Using LinkedIn to Build Your Brand

LinkedIn is number 8 on the list of the top 20 social networked (My Space is number one), with 3,828,407 monthly visitors.  The big news i that LinkedIn has seen a 729% increase in monthly visitor between February 2007 and February 2008, making it one of the fastest growing social networks around.

What doe this mean for your association? That LinkedIn can be a powerful tool for building your brand online.

Traditional marketing methods are losing traction.  According to a UCLA study quoted in a 2005 issue of Harvard Business Review, despite a 100 % increase in ad spending over the past few years, there has been jut a 1-2% increase in sales.  Further, only 14% of consumers trust advertising messages; not much bang for your buck!

The numbers for online advertising haven't given much comfort to marketers either.  A 2004 survey by Yanklovich Partners, found that as online marketing has grown, 69% of consumers have expressed interest in ad-blocking technology.  Further, a 2002 Gallop poll showed that there is no demand for commercial messages.  Consumers don't want to hear about your business and find online messages to be intrusive.

So, how can your association reach constituents in a more effective way? The answer is social networking.  That's because social networking is empowering consumer.  Surveys by eMarketer have shown that 94% of consumers will regularly seek out information about products and services from others through social networks.  And, 93% of consumers identify word-of-mouth as the most reliable source of idea and information products and services, per NO World.  And consumers are connected like never before with blogs, forums and social networks.

So, how can you use LinkedIn to help with your marketing and branding efforts?  The answer is to set up association-related, purpose-driven groups.  Such groups include:

• Member networks
• Professional/industry idea and innovation groups
• Product/program and conferences/events user groups

These groups can be very powerful tools to engage member, gather information, take action and build your brand.  But, be careful that you do not mix a member network group with one meant for marketing; these should be kept as separate, discrete functions.  Make clear to members what your group's purpose is and stick to your stated mission.

As noted in the FORUM article, to create a group of your own on LinkedIn, simply click on "Create a Group."  As a group organizer you submit your idea for review by LinkedIn's customer service team; once approved you can then send an invitation to potential users inviting them to join.

The Association Forum is already utilizing LinkedIn for a member network.  It exists solely to  bring Forum members together. If you have not already subscribed, consider signing up today.  Just go to: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/76991/0445530C52BE and accept the invitation to join.

For more information, contact Susan Nowicki at: susan@orgsrc.com

Comments

[Bruce Hammond]

This post is really great, and includes something that I have learned in our experience with my organization - LinkedIn Groups are a good way to not only engage members, but also to get valuable updated member information. We started our LinkedIn Group back in March, and since that time have gotten over 500 members to join to network with their fellow members.

Just to reiterate something Susan wrote in the post, one of the really unsung positives about a LinkedIn Group is that you can gain a great deal of updated information that you didn't have previously. We have gathered so much new work information, as well as e-mail addresses through starting this group. That positive in and of itself has been an incredible value for our organization.

The only drawback is that if you choose to personally approve everyone before allowing them to join, at times it can be somewhat time consuming to make sure all of the information you have in your database is correct and doesn't need updating. In addition, unless LinkedIn makes some updates to their Groups functionality, there isn't an easy way to communicate with all of the group's members.

However, with the opportunity to get members communicating and networking in a professional space like LinkedIn, and having your logo and brand on all of these business leaders' profiles, you are gaining as well!

[Susan Nowicki]

Bruce:

Thanks for your very timely comments. Congratulations on your very successful foray into a LinkedIn group. It sounds like you are putting the technology to great use for your organization. Your points about some of the shortcomings of groups are well taken. Hopefully, LinkedIn will make the changes you suggest.

[Gina]

Great post about how social media is becoming the next big thing in marketing. I've been working on growing my network through LinkedIn not only to benefit my career, but also to promote the website I work for (Salesconx). We have a group on there along with profiles on other networking sites (Biznik, Facebook, Recession Crusher).

I never would have thought that social media would explode like this, but I'm glad it did. It has helped many small businesses get the word out to the masses about what they have to offer.

-Gina
www.salesconx.com