How marketers can boost their executives’ presence on LinkedIn, from a LinkedIn Top Voice Of all the consulting requests I receive, helping executives (or their teams) strengthen their LinkedIn presence is the most common — and for good reason. LinkedIn is no longer optional for executives. It's where top talent, investors, journalists, and industry peers vet leaders and build trust — often before they’ve ever met you. I've seen this firsthand throughout my career. As a founding editor at LinkedIn, I worked on the LinkedIn Influencer program (now known as LinkedIn Top Voices) and watched how the platform evolved into the ultimate professional networking tool. Since then, I’ve created 20 courses as a LinkedIn Learning Instructor, earned LinkedIn Top Voice recognition with more than 320,000 followers, and wrote about the platform in my bestselling book, Unforgettable Presence. Most importantly, I've worked with C-Suite executives and senior leaders across Fortune 500 companies, startups, and beyond to help them shape a strategic, credible LinkedIn presence. What I‘ve learned is this: LinkedIn is the ultimate virtual watercooler. Here’s why it matters, and how marketers can make the most of it. Why LinkedIn Matters for Executives The benefits of an executive LinkedIn presence extend far beyond personal branding. Here are the four areas where I've seen the biggest impact. 1. Attract top talent. Today’s candidates make it a priority to research company leaders before applying for a job. A strong LinkedIn presence builds trust, signals authenticity, and can directly influence a candidate’s...

How to Get and Give LinkedIn Endorsements LinkedIn profiles are the new resumes. LinkedIn shows your skills, featured projects, recommendations, and certifications, to name a few. So, you certainly want to emphasize these skills and ensure they are recognized as your strongest assets. LinkedIn endorsements help you do just that, alongside building credibility, authority, and trust in you as a professional. But how do you make someone endorse you? Messages like “Please endorse me” won’t do. You need something strong and irresistible — a solid foundation to base a strong pitch on. So, I dug into the trenches to find out the best strategies you can follow to get inbound and outbound LinkedIn endorsements. I'll cover: What is a LinkedIn endorsement? How do you add the “Skills” section to your profile? How to Get Endorsements on LinkedIn How to Endorse Someone on LinkedIn What is a LinkedIn endorsement? LinkedIn endorsements are a LinkedIn feature that allows your (LI) network to vouch for your “Listed skills.” They’re a public validation of your skills and are displayed on your profile. LinkedIn endorsements cover a wide range of professional skills and expertise, including but not limited to: Technical skills, such as web development, machine learning, or graphic design. Soft skills like adaptability, critical thinking, teamwork, or leadership. Industry-specific skills in a particular field, like marketing, education, or healthcare. Tools and software proficiency in using tools like Microsoft Excel, Adobe...

What is the LinkedIn Pixel — and How Does it Work? Social media platform LinkedIn has more than 800 million members, and has carved out a niche for itself among giants like Facebook and Twitter for its ability to connect job seekers and employers across the globe. Less talked about, however, is the potential of this work-focused networking site for marketing, advertising, and sales opportunities. While it’s true that the primary purpose of LinkedIn is streamlining employment and recruitment efforts, the platform also supports more social connections and in turn, opens the door for targeted campaigns that speak to the needs of its specific user base. The challenge? Measuring the impact of these efforts. Sure, visitors might see your ads on LinkedIn, but what then? How do you know if they subsequently stopped by your website, signed up for your newsletter, or actually made a purchase? This is the purpose of the LinkedIn Insight Tag, more commonly called the LinkedIn Pixel. Here’s what you need to know about what it is, what it does, how it works, and why it matters for your website. Worth noting? This isn’t a piece of third-party code — it’s provided by LinkedIn directly and is designed to streamline the process of connecting ads campaign data with LinkedIn user information. According to the platform’s official LinkedIn Insight FAQ, the tag shouldn’t impact website performance since it’s both lightweight and designed to load asynchronously with other web elements to reduce resource demands. In effect,...

How to Craft the Perfect LinkedIn Profile in 2022: 21 Easy Steps Your LinkedIn profile is a place for you to build your professional brand, showcase your achievements and skills, share content with other professionals, and connect with colleagues, business partners, and potential employers. People come across your profile in a variety of ways. They might be searching for employees at your company or in your industry, remember you from a conference and remind themselves about your work, or simply want to learn more about your accomplishments. No matter how or why they end up on your LinkedIn page, however, there’s a shared and simple goal: Your LinkedIn profile needs to capture — and keep — their attention. So what makes a profile stand out? How do you get more recommendations? What features can help you enhance your profile? Our step-by-step guide can help you craft a (near) perfect LinkedIn profile. How to Craft the Perfect LinkedIn Profile What is the perfect LinkedIn profile? Ideally, it’s one that gets you noticed for all the right reasons and helps you achieve your goals - whether this means expanding your reach, finding new contacts, or getting a job offer. And while true perfection isn’t possible, there are steps you can take to help your profile stand out. From simple things like making sure you’ve uploaded a great picture to more in-depth efforts such as creating a compelling headline and bio, you’ve got options when it comes to perfecting your profile. Ready...

Everything You Need to Know About LinkedIn Retargeting Yes, you own or work for a business that sells products or services. However, you are also a consumer. For just a moment, take off your business hat and put on your consumer hat. Every day, you research items from pet shampoo and carpet cleaner in your personal life to CRM systems and social media schedulers for your professional life. Our world is filled with hundreds or thousands of items for anything your heart desires. With so many options, we become easily distracted, following the next shiny object to another site, another company, or another method of meeting our needs altogether. Marketers know this, and so they’ve had to find a way to recapture our attention when we’ve been squirrelled by another option. Once they’ve got our attention, they have another opportunity to sell their products to us. You can put your business hat back on. Isn’t it frustrating when you see how many people visit your website and look at a product, and leave without ever making a purchase? You’ve managed to attract them to your business, but what good is paid advertising and a beautiful website if shoppers don’t convert to customers? Thankfully, marketers have a solution for this. It’s called "retargeting" and you’re about to learn everything you need to know about LinkedIn Retargeting. LinkedIn Retargeting If you own a business, work for a business, or are looking to be hired by a business, you know that LinkedIn...

The Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn Groups You know LinkedIn — the professional, polished, responsible sibling of the social media sphere. Considering the social network has 722 million+ members, you almost certainly already have a profile. What’s unique about this social network is that its users are focused on professional connections. This means LinkedIn users are primed for social selling, and there are ample opportunities to find, connect, and build relationships with potential prospects on the network. LinkedIn Groups are a great way to connect with people within your industry and get the most out of this massive network. Let’s explore what they are, how to join one, and some best practices to follow. Groups represent a targeted opportunity to build your personal brand and professional community on LinkedIn. Only members of a given group can view, post, or comment on conversations within that group. Groups can set their own admissions criteria and establish admins as gatekeepers. By default, your Group affiliations show up at the bottom of your LinkedIn Profile under the 'Interests' section. You can edit the visibility for specific groups –– just one of the many ways to customize how your LinkedIn profile represents your personal and professional brand. Unlisted Groups don't appear in search results, and only fellow group members will see the group's information on your Profile. These more private communities require a direct link or admin invitation for access. Best Practices for Navigating LinkedIn Groups To get the most out of LinkedIn Groups...

The Beginner's Guide to LinkedIn Marketing Did you know LinkedIn has over 774 million users across the globe? This metric alone makes the platform one of the top social networks today. Is your business using LinkedIn to its fullest potential to improve brand awareness, build your network, boost leads and conversions, and increase revenue? With new social networks sprouting up constantly, LinkedIn is a platform that's often underutilized. The truth is, LinkedIn can be a powerful addition to your social media content strategy. This guide is chock full of LinkedIn tips you can begin implementing immediately to help you learn how to use the platform to improve brand awareness, share your marketing content, and grow your business. When you use LinkedIn to market your business, you gain access to useful features related to analytics, connections, and brand-building, just to name a few. (Don't worry, we'll review all of these in-depth momentarily.) But first, here's a quick primer for those of you who may be new to LinkedIn. About LinkedIn LinkedIn launched in 2003 with a focus on networking, building careers, and sharing ideas. The platform enables its members to connect and share content with other professionals including colleagues, potential employers, business partners, competitors, new employees, and customers. This is why having your business on LinkedIn is so powerful — the platform is a fantastic marketing tool. For a quick guide on the tips below, check out our video on "How to Use LinkedIn for Business and...

How to Generate Leads on LinkedIn, According to LinkedIn's VP of Marketing As a marketer, you're undoubtedly aware of some of the major social media sites you can use for lead generation. I'm willing to bet you've already heard about the importance of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter — and if you use all three as part of your lead generation strategy, you might think you're all set.  However, if you're not using LinkedIn you could be missing out on a major opportunity to grow both brand recognition and revenue, especially if you’re a B2B business. In fact, studies have shown that LinkedIn is the top paid and organic social channel for B2B businesses, and 82% of B2B marketers report finding the greatest success on the platform.  These statistics make sense, especially if we consider platform-specific demographics. The average Instagram user scrolls through their feed, like photos of their friends, watches their favorite celebrity’s Story, and occasionally uses the platform to find and purchase products.  Alternatively, the average LinkedIn user is on the site specifically for professionally-geared content. They're already seeking out information to help grow their businesses, so you should meet them where they are. Of course, it's easier said than done. Without a clear strategy in mind, the task of lead generation on LinkedIn can feel challenging. Justin Shriber, Vice President of Marketing at LinkedIn, was interviewed as part of HubSpot's campaign, "Advertising, a Look Behind the Screens.” Take a look at the full interview series here, or...

31 LinkedIn Stats That Marketers Need to Know in 2021 With more than 740 million active users in 2020, LinkedIn's expanded from a networking site for professionals to one of the top social media platforms. By now, most of us have used LinkedIn to market our brands, post industry thought leadership, or look for our dream jobs. As LinkedIn's continued to evolve by adding new features, like LinkedIn Stories, it's steadily grown its user base. While the LinkedIn audience still skews towards career-minded professionals, the industries, interests, and demographics represented on the platform have become much broader since its launch. Aside from LinkedIn's user growth, it's also continued to expand on advertising opportunities, which has helped make it one of the most important channels for B2B marketing. Today, it's becoming quite clear that LinkedIn isn't just for people in executive corporate roles. With millions of company pages and individual members, there's a discussion, post, or professional network for almost anyone on this channel. But, despite LinkedIn's growth and advertising opportunities, many marketers or brands still worry that the platform is still too formal or corporate for their audiences. The truth is -- LinkedIn could very well be one of your most underrated marketing channels. If LinkedIn's growth has caught your attention and you want to determine if its audiences and ad offerings are right for you, it's important to do some research before devoting more time and resources to this network. To get you started on your LinkedIn research, here are some need-to-know stats...

How To Use Hashtags on LinkedIn Even though LinkedIn has been around since 2003, the platform didn't allow the use of clickable hashtags until 2016. Social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram have encouraged hashtag use for years as a way for users to connect with their communities. They even offer analytics, allowing content creators and influencers to gauge their impact. Now that LinkedIn has fully embraced the use of hashtags, brands can too. Let's get into the basics of using hashtags on the platform and dive into how to find the top trending ones in your industry. Do hashtags work on LinkedIn? Yes, hashtags do work on LinkedIn. You can add them to your status update, your published article, and your business page to reach an audience beyond your network. You can also browse through hashtag feeds to see what conversations are happening surrounding those topics. How To Use Hashtags on Your LinkedIn Status Update There are a few ways to add hashtags to your status update. As the GIF illustrates, you can add a hashtag by: Typing out the pound sign followed by the word or phrase. As you type out your hashtag, LinkedIn will auto-generate hashtag suggestions based on what's trending and popular. Clicking on the "Add Hashtag" button located on the bottom left of the box. Selecting one of the related hashtags next to the "Add Hashtag" button. Pro-tip: Don't add spaces or symbols in your hashtags,...