linkedin for cpas, level 1 - amazon web services...their online marketing needs, including strategy,...

NCGmarketing.com (c) 2016 NCG Strategic Marketing, LLC

LinkedIn for CPAs, Level 1:Creating a Complete and Compelling

LinkedIn Presence

Phil Nugent

NCG Strategic Marketing

1


Who am I?

Phil Nugent, J.D., M.B.A.

• Founded NCG Strategic Marketing in 2009At NCG, we help small accounting firms and law firms prioritize and execute their online marketing needs, including strategy, websites, blogging, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), email marketing, Twitter & LinkedIn.

• Former Dir. of Global Marketing, Prologis (Fortune 500 commercial real estate)

• 1990s: Founder, co-founder & early employee of tech & marketing startups

• M.B.A., University of Colorado at Boulder, J.D., College of William & Mary, B.A., University of Virginia

• LinkedIn user since 2005; trainer and coach in using LinkedIn since 2007

2


Teeing things up

• We have 90 minutes

• We have 97 slides

• Here’s the plan for the next 28 days:1. Today: This webinar. A relatively quick - but very detailed - overview of

both high-level strategy and in-the-trenches tactics to put your LinkedIn foundation in place

2. This week: Your post-webinar homework. Go through the slides carefully on your own and follow the step-by-step procedures & guidelines

3. Until 5/31: A special offer for a personal LinkedIn audit, detailed edits, and two strategy sessions. Information provided at the webinar’s end

4. Four weeks from today: “LinkedIn for CPAs, Level 2: Leveraging LinkedIn for Better Business Development.” Presented on Tuesday, June 7, 2016

3


Agenda: Strategy and Tactics

I. Is LinkedIn Worth Your Time? 1. Common myths about LinkedIn

2. LI’s unlimited potential as a business development tool

3. Why CPAs should embrace LinkedIn

II. Doing LinkedIn the Right Way1. Why you need a complete & compelling profile

2. Getting your profile to 100% (and beyond!)

3. The numbers game

4. Invitations: Who to accept, who to invite & how to decide

5. Critical account & privacy settings

6. Free vs. Paid accounts

7. Using Advanced Search for business development

4


Polling Question #1

For how long have you had a profile on LinkedIn?

5


Part I: Is LinkedIn Worth Your Time?

6


Why LinkedIn?

Ranking of Success of Various Marketing Tactics by Professionals

(400+ professionals surveyed)

The Professional Services Marketing Report (Hollinden, 2014)

7

LinkedIn is Social Media…right?


Why LinkedIn?

Ranking of Success of Various Marketing Tactics by Professionals

(400+ professionals surveyed)

The Professional Services Marketing Report (Holliden, 2014)

8

LinkedIn

Or is LinkedIn Business Development?


Polling Question #2

What’s your top question about – or issue with – LinkedIn?

9


Common Misconceptions About LinkedIn

10


What LinkedIn is not

1. It’s not just an online Rolodex or digital resume• Your old Rolodex was just a list of names & contact info

• Your resume was never a platform for you to network with others

• LinkedIn is a place to see & be seen (and to find & be found!)

2. It’s not a typical social media platform• Nobody cares what you had for breakfast

3. It’s not a fad• It’s been around since 2003

4. It’s not beneath your dignity as a CPA• It can (and should) be used both professionally & ethically

11


The reality of LinkedIn

12


LinkedIn by the numbers

415 million: Number of LinkedIn users today•Approx. 1 in 4 LinkedIn users live in U.S.

•3 BILLION: LinkedIn’s long-term goal for number of users worldwide

1.25 million people are joining LinkedIn every week•42% of American adults are on LinkedIn

•But just 30% of all social media users use LinkedIn (that’s good!)

•100 million members visit LI at least once a month

5.7 billion: Number of searches on LinkedIn in 2012

13


LinkedIn is business

It has proven its value for businesspeople• Used by 93% of all recruiters today

• Forbes (July 2012): “LinkedIn is, far and away, the most advantageous social networking tool available to job seekers and business professionals today.”

Still need proof that LI is for business?• Only 8% of U.S. high school class of 2014 were on LinkedIn

But 41% of U.S. millionaires use it

14


LI: The low-hanging fruit of social media

1. It’s easy to “get” LinkedIn’s fundamentals

2. For CPAs, LinkedIn typically offers much greater ROI than Facebook or any other social media

3. LI demands the least amount of time from you to be “actively engaged” on an ongoing basis But, it must be used in the right way…and as it continues to add more

functionality (and get more complex), the “right way” to use LinkedIn is not always intuitive

15


The two main purposes of LinkedIn

1. It’s where others can find you

2. It’s where you can find others (and find out about others):

a. Who’s the right person to talk to in an organization?

b. What can I find out about this person?

c. Who else is on their team? Do I know any of them?

d. Who might be able to make an introduction for me?

e. What should I know about them before our first meeting?

16


Why CPAs Should Embrace LinkedIn

17


Top 5: Why CPAs should embrace LinkedIn

5. LinkedIn has the right demographics for CPAs• 79% of LinkedIn users are 35 or older

- Average LinkedIn user is 44 years old

• LinkedIn users are twice as likely to be college grads than are users of Facebook and Twitter

- 80% of users drive business decisions

• These are your referral sources, clients & prospective clients

18


4. 78% of LI users prefer to have separate social media networks for their business & personal lives

• For example, Facebook for family and friends, and LinkedIn for business

• This is a separation that most professionals are comfortable with (even as the line between business and personal continues to blur)


19



3. Great tool for Competitive Intelligence• What are your competitors doing?

• Who has your competition hired?

• Who recently left a competitor firm – and where have they gone?

• What topics are other CPAs writing about?

• How are they using LinkedIn?

• What other marketing strategies & tactics are they using?

20


2. LI is smart business development – and not just for the individual, but for the entire firm

• “A rising LinkedIn profile raises all boats”

• Every accountant and staff member should be an onlineambassador for the firm (and should be connected!)

Every employee is a potential source of the firm’s next client

• LinkedIn happens to be a great recruiting tool, as well


21



1. Over the last 20 years, how we find out about a business or businessperson has continued to change:• 1996: Ask business associates, check Yellow Pages

• 2006: Ask business associates, Google, website

• 2016: Ask business associates, Google, website & LinkedIn!

22


The disclaimer/reality check

Is LinkedIn a silver bullet that will solve all your marketing and business development challenges?• No

• But it should be an essential part of your ongoing biz dev activities

23


★ LI: Five common excuses

1. “I don’t know how to use LinkedIn.”You’ll have a solid foundation by the end of this webinar

2. “I don’t have the time to use LinkedIn.”It will take less time to be “active” than you’re thinking

3. “I don’t have any desire to use LinkedIn.”How important is successful business development to you?

24



4. “I don’t get my clients through marketing. They all come through referrals.”

• Of course, you can’t always rely upon your best referral sources

- They can trade you in for a new favorite CPA

- They can change careers, move, or retire

• Do referrals always call you without doing any research – or might they check out your website and/or your LinkedIn profile first?

- What do you do when someone refers you to someone else?

- Will prospective clients be impressed when they see your LI profile?

25



5. “I’m already on LinkedIn, and it hasn’t done me any good.”

• Simply signing up is not enough

- Just having an uninspiring profile on LinkedIn is about as useful as being a member of a gym that you never visit

• First, you have to set up a profile that’s both complete and compelling

• Then, you have to follow that up by doing the right things on a consistent basis

26


Part II: Doing LinkedIn the Right Way

27


First things first: Get signed up!

28


How LinkedIn works: Multiple degrees of separation

Your LI network = Multiple concentric circles around you• 1st degree connections = Direct connections

• 2nd degree connections = Connections of your connections

• 3rd degree connections = Connections of your 2nd degrees

• Group connections = Members of the Groups you belong to

Outside Your Network = Everyone else on LinkedIn

29


How LinkedIn works: The numbers add up

30

And then

look here

(in the left

margin)

What are

your

numbers?

Click here

(leaving

the search

box empty)


★Why you need a complete & compelling profile

1. Because you want to get found by those who don’t know your name

• LI search is similar to Google search: A LinkedIn profile’s “relevance”to the search terms is critical for ranking high in the search results

And the right keywords are essential to demonstrating relevance

• Keywords = the words or phrases that people use to search for “someone like you” or a firm like yours in their city

• “Denver accountant tax resolution”

• “affordable CPA firm San Diego”

• “Boston small business accountant”

31



2. You want Potential Clients (PCs) to know, trust & like you

• Know: You want your PCs to be able to find you on LinkedIn.

- A complete profile will help you get found

• Trust: You want your PCs to be sufficiently impressed by your experience to be intrigued. Does your story match what they’re looking for?

- A complete & compelling profile will tell your story well

• Like: You’re not a commodity, so don’t act like one! You want your PCs to see you as a good fit for their needs. You want them to contact you.

- What’s truly compelling? When they know that you “get” them

32



3. Because although LinkedIn “All-Star” status may sound silly, it’s actually very significant to whether you get found

• LinkedIn quantifies your level of profile completeness

“Profile Strength” plays an important role in how high you rank in the search results

33


Get your profile to 100% (7 elements, per LI)

1. Your Industry and Location• Straightforward and difficult to get wrong

• Just don’t pick a location that’s “too local” (if you serve a greater metro area, choose that over a small town)

34


Get your profile to 100% (pg. 2)

2. Your Profile Photo• Essential! Your LinkedIn profile is 11x more likely to be viewed if you

have a photo (per LinkedIn)

• Make sure your photo is all of the following:

- Headshot

- Professional

- In focus

- Relatively recent

- Welcoming (smile!)

- Visible to everyone (more on that in the section on privacy)

35



3. An up-to-date Current Position• What do you do, and who do you do it for?

• Don’t be shy, you have 2,000 characters (~ 350 words)

• Tips:

• Use lettercount.com to check length

• Draft in Word; copy and paste after spell-checking

• First-person perspective is best

36



4. Two past positions• Tip: Add descriptions!

• Adds depth, interest & personality to your profile

• You don’t need to restrict these to your positions as an accountant

5. Education• Add high school if it’s local, otherwise important to you, and/or

recognizable

6. Three skills• Tip: Select at least 12

• These cover not just broad areas you specialize in, but a wide range of skills for which your clients may want to endorse you

37



7. At least 50 connections• Tip: Don’t stop there!

• If you’re on this webinar, you should have hundreds of connections:

• High school, college & grad school classmates

• Past co-workers

• Current colleagues

• Referral partners and other professionals

• Clients(?)

• Numbers aren’t everything on LI, but they’re very important

• Much more on this topic later

38


Polling Question #3

Why is it important to be sure that your profile level of completeness on LinkedIn is “All-Star”?

39


Now, really complete your profile (8 steps)

1. Name and Professional Headline• Name: Make it match your business card, how you introduce yourself, etc.

• Professional Headline: Not self-explanatory (it’s not your job title)

- Very important in LI’s search algorithm

- You have 120 characters: Be as descriptive as you can

- Use keywords that your PCs would use to describe what you do

- How many PCs would search on “Partner” or “Owner”?

40


Now, really complete your profile

2. Summary• Optional per LinkedIn, but critical for you!

• What’s your story?

• Don’t just use your bio from your firm’s website

What can you tell your PCs that will make them want to contact you?

• Tell a 30,000-foot, high-level story of who you are, what you do, whom you do it for, and even why (if you can)

• Tips (again):

• 2,000 characters (~ 350 words): Use lettercount.com to check length

• Draft in Word; copy and paste after spell-checking

• First-person perspective is best

41



3. Develop compelling job descriptions • Are they interesting?

• 2,000 character maximum ( ~ 350 words; use lettercount.com)

• Short paragraphs preferable (typically, 2-3 sentences)

42



4. Add content that will further impress your visitors• Look on the Edit Profile page for additional “Content Modules” to

add to your profile. These include:

- Organizations

- Projects

- Publications

- Honors & Awards

- Patents

- Certifications

- Courses

- Languages

- And more…

43



Six of the 14 content modules you can add to your profile from the Edit Profile page:

44



5. Add “Contact Info” so you can be…contacted!• Click on the grey “Contact Info” box located beneath the number of your

connections in order to open it

45



The opened Contact Info box:

46



Inside the Contact Info box (cont’d)

• Top section: Semi-public contact info (email address, phone number, street address), which is available only to your direct connections

• Lower section: Public contact info (websites/blogs/Twitter account), which is available to everyone on LinkedIn

• Include as many as three (3) of your firm’s websites and/or blogs

- And be sure to provide the names of the websites/blogs (don’t leave the links with the generic “Company Website”)

47



6. Customize your LinkedIn URL• Click on “Contact Info,” as above, to access this

• At the bottom of the box, substitute your name for the random code

- OLD: www.linkedin.com/pub/jack-r-sprat/85e/678m3

- NEW: www.linkedin.com/in/jacksprat

• Idea: Put it on your business card & in your email signature

http://linkedin.com/in/philnugent

48



7. The final word on keywords:• Don’t think like an accountant; think like your clients (and PCs)

• Good keywords: who you are and what you do, in plain English

- Useful keywords: small business accountant, tax accountant, CPA, Certified Public Accountant, tax resolution

- Less useful: being silent about what you do – or not being specific about what you do (“accountant,” “partner”)

- Don’t be: the accountant whose profile does not include the word ‘accountant’

- Also don’t be: the CPA whose profile does not include the terms ‘accountant’ and ‘CPA’ and ‘Certified Public Accountant’

49



8. Carefully review your profile on a regular basis (e.g., quarterly) so it doesn’t get out-of-date

• What’s changed? What updates can you add?

• What can you do to improve it?

• How can you expand upon what you have?

• Can you talk about a recent project (even in general terms)

• Can you add compelling, keyword-rich descriptions for your previous jobs?

50


Best Practices: Completing your profile (ex. 1)

51


Completing your profile (ex. 2)

52



53



54


The #1 Most Frequently Asked L.I. Question: Whose invitations should I accept?

55


…which leads to the #1 Debate: Quality vs. Quantity

In the one corner, QUALITY: Those who believe the right way to use LinkedIn is to keep everyone out

And in the other corner, QUANTITY: All that matters is how many connections you have

56


Connections: quality vs. quantity

QUALITY: Only accept invitations from those you know well, really like, and trust with your life

- Pro: You’ll know, like and trust each one of your very few connections

- Con: You won’t be able to use the LinkedIn database as it was designed: for business development, client & competitor research

• The Analogy: It’s like having a brand new BMW that you drive only around the cul-de-sac. (Why bother?)

57


Connections: quality vs. quantity (pt 2)

QUANTITY: Accept ALL invitations that come your way and invite everyone indiscriminately

- Pro: You’ll be connected to all sorts of people all over the world in all sorts of industries and careers

- Con: Your network may end up filled with people who are neither potential clients nor likely referral partners (in addition to a good number of spammers and fraudulent accounts)

• The Analogy: What would happen if you invited the whole world to a party at your house?

58


So, what’s the right answer, quality or quantity?

Ultimately, it’s a balance

It’s not just a numbers game…but numbers do matter• What’s a good number? Shoot for at least 200-300 in Phase 1

• Ultimately, go for “500+” (as LinkedIn describes it) and keep going

• However: Don’t feel bad about not letting everyone into your house

The benefits of a larger network:1. Your searches for others will be more successful

2. More LinkedIn users will find you in their searches

59


Accepting Invitations

1. Who are these people sending me invitations?

2. Should I accept their invitations? I suggest: Yes, if you get at least 4 of the following:

• Are they a real person? (Hints: How complete is their

profile? Do they have endorsements & recommendations?)

• Are they in your geographic market?

• Are they a potential client or referral source?

• Might they have useful contacts?

• Do they have many contacts? (i.e., 500+)

• Are they connected to someone you know?

• Did they write a personal note or do you know them?

60


Accepting Invitations (pg. 2)

3. What are my options upon receiving an invite?• Accept

• Ignore (nothing will happen)

• Block or report (the nuclear option, if they’re stalking you)

- Click on arrow to right of Accept Invitation button

61


Accepting Invitations (pg. 3)

Best Practice: When you accept an invitation, send a short LinkedIn note thanking them for the invite• What can you say to connect with the person? (Did you go to the

same college? Do you serve the same target market, but with different services?)

• Ask a question to encourage a dialogue

• Think about suggesting a call or meeting, if appropriate

• Remember: The point is business development

62


Sending Invitations

1. Start with those you know well• Your firm’s partners and associates. (Don’t forget the firm’s staff:

admins, etc.)

• Peers (e.g., college classmates)

• Referral partners, clients, friends

• Competitors?

2. Going forward, reach out to those you’ve just met• Think of sending a LI invitation instead of an email

- It’s a twofer: a thank-you note AND a LinkedIn invite

63


Sending Invitations (pg. 2)

3. When you come back from an event with a bunch of business cards, what do you typically do with them?

• Best Practice: Send out LI invites in the next 24-48 hours

64



4. Don’t do this: Importing bulk email contacts• Hover over the Connections link at top of page and click on Add

Connections to get to bulk email tool

• And then, just walk away!

65



Why shouldn’t you import bulk email contacts? Two reasons:

1. You have only 5,000 lifetime invitations on LinkedIn

- In other words, 10/week (500/year) x 10 years

- Depending on the size of your contact list, you could go through much of the 5,000 with a bulk import

- You can request more, but it’s up to LinkedIn

2. Most importantly, you can’t personalize invitations

- Bulk’s acceptance rate is significantly lower

- Let’s not forget: This is business development

66


Polling Question #4

Why should you NOT send bulk invitations?

67


Final thoughts on Invitations

1. The boilerplate invitation says, “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”• Not a great idea. Better idea: a short, personal note

- In 300 characters, introduce yourself (if necessary) and where you met them, or the context for the connection

68


Final thoughts on Invitations (pg. 2)

2. Don’t rely on the kindness of strangers or acquaintances to send you invites – that is not a good biz dev strategy

- You need to be proactive: Send invitations to those you want to be connected to

3. Some of your invitations will be ignored, some will be forgotten, and some will be simply missed by the invitee.

- That’s OK. Don’t take it personally. Keep pushing forward.

69


Account & Privacy Settings

70


“Account & Settings” pop-up window

1. Go to the top right of your profile page > Hover over the small thumbnail photo of you

2. Click on “Privacy & Settings” in the drop-down list

71


Privacy & Settings (old design, being phased out)

72


Privacy & Settings: Account (top of page)

73


Privacy & Settings: Account (middle of page)

74


Privacy & Settings: Account (bottom of page)

75


Privacy & Settings: Privacy (top of page)

76


Privacy Profile Privacy Profile viewing options

77


Privacy & Settings: Privacy (bottom of page)

78


Privacy & Settings: Communications

79


The #2 Most Frequently Asked L.I. Question: Should I go with the free or the paid option?

Free Plan works for most, but Paid provides:1. Ability to view all visitors to your profile over last 90 days (not just last 5

visitors)

2. Ability to view all visitors to your profile even if you’ve selected anonymous browsing (private mode)

3. Improved visibility into your 3rd degree & group connections

4. Unlimited search results (no more daily limits)

5. Up to 7 additional filters to use in even more advanced searches

6. Increasing numbers (3, 15, 30…) of LinkedIn “InMails” to send to anyone on LinkedIn (even those outside your network)

Plan names, details and prices are always changing: Go to ‘Account’ or ‘Upgrade’ for latest info

80


The #2 Most Frequently Asked L.I. Question: Should I go with the free or the paid option?

One other interesting benefit of the paid plans:• Your “Premium Profile” will be twice the size of others in the search results

81


Free v. paid options

On the free plan? These are the most common paid plans currently offered: Job Seeker ($30/mo), Business Plus ($60/mo), Sales Navigator Pro ($80/mo) & Recruiter Lite ($120/mo)

82



Business Plus: The best paid option for most biz-dev-minded CPAs

83



My recommendations:• Start out with the free plan and see how often you run into limitations

concerning:

- Limited search results (only 100)

- Inability to directly contact 3rd level connections

- Lack of visibility into 3rd level connections

- Lack of visibility into those who’ve viewed your profile

• If you feel the need, try a lower-cost paid plan on month-to-month basis

Free v. Paid: 81% use free (and decreasing)• LinkedIn wants to transition more users to the paid plan, so watch for

continued, incremental lessening of functionality in free plan

84


Advanced Search: LinkedIn’s Secret Sauce

85


Advanced Search: Your key to access the network

Your access to the LinkedIn network is via Advanced Search• LI is not just your first-level connections, but their first-level connections

(and in some cases, their first-level connections)

Reminder: Everyone’s network is not the same• Your search results will improve as you have a larger network

• That’s your incentive to keep adding relevant connections

Let’s look at how to use Advanced Search

86


Using Basic (“Non-advanced”) Search

87


Using Advanced Search

88


Results Using Advanced Search

89


Advanced Search: Drilling Down

90


Adv. Search = Strategic Business Development

91


What’s Next: LinkedIn, Level 2

92


LinkedIn, Level 2 webinar on Tuesday, June 7th

1. Leveraging the foundation you’ve built on LinkedIn

2. Managing your connections

3. Skills, endorsements & recommendations

4. Getting social and LinkedIn updates

5. Content marketing

6. Thought leadership through published posts

7. Groups

8. Company pages

9. Defining “being active” on LinkedIn

10. Plan for going forward

93


LinkedIn for CPAs, Level 1: Phases 1, 2 and 3

Phase 1: This webinar (just wrapping up)• Was it helpful? Email me and let me know what was the most useful lesson,

tip, etc. (Also, let me know what was the least useful information.)

Phase 2: You (downloading and reviewing the slides and using them to do the following): • Optimize your account and privacy settings

• Develop a complete and compelling profile

• Strategically grow your network

Phase 3: You & Me (The 120 for 120 Offer)• Could you benefit from 120 minutes of personalized LinkedIn help?

94


LinkedIn for CPAs: The 120 for 120 Offer

Could you benefit from a personal LinkedIn audit and two strategy sessions at an unbeatable price?

Here’s the typical format (it’s up to you & your preferences):

1.30-minute Audit: I carefully review your LinkedIn profile & website, and identify ways to improve your profile and use of LinkedIn.

2.60-minute Strategy Session: Phone call #1: We discuss your business, target market, LinkedIn profile, and any questions you have. I provide LinkedIn profile audit, suggested edits, and overall recommendations.

3.30-minute Follow-Up: Phone call #2: I review your changes, provide additional recommendations, answer questions, and offer personalized strategies and next steps.

95


LinkedIn for CPAs: The 120 for 120 Offer

120 minutes of personalized help for $120

How to sign up:

1. Email me at [email protected] with “120 for 120” in the subject line

2. I’ll send you a link for payment and connect you with my online scheduler

3. We can get started right away

4. You’ll be in great shape for the “LinkedIn Level 2” webinar on Tues, June 7th

Signup for the 120 for 120 Offer ends on Tuesday, 5/31/2016

96


Thank you. Any questions?

Feel free to email or call me.

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Phil Nugent

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/philnugent

Twitter: @MarketingTheCPA and @philnugent

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 303-641-7001

97

linkedin for cpas, level 1 - amazon web services...their online marketing needs, including strategy,...

Documents