Hi:
Last week’s tips got the most response I have ever received. Evidently people are yearning to hear what others are doing (or not doing) on LinkedIn.
Last week I told you the survey results were going to be presented in two installments, with this week being the second and final one. However, after further analysis, I have decided to add a third installment, which you will receive next week. Let’s just say it will be a blast from the past. I bet you just can’t wait.
So, let me continue with more treasures I found in the 2010 Midyear LinkedIn User Survey.
• What has LinkedIn helped people with?
71% Researching people and companies
62% Reconnecting with past business associates/colleagues
47% Building new relationships with individuals who may influence potential customers
38% Increasing face-to-face networking effectiveness
35% Increasing branding/marketing presence in the marketplace
29% Building new relationships with potential customers
20% Generating identifiable business opportunities
20% Helping uncover potential job opportunities
My Two Cents- I know many of you are waiting for the day when the vast majority of people who respond to the survey report that they have generated identifiable business opportunities through LinkedIn. However, I must remind you that LinkedIn is considered to be a part of the social networking landscape because it is just that: a way to network. Just like traditional networking, it typically does not immediately lead to business opportunities.
That being said, as 71% of the people taking the survey verified, it is one heck of a research tool. I would argue that there is no better tool available at the present time.
What is LinkedIn’s tagline? “Relationships matter.” If you look at the top scores in the above listing, LinkedIn seems to be doing a great job at what they claim they can do for you in terms of connecting with others and building relationships.
• What do people need to do in order to greatly improve effectiveness?
61% Develop a specific strategic plan on how to actually use LinkedIn
53% Understand ways in which advanced users are using LinkedIn
43% Strategically place keywords in their profiles
My Two Cents – Okay, I hear you again on this one, and I am working on some specific tools related to the strategy component of using LinkedIn. Stay tuned. I look forward to sharing them with you in the near future.
• In addition to LinkedIn, what other sites are people using for building their networks or finding employment?
79% Facebook
51% Twitter
23% You Tube
My Two Cents- I guess it is time for me to figure this Facebook thing out. After all, can half a billion people be wrong? But, truthfully, finding the time for another social media site is going to be really tricky. I suppose if you think about it as mainly a networking tool like LinkedIn and knowing it has over 500 million users, you are bound to be adding more people to your network by spending time on it. I am a big believer in making sure that any people who are friends on Facebook but would be good business connections should be invited to join your network on LinkedIn. Consider doing this soon.
• How important is LinkedIn in people’s efforts to grow their network and develop their business or help them find employment? (5=Extremely, 1=Not important at all)
Ranking 5 - 21%
Ranking 4 - 32%
Ranking 3 - 32%
Ranking 2 - 11%
Ranking 1 - 4%
My Two Cents- At first blush, this does not appear to be all that impressive, with only 53% ranking it 4 or 5. However, if you step back and think about the fact that 85% ranked LinkedIn with a 3, 4 or 5 in importance and over 78% of those people did not even have a LinkedIn account two years ago, that is pretty impressive. Two years ago, LinkedIn was not even a blip on their daily radar screen, and now they are spending up to two hours per week on it. With that in mind, can you imagine where we might be two years from now?
I look forward to sharing with you the final installment next week.
Miscellaneous News and Notes
Some of the other resources I provide are:
• Customized corporate training classes
• Keynote and workshop presentations for conventions and association meetings • Corporate social media strategy consulting
• For Sale: LinkedIn training DVDs for beginners and intermediate users
• For daily tips, follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/WayneBreitbarth
Here is my upcoming schedule for teaching/speaking so you can share with friends, relatives and business associates. Follow link or paste into your browser for additional details and registration information.
Wed Aug 18, 2010
Wayne's LinkedIn Power Formula Training for Beginners
M&M Office Interiors; 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
http://budurl.com/auq5 Have a great week.
Wayne
Wayne C. Breitbarth
President
M&M Office Interiors, Inc.
W233 N2833 Roundy Circle West Suite 100
Pewaukee, WI 53072
office 262-781-2600
cell 414-313-7785
http://www.Linkedin.com/in/waynebreitbarth http://twitter.com/WayneBreitbarth
Wayne:
I loved this blog. I have to tell you, I am not very impressed with Facebook. If people really have time to post that they are having coffee on the patio…tmi or too much information.
Enough said,
Mary Zinda
Thanks for the kind words and taking the time to comment.
Facebook and all the rest are totally different sites and needs to be approached that way. Everyone thinks you can put all these things together and treat them the same but you just can’t. But no question about one thing and that is that LinkedIn is the top of the heap for business people communcating with business people, although I am becoming a bit skeptical about some of the changes they made recently, Groups, Network Updates etc. They seem to be trying to be more like Facebook and I sure hope I am wrong about that.
Wayne:
Thanks for sharing your survey results about LI. No huge surprises for me, and it solidify’s my perception that at least now, not all that many people are pulling in paying customers yet. But, as you point out, the research opportunities, added to marketing and network building are
significant.
I’m with you on FaceBook. From my point of view, those who are doing really well converting FB ‘fans’ to ‘customers’ are in the retail sector or hospitality sector. They have the advantage of posting special offers, discounts and coupons to keep their ‘fans’ coming back. So, B2C seems to have adapted the FB system to their benefit better than B2B and service companies have thus far.
I still wonder about how many social media platforms are realistic for any one person or company to handle and handle well. Time is money, and somewhere, somehow, we’ve all got to spend time creating revenue. As far as interconnecting with all of your contacts, friends, fans and tweeple on multiple platforms, it seems more difficult to product intesting and valuable content that will keep that same group moving from one of your sites to the next.
Boy am I in agreement with you on all points. As far as so many platforms that is really the challenge for those of use who look at this stuff as just another tool that help us generate business resulting from having good relationships vs the younger people who see this stuff as fun and recreation. Are you kidding me!
Thanks for the comments, hope to stay in touch.