Stanford Social Media on Purpose: LinkedIn for Nonprofits

Editor's Notes

• #4: <<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 300 million members worldwide and growing everydayWe connect talent to opportunity at massive
• #5: These are three different tools and we get asked all the time what the difference is between them.
• #6: 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.
• #7: Let’s get started!First let’s talk about what you can do to strengthen your own professional brand by optimizing your LinkedIn profile.
• #8: 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.
• #9: 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.
• #10: 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?
• #11: 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!Over 4 million professionals have filled out this field to-date, including over 1 million who have signaled their interest in volunteering their skills or serving on a nonprofit board!
• #12: The second big tip is to know how you can build and start strategically engaging with your network on LinkedIn
• #13: 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.
• #14: Let’s talk about adding contacts. 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.
• #15: 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
• #16: 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.
• #17: 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.
• #18: Nonprofits and companies are now turning to LinkedIn as a key opportunity to establish and grow their organizations’ online brand. LinkedIn’s 300million+ members may read about you and your organization through the great content you’ve shared or the connections you’ve established – and they need somewhere to go to learn the quick & dirty facts about your organization, and get a feel before they choose to explore more on your website. Let’s walk through the tips for how you can use LinkedIn to build (and leverage!) a strong presence and network for your organization.
• #19: 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 find board members and skilled volunteers
• #20: 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.
• #21: 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
• #22: 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.
• #23: 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.
• #24: We all know how important high quality talent is to the success of any organization – for-profit or non-profit. LinkedIn for Good recognized this and created a programs called the Volunteer Marketplace to allow nonprofits to better access the talent they need. LinkedIn’s Volunteer Marketplace allows nonprofits to post skilled volunteer and board opportunities that will be surfaced to our Members across the globe at a 90% discount from LinkedIn’s standard ‘job posts’ that you see appear in your “Jobs You May Be Interested In” feed. But you could post for the marketing expert you need to enhance your digital marketing strategy, or post a position for the HR expert you’ve been looking for to lead your board governance committee, or any other skilled or board opportunity. If you’re looking for Board Members specifically, you can also join our ‘Board Member Connect’ program that gives nonprofits a LinkedIn Premium Account (enhanced features) for 5 years in order to search their networks in an even stronger way for high potential board members. In order to access this program, you’ll need to visit nonprofits.linkedin.com and sign up for a brief webinar to get trained on the tool, and then you’ll receive access to your premium account (definitely recommended!)
• #25: Here is a screenshot of our brand new site that has all the resources you need to find board members and skilled volunteers
• #26: If you’ve never written a skilled volunteer or board position description before, fear not! The Volunteer Marketplace comes equipped with simple resources on what a compelling position description looks like and how to post.
• #27: And once you’ve posted your opportunity, professionals across the globe start seeing them! They can visit ‘volunteers.linkedin.com’ to search directly for posts like yours, and they’ll also see them come up in their “Jobs You May Be Interested In” feed. So right alongside that Social Media Consultant role, they’ll see your organization’s volunteer opportunity calling their name!
• #28: Just as you as a professional can showcase on your LinkedIn profile the organizations and causes you care about, or the volunteer opportunities you’re looking for, so can and do so many others. Over 4 Million Members have signaled to the world that they care, and over 1 Million of them have signaled their interest in skills-based volunteering or Board service. The “Advanced Search” on LinkedIn is one of the most under-utilized, incredibly powerful tools at your disposal as a nonprofit professional. And it’s SO easy to use! Click on Advanced search, and then you’re prompted to enter what’s important to you. You can search within your (recently expanded!) network , so your 1st Connections (people you know), your 2nd connections (who people you know, know) and common group members. Then, zero in on people based on location, the company they work for, their years of experience, and even their specific nonprofit interests. See what this looks like, when we look for current Google employees who are interested in serving on a board and have design their skills. Already in my network there are over 1,100. And look what happens when you add in another ‘keyword’ that matters to you, like ‘hunger’ or even the name of your organization – you narrow your search right down to the people who are most likely to be excited about your cause and the opportunity available. From here you’re just a simple ‘connect’ or inMail away from getting a new conversation started with an existing contact, or building your network further.
• #29: 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.
• #37: Additional resources for nonprofits can be located at nonprofits.linkedin.com
• #38: On behalf of everyone at LinkedIn, I wish you the very best of luck in your efforts. We look forward to celebrating your success!