Patrick Barbanes

B2B? Data Shows Why You Should Be In LinkedIn Groups

A brand-spanking-new survey by Leadformix of 289 B2B companies with some kind of presence on LinkedIn has some great data.

It’s quite an indepth analysis. (You can read the full report from Leadformix here.)

Here’s one of the key take-aways for me:

Of visitors who clicked to a B2B website from LinkedIn, 24% – almost 1/4 – were enterprise visitors – meaning they were visiting from a corporate IP address. What that means is that almost 1/4th of people who clicked from LinkedIn to a B2B site were on their corporate network at the time.

Why is that significant? It means they weren’t home, personally surfing the web. They were at work, or at least on their work computer and network, visiting LinkedIn and then bouncing out by clicking a link in LinkedIn to a B2B site. So far so good? OK…

Of those “enterprise visitors,” as illustrated in the chart below, more than one-half of them arrived at websites from individual profile pages (35.7%) or company profile pages (16.3%). Only 16.4% arrive via “groups” and 3.6% via LinkedIn ads.

BUT… those people who went to a site from a LinkedIn “Group” were the most likely to complete a fill-in form on the site they visited. In other words, they were most likely to “convert” from a Lead to a Prospect. As Leadformix notes, “In the B2B space, all enterprise visitors to a website are referred to as leads.” When a Lead (the visitor) fills in a form on a B2B site, they are handing over their information in exchange for a whitepaper, some other offer or simply on a contact form, and thereby becoming a “Prospect”.

Those are the people you want visiting your site…the ones who will convert.

So based on this report (and as I’ve been saying all along without all the data and the graphs) Groups within LinkedIn are the best place to interact with them.

Why? Because it makes sense, and this is good data to support that.

Groups narrow down and bring commonality to an area of interest. Someone in a Group that you are in is already interested in that thing that you are interested in.

So someone who sees and/or engages in a Discussion in a Group that you’re taking part in, for example, and who then takes the next step of clicking out to your site would naturally be more likely to take the NEXT step and complete a form on your site (if that was one of your calls to action there) than someone who came across your profile and clicked to your website from there, or who happened upon your site among a News item and clicked to it from there.

Groups engage people. Engaged people become Leads. Leads become Prospects. Prospects become Clients. (If you, you know, know what you’re doing.)

So get engaged in Groups on LinkedIn! You’ll find more people clicking over to your site, and becoming Prospects. And isn’t that what all businesses want?

How To Use LinkedIn’s “Signal” Feature

One of LinkedIn’s newest features is called Signal, and it lets you tap into, search through and filter almost everything your LinkedIn connections are thinking and doing and even tweeting (yes, tweeting!). This is powerful. Here’s just one example of how to use this “secret” LinkedIn feature:

You’ll learn things like this in more detail in my all-online course, Really Simple Bootcamp, which is on special pricing right now through Sunday only in the Really Simple Bundle. Go check it out now, because only 20 are available at the bundle price!

If You’re Not Using LinkedIn…

Read the brief blog post I’ve linked to below and the comments on it (only three as of this writing). It’s by a Recruiter but I want you to read it from your business and career perspective – whatever that perspective might be. Take note of how the author and his commenters view and use LinkedIn versus how they view Facebook or Twitter. How they view it is not confined to just Recruiters. Then ask yourself if you are using LinkedIn a) at all, b) in a way that could potentially put you in front of or get you engaged with these kind of users, and c) if that would be valuable to you. Could spending time on LinkedIn help you find a job or a partner or an investor faster and more effectively than spending time and effort on Twitter or Facebook?

Go read this now: http://t.co/pQnTOEe

And I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Tags: linkedin, recruiters, recruiting

I’m Speaking on a panel about LinkedIn

The Social Media Club, South Florida chapter’s monthly meeting for April is Tuesday, April 12, 2011. The topic of this month’s meeting is “LinkedIn: Oh, What’s The Use?” and I’m speaking alongside other members for a question-and-answer panel discussion about LinkedIn and it’s many wonders. If you’re in South Florida, I hope to see you there! If you’re not, or can’t attend the meeting and you’re on Twitter, watch the hashtag #smcsf to follow what people are saying during the meeting.

If you plan on attending, please RSVP on the Facebook event at Social Media Club South Florida LinkedIn event – http://on.fb.me/smcsf041211

Here’s the information from the official event announcement.

LinkedIn: Oh, What’s The Use? – a panel discussion meeting presented by Social Media Club, South Florida
Time: Tuesday, April 12 · 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Ana G. Mendez University System, 3520 Enterprise Way, Miramar, FL 33025

Whether you’re a power LinkedIn user or a beginner who hasn’t quite figured out its purpose, you won’t want to miss our next event complete with an expert panel of speakers.

- Patrick Barbanes will discuss using LI to connect – The Power of LinkedIn for an individual, @pbarbanes

- Seth Elliott will discuss using LI for B2B – The Power of LinkedIn for business, @sethaelliott

- David Suarez will discuss using LI as a research and CRM tool – The Power of LinkedIn for monitoring, @DavidSuarezMBA

- David Rose will discuss what hiring managers/recruiters look for in a LI profile – The “hire power” of LinkedIn, @YELLOWDOG_01

Our moderator will be Denise Jacobs, @denisejacobs

Follow our host, Ana G Mendez University System, on Twitter: @suagmflorida

OUR EVENTS ARE ALWAYS FREE

Emerge Broward, Here I Come!

Looking forward to speaking at tonight’s event by Emerge Broward, “How To Rule Social Media”!

LinkedIn: Find Connections At Companies!

LinkedIn continues to add features and functionality at a fast pace. And this new one could be really useful! As the LinkedIn blog states, a new search function now lets you search “for companies not only by attributes such as location, industry, and size but also by how you are connected. You can filter a set of results to include only those companies where you have a direct connection or broaden your search to include companies in your extended network.”

Check out the video:

I’ll be doing a screencast of how you might actually use this if you were a job-seeker, so stay tuned – and just jump in and start playing with the new LinkedIn search to find people you’re connected with at companies you’re interested in for any reason – to find partners, investors, mentors, whatever your goals are for connecting!

Help an unemployed person: a request for sponsors and donations

I’ve never charged someone who is out of work, and I never want to. For anything. When you’re unemployed, every dollar…every nickel…counts.

I’ve recently launched an online branding, blogging, and social media training program, Really Simple Bootcamp. It’s priced at $197, a very fair cost for the value. It teaches a way to brand your small business or even yourSELF (a “Personal Brand”), to get that brand online in a way that goes beyond the usual website – that is, including a blog as a central part of the site – and integrating core social media/networking activity to engage online.

It’s perfect for unemployed folks.

But I don’t want them paying $197. I don’t want them paying $1.

So what I’m requesting are donations and sponsors – people who will step up and chip in so that people who are out of work can take the course.

Donate what you can by clicking the button below. Your donation will go into a general fund (no tax-exempt status or organization has been set up for this yet, but I do intend to get there) that will enable me to give free course registration to as many unemployed as possible.

This will help me offset any costs of conducting this and other training for the unemployed. Even though it’s all delivered online – some live, some recorded – there are costs involved, from the cost of hosting to webinar service costs, aweber (email system) costs, etc. I’ve also done, and will continue to hold, free live training for unemployed people, and there are always costs involved in doing that. So any contribution you can make will help.

Likewise, I’m going to be setting up to donate part of the revenue from all registration fees to be contributed to an organization that helps unemployed workers get back to work. If you have suggestions of an organization for that, please leave it in the comments below or email me directly at patrick at patrickbarbanes dotcom or call me at 1-800-951-1156.

And if you can, please chip in by clicking the “Chip In” button in the widget below, and chip in what you can, even $1 or $5 is appreciated! I’ll probably set up a thank you page that lists (if you want) your name as a donor/sponsor, and the names of some of the unemployed people (if they want) who have taken the course thanks to your generosity.

Any ideas or advice along these lines are always welcome!

Why It’s Not About The Numbers

Government affairs can be tedious and boring sometimes – like watching CSPAN when you’re in the mood for “Three’s Company.” (What, that show’s not still on?)

But in a fascinating article (Twitter Diplomacy: U.S. Diplomacy Embracing Twitter Amid Global Crises) about how the United States government, and specifically the Department of State, is embracing, using, and proselytizing about social media, we learn that:

The State Department is tightening its embrace of Twitter and other social media as crises grip the Middle East and Haiti, with officials finding new voice, cheek and influence in the era of digital diplomacy.

Even as it struggles to contain damage caused by WikiLeaks’ release of classified internal documents, the department is reaching out across the Internet. It’s bypassing traditional news outlets to connect directly and in real time with overseas audiences in the throes of unrest and upheaval. (emphasis mine)

All well and good. President Obama’s White House is no stranger to social media, so it makes sense that his Cabinet gets acquainted with it.

But what stuck out for me was the part about department spokesman, P.J. Crowley:

In recent days, department spokesman P.J. Crowley has tweeted to knock down rumors, amplify U.S. policy positions, appeal for calm and urge reforms in Haiti, Tunisia and Lebanon.

Well before he addressed the State Department press corps on the return to Haiti of former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier and the possible return of ousted President Jean-Betrand Aristide, Crowley took to Twitter to pronounce the U.S. position

But is anybody listening?

It turns out that department spokesman P.J. Crowley’s Twitter account – @PJCrowley had – at the time of the article – only 9,717 followers. That’s twice as many as me, but from a global perspective, that’s chump change. Heck, parody accounts of oil companies have been known to get over 150,000 followers!

But it’s not always about the numbers, and this is a great case in point.

Crowley’s reach – he has 9,717 followers – may not rival that of celebrities, sport stars or even other government officials. But those tracking his pronouncements include virtually all the journalists, pundits and analysts who deal with U.S. foreign policy, as well as ordinary citizens and foreign ministers of other countries.

Clearly, it’s not how many you know, it’s WHO you know: who is really desiring to hear and engage with you, to act on some of the information or conversations you may have.

And it’s not just the number of followers you have or don’t have that matters:

The audience for (Crowley’s) micro-blog posts also expands exponentially when his followers pass along his messages to their followers, particularly when those messages deal with pressing issues of the day.

“The number of retweets he gets relative to the size of his following is very impressive and shows that he has near-mastered the medium,” said Alec Ross, Clinton’s senior adviser for innovation and State Department “uber-Tweeter,” who has nearly 320,000 Twitter followers. “It connects him to an audience of influencers in 100-plus countries.”

Ah, yes, RE-tweets. So in this case, he’s not only followed by people who look to him for information, but who also deem his information valuable enough to pass on!

“What we are looking for is retweets, which tells us what we are saying is getting noticed and passed along to others,” Crowley told the AP. “That means we are expanding our reach.”

This is eye-opening for many reasons. Think about it. The State Department (headed by Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State). Looking for retweets. That’s mind-blowing to me!

So before you go on the hunt or even go to some twitter-store to automatically buy “Followers” off a virtual shelf, remember P.J. Crowley.

And understand why it’s not always just about the numbers.

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Over-exposed? No… Meeting New People!

It’s been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me, appearing on tv and radio – but the best part about the appearances has been the people the appearances put me in touch with.

For starters, the CNBC documentary, “The Facebook Obsession,” started airing. I’m featured in it (stretching the word “featured” here, but that’s how they describe it! – my two sentences run from 25:00 to 25:39), and it’s resulting in some interesting contacts.

An old buddy of mine from the late ’70′s that I hadn’t seen since back then contacted me on Facebook. It was great hearing from him, so…yay for Facebook!. We worked together in New York City, and we used to blow our paychecks playing Space Invaders and other games in the arcade under Penn Station. One event in particular comes to mind: there was an Atari football game that we loved to play – him against me, mostly – and we were experts. He usually kicked my butt at it, though. One time, as we headed to the table, another couple of guys approached it from the other side. We all arrived nearly simultaneously. Someone coughed, and we stared each other down. “WE were next,” said one of the other guys. Gerry and I considered the situation. This was OUR turf. The tension was palpable. It was like a stand-off in a Western film. I can’t remember if it was Gerry or me that said it, but one of us did: “We’ll play you for it…” And so we did. Guess who won.

Also, a high school friend from my one year in 1972 at Locust Valley High School on Long Island, NY, contacted me through Facebook. “Was that you I saw on TV? Hard name to forget.”.

On Tuesday, I moderated a panel discussion for the Social Media Club, South Florida, about How Human Resources Professionals Are Using Social Media. A good time was had by all – maybe mostly by the panelists, as jovial a group as I’ve ever seen!

With Elizabeth Gutierrez-Saury, Regional Director, Digital Strategy, TMP Worldwide

Wednesday, I was guest for an hour on an AM radio show – “The Evening Dream Team” – to talk personal branding and social media. They’re great guys, doing good for the community by spreading messages of inspiration.

Thursday morning, I spent 90 minutes as the featured guest on Michele Loreto-Chase‘s online video show, for her training on “Back To Work Southwest Florida.” Michele is a powerhouse of a woman in Southwest Florida, connecting and developing communities of like-minded people, and whose focus is always on how much she can give and give back.

And Thursday afternoon, I co-host an internet radio show, “Social Chats” with Tonya Scholz. Tonya is small in size but huge in personality, determination and energy!

One of my beliefs is that “If you want to be in the right place at the right time, be in a lot places a lot of the time.” And while it was great being able to talk about what I do, how I am, etc, etc, it was even greater making contact with people who matter.

Some 2010 Highlights (Part II)

Adding to my earlier post of 2010 highlights, here’s an event that I personally am very proud of being part of, and just a few more people whose paths in 2010 I’ve been fortunate to witness. It’s all about heart this time.

CRISIS CAMP MIAMI
Tomorrow, January 12th, will be the one-year anniversary of the incredibly devastating earthquake in Haiti. Within days, a call had gone out to organize what were called “crisis camps” – impromptu gatherings of techies and people who wanted to help. In cities around the world, techies gathered to do actual work to support the relief efforts of those on the ground in Haiti and to continue to pave the way for new advances in the way tech and social tools could be employed in crisis management and relief. In Miami, using just word of mouth and social networks, a team of us spearheaded by Alex de Carvalho and Stephen Malagodi drew over 100 people on January 23rd to CrisisCamp Miami in space donated by the Miami Herald, for a full day of work and workshopping. Some guys who showed up who knew the Creole language were able to help by getting online right there and translating and transcribing some of the text messages for help that were emanating from Haiti; others were able to get online and update maps to help support people on the ground with clear directions; others worked up databases of local resources for the large Haitian community in Miami; while others brainstormed and worked on other projects. We had a Crisis Camp Miami blog, if you want to read more. I met so many great people it’s hard to call them all out here. I will save that for another post. But here’s another big thank you to everyone who contributed a part of their heart that day!

HEARTWARMER – Denise Jacobs
When I first met Denise at a Refresh Miami event something like two years ago, she told me she was a writer. Struggling writer, it turned out. Next time I meet her, she’s wow-ing a crowd at LaidOff Camp Miami with her motivational presentation about turning one’s life around. Shortly thereafter, her life takes a huge turn in 2010 when she gets a contract to write a book, publishes it (The CSS Detective), and becomes a celebrity on the geek circuit, flying to London and other parts of the world to present at conferences about really techie stuff that’s way over my head, and getting nominated for tech awards! Now, that’s heartwarming!

RISING STAR – Jeff Zelaya
I can’t remember exactly when Jeff came to my attention. I think I came across a video of one of his presentations to college students. Jeff has been opening the eyes of as many college students and others as he can reach to the benefits of online social networking, with a primary focus on LinkedIn. He took on the moniker of LinkedInPro, and his positive outlook, vibe and message is infectious. His presence and style will blow you away. He’s also very involved in giving back to the community, which adds big big bonus points in my book, and tears up when he talks proudly of accomplishments in his family (holding his new-born niece and watching his young nephew score soccer goals). Guy’s obviously got a big personality AND a big heart. Here’s a video of Jeff speaking.: