) will be releasing a new study shortly called Beyond Referrals: How Today's Buyers Check You Out. The research clearly shows the rise of social media as a research tool and the dominance of LinkedIn in that category.

LinkedIn had 5.7 billion internal searches - searches inside LinkedIn - in 2012. 5.7 billion!

Now I am not a math major, but that is a pretty big number. And I am anxiously awaiting the stats for 2013.

I hear you out there muttering - What's your point, Mark?

My point is simple. If we are all using LinkedIn more and more, why is it that so many profiles are written so poorly?

Are some so vain that they think everyone knows them? 

Are there those who still don't realize how important LinkedIn can be for them and their company?

Or are many just too lazy to be bothered by actually thinking before they write? 

I have seen hundreds, perhaps thousands, of profiles that look more like tombstones than profiles of professionals. 

They simply don't have a pulse.

Here is my point: if you are not fully leveraging LinkedIn and other carefully selected social media, you are losing business to those who are, and they hope you still don't get it.

GovCon Directions for 2014: Yahoo, Katie Couric, PlanetGov and Contractors

Yahoo announced that it hired Katie Couric as "global anchor".  Yahoo's CEO, Marissa Mayer, has said all along that the end user experience would drive her decisions. Ms Mayer is a data-driven executive who happens to be a social media maven, so it's safe to assume she knows what she is doing.

Some will undoubtedly see the hiring of Katie Couric as simply bringing on a celebrity. This would be selling both Ms Mayer and Ms Couric short. Couric is a media savvy content maven who happens to be a celebrity. She is smart and deep.

What this does for Yahoo is provide a deeper, broader content bench.

So what does this have to do with GovCon?

I open Selling to the Government with the "Tale of Two Companies", vignettes about two companies from the dot bomb era. (http://www.amazon.com/Selling-Government-Compete-Worlds-Largest/dp/047088133X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385502961&sr=8-1&keywords=amtower)

One of the companies, PlanetGov, got venture funding to create an information and sales portal for the government market. PlanetGov hired about 20 journalists, including Mike Causey from the Washington Post (now with Federal News Radio) to create an information portal that would attract all Feds, then have an e-commerce side which would supply those Feds with everything they needed to buy for work.

The plan was interesting, but did not make it past the demise of the dot-bomb crash.

But the company survived, and emerged as APPTIS, and now IronBow.

Content is deservedly huge in our market, and with some of the publications in dire straits, it has become necessary for contractors to generate more of their own content. This content takes the form of white papers, enews programs, webinars, podcasts, even TV and radio shows.

If the content is germane to the buyer, and helps them makes decisions about what to buy and perhaps where to buy it, the company generating the content wins.

Perhaps it wasn't the PlanetGov plan that was bad - just the timing.

Connecting Dots in the Dark: The Waldo Factor, part 20

Recently I recorded an interview with Mike O'Connell for www.itsalljournalism.com. I know Mike from Federal News Radio where he is the web editor and he is adept at social media. The interview focused on the many uses of LinkedIn, including why it is important for journalists and others.

During the interview I used a phrase that shows up in many of my live presentations on LinkedIn: connecting dots in the dark. The dots are things you know or suspect are "out there", you are just not certain where and who.

Even by itself, this is an interesting metaphor. In the context of LinkedIn it means several things, among them-

   * the ability to find people who share their discipline, but people you did not previously know

   * key people at companies you want to do business with

   * finding people you have not seen in years

   * finding groups (communities) of like-minded thinkers

   * ideas - coming across interesting discussions that are pertinent to what you do, started and commented on by people you probably need to know

   * and so much more.

I view LinkedIn as one of the coolest, most useful and versatile marketing tools I have run across in my thirty-plus years of marketing, with literally something for anyone in business.

You can read the interview (it's not long) at www.itsalljournalism.com.

Your Tipping Point on LinkedIn (The Waldo Factor, part 19)

In recent studies from Market Connections (www.MarketConnectionsInc.com) and others, there are two topics that keep rising to the top for government contractors:

   - the need to develop a thought leadership/subject matter expert platform and position;
   - the use of LinkedIn throughout the government contracting community.

These two concepts work well together, and each is very important to those seeking to move their company to the next level.

LinkedIn has become perhaps the most important marketing venue for BtoB and BtoG companies to position themselves, to define and defend an area of thought leadership, to demonstrate a clear subject matter expert status.

Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point was a huge success (deservedly so) when it came out in 2000. I highly recommend the book for anyone seeking to understand how small fads become big trends, and how small things come together to make a big impression.

The subtitle of Gladwell's book is How Little things Can Make a Big Difference.

For those of us leveraging social media, there are some very big lessons in this, things we can learn and apply to help our respective businesses' stand out on platforms link LinkedIn.

There are many things I could point out about the book that would be pertinent, but I will limit myself to three.

First is context: where things happen. Context makes little things become big things. As they accumulate in a  particular venue, they stack up and start to move.

Several of the more active people on LinkedIn share ideas, comment on discussions, post articles or links to blog posts- things that are pertinent to a particular group, or to selected groups. The more they do this, the higher their respective value rises in those groups (communities) and the more visible they become.

Second is the stickiness factor. If the right message is placed in the right group at an appropriate time, it becomes "sticky" and resonates within the group(s) where it is posted. Most of us have seen posts in groups that accumulate many comments and stay active for weeks or even longer. Not only is the person who posted the original comment a beneficiary, many of those adding value by commenting are as well. They benefit by adding value to the group, and the group benfits from that action.

The key people are the third and final point I wish to make. The kinds of people that make a difference in The Tipping Point and on LinkedIn are connectors, mavens and salespeople. Gladwell talks about them on the chapter title "The Law of the Few". My definitions are slightly different than those of Gladwell and are used as they apply to LinkedIn.

Connectors are the people in a group/community who know large numbers of people and who are in the habit of making introductions. These are people on LinkedIn you see in multiple groups, who have hundreds or thousands of connections, and who help you make connections when asked.

Mavens are subject matter experts, the people we rely upon to connect us with new information.  Think of mavens as thought leaders.

Salesmen  are "persuaders", charismatic people with powerful selling skills, often seen supporting the ideas of others.

Note that the chapter in Gladwell's book is titled the law of the few. It is Gladwell's premise that it only takes a few people to make a big difference, but it has to be the right people. It is the law of the few primarily because only a few people actually engage in a regular, positive manner. While few in number, there is always room for a few more.

Connectors, mavens and salespeople are all active people, but active in different ways. When they are active around the same subject, it can go viral, or at least viral in a defined community, like a group on LinkedIn.

If that group has people you need to influence, people you want to know better and do business with, you need to be part of that overall information sharing process that occurs on LinkedIn.

If you are part of a company where employees act in unison on LinkedIn, without being too "sale-sy", you can start raising the visibility for your company, evolving that subject matter expert platform your company needs to move to the next level.

Developing a thought leadership platform requires positive, regular action. LinkedIn provides one of the major venues where this can and should take place.

By developing and sharing great content, you can help your company reach its own tipping point.

The Facebooking of LinkedIn- part 2: LinkedIn changes "Contacts" functionality

Yet another change on the LinkedIn front are the changes that occurred over the past week to the Contacts page.

The previous Contacts configuration allowed you to search quickly, send emails, sort by geographic and more. While the new set-up may do the same, I cannot as yet figure it out. And I don't see how to send emails.

It seems as if LinkedIn is making it more difficult to do the things that many like to do and are used to doing, and continues to make changes that baffle current users.

Now, down the left side (left navigation) we have

All Contacts (which includes any "saved" profiles)

Your Day (stay in touch with these people): I don't need LinkedIn to tell me who to reach out to today or any other day.

Connections (self explanatory)

Saved  (self explanatory)

Tags (self explanatory)

Companies (self explanatory)

Titles (self explanatory; but in my market, government contracting, job titles of Feds & other govies have no uniformity, so this does not help at all)

Locations (self explanatory)

Sources (LinkedIn wants you to import contacts- don't do it)

Potential Merges (not sure what this is and when you click nothing happens)

Hidden (not sure what this is, 632 people show up as "hidden", with me leading the list. Not a clue what this is for)

On the top right we have

Add contacts (self explanatory)

Settings  - which allows you to

     - sync your email program to LinkedIn

     - apply 3 apps: CardMunch, Evernote and TripIt

     - import contact files (except Google....)

And on the right side there is a non-functional "Send feedback" button....

While some of this can certainly be beneficial, LinkedIn would be better served by getting more "buy in" from current users before implementing changes that removes some functions we like and use.

My guess is they have a group of 18 -20 year olds in a room with a ton of soda. This group is now in charge of the "Facebooking" of LinkedIn.

LinkedIn replacing current applications

There has been some abrupt changes at LinkedIn over the last three months, including a reformatting of your profile. The first big change came with the "Endorsement" feature.

Yet more changes are coming to your LinkedIn profile if you use the (now old and replaced) applications, such as WordPress and SlideShare.

If you and/or your company needs LinkedIn training, contact me (mark AT federaldirect DOT net).

Here is the  are two announcements from LinkedIn:

#1

http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1160

Applications - No Longer Supported

Why are Applications no longer supported?

Last Updated: 12/10/2012 

 

At LinkedIn, we want to provide a simple and efficient experience for members like you. So from time to time, we take a look at our set of features to evaluate how they're being used by our members. We have decided to replace the LinkedIn Applications feature with the ability to add rich media directly to your profile.

#2
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/34326

LinkedIn Applications: Location of 3rd Party Content

How can I access the content from my 3rd party LinkedIn Applications?

Last Updated: 12/11/2012

 

LinkedIn Applications are being replaced with a new feature that lets you add media links to images, presentations, videos, and documents on your profile. You may click below to see how to access content for some of those applications:

My Travel by TripIt

You will be able to continue to post TripIt updates to your LinkedIn network and profile by linking your TripIt and LinkedIn accounts. Show me how.
 

Legal Updates by JD Supra

We are actively working with JD Supra to integrate the content from your JD Supra portfolio into your new LinkedIn profile. Expect to hear from JD Supra directly as we make this switch. In the meantime, if you’ve been posting your documents via the "Legal Updates" app, you can continue to update your network with your latest content by logging into your account on JD Supra.
 

Portfolio Display by Behance

Any of your Behance content you’ve uploaded using the Portfolio Display application will be automatically migrated to the Summary section of your profile once you opt into the newly redesigned LinkedIn Profile. If you were a user of this application, you should receive an invite to opt into the new profile design shortly.
 

SlideShare Presentations by SlideShare

Any SlideShare content you’ve uploaded using the SlideShare Presentations application will be automatically migrated to the Summary section of your profile once you opt into the newly redesigned LinkedIn profile. If you were a user of this application, you should receive an invitation to opt into the new profile design shortly.
 

Lawyer Ratings by LexisNexis

With this new platform, applications such as the Lawyers Rating Application by LexisNexis®Martindale-Hubbell® will no longer be supported. This application icon will no longer display on your LinkedIn profile. Be on the look-out for the next generation Ratings application from LexisNexis®Martindale-Hubbell® available in the near future.
 

WordPress by Automatic

If you self-host your WordPress site, you can enable auto posting to LinkedIn through the Jetpack plugin from Automatic.
If your site is on WordPress.com, simply enable the Publicize setting for LinkedIn from your WordPress.com Dashboard.
 

Box Files by Box

Displaying and sharing a file from Box in your new LinkedIn profile is easy. In order to display a specific file, all you need to do is paste the file’s direct link in the LinkedIn professional gallery. Simply preview the file as you normally would in Box, select File Options - Share - Get Link to File and then click on Direct Link to generate the URL. Paste it directly in the LinkedIn professional gallery.

Repeat the same steps for other files you’d like to add to your profile. As always, you can customize the sharing and access security settings on Box for the content you add to your LinkedIn profile.

Visit the Box support site for more information and a full list of supported file types.
 

We cannot automatically move content from the remaining applications to your profile. You can re-add that content to your profile using our new rich media feature.

LinkedIn drops "Events", adds video advertising

Changes and new features at LinkedIn keep coming and it is important to stay as current as possible. I try to keep myself current and post the significant changes here. Back in early October I posted info on the then new "Endorsement" feature -

http://blog.federaldirect.net/2012/10/the-facebooking-of-linkedin-endorsing.html

It is important to stay current so you can leverage each new feature when it fits your business plan and budget. Keep in mind some of the features, like "Endorsements" and the enhanced "Company Profile" are free. 

If you need to catch up and learn to maximize the current power of LinkedIn, consider attending my December 11 session on LinkedIn at Capitol College:

http://blog.federaldirect.net/2012/12/december-2012-government-market-master.html

Now, on to the two most recent changes.

LinkedIn's relatively popular "Events" calendar is gone. Here is the announcement posted about 10 days ago:

LinkedIn will be shutting off the LinkedIn Events application effective November 26, 2012.

At LinkedIn, we want to provide a simple and efficient experience for all members. So from time to time, we take a look at our set of features to evaluate how they're being used by our members. Part of this process sometimes means we decide to eliminate a feature, so we can better invest our development resources in building more great LinkedIn products for members like you.

There are still many ways to spread the word about upcoming events. You can always share links about events from your homepage, or in relevant groups.

The removal of this feature impacts events producers and others providing niche information on this otherwise robust platform.

I don't think the "Events" feature is gone forever, but if it does return, I think it will do so as a paid service.

In an unrelated move, LinkedIn recently announced that you can now run video ads. Here is the announcement from October 23, 2012:

Have more to say than can fit in a text ad? Most advertisers do, which is why we’re excited to announce the global roll-out of video ads on our self-serve platform, LinkedIn Ads. Whether you have a complex B2B service to promote or an inspiring brand message, video ads are a way to educate, persuade, and inspire LinkedIn’s 175M members.

I have seen some video as profile enhancements. Some has been quite good and some has been, well let's say, embarrassing. This feature will be fun to watch as companies experiment with it, so stay tuned.

And if you want to excel on LinkedIn, attend the December 11 session!

http://blog.federaldirect.net/2012/12/december-2012-government-market-master.html
 

Learning Linkedin from a "Black Belt"

One of my clients recently attended a "Become a LinkedIn Expert" seminar where the instructor was not able to answer several basic questions posed during and after the session.

Kind of makes you go "Hmmmm..."

Whenever I see an announcement for a LinkedIn seminar, I look at the profile of the presenter. Rarely do I find see a profile that tells me this is someone who should be the instructor of the course.

My LinkedIn headline reads "Leading GovCon consultant, luncheon & keynote speaker, author & columnist, LinkedIn Blackbelt & sensei, radio host."

I don't make any of these claims lightly. I work hard at consulting, speaking, writing, interviewing and being a LinkedIn sensei.

When I coach individuals and companies on maximizing the value of LinkedIn, one area I spend time focusing on is the "headline", that area right under your name. If you do not edit this area, the default for the headline is your job title, which shows up on your profile a little further on. Rather than re-state the job title, I suggest emphasizing the skills you bring to the niche you serve, positioning yourself as a subject matter expert or professional.

My headline highlights five skill areas: consulting, speaking, writing, radio show (interviewing), and Linkedin skills.

The question about the headline that people ask most is how I got a Black Belt in LinkedIn.

The short answer is that it is self-awarded.

Several martial art disciplines were started by those who went out on their own. Although I gave it to myself, it was earned the traditional way: long hours, weeks, months of practice, developing the skills necessary to excel.

I have been on LinkedIn almost none years, since February 11, 2004, long before most people knew it existed. I am member # 222,445. To put this in perspective, I joined LinkedIn the week after Facebook was started at Harvard.

Although an early adopter, I did not adapt until 2007, when I read a book which changed my attitude about social networking: David Meerman Scott's the New Rules of Marketing and PR.

Scott's New Rules propelled me into the world of social networking so much so that he has been a guest on my radio show (see my headline...) 4 times, most recently just a few weeks back, discussing his new book, Newsjacking. My copies of  his books are highlighted and tabbed, and referred to regularly.

Mr Scott is a true social media guru and his books have been translated into dozens of languages and sold tens of millions of copies.  They are also fun to read.

But until early 2012 he was not on LinkedIn. He had explained to me that he wanted to be very good at a few things, not OK at all. That made perfect sense, as his books were geared to the general public, not simply business people.

But when he was invited to keynote the international LinkedIn Summit in India and he had to get on LinkedIn and get acclimated pretty quick. In part, this is how he did it (this is his recommendation for me on LinkedIn):

In early 2012, Mark coached me on how to make my LinkedIn profile stand out. His ideas for improvement were personal for me (not canned) and while they made perfect sense the moment he said them, I was too close to my profile to see the need for change myself. The difference is dramatic and worth 100X what I paid Mark for the service. I'll most certainly hire Mark again for a LinkedIn profile tuneup or to learn how to become a power user. February 21, 2012 .

If you need to develop LinkedIn skills for yourself or your company, check references carefully before you hire someone.

Or you can attend one of my upcoming LinkedIn sessions at Capitol College. The next one is December 11. email me for details. mark@federaldirect.net

Here is a link to my latest interview with David Meerman Scott:

http://www.federalnewsradio.com/79/3095688/Marketing-in-the-social-media-age


And, btw, one of the visible results of getting active on LinkedIn and working hard at being good was being one of seven profiles selected as the best on LinkedIn in November of 2009. LinkedIn experts Mike O'Neil and Lori Ruff ran a contest, Rock the World with Your Online Presence (also a book) that asked Linkedin members to select and vote on the best profiles.

The Facebooking of Linkedin: Endorsing "Skills and Expertise" : Take 2

Last week I posted my first impression of the new "endorsement" feature on LinkedIn.

On first pass I admit to thinking the endorsement of "skills and expertise" feature was pretty neat. So I wrote that in this blog. 

But I threw in a caveat that some LIONs (open networkers) and others would devalue this currency by seeking hundreds of endorsements from those they do not know. This is already happening.

I posted the blog link into more than 40 LinkedIn groups and the feedback started to come in. Some thanked me for explaining what the heck was going on, others started questioning the value of the tool, the further Facebooking of LinkedIn.

Facebook has the "Like" button which seems to be attached to everything: groups, people, events, pets, music, halitosis and haggis. It is too easy to like something, anything, on FB.

Many of those responding to the discussions on LinkedIn think it should be harder to endorse people in a professional setting, preferring the "Recommendation" method.

I have to agree.

I think it is important to point out that some people have skills worth recommending, and it should take more than a click of a button to say why I feel this way.

I have "recommended" 343 people on LinkedIn, people I respect and who have added value to my professional skills set or otherwise helped me along the way, friends like David Powell, Scott Heller, Olga Grkavac, Dendy Young, Richard Dean, Ann-Marie Clark, Tom Hewitt, Nick Wakeman, Max Peterson, Tom Tweedie, David Meerman Scott, Guy Timberlake, Sheila Schatzke, Bob Davis, Michael Keating, June Jewell, Lisa DeLuca and hundreds of others. It is a long list.

While that number may seem high, I have been a LinkedIn member since February 11, 2004 and have been in business as Amtower and Company since January 1, 1985. Lots of people have helped me along the way, and many continue to do so.

As I state in my second book, Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes, I prefer to acknowledge the contributions of others while they are still with us, not after they are gone.

I like LinkedIn. I teach classes on using it, coach people and companies on maximizing the value of it, and use it myself on a daily basis. It is a great business tool.

But I hope that the powers managing LinkedIn resist temptations to "dumb it down" and further emulate Facebook.

This is a business tool and a business network. Let's keep it professional.

In Epiphanies, I warn against falling for every shiny rock that is in your path.

Every day we are confronted by offers that seem to be shortcuts to success. We get assaulted by these from all media- television, the radio, in publications we read, phone calls we get, the people we see in the parking lot, the grocery store or an elevator. Too many people, it seems, are looking for angles, not purposes; a quick and easy ride to wealth, not for the satisfaction of a life lived well. So when the shiny rock offer comes along, we are susceptible.

The endorsement feature can be a shiny rock. If you choose to use the endorsement feature, use it wisely. But also take the time to use the recommendation feature as well and truly acknowledge the contributions of others.

Linkedin: Endorsing "Skills and Expertise"

I attended a couple networking functions this week and several people asked me what's going on at LinkedIn, particularly with getting endorsements.

 

A new LinkedIn feature has  some people confused. Early in 2012 LinkedIn did the beta for “Skills and Expertise”, where LI members could claim expertise in defined areas, like marketing, sales, business development, PR and many others, including skills you could create yourself.

While similar to "Recommendations" these are easier because instead of writing a real recommendation, you just have to "click."

The official LinkedIn explanation can be found by scrolling over the "?" on the right side of the "Skills and Expertise" location on a profile:

 

"Endorsements

What skills and expertise does (name) have? You can endorse your connections to give them recognition.

Click on the + to add your endorsement."

Simple, right?

But when a social network adds a function without announcing and explaining what it is and the accompanying value,  people get confused and some get paranoid.

Generally, LinkedIn has been pretty good at adding features, and I think this one will become popular, but an announcement would have helped. If they made one, most of us missed it.

I think this will catch on soon. Indeed, many LinkedIn "regulars" have already caught on and others seem to be following. Those with more popular profiles seem to be gathering lots of endorsements.

Downside? Many of the LinkedIn "Open Networkers" (aka LIONS) will be racing to see who can get the most endorsements, thereby devaluing the currency.

Some LinkedIn members actually deserve hundreds of endorsements, but many will blatantly asked there thousands of connections to endorsement them.

 

It all begins with your profile...The Waldo Factor (part 8)

First, the news: On Feb 9, 2012, LinkedIn announced it had reached 150 million members.

Now, a short tour of a past post: (from this blog: The Waldo Factor part 1, August 30, 2011)

Here’s the scene, and I think we’ve all been here: You are at a conference and the person on stage speaking to 1,000+ people is somewhere between adequate and pretty good, but you are thinking he/she is not as good as you. My usual thought is along the lines of “where did they dig up this clown, and why is he/she talking about last year’s hot ideas as if they were new?”

So why is that person on the stage and you are sitting, frustrated, in the audience? What got them up there and not you?

While there are no easy answers to that question, the biggest factor is they are better known for what they do than you are. It may be because they wrote a book or some articles, they had some other speaking engagements, they were recommended by someone advising the event producer, or maybe they “knew somebody” or probably some combination of these and other factors. Somehow they were able to get in front of the right people at the right time and get the speaking engagement.

Regardless of the factors that created the situation, the fact is they are on the stage and you are in the audience. People are looking at and listening to them, and you are one of those faceless people in the crowd. Again, we've all been there.

Think of the person on the stage as Point B, and you as Point A. How do you get from Point A to Point B?

*************

That's what I wrote last August. And here is the short answer:

It all begins with your LinkedIn profile.

LinkedIn is the best place for business professionals to post information about themselves, regardless of your discipline.

As a business professional, regardless of what your function is, you need to be findable to those in your field. To be findable among 150 million other professionals will take some hard work, but it is do-able.

A good-to-great profile can make the difference between you getting your next job, consulting assignment, or that elusive speaking gig. This is the place where you need to define and discuss the value you bring to your profession without hyperbole.

To become more "findable" by those who need your expertise, here are the top 5 elements for your profile, in order of importance.

1- The Photo: this is the first thing people gravitate to as we are all visual beings. A professional looking photo, with you smiling, is usually best. Nobody needs to see your boat, your dog or your family- just you.

2- The Headline: this is the tag line under your name and it is valuable real estate. The default mode is your current job title. A good tag line gets people to read your profile.

2- The Name: this is your name. We have all seen people with email addresses, professional designations and more in the name field. Use your name- just your name.

4- The Summary/Specialties; view this as your first conversation with your profile visitor. Make it an interesting conversation and talk about what you bring to the market. The "specialties" (2nd part of the summary) is where you enumerate each of your skills.

5- Experience: this is the job section. Don't simply list the job title- tell people what you did and what the company does.

There are several other facets to the profile, but these are the biggies. Do these right and you will start attracting attention from the people you want attention from.

Your LinkedIn profile is always a work in progress. Check out OPP- other people's profiles- and get some ideas on how to improve your profile.

Remember, a good-to-great profile can make the difference between you and your next job, consulting assignment, or that elusive speaking gig. A bad profile is the difference between your next job.....


Need help with LinkedIn? Drop me a line (markamtower@gmail.com). I host a monthly LinkedIn Blackbelt Workshop (near BWI ariport), one-on-one coaching and company coaching (both via teleconference), and I also offer a profile analysis. 

The Chicken or the Egg: The Art, Science and Benefits of Being Different (The Waldo Factor, part 4)

The "chicken or the egg" conundrum has reared its confusing head yet again.

I have made several of presentations over the past 3 years on maximizing the power of LinkedIn: leveraging this great platform for differentiating your company; attracting partners and prospects; positioning your company as a subject matter expert in a niche so agencies and primes will better understand what you do and where you fit; strategically growing your network; then staying in touch with your ever-expanding network by sharing good information. This is the process that leads to more visibility and differentiates you from most, if not all, of your competitors.

The audiences always seem receptive to what I am saying, paying serious lip service to their desire to employ social media to differentiate, then reach out to the market. "We're gonna do it....real soon...."

Then comes the caveat: "We really need some sales first."

Differentiation, how and why you are different from your competitors, is one of the major keys that will lead to your ability to sell more products or services. Social media, when used properly, helps you display the attributes that legitimately differentiate your company from others. Until you differentiate yourself and become visible to your target audience, the likelihood of more sales is minimal.

"But we really need some sales first...do you have an email list of (fill in the job title here: procurement officers, facilities managers, CIOs, etc)"....

Chapter 8 of Selling to the Government is devoted to differentiating, and Chapter 11 (near the end of the book) deals with the deployment of web 2.0 tools, especially LinkedIn. I devote a fair amount of space in this book to these because they are critical to your success.

There is a reason that 25%+ of GSA Schedule holders make $0:
- little or no differentiation
- little or no targeted marketing
- and little or no use of social media.

Being on the GSA Schedule is not a guarantee of sales and being on GSA Advantage is a requirement, it is not a differentiator and it offers no real advantage (no pun intended) to the contractor.

If you are not trying differentiate, to legitimately stand out in a crowded field by clearly enunciating what makes your company different, you are already on a downward spiral.

So what comes first, the chicken or the egg?


Market Connections study stats on how contractors use social media:

1) Marketing/promotion - 85%
2) Thought leadership promotion - 84%
3) Increased collaboration - 75%
4) Improved customer access to company information - 74%

SOURCE: www.MarketConnectionsInc.com


And btw, Amtower & Company offers coaching for companies and individual coaching on leveraging the power of LinkedIn and we also offer a half-day workshop to get companies started on LinkedIn.

Stop whining and start working smarter: get active and get found! (The Waldo Factor, part 3)

"I have been on LinkedIn for six months and it hasn't done a thing for me...."

This was a comment from the audience where I spoke recently. When I returned to my office later that day, I took a look at the profile of the person who made the comment, and here's what I found:

- no recent activity- none. No new connections, no new groups, no information posts. Nothing.
- profile- bare bones. No decent job description or company description, the "Experience" section only had the most recent position (read: no history).

In short, they might be a "member" of LinkedIn, but they are doing absolutely nothing to participate and become noticed.

This is like joining the key trade association for your niche and not attending meetings or networking functions.

Think of it as a "drive by" membership, where you can drive by the networking event, honk and wave when you are in the general vicinity of the venue, and hope someone notices you.

"I have been on LinkedIn for six months and it hasn't done a thing for me...." is the swan song of the couch potato, the person who always has something impeding the "thought meets action" process. LinkedIn doesn't work unless you do.

In this case, the impediment is the assumption that simply by being on LinkedIn will lead to results, when what it will really take is to stop whining and start working smarter: get active and get found!


10/24/11 Update:

On October 18 Market Connections released the 2nd annual "2011 Social Media in the Public Sector" study. Among many other findings, the study showed a dramatic rise in the use of social media year over year, with more than 90% of government employees using some form of social media- an increase of 41%.

Another finding was that 70% of government employees used LinkedIn and 93% of contractors were using LinkedIn, both big gains over the previous year.

The top uses for using social media for contractors were

1) Marketing/promotion - 85%
2) Thought leadership promotion - 84%
3) Increased collaboration - 75%
4) Improved customer access to company information - 74%

SOURCE: www.MarketConnectionsInc.com

The Waldo Factor - part 1

Here’s the scene, and I think we’ve all been here: You are at a conference and the person on stage speaking to 1,000+ people is somewhere between adequate and pretty good, but you are thinking he/she is not as good as you. My usual thought is along the lines of “where did they dig up this clown, and why is he/she talking about last year’s hot ideas as if they were new?”

So why is that person on the stage and you are sitting, frustrated, in the audience? What got them up there and not you?

While there are no easy answers to that question, the biggest factor is they are better known for what they do than you are. It may be because they wrote a book or some articles, they had some other speaking engagements, they were recommended by someone advising the event, or maybe they “knew somebody” or probably some combination of these and other factors. Somehow they were able to get in front of the right people at the right time and get the speaking engagement.

Regardless of the factors that created the situation, the fact is they are on the stage and you are in the audience. People are looking at and listening to them, and you are one of those faceless people in the crowd. Again, we've all been there.

Think of the person on the stage as Point B, and you as Point A. How do you get from Point A to Point B?

In the book series Where's Waldo, a tall guy with glasses dressed in blue pants, a red and white striped shirt and matching hat is always somewhere in a scene so crowded with other things and other people that it is hard to find him. The reader’s (really, viewer, as there are no words) job is to find Waldo.

In the speaking scenario above, the only one easy to find is the person on the stage. Unless you are wearing a red and white striped shirt with a matching hat, you will be hard to pick out in that audience. That's not usually the way you want to stand out in a business crowd.

Your job is to intellectually stand out and stand apart in your business niche, and to be easily found by those who need to find you because of your expertise. Then the people you want to meet and know will have an interest in knowing you and having as part of their online and offline network.

Growth in any market niche is predicated on building relationships with key influencers in that niche, and then becoming an influencer in that niche. Those influencers can include prospects, partners, press, investors, C-level execs and others influential in your market.

To build the relationships and maximize your presence, you need to develop credibility in your market, then build your visibility. Visibility without credibility has no value or worse, negative value.

Credibility is developed by being good at what you do and working at getting better,  being among the best at what you do, and adding value to the community. Then you find ways to share some of your knowledge and opinions with others.

Once you start this process, you are already creating visibility, but it is necessary to continue to build your knowledge base as you expand your visibility. Markets evolve and you must evolve with them to retain your credibility.

Traditionally we have face-to-face events for networking, seminars and conferences where we share or receive knowledge, publications where we read, write or be quoted. These are still excellent venues.

But wait!!! There's more!

With the advent of web 2.0 tools, we have the ability to either bypass traditional methods or enhance them by incorporating them into our web-based activity.

For business professionals, LinkedIn has become an incredibly valuable tool for developing credibility and visibility. Your ability to stand out in a crowd is now predicated on your ability use both the traditional and web-based tools and coordinate the activity between them to make you among the most “findable" experts in your niche. Think of it as "findability".

So here is the initial equation:

credibility + visibility = findability.

There are several examples and one great example is Steve Ressler, founder of GovLoop.

Steve was a government IT analyst and program manager at the Department of Homeland Security. While working for the government, on his own time he co-founded Young Government Leaders, which has become a great networking venue for the next generation of public managers.

Then in 2008, Steve started the online community for Feds, GovLoop (by for and about Feds - the Facebook for government).

Steve's use of social media, which also led to being featured in traditional media, is a great example of what can happen if you develop an expertise and share your ideas. Along the way he won acclaim and awards from industry groups and trade publications, leading to even more visibility.

Steve stays active through GovLoop, Young Government Leaders and mainly by sharing ideas in as many forums as possible.

None of this happened overnight for Steve, and it all required hard work.

We don't all need industry-wide visbility, but most of us need visibility within a defined niche. And the tactics to gain that visibility are basically the same:

1- be good at what you do and work hard at staying good;

2- find the venues where those in your niche congregate, both online and offline venues, and get involved;

3- participation in these venues involves helping with events, working in special interest groups, developing and sharing ideas, commenting on other ideas, etc;

4- always be on the lookout for ways to share with others who would be interested.

Credibility, visibility and findability are truly keys to success.


IF you need assistance in developing and implementing a plan to raise your findability, send an email to markamtower@gmail.com . 

Top Priorities for Maximizing Your Presence on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a destination of choice for business professionals online, but there are still many not taking advantage of what it offers.

LinkedIn now has well over 100 million registered members, approaching 1 million groups (as of 2:23 PM  on 7/11/11, 982,417)- 6,022 groups that have something to do with "government", and a ton of ways to make yourself known.

But most of those 100 million members are not leveraging LinkedIn in ways that will pay long term dividends. Inactivity by many, spam messages from many others, groups that remain un-managed or poorly managed, it seems like a waste.

However, for those who seek to gain some recognition on LinkedIn, here are a few tips to stand out & stand apart.

First, fill out your profile to 100%. Use short sentences and short paragraphs and make it interesting. Don't simply cut & paste your resume. Also use a professional picture, not a family photo, or one with a pet. Edit and update your profile regularly, at least twice each month.

Second, the way you fill out your profile should define the audience you wish to connect to- so make certain you state clearly what you do and what your niche is. Your SUMMARY" area is best for this, although each job description is also important.

Third, join pertinent groups and participate in them. Joining a LinkedIn group is like joining an association- there is no value unless you participate. Comment on or start discussions, ask and answer questions. There is no harm in joining groups then leaving if you don't find them useful.

Fourth, remember this is a network for professionals, so act like one. Avoid flip answers and don't make fun of people who ask seemingly silly questions.

Fifth, if you have a paid LinkedIn membership, monitor those who view your profile. often these are people you may want to connect to.

Sixth, if it is your company, start and manage your company profile. Make it, like your summary, readable and interesting, and clearly state what your company does. Avoid platitudes.

Seventh, tie your LinkedIn profile to your company web site and to your email signature.

Eighth, if you blog, post the link to LinkedIn. There is an app which allows you to have your blog show up on your profile.

Ninth, use the Twitter-like update box at least once a week. You can also connect this directly with your Twitter account if you tweet.

Tenth, check your account in the early AM and the late in the day. You don't need to monitor your LinkedIn account throughout the day, but you should check it once early and once late.

This post is meant to offer a few tips that work if you use them and feedback is always welcomed.