5 Top LinkedIn Conversion Techniques That Can Be Done in 5 Minutes or Less

It seems that in today’s increasingly digital world, you have anyone on the planet within a click’s reach.

It seems that in today’s increasingly digital world, you have anyone on the planet within a click’s reach. So many social media platforms are designed to make communicating and engaging with others as easy and fast as possible. So, with all this immediate contact at our disposal, why not use it to our advantage?

As a Business Influencer (and yes, you are in fact an influencer), your impact on others is limitless— if you implement your influence correctly. LinkedIn, the leading professional networking and job search app, is a necessary tool for taking social media by the reigns and using it to build business. Yes, connecting with professionals in your industry, whether you know them or not, is great for building your network. But what’s the point of your large network if you are not taking the extra steps to convert these connections into clients? With each accepted invitation to connect comes a whole wave of opportunity. Watch this Social Jack Flash Class!

What is Social Selling?

Social selling is the process of developing relationships as part of the sales process. Today, this often takes place via social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, but can take place either online or offline. Examples of social selling techniques include sharing relevant content, interacting directly with potential buyers and customers, personal branding, and social listening. Social selling is gaining popularity in a variety of industries, though it is used primarily for B2B (business-to-business) selling or highly considered consumer purchases (e.g. financial advisory services, automotive, realty).

Social selling has become more popular since companies have looked to increase their return on investment of social media interaction. Sales teams within organizations frequently mine data from social media that may help them connect to customers in order to create a more genuine sales lead. The technique frequently focuses on approaching potential clients in a less direct way, meaning they don’t interrupt their daily lives with cold calls and hard sells. Koka Sexton stated that the art of social selling is said to speed up many sales processes, while also improving relationships.

Let’s take a look at some statistics from the International Data Corporation:

75% of B2B buyers and 84% of C-level/vice president (VP) executives surveyed use social media to make purchasing decisions.

Online professional networks are the number one information preference of buyers in the final stage of the purchase process.

Social buying correlates with buying influence. The average B2B buyer who uses social media for buying support is more senior, has a bigger budget, makes more frequent purchases, and has a greater span of buying control than a buyer who does not use social media. B2B buyers find the greatest benefit of social media is gaining greater confidence in and comfort with their decisions.

How Many Contacts Do You Have That You Cannot See?

When we think about our social reach, you may be connected to someone directly, through another person or through many different people. What happens is, information gets passed down a line. One person may see what you’re doing online, believe that it may be of value to someone else they know, then connect you to their connection. This opens up an array of networking opportunities

The LinkedIn Network

Even with 500, 400, even 300 industry-related connections, this puts us within degrees of millions of possible connections. When you look at someone’s profile on LinkedIn, you can see how many shared connections there are between you and them. This is the beginning of the formation of “clusters”. It is essential to know how to talk with the people within these clusters, more specifically, find the ones that matter.

Goal: Prevent Clicking Roulette!

What we want to prevent is “clicking roulette”. It’s normal to go onto social media and begin clicking on every possible prospective client you see, but it’s not efficient or beneficial to us. We may log onto LinkedIn with one goal, but soon find ourselves buying gadgets from the Amazon trending list, or making trades on Draft Kings. This lack of focus is not going to generate appointments.

Personal Challenge: Make it a goal for yourself to set five minutes (and only five) to go on LinkedIn, and make your sole intent to leave with one appointment. Whether it’s a phone appointment, a Zoom call, or just a coffee date, make that your one goal for five minutes on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Power Moves- Let’s Get Those Appointments!

1) Your Profile = Your Professional Brand

Think about your ideal target and whom you want to start conversations with. Take the time to identify your target audience, then make sure your LinkedIn profile speaks specifically to that group.

Your profile photo should represent who you truly are. It should be current, welcoming, and you want it to portray how you would look if a client were to be seeing you at a meeting or an event. If you put a tie on for professional headshot photo day at work, but you don’t usually wear a tie, that is not a good representation of your personal brand.

Ensure that your profile headline is clear and communicates to people what you do and how you can help them. Putting where you work is unnecessary because it is already located at the top of your profile. You want to answer the clients’ question: “What is your solution that you are bringing to me?”. Your headline is what the potential client will see first when they land on your profile, meaning it should be packed full of keywords (within LinkedIn's limit of 120 characters, of course) relating to your specialties and services. If they were to search for a combination of keywords pertaining to the service you provide, you want to be first on the list of profiles after they press enter.

2) Home Page Scan (UNE)

Remember that personal challenge from earlier? When you log onto LinkedIn, use part of those five minutes to scan your homepage. This step is where you literally scroll through your LinkedIn feed. If you’re noticing a lot of content and profiles that don’t apply to you and your goals, you have the wrong network. You can hide this unwanted content, or even unfollow/disconnect to these people that don’t belong in your circle.

Example: If you are hosting an event and have 500 people you know, but 50 of those are the decision makers, those 50 people are the ones you want at your event. LinkedIn, and social media in general, is one huge event. Invite the people who belong, and drop the ones who aren’t benefiting you or your business.

Above is what your LinkedIn home page looks like. Time to scroll and see who is helping you reach your goals— and who isn't. Remember: Social Media is like an event. Invite those who should be apart of it.

Within two minutes of your homepage scan, you should be able to spot somebody worth starting a conversation with.

3) Network Diving – Level One

Find someone within your network whom you believe is reputable, is always making referrals, or who is just a good friend. Then, “dive” into their LinkedIn network.

Example: Tony is a good friend of mine who I KNOW would always be willing to introduce me to people in his network. Find a connection like Tony and try diving into their connections!

Don’t be afraid to get in touch with your established network and ask them to introduce you to people in their network. Take the “social” part of social media literally, and dive right in to new opportunities.

LinkedIn has a feature where you can search specifically for a certain industry, seniority, or job title of that connection pool to ensure you’re reaching out to your preferred target audience.

Here's an example of a filtered search within Tony's network:

4) Conversation

Now that you took that leap of faith diving into a new network, it’s time to start a conversation. Think back to those first five minutes on LinkedIn, we’re at the point where times halfway up.

You have identified that new person whom you want to start a conversation with, now it’s time to engage. Isn’t engaging what social media is all about? Select a recent post that your prospective appointment has shared and start a genuine conversation with them in the comments. Something as simple as making an authentic comment is a guaranteed way to opening up new doors for you and this potential client. Put the sales aside for a second and really focus and touch on what matters to them. Start that dialogue, and be sure that you are all in on investing in them. This will establish a feeling of authenticity and trust before the actual conversation even begins.

Example: You found a potential appointment, Spencer in this case, from that nose dive into Tony's network. Now that it's time to start a conversation, head over to Spencer's activity to find something you can either comment on or include in your future messaging.

5) Set the Hook – Convert

Now that you've done all that work (about 3.5 minutes into your 5 minute limit!), you're ready to get that appointment. Here are a few example strategically formulated messages you can send to your future client for your best chances of landing that conversion.

The “Catch Up”

This introductory message shows a genuine, authentic approach to breaking the ice with your target appointment. Writing this message needs to be done in a targeted fashion. Confirm that this person has a reason to utilize you and your services and that you as well are targeted in this initiative.

The “Fresh Connect”

It is important to thank people for connecting. If you’re lost on ways to initiate that conversation, thanking someone for simply connecting with you is a great place to start. It’s personal, simple, and gets straight to business.

We want to include a specifics with formulating this message. Specify how you want to meet and let them know you’re interested in working with them. Don’t leave this potential client wondering why you reached out.

Always provide two times and dates you are available to meet! If their response is delayed, at least you ignited a dialogue that can get picked back up in the future. Don’t forget to insert forms of contact information so you are easily reachable. While LinkedIn does not allow for automated signatures on messaging, it is always helpful to keep a document handy with a custom signature you can quickly copy and paste.

The “Continued Call”

One of the most important things about the continued call message is that you started the conversation. Remember that initial chat you had in the comments of the potential client’s post? It should be referenced here in this direct message. You can lead with language like “As promised…” or “Like I mentioned…” as an extension of that previous conversation. Make your intentions clear.

The “Transition”

This message can be technically viewed as an email validation. Make sure you have that intent to go from this conversation, to the next.

The “Referral Call”

Adding something relevant and specific to this potential client will allow them to feel like you truly care about them as a person, rather than just another possible conversion. Now, you are actually offering them referrals, letting them know that this connection will be mutually beneficial.

All of these steps to creating appointments on LinkedIn are meant to be completed within just FIVE minutes after logging on. Ditch the phone, turn off the TV, and focus on using your time on social media to gain new business. Every message you’ve seen thus far has included a personalized touch, clear intent, specific times and dates, and contact information. Who knew that five short minutes could be amplified into creating appointments? It is essential that we utilize the ever-growing digital world to our advantage.

What did you take away from these 5 LinkedIn power moves?

About the Author

For over 30 years, Dean DeLisle, has demonstrated his ability to accelerate bank, financial, and insurance institutions to stimulate business development while in a compliant environment. As Founder of Forward Progress, Dean and his team have helped over 2,000 clients assess and improve their online marketing and social networking results and trained over 120,000 professionals in over 35 countries with their online programs on their Social Jack™ Academy.

Dean has recently launched his new book, FIRST, The Street Guide to Digital Business Influence, which also tell stories of leaders within banking who have changed their culture and brand impact online.

Watch this Social Jack Flash Class

Aug 2018

Influence Factory – Feat. Mike O’Neil – LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn is a super useful tool to utilize with social media because it allows you to make professional

Influence Factory – Feat. Mike O’Neil – LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Blogging Chicago marketing, dean delisle, facebook, influencer marketing, linkedin, social media marketing, twitter Dean

LinkedIn is a super useful tool to utilize with social media because it allows you to make professional connections, enhance your networking skills, and even generate leads to make sales for your business. But, what if there was an easier way to find leads and generate sales this way? Thanks to LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator feature, you can find more referrals and make even more connections!

In this episode, our guest Influencer Mike O’Neil talks more about the power of LinkedIn and why Sales Navigator is a fantastic tool for Influencers.

A useful connection

At the start of this episode, Mike talked about the general benefits that LinkedIn has for its users – the biggest one being the power to engage with fellow colleagues and Influencers. When you create a LinkedIn account, you have the ability to message people and even comment on things that they post about on their page. On top of this, you can also write a recommendation for someone, or even endorse them for a skill that they list (for example, leadership or proficiency in Microsoft Office). Remember, other Influencers and potential leads can see these recommendations and endorsements, boosting your credibility and the reach of your Influence!

Influencer Marketing Pro Tip: When it comes to generating sales through LinkedIn, there are a few simple moves you can make to find and engage leads. At Social Jack, we offer 20 minute power moves that will help you meet your sales goals.

Find the key connections

Another useful feature of Sales Navigator is its ability to recommend leads for you. Remember, the service you want to sell has an audience, so you should NOT be targeting every single person! Doing so can make people lose interest or even hurt your credibility. Sales Navigator can help you find the individuals who will have the most interest in the product you want to sell. Once you see that, comb through that list and see if there are any major Influencers you can connect with to sell your service. If you can sell a service to them and get a recommendation, you will have successfully extended your Influence. However, even if you cannot do that, it may still help to spark the Influencer’s interest and help you find more leads. Make sure you are targeting the right people for your service!

Influencer Marketing Pro Tip: Are you confused as to how you can get the app to find these targets? Go into your settings and go to sales preferences. You can then fill in information about your target audience and specifically what you want from them. Once you do that, the app will start suggesting leads that fit your specified criteria!

Using other platforms

Sales Navigator is an invaluable tool for those looking to generate leads and expand their Influence. However, you should not confine yourself to only using LinkedIn. O’Neil also said LinkedIn has gone in the wrong direction from its main use. You should be making sales leads, but you also need to promote your personal brand in order to get people interested. For this, O’Neil recommends that you use other social media platforms to get noticed. You want to expand your reach as far as you can and using more than one platform helps. You can promote your personal brand and find even more leads by doing so. You can also make use of the information you get from Sales Navigator and target even more people!

Influencer Marketing Pro Tip: We can help you promote your brands on more channels. In our Influencer Development Program, we determine your key audiences and can create multiple social media channels, so you get the most out of your network.

In summary

When it comes to Sales Navigator, it can help you tremendously with finding leads. LinkedIn is special because it allows you to interact with your connections and even make recommendations, something that can help expand your Influence. You can also use it to find your key audience and well known Influencers that can help you expand. Although, you should additionally use other platforms to get the most reach from your audience. By using this tool, you can increase sales and become an even bigger Influencer!

Influence Factory LIVE airs Wednesdays at 12pm CST. Register here!

You can also subscribe to previous and upcoming shows on the Social Jack website.

We hope to see you in our next Influence Factory!

Aug 2018

Influence Factory – Featuring Wayne Breitbarth – “Leveraging your LinkedIn Profile”

LinkedIn is a fantastic networking tool that has been around since before Facebook and Twitter. This platform allows

Influence Factory – Featuring Wayne Breitbarth – “Leveraging your LinkedIn Profile”

Uncategorized chicago, Chicago marketing, dean delisle, facebook, influencer marketing, linkedin, social jack, social media marketing, twitter Dean

LinkedIn is a fantastic networking tool that has been around since before Facebook and Twitter. This platform allows anyone to connect professionally with other people in their field and build a career. LinkedIn has become a network that anyone and everyone can use; however, not everyone knows how to use it to their advantage. Knowing how to best construct your LinkedIn profile could be the difference between a company overlooking you or reaching out to you. In this episode of Influence Factory, Wayne Breitbarth, author of “The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success,” teaches you how to leverage your LinkedIn profile for ultimate networking success.

The Original Social Network

LinkedIn has been around since 2002 and A LOT of things have changed since then. With new social networks popping up left and right, LinkedIn has had to make some changes to keep up with all other social networks. By adding features such as an accomplishments section and recommendations on how to strengthen your profile, LinkedIn has become stronger than ever. Even though LinkedIn has all these amazing features, it is important to know how to use them effectively to get the most out of your profile.

Get Your Point Across

This platform has a ton of sections and features that allow you to highlight all of your amazing achievements and show everyone how awesome you are! Just make sure you are doing it in the most efficient way. LinkedIn’s summary section is set up so people viewing your profile will only see the first two lines of the summary unless they click the “see more” button below it. Because of this, Breitbarth stresses how it is crucial to have all your important information at the top of your summary section. Most people will likely scroll through your profile quickly and scan it for the most important information. This is a great way to ensure that people will get a good understanding of who you are and what you can do immediately.

Not Your Average Resume

The original purpose for LinkedIn was to have a space to put your resume online and connect with professionals in hopes of getting hired. Today, the underlying purpose is still the same but with a little bit of a new take. Breitbarth says that “The beautiful thing about (LinkedIn) profiles is they don’t have resume rules.” It is a little less strict than an actual resume, because it’s like any other social media platform. You have a profile picture, there is a messaging feature to chat with other members, and you can even make posts. The only difference is that the people you are interacting with are also professionals in your related field of work.

Using Key Words

LinkedIn is a social media platform for professionals looking to connect with other professionals in related fields of work, but it is also used as a search engine to find specific people, skills or job titles. Utilizing key words can really make your profile stand out – literally! When you use LinkedIn’s search function, you can type in a word and LinkedIn will compute all businesses and people that use that word in their profile. The best place for you to use key words in your profile according to Breitbarth are, the headline, all job titles if applicable, and the skill section. By doing this, your profile will be easier to discover and you will gain a lot more exposure.

In Summary

LinkedIn is one of the first social media platforms and has stayed relevant in the ever changing world of social media by constantly updating and adding new features. Knowing how to properly utilize each feature is essential in order to get the most out of your profile. Using key words and organizing your information efficiently are just a few ways you boost up your LinkedIn profile. By following Breitbarth’s tips, your LinkedIn profile will surely bring you success!

Influence Factory LIVE airs Wednesdays at 12pm CST. Register here!

You can also subscribe to previous and upcoming shows on the Social Jack website.

We hope to see you in our next Influence Factory!

Aug 2018

Influence Factory – Feat. Neal Schaffer – Influencer Marketing

A key part of many social media campaigns in today’s day and age is the power of Influencer

Influence Factory – Feat. Neal Schaffer – Influencer Marketing

Article Chicago marketing, content, content marketing, dean delisle, facebook, influencer marketing, linkedin, social media, social media marketing, twitter Dean

A key part of many social media campaigns in today’s day and age is the power of Influencer Marketing. This form of marketing allows people to reach into their wells of power (AKA their network) and help sway opinion about a product or service that people should buy. What makes this interesting is that people are able to have more personal interactions with their audience members instead of doing a generic post. In order to use Influencer Marketing to its fullest potential, there are a few tips you should keep in mind.

In this episode, Neal Schaffer shares what he loves about Influencer Marketing. He explains the power it has and why so many people are jumping headfirst into it.

Make content, not war

Obviously, creating content is a key part of Influencer Marketing. You want to keep your network engaged with you by posting relevant, timely content; but, how do you present it to them? One way is a blog post. After all, a blog post allows you to be more personal and humanize whatever you talk about. However, there are various other effective ways that you can present content to your audience.

The other route you can take here is by developing visual content for your audience. You still need text for your social media post, but a visual can augment what you say very well! If you want to show off a product’s effectiveness, you can create a video to demonstrate it. Want to make a statistic really stand out? You can make a chart or an infographic to visualize the data! A photo can also help give some more ompf to your posts! Remember, you should make a post fun by doing something creative with what you offer or what people should know about. Make your content both clickable and engaging.

Influencer Pro Marketing Tip: Are you looking for ways to enhance your social media posts? Our Influencer Development Program will help you identify your target audience and then we can help you develop content that is both relevant and engaging!

Be an advocate of your work

Obviously, everyone wants to get invested in work that is meaningful to them. When that happens, employees tend to be very happy about where they work and essentially become an “ambassador” to their company and its brand. This is something that Schaffer called “employee advocacy.” The term essentially means that employees are representatives of the brand and can talk about in a positive light. This is something to leverage for your next Influencer Marketing campaign. If employees have a lot of followers, they can talk about their company. In doing this, they can get others to jump on board with the brand and use the services it sells. This goes to show how important employees can be online!

Influencer Marketing Pro Tip: If you are looking to sell a service on social media, look at your brand and the company’s brand. By seeing how you fit into the brand or why the brand matters to you, you can offer that personalized communication with customers. Customers like to see personality coming from a company because it once again HUMANIZES the brand. This will help you make those sales!

Employee Advocacy – LinkedIn

As the second most engaged social media network, LinkedIn is a great tool for employee advocacy. LinkedIn is a professional social media channel, so it makes sense to use employee advocacy here. On this channel, you are representing yourself, but also a company. In order to convince people to use any of your company’s services, you should show them why the company is great! Maybe your company is pushing a new environmental project or something that helps employees… talk about it! When people see your words, they can get a better idea of what your company’s values are and why they should get involved with them. This is the ideal channel to enhance the awareness and brand of a company while getting connected with other industry experts.

Influencer Marketing Pro Tip: Do you want to use employee advocacy on LinkedIn but don’t have an account or are lacking connections? Social Jack’s Influencer Development Program can help you build your profile and network so you can chat your company up!

In summary

Influencer Marketing is great because it allows you to get personal with your audience. You can do this by making your content more visual, grabbing the attention of your connections. The other thing that many people can do is employee advocacy. Happy and fulfilled employees are the best spokespeople for a brand, so you’ll want them to talk about your brand where they can! Finally, make sure you are on LinkedIn! This channel allows you to meet more connections but also allows you the perfect space to talk about your company and why people should use it!

Influence Factory LIVE airs Wednesdays at 12pm CST. Register here!

You can also subscribe to previous and upcoming shows on the Social Jack website.

We hope to see you in our next Influence Factory!

Aug 2018

Influence Factory – Featuring – Nick Myers – “Marketing with AI”

Artificial intelligence has opened up a whole new world of opportunities that many people never believed possible! From

Influence Factory – Featuring – Nick Myers – “Marketing with AI”

Uncategorized AI, chicago, Chicago marketing, dean delisle, facebook, Influencer Development Program, influencer marketing, linkedin, Marketing Campaigns, social media, social media marketing, twitter Dean

Artificial intelligence has opened up a whole new world of opportunities that many people never believed possible! From the ability to have any question answered within seconds of asking, cooling and heating your house based on your personal preference, to having voice assistants schedule appointments for you with one quick command. However, AI isn’t justfor making our daily lives simpler – it can be a very useful marketing tool for us Influencers. Knowing how to utilize AI and voice assistants as a marketing strategy are amazing ways to help expand your brand. In this episode of Influence Factory, Nick Myers teaches us how to effectively market using AI and voice assistants.

Understanding AI

When most people hear the term “Artificial Intelligence” they think of how it is depicted in movies and television– as robots taking over. Scary, right? In reality, there are two types of AI: narrow AI and general AI. Myers describes narrow AI as the AI we have today; it only does specific things such as answer questions and schedule appointments for you. The second type of AI that Myers describes is general AI – meaning that it would be integrated into all aspects of daily life, having a higher level of intellect than narrow AI. But rest easy all you AI skeptics, Myers says that this kind of technology won’t be available for a super long time!

Bridging the Gap between AI and Marketing

So, how exactly does AI relate to marketing? Myers brought up a computer program called Chatbots – a tool many companies use on their websites for customer service questions. As soon as you click on the website, a popup will read “how can I help you?” You can type any question you have about the service you are using, and the Chatbot will give you a speedy and helpful answer. Myers also believes that AI is helpful in marketing because it can sift through social media data, thus giving companies more insight about what their customers want. This can help companies tailor their marketing campaigns to better fit their target audience.

Trends in AI Marketing

Researchers expect that by 2020, about 55% of households in America will have some form of smart speaker, such as a Google Home or Amazon Echo. It could be beneficial for businesses to find a way to incorporate voice into marketing strategies, as the world is “going away from the visual and more towards voice,” Myers says. This technology also provides a one-to-one engagement that other technologies don’t. Figuring out a way to harness this trend of using voice instead of visuals could really set your marketing campaign apart from the rest!

The Future of AI Marketing

Myers believes that in the next 5-10 years, we will see an increase in Chatbots with social media and a definite increase in voice assistants. More and more Influencers are jumping onto the AI bandwagon, meaning a significant rise in the amount of AI technology available. Therefore, AI marketing could easily become the most dominant form of marketing in the future.

In Summary

Artificial intelligence is an often misunderstood tool that many would not think to use for marketing purposes. There are many advantages to AI – such as a one-to-one connection to your technology, and being able to tailor your marketing campaign to your audience’s wants and needs. When used correctly, AI marketing could be just the thing to make your marketing campaign stand out! Hello, successful Influencers!

Influence Factory LIVE episodes air Wednesdays at noon central. Register here.

You can also subscribe to previous and upcoming shows on the Social Jack website.

We hope to see you in our next Influence Factory!

Jul 2018

My Feature in Nimble’s Latest Influencer eBook

In July, I was given the opportunity to be one of the 26 influencers featured in Nimble’s latest

My Feature in Nimble’s Latest Influencer eBook

Article Chicago marketing, content marketing, facebook, Influencer Development Program, influencer marketing, linkedin, social media marketing, twitter Dean

In July, I was given the opportunity to be one of the 26 influencers featured in Nimble’s latest eBook – “The Ultimate Influencer Playbook of 2018.” Of course, I took that opportunity to be put in the spotlight (well, that’s not the only reason why!). While it is certainly cool to be featured in what is essentially an Influencer Marketing Guide, I’m ecstatic that I’m able to share my knowledge and words of wisdom with my fellow influencers as well as marketers trying to navigate the world of influencer marketing. This advice, including the other Influencer Marketing do’s and dont’s addressed throughout the book by my peers, will ensure that reader’s Influencer Marketing campaigns are super successful.

Let me be the first to say, this book is awesome…it is split into different sections that break Influencer Marketing down as much as possible. The first one showcases absolutely outstanding Influencer Marketing campaigns that were proven to bring in success. Looking at these campaigns has given me new ideas for my brand – as an influencer, there is always room for growth!

After seeing these unbelievably amazing campaigns, the second section follows up with six “Influencer Marketing Strategies and Tips.” You will find my contribution to Pro Tip #4: Put an Offer on the Table, on page 18!

In my opinion, I feel that I have the most to say about this next section—”10 Surprisingly Common Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs.” No one likes to fail (although, we all need to at some point in order to learn, right?) On page 25, I discuss how crucial it is to have a Plan B. Having a backup plan is one of the easiest ways to avoid disappointment and failure within your campaign.

The following portion of the book is about building your “Influencer Marketing Toolbox.” I brought up two of my go-to tools that I constantly nag my social media team to use: Epictions and HashTagify.me. Epictions is an extremely neat app that shows us which groups of influencers are engaging conversations about specific topics, and which types of media better suit their specific needs. HashTagify.me helps us identify trends in hashtags, which most of you probably know are the easiest and more efficient way to connect to other people interested in what you’re talking about online. You type in a word or two that describes a topic, and it will spit out trending hashtags related to those subjects – certainly one of the most useful tools for influencers and marketers.

While reading the “Closing Thoughts” of this book, I felt #inspired. Even though myself and the other 25 influencers mentioned have been killing it out there, we never stop growing! Influencer Marketing is still quite new, meaning there is a LOT more to learn for all of us.

You can download The Ultimate Influencer Playbook of 2018 here, thanks to our friends at Nimble.

Thanks for the opportunity, Nimble, to be featured alongside some of the best in the bizz. Until next time, see you online!

Jun 2018

Influence Factory – Featuring Duffy Atkins – “Creating Engagement with Facebook Live”

Social media is a wonderful world; it allows us to connect to people by the snap of your

Influence Factory – Featuring Duffy Atkins – “Creating Engagement with Facebook Live”

Blogging chicago, Chicago marketing, facebook, facebook live, Influencer Development Program, influencer marketing, linkedin, social jack, social media, social media marketing, twitter Dean

Social media is a wonderful world; it allows us to connect to people by the snap of your fingers! Companies and Influencers use these invaluable tools to engage with their audience and showcase their brand’s personality. Many plan out the content they want to use in order to gain the best possible engagement from their audience. However, what if there was a way to engage with them LIVE via video? Facebook has a “Facebook Live” feature that allows any individual or company to have a live video feed and interact with those who tune in. In this episode of Influence Factory, Duffy Atkins of WGN News explained how to effectively leverage this feature to get the most engagement out of your audience.

Tell your story out loud

The best thing about the power of video is that your audience can seeyour facial expressions and actions that pertain to the story you are telling them. While you do want to tell people what you are thinking and feeling in a video, it can be a bit unnerving if you are a camera-shy individual. During this episode, Duffy talked about the importance of simply telling your story out loud to others. Even if you do fumble on occasion, people will appreciate your vulnerability on live video, making your story even MORE compelling. Bringing in other material to supplement your visual story will make your story even stronger; the stronger the story, the stronger your Influence!

Influencer Marketing Pro Tip: If you are still feeling a bit nervous about filming a video of yourself, say your story out loud before you go live. You can either do this in an isolated area or with a friend or colleague. Doing this can build your confidence in your story and make you feel more comfortable when you talk about it.

Get to (quite literally) know your audience

Influencer Marketing is all about a) knowing how to make meaningful connections and b) engaging said connections by providing content that is conversational and relevant to them. All Influencers must know who to target and what type of content to send their way. Thankfully, Facebook Live makes the tedious task of researching a target audience super easy for its users. When you use the live stream feature, your connections (and many others) can see the video. By clicking on it, you will see how many people and who is watching. Once you’ve done several streams, you can get a strong grasp of who your target audience is, allowing you to tailor your video to them and effectively engage in conversations during a stream.

Influencer Pro Marketing Tip: While you should tailor your live videos to your target audience, do not make your videos relevant to just them. You can use the knowledge that Facebook Live gives you and create ANY kind of content that would be relevant to your audience. This will ensure effective engagement at all times on your profiles.

Be real

You may hear the overused phrase “be your best self” used by your friends in today’s day and age – but, that phrase contains a valuable lesson when it comes to filming a live video. During the episode, Duffy also mentioned that you should be your most authentic self when doing live video. You can prepare certain things for your streams; however, you should not be afraid to show your real self during a video – do not sound too rehearsed! Why use video over regular posting, though? Regular posts tell what a company or Influencer’s personality is, while video SHOWS your personality, because people can see the Influencer’s interactions with others. Do not be afraid to show people who you really are – it can drive engagement up!

Connect to your audience like you would a neighbor

Another key point from Duffy’s episode is that doing a live stream allows you to freely interact with your audience while you are on air. This gives you the chance to have a conversation with them and answer questions they may have. A live stream is like a neighborhood; it is a community of similar individuals interacting with each other. Don’t be afraid to say hello to your audience and get them involved with your stream. Having them partake in fun elements of a live video will maintain interest and generate more viewers!

Influencer Marketing Pro Tip: Much like how you would tag any major Influencers who partake in events, be sure to give them a shout out on a video if they helped or were a part of the audience. By doing this, you can expand who sees the post!

In summary

Facebook Live is an invaluable tool that is changing the way that Influencers engage with an audience. This live feature gives them the place to tell a story and show their true selves to the world, and personally connect with your network. The feature also helps with research by showing how many and who is watching your video, allowing you to tailor your content to them in the future. By using this video feature, your can enhance your Influence!

Influence Factory LIVE airs Wednesdays at 12pm CST. Register here!

You can also subscribe to previous and upcoming shows on the Social Jack website.

We hope to see you in our next Influence Factory!

Jan 2018

How to Rock Your Personal Brand – The Start of Your Influence

How to Rock Your Personal Brand – The Start of Your Influence If you have ever received

How to Rock Your Personal Brand – The Start of Your Influence

If you have ever received a referral for a job or new business, you know how critical your online personal brand can be. People are only one click away from choosing you or moving on, and many times you will never even know. In our Social Jack Influencer Development Classes we teach the fundamentals to make that shift to be found and chosen first by your network. Let’s cover some of the core principals.

In our 8 step process, we start with a core story to build your personal brand. We first want to make sure we understand the desired outcome of our professional. Everything should drive to that destination or outcome.

Know or Define Your Authentic Self (Your Story)

We want to know the “what” our professional subject is going for and “why” being known is so important. We want this information as part of their story and to begin the creation of their persona and personal brand. Sometimes we have professionals and executives who are working on their career, so they may want to get to a certain level of career advancement or promotion. Some are looking for executive presence and thought leadership. Whatever goals you are wanting to accomplish, it is important to know this before you begin to work on yourself or with someone like us.

Knowing your story is critical, but it is perfectly okay to start with a draft and adjust along the way. Some people wait years to even begin writing their story; the key is to pick a point and simply begin. Find trusted allies that will provide feedback, and even some subject matter, and experts to help you as well. Generally speaking, people are very willing to help. You may also have colleagues you work with that might have gone before you. Ask yourself this question: “What do you want to be known for?” Use your answer to craft a short narrative, typically 300-500 words. Catch yourself: you will want to tack things on as you go, which is fine, but make sure they are relevant. Stay targeted. Keep your focus.

Watch our latest class on establishing your personal brand HERE

When writing and building profiles and bios we look at the story as a whole, analyze the target audience, and determine which words people will use to find you on the internet and how you want to be found. Sometimes the keywords are not always what you would choose, however, they are what people would use to find you. Keywords and phrases are typically made up of 1 to 3 words and the ideal profile has 10 keyword phrases. If that seems like a lot right now, start small- itt is okay to start with 5 and add from there. Once you have your keywords, weave them into your story. You should do this AFTER you draft your story so you can flow with your ideas before worrying about keywords. If you need more help with keywords, we have a whole course you can reference in our Basic Social Jack Account.

Know Your Ideal Target

Think about your ideal audience: these are the people you want to attract and who you ideally want to do business with. You should be able to identify your ideal target at a very specific level: industry, title, type of company, geographic locations, size of organization, years in business, whatever matters most to you. Narrowing it down can be tough for many of us as we sometimes want to keep adding, however, the tighter you make your ideal target the better your story will be. Plus, it will take less effort to generate new business or advance your career when your story is concrete and your target is narrow.

Even if you do not go into social selling, you should do this next step at least once a month for your own protection. First, Google your name and any variations. This could look like your name + your company name, your job title, etc. When you Google your name, you are looking for things that you are NOT aware of and making sure that all your Social Media profiles, websites and content are in alignment with your new brand (story). Look over at least the first two pages of your search results. The first things that should appear are any Social Network accounts, websites and high-traction videos. You can simply replace your old profiles with your newest profiles or update the information across platforms, but you absolutely want to delete any old, invalid profiles.

Next, set up Google Alerts with your name, brand names, company names, etc. With this free tool, you can have Google alert you at the frequency you desire (we recommend daily) any time your name pops up on the internet. I actually do this for my entire family! You will need a Gmail account to set this up, but that is also free.

Engage In Relevant Online Conversations

Anywhere online — blogs, video, pod casts, Social Media sites, online news articles, etc. — make sure you get your name and your brand attached to the content that’s most relevant to your story and that fits the keywords you want to be known for. This will take some practice. You can also engage (like, comment, share, retweet, etc.) with the content of other thought leaders. This will give you reach and visibility into their Social network, which can only be good for you. See the 7 likes and 3 comments on the post below. On average, this would reach thousands of views in news feeds as people keep engaging. Keep playing with this and have fun; it’s networking right from your smartphone.

It might seem like you have a long way to go, but remember you can start right now with these first few steps. It only takes a few hours to make basic changes and get out of the gate. If you don’t like where you’re starting from, you can make simple adjustments as you grow. Just remember any time you make changes to one profile you should make the same changes across your other profiles, too. Also, remember to do this with others! Our goal is that you take what you have learned and someone else; you are never alone- nor should you be! If you need further resources, check out our Free Resource Center at Social Jack. You can access our Free Resource Center by signing up for a Basic Social Jack Account plus browse the worksheets and classes currently available.

We will see you (and your story) online!

We hope to see you in one of our next classes!

Join us for our next Online Flash Class: Personal Branding and Storytelling – How to Rock Your Digital Presence

May 2016

Snackable Content: Winning an Audience One Bite at a Time

Snackable Content: Winning an Audience One Bite at a Time This past month, my team and I were able to

Snackable Content: Winning an Audience One Bite at a Time

Blogging Snackable Content, social media, social media marketing Dean

Snackable Content: Winning an Audience One Bite at a Time

This past month, my team and I were able to attend The Social Media Strategy Summit here in our hometown of Chicago. The three days spent there I was able to interact with colleagues, and learn new techniques from them. At the summit there was a wide range of internet savvy people including Fortune 500 companies down to self-made entrepreneurs. These frontrunners were experienced in everything digital, communal, and content.

Our contribution to the event was a workshop that helped people create, and utilize a fundamental content strategy and then launch it in a short order.

One thing we’ve learned over time is that content will become smaller, and more brief, for it to than become considered by consumption. Not only did we play the teacher role at the event, we were also learners. Did you know that the average internet user:

Has an attention span of 8 seconds, that’s one second less than the attention space that a goldfish has.
Visits 2,125 internet pages per month, that’s 1.12 pages per minute!
Views over 3,000 impressions per day

With user’s attention span becoming shorter, businesses have to adapt to grabbing consumer’s attention with less. What the doctor prescribed for this is called, “Snackable Content,” or content that is shorter. This means that:

Blogs are becoming shorter, and typically under 200 words. Think about Twitter and how tweets have to be less than 140 characters.
Videos are less than 60 seconds. Instagram made the switch from 15 second videos to 60 second videos, Twitter allows 30 second videos, Snapchat only allows for 10 second videos, and Vine allows six second videos.
Webinar and Podcasts are under 20 minutes, if you take a look at the content uploaded to TED the large majority of videos are between the range of 10 to 18 minutes long.

Amongst uploading shorter content, we as producers cannot forget to build rapport with our customers, but instead of doing it in minutes, we have seconds, and a few works in the place of paragraphs.

Take this advice and apply it to your online sphere, and I look forward to reading or viewing your shorter content virtually.

– Dean

Click HERE to purchase your tickets to SMSS New York and use code ForwardProgress15 for a 15% discount!

Feb 2015

Who is Your Social Competition? You Might Be Surprised! by Dean DeLisle

Who is Your Social Competition? You Might Be Surprised! By Dean DeLisle When we are looking

Who is Your Social Competition? You Might Be Surprised!

By Dean DeLisle

When we are looking at organizations we get called into three primary areas with our Social Jack™ Training Programs, Relationship Marketing, Social Selling or Career Advancement. One common theme is that all areas are not only looking to excel in their area and hit their goals, but they have a strong desire to know their social competition, once they know they have social competition!

The first competitor is probably the most obvious, it’s them. They many times are in their own way, they either are holding back from two primary reasons, fear or they hold on to the wrong social network (of people). What we see is that they have fear. They fear of knowing their true identity, what to do or say and who should they connect with among others. So they simply play small or hold back, which means they are in their own way! The second part of this is that they have the wrong network of people, this at the core can be fatal. Even organization construct very unproductive social networks and forget the target customers and partners, so we often have to reorganize out of the gate more than not.

Relationship Marketing Competitors

Your competition here are all the prospect and customers out there on your social network platforms, and in your databases. Are you holding their attention over the competition? We also see the competition look like content and platforms such as websites, landing pages and micro sites.

Social Selling Competitors

This one might be the most obvious depending on the organization. These are also prospects and customers, however they might be in control of your accounts execs, relationship managers, customer service or no one. As an organization it’s your duty to provide structure and training to your sales force, set guidelines, boundaries and a solid attack plan to form an intentional social network so the competition can’t penetrate.

Career Advancement Competitors

Flat out this is where you are in competition with your peers and can be tricky depending on the culture. We see this from two angles the inside out and the outside in. So if you are on the inside, its best to network with your peers and really work together for each other. Unfortunately many cultures don’t allow this so they tend to breed a protective environment and dictate survival of the fittest wins and this can be unproductive and harmful to growth in most cases. It is so much better to approach this from a position of authenticity and relationship. From the outside, it’s great to be in this mode to penetrate the walls of a corporation and take out someone who is in competition for a position you desire. Then remember to shift once you get on the inside, be the thought leader here!

In my next blog on this I will get into how to really take out the competition and what we see as our best techniques used by our Social Jack™ students. Social Jack™ was developed by Dean DeLisle and his team at Forward Progress in response to an overwhelming demand for their social media training and development workshops, which are delivered both in person and online. With SocialJack.com, clients can select their professional destination, map out a plan, and access the coaching and training needed to support them to that destination. They will develop the skills they need to build and manage the social networks required on their journey.

Want to take your strategy to the next level? Join us on Feb 10th – 11am CST: Social Jack™ hosts “LinkedIn – How to Knock Out Your Social Competition”

Are you wondering why some people are generating new business from LinkedIn and you're not? Or, maybe why your competition is getting in front of your current clients? Join our webinar and learn how to use 5 steps to take out your competition and create new business. Register Here

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