How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile for Sales Success

I recently spoke at the Construction Writers Association Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, and fellow panelist Kimberly Kayler of Constructive Communications told us many of her construction-related clients find LinkedIn to be one of their most powerful social media tools. Prospective clients will often view Linked-In profiles to find out more about key associates within a firm. In addition to making sure that all employee profiles are 100 percent complete, businesses can take the next step to optimize those results for search engines.

1) Employees should link to your website or websites.

LinkedIn is an authoritative site and chances are good that your LinkedIn Profile will be one of the first listings you see in search of your name. The more employees linking to your company website, the better it is for your company’s search engine rankings. LinkedIn provides an opportunity to link to three sites. Use them all. Instead of listing only the web addresses, you can use keywords to name the site. Instead of “Blog” , I might want to name this link Content for Biz Blog.

2. Optimize your profile for keywords.

Your headline is the information that search engines will pull into the search results, so be sure to include important keywords that potential clients might type in a search. If your business is local include important geographic keywords. Be sure your profile is visible.

3. Create a vanity URL.

One way to ensure your LinkedIn profile will show up in a search is to customize the default LinkedIn URL with your name. My vanity URL on LinkedIn is
http://www.linkedin.com/in/joannecostin.

The summary is also an important area that can be keyword-rich while describing the unique benefits and skills you offer. Use the space wisely to introduce yourself and your accomplishments, keeping in mind the needs of a prospective client. Don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd. If you aren’t comfortable writing about yourself, solicit some help from colleagues or professional writers.

3. Add content

Google likes content shared on LinkedIn. Share your content with your contacts through regular updates. You can feed both twitter and blog posts directly to your LinkedIn account.

4. Join Groups and Share Your Knowledge on LinkedIn Answers

Groups are a great way to reach out beyond your professional network and impress others with your expertise. Post your content or answer questions related to your profession using LinkedIn Answers

Monitor weekly searches to see who is viewing your profile to measure the impact of your optimization efforts. Identify the most effective headlines and profiles. Linked in Profile Stats Pro is an upgrade that lets you see the complete list of who has filled your profile. It’s included with a LinkedIn Pro membership of $19.95 per month.

Like any social media site or website, content needs to be reviewed on an ongoing basis. It is amazing how quickly things can get out of date.Writing this post forced me to re-evaluate several areas of my LinkedIn Profile. I will let you know well the optimization plan worked.

Storify Content Tool Gathers Social Media Reactions

Storify, a content curation tool, went public today. Storify allows you to search multiple social networks including twitter, Facebook, and YouTube from one site, grab entries, and organize them into a story. Businesses can compile customer reactions to products, services or events. Go to the Storify website and open an account or sign in using your twitter account. Add a title and brief introduction text, then start selecting entries from social networks. Click on the embed story button and insert the code on your site, much the same way as inserting a video from YouTube. Here is what I created in just a few minutes time.

Included are some tweets, a blog post, and a video from YouTube. See what you can do or ask a content writer for help in creating a story for you. A content writer can add context and help you choose what entries are best for meeting your business goals.

How to Find Credible Sources for Articles, Blog Posts and Whitepapers

One way to keep your B-to-B content fresh is to inject the information and opinions from experts related to your product, service or industry. Writers call these their “sources,” and developing these relationships can inject new life into your website, blog, e-newsletter and articles.

Look for sources who are regular users of the product or service.

If you are a manufacturer, an expert doesn’t always have to be a CEO, engineer or marketing executive. A source can also be a customer or dealer who has experience with the product in the field. If your company is in the business of renting machinery, the opinions of a machine operator or a construction project manager would be very valuable to a potential customer. Each source will have a different perspective on the experience of renting a machine. Varied experiences will add credibility to your message. Customers love reviews from regular people. Salespeople can help identify potential candidates.

Look for sources in a business related to yours.

Your topics don’t always have to revolve directly around your business. A moving company might ask a professional organizer for moving tips that could form the basis of a blog post, checklist or whitepaper. A commercial real estate advisor might ask a lawyer to provide information about lease transactions.

You can find sources for a wide variety of topics using a free service like HARO (Help a Reporter Out) to identify experts in particular fields willing to answer questions for an article. PR Newswire has a similar service for journalists. You can also identify like-minded bloggers using tools like Technorati or Twitter. Consider asking an expert to write a guest post on your blog.

Look for sources through industry associations and publications.

Industry associations and b-to-b publications are typically tremendous sources of information. If you see an article you like, ask the editor for permission to republish it in your e-newsletter, on your website or in a blog post. (There may be a fee.) Search the news sections of an association website for press releases highlighting industry research and to identify potential interview sources.

Look for sources among your strategic partners.

Your strategic business partners may provide content that your customers find interesting. In fact, they may already be creating that information for their own customers. Explore content sharing ideas with other businesses and industry trade groups. For example, a website developer might provide information on the latest updates to Google for any number of firms with small business clients. I know I often share my marketing articles, blog posts and presentations with a local printer.

Finding credible and intelligent sources for your online content can go a long way toward building your company’s online reputation. If you have a large audience, sources may be happy to provide information for its publicity value. If not, you may have to work harder to get what you need. Start by building relationships with industry movers and shakers. One way to do this is to comment on their blogs, “like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. And of course, make every effort to meet in person. However, be realistic in your expectations and let them know how their business might benefit from the relationship.