Informed Podcast by Mark Williams The podcast for LinkedIn™️ users

show notes

News

Commentary

  • Do you want to find your 'future self' on LinkedIn? When you think about it you could and LinkedIn could make it even easier if they released tools to make it easier to predict your future based on real data from other profiles.
  • Where is Jeff Weiner taking LinkedIn? I love this article and agree with the three areas that they believe LinkedIn is focussing its future on.

Thanks to my two wonderful kids James & Anna for 'volunteering' to be interviewed for this show!

Finally may I wish you a very merry and happy Christmas.

2015 is going to be a great year for LinkedIn and I look forward to sharing every moment of it with you.

Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest.

As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com.

Help me to promote the podcast

It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated.

 

Direct download: LinkedInformed_046.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00pm UTC

show notes

News

  • LinkedIn have issued the following email to all premium members regarding the new InMail policy. This was originally announced to Recruiter and Sales Navigator users but as I suspected it is going to affect everyone (InMail is after all InMail!)

 

  • LinkedIn Introduces a brand new design for their home page. My thoughts are that it looks very sparse (minimalistic) and has a 'mobile feel' to it - one of the main people involved with the design was Joff Redfern who is the VP of Mobile so perhaps that explains it. I don't like the intrusion of the very prominent 'Jobs you may be interested in' (see below) especially as this account (Colin) has opted out of this in their settings!

 

In addition the difference between a status update with an image attached and one that simply brings an image across from a website link has increased making the attached image option much larger and therefore more effective.

Below you can see the same update done twice, the top one is via the paperclip 'attach image' and the second links to a webpage with exactly the same image.

 

Update from last week

  • New Profile Edit. Moving a current employment to the top of your experience section isn't that obvious! You need to hover over and grab the multi dotted line (see below).

 

Question

Why are my status updates getting ignored?

Status updates can be a powerful feature when used correctly, here are my guidelines for effective status updating;

  • Always use an image by using the paperclip link in the update box. This will make your images larger and that is the most important thing, people have to see an update in the first place so large, eye catching images work. The new homepage (as shown above) makes this even more important.
  • Posting updates in isolation is unlikely to result in many connections seeing it. The algorithm seems to prefer showing your updates to connections whom you have engaged with on LinkedIn. This means that other activities - comments, likes, views, connecting etc all count.
  • Avoid posting links in isolation. Make your updates more interesting by making a comment to introduce a subject and support that with a link (rather than just posting a link).
  • Ask questions and encourage others to comment, this will help to spread your update beyond your first tier connections.
  • Avoid too many promotional updates (including vacancies). Promoting is OK so long as its not your dominant activity, for every promotional update there should be another three that are providing interesting, useful information.
  • Timing. Avoid weekends and mornings are better than afternoons. My experience has been that 8.15-9.15 aam works best for me but every market is different so I would advise you to experiment. I use Buffer to help me schedule some updates to ensure I hit the right time.
  • Consistency. Regular updates spread across a week are better than a 'surge' of updates across one day. This happens because we are all busy and tend to update when we can rather than in a considered, consistent manner. I also use Bufferto help with this.
Direct download: LinkedInformed_045.m4a
Category: -- posted at: 11:58am UTC

Show notes

News

  • LinkedIn have changed how we edit our profiles. I have produced a very short video (30 secs) to demonstrate the changes
  • It would appear that LinkedIn are testing a new way to invite from someone's profile (desktop app), this means that clicking 'connect' will just send a standard message. In order to customise the message you now have to hover over the disclosure triangle and select 'personalise invitation' as below

This has only been seen by a few users so far so is obviously in the early stages of testing.

  • Nominate your best LinkedIn company Page of 2014
  • 40% of LinkedIn users earn over $100k per year according to Comscore. This fact and many other come from this fantastic and well researched article on DigiDay.com. The article is about Dan Roth the Executive Editor of LinkedIn. I would recommend you read it.

Commentary

  • A trip down memory lane. In the Digiday article they include an amazing link to a short piece about the start of LinkedIn posted on 7th May 2003 (2 days after LinkedIn's launch). The comments are fascinating and well worth a read.
  • The ingredients of a Great LinkedIn Sales MessageInspired by the research and analysis I covered in last week's show I thought I would have another crack at publishing a post on LinkedIn. My aim is to get into the Sales channel in pulse. In this piece I cover the 9 ingredients required in great sales messages on LinkedIn.

Question

  • Thanks to Carl Whalley for this one; What value do group members see in these "read my blog" posts in groups? Since we don't always have the time to go into each and every one, generally a quick glance to see if it's on topic means it's likely to get approved. But do group members see them differently? ANS= I think if the 'discussion merely says "read my blog" then it isn't a great contribution but if someone makes a point and starts an interesting discussion about their (linked) blog piece then it is just as good as any other discussion. What do you think?

Direct download: LinkedInformed_044.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00pm UTC

Direct download: LinkedInformed_043.m4a
Category: -- posted at: 9:04am UTC

show notes

News

  • Jeff Weiner sells a fifth of his shares and nets a cool $10 million! You can read the detail here if you want to get green with envy!
  • Facebook are rumoured to be planning a new 'Facebook at Work' service which could be a rival to LinkedIn. I'm undecided on whether this would be a good thing or not but I also doubt Facebook will follow through on it.
  • LinkedIn launch a new 'Course Certifications' feature

Commentary

  • Following an acceptance of an invitation to connect from a profile that didn't look fake (OK the profile picture is terrible but I've seen much worse!) I then received the following message;
  • I'm not going to deny it, for a brief second my heart skipped a beat! Then I did a quick check on Google and found plenty of articles about a very similar email scam from a couple of years ago. I also asked a shared connection called Sam Hooper who replied with the following;

So it looks like I will have to wait a bit longer to find my multi millionaire benefactor after all......oh well!

I have reported the profile and message to LinkedIn, it will be interesting to see how long it takes them to take the profile down - the header image of this post is a link to the profile so you can check for yourself!

  • I have been busy building a new website which is focussed on small to medium businesses and winning new business on LinkedIn. This site will also have its own podcast which will partly be information and guidance on how to use LinkedIn for business development and partly a 'LinkedIn Serial' story every other week. This has been inspired by the awesome chart topping podcast Serial as well as Start-up (both can also be found on iTunes). I have always been a big fan of storytelling as a way to educate and inspire so I am going to be following a journey where I interview, coach and help a team of relatively new LinkedIn users. I am really excited about this project and I will keep you informed.
I can't believe how cheap my course is on Udemy! Offer ends on Black Friday (thankfully!) Click above to get the offer.

I can't believe how cheap my course is on Udemy! Offer ends on Black Friday (thankfully!) Click above to get the offer.

Question

  • This weeks question was on voicemail and from Jennifer Holloway. In summary she wanted to know how to add an image to a status update instead of pulling the image from the website you are linking to. ANS = The secret is to paste in the link first and then delete the image by clicking on the X and then adding the image by clicking on the paperclip (see below)

Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest.

As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com.

Help me to promote the podcast

It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated.

Until next time....

Direct download: LinkedInformed_042.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 9:40am UTC

Direct download: LinkedInformed_041.m4a
Category: -- posted at: 12:23pm UTC

This week we complete the interview with social selling expert Darrel Griffin (click on his picture below to see his LinkedIn profile).

Darrel's model for success is called SPEND (statistics, purchasing journey, Edelman, next generation & digital disruption);

statistics 

  • 92% of B2B buyers start their search online (Salesforce)
  • B2B buyers complete 57% of the buying decision before they are willing to talk to a sales rep (CEB)
  • 75% of buyers say they use social media as part of the buying process (IBM)
  • On average decision makers consume 5 pieces of content before being ready to speak to a sales rep (Chief Marketing Officer Council)
  • 82% of our potential customers can be reached via social media (B2B Sales 2.0)

purchasing journey

edelman

Click on the image for more information about Edelman's trust barometer;

next generation

Here come the Millennials...

  • 50% of the global workforce by 2020
  • 75% of the global workforce by 2030

“Social media is by far the dominant way Millennials learn about things online.” (SDL)

digital disruption

Digital Disruption: Unleashing the Next Wave of Innovation

By James McQuivey

Thanks again to Darrel for taking the time and for sharing his knowledge - very interesting stuff! If you want to get in touch with Darrel his website can be found here and on Twitter he is @darrel_griffin.

Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest.

As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com.

Help me to promote the podcast

It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated.

Direct download: LinkedInformed_040.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:24am UTC

show notes

 

News

 

Apparently Microsoft attempted to buy LinkedIn for $500m prior to their IPO in 2011 but decided the price was too high. LinkedIn would cost them closer to $35 billion today!

Sony have collaborated with LinkedIn to produce a business card reading app that synchronises with LinkedIn in the way that CardMunch used to. Does anyone know of any other apps that do the same?

LinkedIn have announced their 3rd quarter results.

332 millions users

90 million unique visitors

28 billion page views

45% growth in revenue

Analysts impressed with the results but not the outlook!

Commentary

 

LinkedIn have really been pushing skills again with this article being just one of many over the last few weeks.

I have been very impressed with Conspire, a new FREE service that allows you to manage your contacts by analysing your email activity.

You can now add attachments to LinkedIn messages. If you want to be notified of such changes by email you can subscribe here

Publishing on LinkedIn. Is it really worth it? As more people obtain publishing rights on LinkedIn, the number of views per post seems to be dropping for everyone and this makes me question whether they are still worth doing?

 screenshot2014-10-31_11-07-39_pm.png

Chris Gaborit is just a normal, regular LinkedIn user who started publishing in May and achieved an amazing result with over 300,000 views of the above post (click on it to read the full post) but over the last couple of months he has seen his posts viewed less and less...this seems to be a consistent story for most people.

 

His average number of views per post has been the following since starting in May;

 

May 2014 - 54,911

June 2014 - 28,260

July 2014 - 6115

September - 418

October - 2696

Maybe we are better off blogging on our own websites and promoting these articles via status updates?

 

Your views are welcome.

 

Question

 

Why are LinkedIn persisting with Skills & endorsements when everyone knows they are a joke?

 

This question really got me thinking and my conclusion is that the big data that skills give them is something they intend to monetise. Endorsements are merely a red herring designed to encourage us to add more skills to our profiles!

 

Direct download: LinkedInformed_039.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 1:32pm UTC

 

show notes

 

You can view Darrel's LinkedIn profile here

 

Darrel's Story

 

25 years in sales, mainly in the UK. Wine trade, screen printing and signage.

Moved to Perth, Western Australia in July 2012 - knew no-one!

Business Development Manager role for a signage contractor

Threw himself into LinkedIn

Annual target exceeded within 4 months!

50% of sales came via LinkedIn

Decided to aim to become Perth's social selling 'go to' guy

Launched Social4Sales - already fully booked until mid December!

Other links

 

Gary Vaynerchuck

Gary Vaynerchuck's books (my favourite is Crush it)

Gary's blog

Darrel's next door neighbour...as featured in the podcast!

 

Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest.

 

As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com.

 

Help me to promote the podcast

 

It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated.

 

Until next time.....

Direct download: LinkedInformed_038.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 4:00pm UTC

show notes

 

No interviews this week but plenty to catch up with following my vacation, I even managed to connect with Santa Claus this week...a very proud moment!

 

News

 

Another lawsuit is filed against LinkedIn and this one is just plain ridiculous! Apparently the ability to read someone's background and perform a few checks on LinkedIn when considering recruiting them violates a US law. Read the full story here. Has the world gone mad?!

LinkedIn plans to expand its publishing team. Its becoming increasing clear that publishing is a core focus for LinkedIn as demonstrated by their plans to open a major new office in San Francisco in 2016.

Jeff Weiner interview with Bloomberg

LinkedIn hits back and asks judge to dismiss the lawsuit regarding the email reminders sent to those who do not respond when an invitation to join LinkedIn message is sent to them. As opposed to the other lawsuit, I can't see how LinkedIn can defend this.

It looks like premium accounts may be about to re-vamped, effectively making them more expensive. The Spotlight premium account had a very short life - below is a reply from the help center on this matter.

Lets hope the 'test' fails then!

Lets hope the 'test' fails then!

 

Tips & Features

 

You can now see personalised invitation messages in the quick menu by clicking on 'see all' (see below)

 

 

'Groups' has now disappeared in the reasons for inviting menu (see below). LinkedIn help center are claiming that this is a fault but I'm not convinced, lets hope so. In the meantime there are a few workarounds. Firstly there is the method using LinkedIn Contacts (2nd tier only) which is my favoured method - see here for a detailed guide on how to do this.  Or you can now customise invitations using a mobile app (not tablet) - scroll down to check out the show notes for episode 32 for instructions on how to do that.

Apparently a fault.....lets see!

Apparently a fault.....lets see!

 

New 'Actions' feature in the 'Who's viewed your profile' section. I have only just got this feature so have not really been able to understand its benefits but it seems like a good idea. Jo Saunders has published a more detailed post about it.

 

And finally the best article I read this week about LinkedIn was Data and the Power it Bestows by Raven Jiang. I'm not one of those people that worries about big data and security / privacy but I must admit that Raven puts a very interesting argument that the information we are providing to LinkedIn could be abused and they clearly 'hold the key' to its future access.

Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest.

 

As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com.

 

Help me to promote the podcast

 

It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated.

 

Until next time.....

 

 

 

 

 

Direct download: LinkedInformed_037.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:53pm UTC

Direct download: Episode_036.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00pm UTC

show notes

Searching for jobs on LinkedIn Update. Last week I talked about the 5 ways you can search for jobs but someone has revealed a 6th way - searching or browsing through updates in a company page 

A LinkedIn company page

Some companies will have a specific 'careers' page on their company page (see top arrow) but you will also find jobs advertised in their status update stream (see bottom arrow)

News

New YOUniversity section which gives college/school students some great tools to help them select the right university for them.

This is divided into three integrated pages, lets look at each;

Decision Boards. This is the area where students can organise their search for the right course and university using a combination of organizational, social and insight tools.

Rankings. (See image at the top of the page) This is the most controversial element where universities are ranked according to the 'success' of their alumni with getting the jobs they wanted. There were only five careers listed when I looked but I am sure more will be added in time.

Finder. Simply enter your criteria such as career (ie law) and location (ie London) or/and employer (who you want to work for) and it will tell you how many alumni from each university achieved these goals.

Other news - SlideShare gets its first ever iOS app, I'm shocked they didn't have one already but it does look pretty good

Also LinkedIn is introducing a new 'Actions' section into the profile views section of Linkedin. I don't have it but Jo Saunders has written agreat post about it.

Searching. I'm still getting some odd results no doubt due to the new Galene search engine. My latest findings suggest that closeness in network has moved down the pecking order. What are your experiences of search, any different?

POEM

Actually maybe its not a poem, but amusing all the same! Thanks to Carl Whalley for sending it in;

Mark Williams has moved his mouse! Would you like to endorse Mark with his new skill: 'Mouse Moving", so future employers can help him use it to realise his full potential? 

An email from Joe Tester has triggered a Tweet which was automatically posted to his Facebook account and so in turn updated his Linked In status to "just doing my emails". Congratulate Joe now? 

It's been 2 years 3 days and 19 minutes since you first told us you're not interested in upgrading to a Premium Account. Would you like to upgrade to a Premium Account, and get more fantastic emails from us? Don't be left out - your network is talking about you behind your back - find out what they are saying about you with a Premium Account!

Congratulations - you have been endorsed as a Turkey Sexer by Nettie Worker (LION 9999+ contacts!) 

HOT NEWS! All the LinkedIn directors have sold all their shares as they announce to the market the future looks brighter than ever.

Company Page Frustrations.  I got to see first hand just how hard it can be when trying to add images to company pages, merge profiles and create showcase pages (you can only create 2 each day - goodness only knows why!) and the interesting fact came out from LinkedIn admitting that the only browser LinkedIn is fully compatible with is Mozilla Firefox so I have started using it for all my LinkedIn activities and I must admit it is a pretty good browser and many activities do seem a bit smoother/quicker.

QuestionHow do you find the time to use LinkedIn effectively?

This is such a great question and not an easy one to answer as its something we all struggle with. My three tips are;

  1. Schedule activities such as reading updates and posting.
  2. Use mobile apps, the LinkedIn main one and the Connected app
  3. Make your content engaging which allows your activities to be quick reactive things rather than having to spend time thinking of what to create and post all the time.

LinkedIn keeps changing and updating so why not get notifications of any important changes to your inbox? Sign up for my FREE LinkedIn updates service here.

 

Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest.

As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com.

Help me to promote the podcast

It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated.

Until next time.....

 

Direct download: LinkedInformed_035.m4a
Category: -- posted at: 7:14am UTC

Show notes

News

  • More shareholders sell their LinkedIn shares. Is this news anymore?
  • LinkedIn state that Mozilla Firefox is the most compatible browser for LinkedIn and that they are not fully compatible with other browsers.
  • LinkedIn make some changes to their terms of service this mainly relates to the ownership of published posts.
  • InMail will be changing from 2015. LinkedIn are abandoning the 7 day guaranteed response policy and replacing it with a 90 day policy that allows you to get the credit back if the message is replied to. This may only apply to Recruiter and Sales accounts although the suggestion is that it applies to all InMails.

Special Offer

Want to find anyone and contact them for free on LinkedIn?

This pdf cheatsheet shows you how in an easy step by step guide

5 Ways to Find Jobs on LinkedIn

1) Jobs Section (nothing more to say!)

2) Job Discussions in a group (see below)

LinkedIn group job discussion

3) Recent activity of Recruiters (see below)

LinkedIn view activity

4) Search Published posts (see below)

LinkedIn published posts search

5) Use the 'Find' function in your browser

Searching an LinkedIn update stream

BI Intelligence survey in the US reveals the following information;

  • More people are on LinkedIn than Twitter
  • LinkedIn's sweet spot for age is 30-49 years
  • LinkedIn is the best social media platform to access over 50's
  • More males were on LinkedIn 24% than women 19%

Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest.

As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com.

Help me to promote the podcast

It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated.

Until next time.....

Direct download: LinkedInformed_034.m4a
Category: -- posted at: 9:02pm UTC

show notes

 

News

 

BeLinked. The new dating app that allows its users to find suitable dates via LinkedIn profiles. This makes perfect sense for BeLinked but is this a good idea for LinkedIn?

LinkedIn Partners With Kaplan On 'Career Journey' Programme

Irish judge allows papers to be served via LinkedIn account.

Tips

 

Status updates gets 3x more views and comments when you post a picture as opposed to allowing a picture to show from a weblink. (see below)

The top update with an attached picture was posted at 8.45am on a Tuesday morning. The 2nd one with a link (containing the same picture) was posted at 8.45am the day before.

The top update with an attached picture was posted at 8.45am on a Tuesday morning. The 2nd one with a link (containing the same picture) was posted at 8.45am the day before.

 

Here are the view numbers for the Monday update (the one with a link, the bottom of the above two);

 

And here are the stat's for the one posted on the Tuesday with a picture attached;

 

As you can see there is a significant difference when an update has a picture attached, this must be down to the increased size and therefore it is more likely to get peoples attention.

 

You can now change a group name by as much as 20 times. You just need to ask LinkedIn customer services.

SWAM or MAG (Moderation across all groups) is currently running at 7 days so if you find yourself moderated you won't have to wait long for it to be lifted.

Questions

 

I have a quiz for you this week. How many different ways can you find advertised jobs on LinkedIn? Write to me at mark@linkedinformed.com or leave a voicemail with your answer

Listener question. Why won't LinkedIn allow me to invite my (3rd tier) ex colleagues to connect? Answer = If you search for them by name you will be able to connect. LinkedIn is trying to prevent you from connecting with people you don't know and have found by keyword or company employee searching.

Thank you so much for listening, I really value your support and interest.

 

As always I would welcome your feedback and questions. If you want to be on the show you can leave a comment by voicemail (right hand side of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com.

 

Help me to promote the podcast

 

It can be difficult to get noticed in iTunes and one thing that can really make a difference is reviews. If you enjoy the show please take a minute to write an honest review in iTunes, it would be most appreciated.

 

Until next time.....

Direct download: LinkedInformed_033.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 8:34am UTC

show notes

News

  • DIALaBRAIN find an innovative way to use the media section of a profile (see below)
LinkedIn schedule meeting link in profile
  • LinkedIn Mobile (iOS & Android) apps now allow you to customize your invitation message. Its not very intuitive but at least it can be done! Here is how you do it (iOS)
1, Do not click on the link in the shortlist

1, Do not click on the link in the shortlist

2, Ignore 'connect' and click on the share link in the top right corner

2, Ignore 'connect' and click on the share link in the top right corner

Write your message.

Write your message.

Credit to Viveka Von Rosen for spotting this. Unfortunately this technique is not possible on the iPad app

Advertising Update

  • Following my request last week I have found two examples of successful advertising campaigns. One was a small scale 'sponsored updates' campaign that cost £200 and achieved 25 downloads of a pdf report (I'm not sure I would be happy with that myself). The other involved a considerably greater spend of $25,000 but achieved a massive 1,761% ROI. This was a new membership campaign by the International Coach Federation in the US. The full report can be seen here

The State of LinkedIn.

Do LinkedIn have their monetization strategy right? 

In this section I talk about one article which puts a case for why LinkedIn are an attractive investment versus another piece that claims quite the opposite! 

The second article can be found here but I must warn you that to read the full piece you will be asked to sign up to a variety of things you probably don't want so here is the most interesting bit;

Fundamental weaknesses

Before I get to LinkedIn's strategic failures, let me first point out its operating woes:

LinkedIn squeezed out only 1.6% in operating profits during its last twelve months vs. 5.2% during the twelve months ended at the end of 2Q 2013. To contrast its continued decline in operating margins, Facebook has achieved operating profits of 43% during its last twelve months.

LinkedIn's Premium Subscriptions conversion rate is consistently under .4%. That means that of the 305 million users (average during the 2Q 2014), less than half of a percent convert into purchasing LinkedIn's premium products. Premium subscriptions start out at $23.99 and approach rates of as high as $99.99. Assuming that the average premium subscriber pays $40/month, the conversion rate is an abysmal .29%. If the average user pays $35, the conversion rate would be closer to .33%.

In any case, the conversion rate declines if your assumption uses a higher dollar-per-month figure, which means that ~99.7% of LinkedIn's users see no value in Premium Subscriptions (not to be confused with Job Seeker subscriptions, which fall under Talent Solutions).

LinkedIn continues to spend heavily on sales & marketing to promote its products. In addition to salaries, benefits, travel, and employee incentives, sales & marketing expenses also include the expensive "customer acquisition marketing" spend. Sales & marketing expenses are expected to decline as a percentage of revenues at a company succeeding to sell its concept. Not so at LinkedIn. It spent 34% of revenues on sales & marketing in 1H 2012, 34% in 1H 2013, and 35% in 1H 2014.

........

.....User engagement is critical for LinkedIn at this point and will translate into a significant increase in share value. Without it, LinkedIn's operating woes will continue to exacerbate. Attracting users to a website where the only realistic option is to log in, update a profile, and check out a wall of static activities is a strategic mistake. Incentivize users to participate on LinkedIn and create an innovative environment for them to target corporations!

As is, the downside risk from slowing expansion through the sales and marketing strategy is significant and could continue to affect LinkedIn's bottom line. The firm's share price at $231 is not well supported as LinkedIn's strategic weakness in engaging users will eventually translate into heavier losses.

I think this is a fascinating argument and whilst I don't think LinkedIn should incentivise connecting, I do believe that a 100% free model where engagement is incentivised and highly read articles attract payments are excellent ideas that could solve the issue of poor advertising sales.

What do you think?

Thanks for listening. As always you can get in touch by emailing me at mark@linkedinformed or even better you can leave a voicemail that can be played on the next show. Just click on the link on the right of this page.

Direct download: LinkedInformed_032.m4a
Category: -- posted at: 12:39pm UTC

Episode 31. Do LinkedIn Ad's Work?

Unable to locate audio file.

show notes

News

  • The way we receive invitation notifications has changed (see video below) I also mentioned 2 pieces of software to help with speedy messaging which were TextExpander for Mac or Phrase Express for PC.
  • Feature retirement - InMaps is the latest to be culled. Unfortunately it is now too late to get your map as the site officially closed on 1st September. Here is a Techcrunch article with more detail.
  • LinkedIn's new mobile app - Sales Navigator
  • New feature - You can now export all of your historical LinkedIn data. Get your step by step guide on how its done by completing the form below; 
Name *
  • LinkedIn are considering easing their censorship policy for China. Article here
  • 57% of LinkedIn users are 'engaged' Read more here
  • 2 LinkedIn shareholders cash in by selling shares. Could this be a coincidence?

Tip

Jo Saunders has provided this weeks tip. How to withdraw a LinkedIn invitation.

Does LinkedIn advertising work? I would really love to hear from any listeners about their experience of advertising on LinkedIn. Please leave me a voicemail (right edge of this page) or email me at mark@linkedinformed.com.

Do 'Specialties' in a profile have any significant keyword weighting in a LinkedIn search? Answer = No! I'm not sure they ever did but now they are not even a field of their own so do not count more than any other word.

That' it for this week, thanks for listening.

Please get in touch with any comments, suggestions or questions by leaving a voicemail or emailing mark@linkedinformed.com.

 
Direct download: LinkedInformed_031.m4a
Category: -- posted at: 10:06am UTC

Show Notes

 

Topics and links (in blue) for this week;

 

News

LinkedIn Settles Password Hacking Class Action Lawsuit for $1.25M The settlement terms provide that LinkedIn's paid users can submit a claim, but only if they declare that they read the privacy policy and were influenced by the company's statements about security. Between 2007 and 2012, LinkedIn garnered around 800,000 premium subscribers, who paid at least $19.95 a month for membership, according to court papers. But lawyers estimate that only 20,000 to 50,000 subscribers will be able to qualify for payments from the settlement fund. The US District court will hold a hearing in January to decide whether to grant the settlement preliminary approval.

Who's viewed your profile ranking adds a new 'professionals like you' section but the algorithm is far from accurate (see below)

  • Public profiles get an update
  • If you want to keep up to date with LinkedIn's constant changes, sign up here to receive an email notifying you of every relevant update.
  • LinkedIn get us excited by releasing a new mobile app with the following in the update notes;

I mentioned several other podcasts during the show, here are the links to those shows;

Please review the show on iTunes

iTunes haven't made this as easy as it should be so I made these 2 short videos to show how it is done on the iTunes site and via their mobile app;

You can buy LinkedIn connections, shocking but true! here is the article I was referring to. What do you think?

Did you know that you can contact pretty much anyone on LinkedIn for FREE without having to upgrade your account? Click here to download a FREE cheatsheet with step by step instructions.

As always, thank you so much for listening and please get in touch with any questions or comments by leaving a voicemail (see the mic symbol on the right edge of this page) or drop me an email at mark@linkedinformed.com

 

Direct download: LinkedInformed_30.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:11am UTC

Show Notes

  • The UKPod14 conference was a great success and the keynote speaker was Jason Van Orden from Internet Business Mastery.
  • This podcast is unlikely to be found on iTunes until we receive more 5 star reviews. If you enjoy the show please help out by submitting a review. This video explains how it is done.
  • You can now subscribe to this show on TuneIn. Click here
  • News
    • Deep Nishar resigns, read his announcement here
    • Published posts get a makeover, see this example
    • New free LinkedIn feature alerts service launched. Register
  • What are you doing when you listen to the show? Darrel Griffin is doing his ironing!
  • Tune in next week to hear the full story of the LinkedIn sex pest!
  • Question: Why do people view profiles anonymously?
Direct download: LinkedInformed_029.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 9:23pm UTC

News

Could this the beginning of the end of personalised invitations? Watch the video below to see what happened when inviting from a newly created profile

Introductions. It is long longer possible to send introductions to 3rd tier connections. This was spotted by Andy Lopata and covered in this post

LinkedIn acquire Bizo - See official announcement here

This article takes a look at what the Bizo acquisition might mean to us.

Here is the Business Insider article showing the (alleged) leaked memo from Linkedin

Groups

Groups all too often come in for a bad press. In reality there are plenty of fantastic groups that offer an amazing opportunity to engage with and gain invaluable information from your prospects.

Here is a link to Carl Whalley's Google Android Group

Have your say. I would really value your contribution to the podcast. Please click on the voicemail link on the right edge of this page to leave your questions or comments or ping me an email at mark@linkedinformed.com

Thanks for listening

Mark

PS An iTunes review wouldn't go a miss! ;-)

Direct download: LinkedInformed_028.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 5:44pm UTC

News

Not much happened this week other than LinkedIn getting stung for $6m for a labour violation regarding unpaid wages. The BBC article is here

Pay it Forward

Wikipedia definition

Question

How can I save Pulse articles to read later?

My solution is to use Evernote and their amazing web clipper but you can also use Pocket

Other links

New course for job seekers coming out soon on Udemy

If you have any suggestions for people I could interview or topics you want me to cover then please feel free to leave a voicemail at the link on the right or drop me an email to mark@linkedinformed.com

Thanks for listening.

Direct download: LinkedInformed_027.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 6:36pm UTC

Show Notes

  • LinkedIn delivers encouraging Q2 financial results
    • 313 million members
    • 84m unique visitors
    • 25bn page views (down 1bn from 1st qtr)
    • $534m revenue - 47% year on year increase
      • Talent Solutions makes up $322m of this - 49% increase
      • Marketing $106m - 44% increase
      • Premium Accounts - $105m - 44% increase
    • See  full report here
  • LinkedIn acquires Newsle 
  • The new look LinkedIn mobile app
  • Updates of previous news items
    • Zapier has delivered some useful results but is a little complicated to set up
    • New Galene search seems to have settled down and is now delivering very similar results to before
  • Tip of the week. Be aware of 3rd party apps that undertake actions on your account that are outside of the LinkedIn User Agreement. Take responsibility for your own actions on LinkedIn, it's you that will get suspended!
  • Question. What do I have to do to get my profile from 'expert' strength to 'All Star'. Answer = Get more connections. You need a minimum of 50 (aim for min 100) and have had at least 2 previous positions in your employment section. The bigger question is: Does it matter? Answer = Not really! The difference between 'Expert' and 'All Star' in search results appears to be minimal.
  • LinkedIn Contacts Now Integrate With Your Inbox. Read my post here  
Direct download: LinkedInformed_026.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:07am UTC

Show Notes

News - Custom profile backgrounds are now being rolled out to non premium users

Andy's LinkedIn profile

Andy on Twitter

Andy's Google Plus profile

If you have any comments or questions please write to me directly at mark@linkedinformed.com or leave a voicemail at the link at the right hand edge of this page.

Direct download: LinkedInformed_025.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 12:25pm UTC

LinkedIn update their Contacts app and rename it Connected, the blog announcing this can be read here (screenshots at LinkedInformed.com)

Why not give one of these a try and let me know how you get on by leaving a message on the voicemail (see the black mic on the right edge of this page). You can also ask me a question by voicemail or by email to mark@linkedinformed.com.

Direct download: LinkedInformed_024.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:38am UTC

  • You can now unsubscribe from published post notifications (see below)

Click below to watch Jeff Weiner's excellent interview at a recent conference.

This is the best (funniest anyway) profile I have ever seen! Click on the image to view the full profile on LinkedIn.

Direct download: Linkedinformed_023.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:24pm UTC

 

show notes

(links are in black)

Direct download: LinkedInformed_022.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 1:22pm UTC

 

Voila_Capture 2014-06-20_12-02-16_pm.png

As seen on......

There are more than 1500 of them!

There are more than 1500 of them!

I solve this >>>>>> but can you solve the mystery of where and when you appeared on CBS, Fox NBC and abc?!

I solve this >>>>>> but can you solve the mystery of where and when you appeared on CBS, Fox NBC and abc?!

If you are struggling to get going with LinkedIn you might want to consider the 3 Day Start tutorial. 14 videos and 3 hrs of informative and engaging content. Use the discount code LinkedInformed to receive a 25% discount.

If a more tailored approach is your thing then I can offer you a one to one coaching/consulting service. Click here for more information.

Direct download: LinkedInformed_021.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:56am UTC

  • LinkedIn publisher posts and the potential for Google SEO issues?
  • Activity history lets you see their number of followers (close to connections number)

What will LinkedIn's new app be? Send your guesses by voicemail (see link on right of this page) or email me.

The Great LinkedIn SEO SCAM blog

Question. Should updates ever be of a personal nature?

Send your questions via voicemail using the link on the right.

Direct download: LinkedInformed_020.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 12:33pm UTC

 


My profile showing the new background plus the incentive to upgrade (even though this will be available to all eventually). This also shows how you can view someone's recent activity.

My profile showing the new background plus the incentive to upgrade (even though this will be available to all eventually).

This also shows how you can view someone's recent activity.

Click on the image for more information

Click on the image for more information

  • Viewing previous activity returns...yayy! (see above)
  • New custom profile backgrounds (see above) click here for early access as a free user
  • LinkedIn close down their own group managers group
  • New Spotlight premium plan soon to arrive (see below)
  • New suggested keywords feature for premium users
  • We Can Do Better Than LinkedIn. Jon Nathanson's (below) article 
I rest my case....!

I rest my case....!

What do you think?

Please drop me a line at mark@linkedinformed.com

Want to have your say on the show?

Click on the black 'send voicemail' link on the right side of this page. This allows you to record a short message or question which I can play on the show!

If you like the podcast please spread the word. Here is how you can;

  • Post a link to this page as a status update on LinkedIn
  • Post a link to this page on Twitter with #linkedin and @mr_linkedin
  • Review the show on iTunes or Stitcher (this massively helps and would be most appreciated)

 

Direct download: LinkedInformed_019.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:28am UTC

 

News

Magnus the puppy just gets more and more popular! 72,000 views as you can see below;

Click on the picture above to view the update

Click on the picture above to view the update

Interview

Ian Moyse Linkedin profile

Workbooks

Ian's twitter page (where you can follow him!)

My blog post about fake profiles

Ian's Channel & Account Management Experts LinkedIn Group

 

Direct download: LinkedInformed_018.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 4:52pm UTC

  • LinkedIn improve the 'Who's viewed your profile' feature. Here is a link to article I published on this.
  • Here is a link to the 'Don't invite from a mobile app' status update I posted with the subsequent comments/discussion.
  • Max's cute doggy post (see below)
Click on the picture to view the comments

Click on the picture to view the comments

I hope you enjoyed this episode. It would really help to spread the word if you could just take a minute and give us a ranking on iTunes....many thanks

Want to kickstart your LinkedIn account? Click below for more information;

 
Direct download: LinkedInformed_017.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:29am UTC

 

  • Recruitment Juice - Fast & effective online learning for recruiters.
  • The below picture was produced (in seconds) using the Word Swag app
This is a screenshot of the post's data in 'Who's viewed your updates'

This is a screenshot of the post's data in 'Who's viewed your updates'

Please get in touch if you have any questions or comments. You can email me directly at mark@linkedinformed.com or you can leave a voice message by clicking on link you will see on the right hand edge of this page.

Direct download: LinkedInformed_016.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 9:10pm UTC

LinkedIn Stock price takes a tumble after they announce Q1 results

LinkedIn Stock price takes a tumble after they announce Q1 results

show notes

(Links in black)

The 3 Day Start Programme - 30% discount for LinkedInformed listeners, just enter the code 'linkedinformed' at checkout.

My blog article about the Cardmunch invitation workflow (which now doesn't work!)

LinkedIn announcement about Evernote & Cardmunch

LinkedIn's Q1 results

 

 

Direct download: LinkedInformed_015.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 11:11am UTC

 

A break from the normal format this week as the whole episode is dedicated to chatting with Jo Saunders about LinkedIn groups.

As always, if its in black - its a link!

Direct download: LinkedInformed_014.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:29am UTC

News

  • CRM providers experience a 'freeze out' from the LinkedIn API - read more here
  • Advertising partners and content partners get preferred API access - article
  • Photosharing now available on iPhone app - article

Optimisation

Does it really matter? Its almost impossible to keep on top of profile optimisation but everyone should ensure that important keywords are found in the following sections;

  • Headline
  • Job title
  • Company name (edit display name)
  • Skills

Most importantly you should build a strong network so that most people that might search for you are at least a 2nd tier connection.

Tip

Find old school or college mates by searching the Alumni section

Question

What is a 'view' of an update on LinkedIn

Direct download: LinkedInformed_013.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 5:54am UTC

In this weeks episode I cover the following;

(links are in black)

News

LinkedIn Reaches 300 million members, you can view the infographic here

Endorsements can now be switched off - hooray!

RIP LinkedIn polls - announcement here

My newly released 3 Day Start video tutorial, click on the picture below for more information.

Direct download: LinkedInformed_012.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 6:23pm UTC

News

LinkedIn's feline April fools joke. Read the article here

LinkedIn’s Moderation Process for Groups - Overview

New layout for Groups - read article here

Heartbleed Bug - informative article on the subject here and this cartoon explains it in a less 'techie' way.

I use 1Password to avoid issues with passwords. Due to the Heartbleed problem they are offering their product at a 50% discount! Clickhere for more information

The video below was made using Videoscribe. Highly recommended

You can register your interest in the 3 Day Start programme here

Feature

The LinkedIn publishing platform. Apply for early access here

Questions

  • How I view my previous updates?
  • What is the WeChat link?
Direct download: LinkedInformed_011.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 12:36pm UTC

The main topic in this weeks show is premium accounts. Should you pay to use LinkedIn or can you get by as a free user?

I discuss many of the pro's and cons and would welcome any feedback or comments you have on this subject. Email me directly at mark@linkedinformed.com

Here are the notes and links (in black)

News

- Who's viewed your updates - summary (All) view

Click on the < highlighted above to see this view from your home page

Click on the < highlighted above to see this view from your home page

- On, Off, or Around the Clock: When LinkedIn Members Read Professionally-Relevant Content on the Web. Read the article here

- Please stop those annoying puzzles! below is the picture that accompanied my update

Fill in the gaps!

Fill in the gaps!

- Link to article about 'Sell Hack' LInkedIn email plugin

- You can register your interest in my new LinkedIn 3 Day Start Programme here

Direct download: LinkedInformed_010.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 11:01pm UTC

News

  • False alarm over a change to LinkedIn Contacts - phew!
  • 'In The News' feature. Inspired by this article

My Week

This was a very busy week involving running webinars and workshops together with being asked to speak at a networking event attended mainly by small business owners.

The 3 Day Start programme at 3daystart.in - register your interest prior to launch

Questions

  • How do I advertise a job opening without a paid account?
  • How do I reflect a promotion in my profile, even though the tasks are primarily the same?
Direct download: 009_.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 2:39pm UTC

Direct download: LinkedInformed_008.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 2:08pm UTC

According to the worlds leading expert on podcasting, 90% of podcasts don't make it past 7 episodes.....so I'm treading very carefully between now and the next episode!

Covered this week (links in black);

News

Main Topic

Status updating can be effective.

Links;

Questions

Direct download: LinkedInformed_7.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 10:08am UTC

As from this episode the show will now be broadcast weekly.

Topics covered and relevant links as follows;

News

3rd tier connections can no longer be saved to LinkedIn contacts.

The Blazek Scandal. Link to the CNN article as well as an article I wrote for The Drum.com about this story.

Feature

Status Updating Effectively. Links to FeedlyPulse and Buffer

Questions

How do I connect with someone I don't know?

How do you connect with a 3rd tier connection?

LinkedInformed e-book (free download)

 

Please send me your comments and questions to mark@linkedinformed.com

Direct download: Episode_006_The_Blazek_Scandal.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 6:38pm UTC

This week I chatted with Sam about network building strategies

News

  • Member Blocking - Help center link
  • The new 'Who's viewed your profile' - watch my short video here
  • LinkedInformed book - Download for FREE here

Network Building

Links:

As always I would really appreciate your feedback and questions, just drop me an email to mark@linkedinformed.com

Direct download: Linkedinformed_005_Network_Building.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:19pm UTC

Direct download: Linkedinformed_004A.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 4:44pm UTC

I'm really excited about 2014 and look forward to producing many more episodes, in this first one of the new year I cover the following topics (black font indicates a link) ;

  • LinkedIn sues spammers
  • Activity feed is disabled (LinkedIn's official announcement)
  • Could group messaging be the next to go?
  • LinkedIn Tip - How to prevent your competitors from appearing on your profile
  • Clearing your browsers cache & cookies. Instructions on all the 4 main browsers for windows and Mac can be found here.
  • Preview of next episode. What is your connection strategy? Let us know your thoughts and experiences before the next episode when this subject will be discussed in depth.
Direct download: LinkedInformed_003.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:28am UTC

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