"LinkedIn 101 for Nonprofits", An Axelson Center Webinar.

Editor's Notes

• #6: We’re making great strides toward our mission:**As of September 30, 2012, LinkedIn has over 187 million members, and we’re now adding about two members every second. This is the fastest rate of absolute member growth in the company’s history. Sixty-three percent of LinkedIn members are currently located outside of the United States.As of September 30, 2012 (the end of the third quarter), LinkedIn counts executives from all 2012 Fortune 500 companies as members; its corporate talent solutions are used by 85 of the Fortune 100 companies.More than 2 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages.LinkedIn members did nearly 4.2 billion professionally-oriented searches on the platform in 2011, and are on pace to do 5.3 billion in 2012.[See http://press.linkedin.com/about for a complete list of LinkedIn facts and stats]
• #34: Welcome! Today’s session is about learning the top 5 tips for nonprofits to get the most out of LinkedIn. I’ll be taking you through examples of what you can do with your own profile and for your organization to get an edge and will leave us time at the end for you to try it out yourself!
• #35: <<This slide is animated – click through once to finish>>First it’s always good to clarify what LinkedIn is and what we do. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 250 million members worldwide and growing everydayWe connect talent to opportunity at massive scale
• #36: These are three different tools and we get asked all the time what the difference is between them.
• #37: Nonprofits often ask us, “How can I get the most out of LinkedIn? How do I take a few spare minutes and leverage this resource?”Our 5 million+ nonprofit members have turned to LinkedIn because it can help address some of your core needs for free, such as: Building your online brandBuilding your community of supporters and advocatesFinding high quality talent for key staff & Board positions We believe it is our responsibility to help you leverage these tools to enhance your impact. And here are the top 3, go-to ways to start making the most out of LinkedIn.
• #38: Building a complete profile is critical. Each piece of information you include communicates to the world who you are, what you know and what you care about. To get started, make sure you at least add these key pieces. We’ll walk through each of them now.
• #39: First, add a photo. This makes your profile 7 times more likely to be viewed and helps people see your profile as the real you.A headline is a short and sweet way to sum up who you are, and what you’re looking for. Here is an example of one nonprofit professional’s strong headline that makes a pretty great first impression.
• #40: Show the depth of your professional brand by highlighting your experience and expertise:Write a summary as your elevator pitch describing your skills and what you care about.All of your experiences should be included - you never know which position or experience will help you form a connection with someoneTell people where you’re coming from: Where are you working and what is your role? What have you accomplished in past rolesWhat knowledge have you gained, from what experiences?
• #41: Edit your profile to include your volunteering accomplishments, the causes you care about, and the specific organizations you support (especially yours!). Remember to get your colleagues, volunteers and other supports to do the same!
• #42: Building your network strategically helps you make not just many, but the right connections.Your current network includes the people you know, and your future network includes the people you’d like to know (because we know you’ll take our advice on reaching out to build new relationships). There is a "magic" number of connections on LinkedIn and that number is 50 contacts. By connecting to at least 50 people that you know and trust (current co-workers, clients, friends and family) you'll increase your chances of getting in touch with people and companies that will help you get ahead in your career.
• #43: Let’s talk about adding contacts. This may sound obvious, but many people forget to connect with the people they already know. Upload your existing address book of contacts so it’s up to date – from Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook or elsewhere – with a couple of simple clicks, and search for individuals who might not pop up but you know you want to add. When someone looks at your LinkedIn profile, they’ll see if you and they have any connections "in common.” This gives you credibility, when they see you’re connected to people they know or trust. Remember, 50 is the magic number you want to exceed.First,you want to reach out individually to everyone you already know – friends, family, neighbors, former colleagues, former classmates. You can either upload your contacts from your email account (this is a great way to help yourself remember who you know and you’ve communicated with already on email), or you can search for individuals. You should also think strategically about your networking. What industry are you looking to get into, what companies would you love to work for? Look at your current network and assess the that are limiting your ability to access these groups. You can use the search function, or even create an inmap (or visual representation ofyour network) to examine who you know - let’s take a look at that now.
• #44: Both of these images represent two different LinkedIn members’ networks. On the left we have a member with redundant connections – everyone already knows everyone, so there are few new networks to get or give access to. On the right, we have a LinkedIn member with access to multiple different communities, where the opportunities to reach into other communities are endless. How do you go about making new connections to diversify your network opportunities? To name a few: Connect with members from different industries, sectors, functional backgrounds who care about your causeFind them in LinkedIn groups, discussions, or external conferences and eventsRequest introductions through your LinkedIn connections
• #45: Joining groups is one of the best ways to meet new people and open doors to new opportunities. Look at groups like mini conferences where you have the right people in the room based on a common interest or topic.Joining the right groups is important so that you get access to the individuals and information you need. How do you find these ‘right groups’ you ask? There’s a great feature called Groups You May Like. Based on your profile data, LinkedIn will serve you up a sample of suggested groups for you to join. You can search for groups based upon your interests, affiliations or needs (i.e. our search above for philanthropy for a nonprofit interested in fundraising opportunities). Very often, your funding partners, corporate partners, or local groups will own or participate in groups. You can look to their group memberships for guidance.
• #46: Demonstrate your expertise and build awareness of you & your organization by sharing and commenting on content on LinkedIn.Make it a goal to share or comment on at least one piece of information daily. Two things to do each day to find content you’d like to share: On your LinkedIn homepage (once you’ve signed in), your news feed will include the latest from the groups, companies and Influencers you follow. Scan through and see what snags your interest! Keep an eye out for the “inShare” button on your daily reads. When you find an you want to share, you can share it right from the article itself via the InShare Link and let your network know you found it valuable. You can choose to share it on your Profile, within specific groups you’re a part of, or in a private message to individuals. Add in a comment on your thoughts or main takeaways then hit Share.It's back to the Golden Rule: If you engage with several of your connections every day, those same connections will start to listen to what you have to say. And if they like the content you're sharing, they will be more likely to share, comment or like your stuff too! Mix it up and choose different connections to remark on each time, and you'll have a large -- yet engaged -- network in no time.All simple and important opportunities to position yourself as a thought leader and information source.
• #47: The 3 most important steps to start with are:Making sure you have a dynamic “company page” for your organizationEnsuring that your stakeholders are actively promoting that page and your organization to their networksUsing your network to build your organization’s base of support
• #48: Company Pages gives you the opportunity to tell your nonprofit’s story, highlight your mission and programs, and share volunteer opportunities and relevant announcements with the LinkedIn community. It also provides an easy and manageable way to track your followers’ engagement. Before creating a company page, envision what your company page could be. Similar to your profile, this is your organization’s face in the LinkedIn world, and you want to think creatively about how to capture the spirit and vitality of your organization and communicate that to others. Some organizations have used their company pages as repositories for static information. Others have leveraged this opportunity to bring their organization’s vitality to the forefront. Look to a couple of great examples to envision how your organization can make a great first impression.
• #49: Claiming the page is the easy part. Scroll above the interests tab, click companies, and then click “Add a Company” and enter your basic information. To note, you need a work email address (not gmail, yahoo, etc) to be able to create a new company page. If you see someone has already created your company page and would like to become the admin of that page, email cs@linkedin.com
• #50: Once you’ve claimed the page, add your logo -- this is critical for people to find your organization and validate that it’s the organization they’re looking for.Then, bring your page to life with other rich media and relevant content.
• #51: Finally, once your company page has been set up, issue a call to action for your staff, volunteers, donors and other key stakeholders to “Follow” your company page and add your organization to their “Organizations you support” profile field. Consider doing so in your next newsletter, fundraising drive, and annual gala.Why is this so very important? Because it allows you toRaise awareness about your organization across networksBring to life the army of supporters who care about your organizationCome up in more LinkedIn searches and content feedsThe bonus: Every time a new individual adds your organization to their profile, this information appears in their networks’ updates. That means your reach is exponentially expanded with each individual who completes this action.
• #52: We all know how important a high quality Board is to the success of any organization – for-profit or non-profit. LinkedIn for Good recognized this and created a program called Board Member Connect, that allows nonprofits free access to LinkedIn’s “Advanced Search” tool to find high quality Board Members quickly. In order to participate in this program, you need to sign up for an introductory (monthly) webinar at nonprofits.linkedin.com. This will teach you how to use the tools and make the most out of the program. But to give you a better sense of how tremendous this program is here’s how it works: Board Member Connect allows you to search for the key attributes you need in your next Board Member(s) – i.e. location, expertise, years of experience, employer, etc. So let’s say you’re looking for a senior marketing expert with digital marketing experience and you’re looking to build your connections in the tech/internet industry.
• #53: Using Advanced Search, you can search the entire LinkedIn network based on the exact profile you are looking for. Instead of spending time playing the “who do you know” game, search intelligently with premium search filters such as years of experience and job function.We’ve heard LinkedIn described by a nonprofit as the database they wish they had. It’s easy to see why when you use the Advanced Search tool.The results pop up and you can very quickly see how closely you are connected to the highest ranked possibilities, and find out the best way to introduce yourself. You can reach out directly through an “InMail”, or take advantage of your network for a facilitated introduction. (If you reach out cold, just remember to keep it short and ask for a phone call to explore the possibility).
• #54: A good first step is finding out what shared connections you have an asking for an introduction. One of the benefits of having a network on LinkedIn is that you might know someone in common with the people you want to connect with and that person can make an introduction for you. Exactly as you might do offline. LinkedIn makes it easy – just follow these basis steps:Click through to the profile of the person you’re hoping to be introduced to.In the lower righthand corner find out who your mutual connections are and click on the “Get Introduced” link
• #55: So that’s it when it comes to LinkedIn 101 for Nonprofits – the top tips to help you start leveraging this platform strategically. Thank you for taking the time to participate in this experience and for your interest in LinkedIn. We admire the work you do, and are thrilled to support you.