Is anyone bothering with LinkedIn anymore?

8 years ago

Hey GN,

Maybe I just don't how to use LN, but I am so disappointed on all levels. Tried to find a job there as a copy writer. LN search engines works perfectly only for US based writers. You have to use the magic word "remote" to make the sense out of it.

I still didn't reach the number of 500 followers or connections. And this thing with my connections' connections is just ridiculous. I get some crazy updates.

I try to publish articles. How is it called? This thing for publishing? I don't get enough exposure and I wrote some interesting stuff.

I'm tired and maybe I'm stupid. I repeat. I obviously don't know how to use it.

Thx.
N

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gingerninjas

8 years ago

Originally Posted by neshaword

Hey GN,

Maybe I just don't how to use LN, but I am so disappointed on all levels. Tried to find a job there as a copy writer. LN search engines works perfectly only for US based writers. You have to use the magic word "remote" to make the sense out of it.

Thx.
N

Hi Nesha,

I think it is great for the corporate world, and in the past I have used it basically as an online reference check for people who are applying for jobs in my previous organisations but apart from a resume checker platform I just haven't seen the value plus I get spammed all the time from recruiters who don't understand I work for myself and NEVER want to work for anyone else again.

Thanks

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Transaxtion

8 years ago

I agree that Linkedin is probably not for everyone but the ads can be a good source of leads if done right. I am a huge proponent of LinkedIn advertising for most businesses because it is a network of professionals who willingly share their position title and relevant industry interests. For a host of reasons, it is enormously beneficial to understand what job titles make up your most valuable leads. With a clear understanding the job titles you want to target, LinkedIn takes care of the rest.

Not only can you target the 200 million members on Linkedin by job title, but you can also target age, country, skills, and much more. One of my favorite targeting options is by group. Most members of LinkedIn join a number of related industry groups whether they actively participate or not. If you are a construction equipment retailer like Ring Power who sells used water trucks and dump trucks in Texas for example, it is easy to find relevant groups for the building industry who may be looking for equipment you can provide.

One thing to keep in mind with the added relevance on LinkedIn is that click rates are going to be higher than other pay per click (PPC) networks. You can expect to pay about $2 per click at the time of this post. That being said, the extra investment can really pay off when those $2 clicks are from the person with the right title.

However, before you jump in and start spending with LinkedIn advertising, I would, of course, recommend doing your homework. Look around on LinkedIn to see how advertisers are targeting you; look out for what ad copy and images they are using, the number of ad variations, and their calls to action. Also, try to understand what LinkedIn groups your target market is most active in. You should obviously become as familiar with LinkedIn as you can before investing in ads. Good luck!

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gingerninjas

8 years ago

Originally Posted by Transaxtion

I agree that Linkedin is probably not for everyone but the ads can be a good source of leads if done right. I am a huge proponent of LinkedIn advertising for most businesses because it is a network of professionals who willingly share their position title and relevant industry interests.

One thing to keep in mind with the added relevance on LinkedIn is that click rates are going to be higher than other pay per click (PPC) networks. You can expect to pay about $2 per click at the time of this post. That being said, the extra investment can really pay off when those $2 clicks are from the person with the right title.

Thanks for your comment, it really is a massive network and 200 million people is obviously something that can't be ignored.

Can you outline what work you do, I'm interested to hear and also how many leads you may generate from this source.

I once got a free credit from LInkedIn to upgrade to their premium product and often get invitations to start advertising on there however I just don't really have the confidence people on there would respond to what I offer (I am a marketing consultancy) I think it might be different things people are looking for as my services as usually WOM and referral only and new client's that I have received enquiries off from Google for example aren't always a good 'fit' as we are a fairly niche set up.

I appreciate your comment and all these comments as it does shed some new light onto a platform that I was getting a little tired of. It's interesting to see how others are using it and getting good results.

Thanks

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Ahmed Umair

8 years ago

I am generating many leads from LinkedIn... i am actually ranking on 2nd number on this keyword "craigslist posting service" .. if you type on linkedIn search bar you will find me on second number.. I believe LinkedIn is good source to generate quality leads for your business..

You must optimize your profile and your page on LinkedIn..

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Steve B

8 years ago

Originally Posted by gingerninjas

I don't think LinkedIn gets my business a whole lot of traction.

Could it be that you're not using LinkedIn marketing in a profitable way?

Are you sure that your targeted audience uses and embraces LinkedIn?

Do you have any credibility and authority in the LinkedIn community?

Have you ever polled your customers to see how many are actively engaged at LinkedIn?

Is you strongest competition marketing on LinkedIn? If so, what are they doing differently than you?

I guess I'm trying to make the point that before you abandon any high traffic and popular platform, you need to assess and evaluate your own methods and appropriateness given what you sell.

Steve

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gingerninjas

8 years ago

Originally Posted by Steve B

Could it be that you're not using LinkedIn marketing in a profitable way?

Are you sure that your targeted audience uses and embraces LinkedIn?

Do you have any credibility and authority in the LinkedIn community?

Have you ever polled your customers to see how many are actively engaged at LinkedIn?

Is you strongest competition marketing on LinkedIn? If so, what are they doing differently than you?

I guess I'm trying to make the point that before you abandon any high traffic and popular platform, you need to assess and evaluate your own methods and appropriateness given what you sell.

Steve

Steve, all of your questions are very valid and no, I am pretty sure I don't use LinkedIn for even 5% of its capabilities I just honestly can't see too many leads coming through for a digital marketing agency from LinkedIn. While I do know client's check it when they are 95% sure they want to use my services, apart from that and catching up with old work colleagues, that's just about where the LInkedIn magic stops for me.

I haven't spent any advertising dollars on there (and I probably won't) but I do think that I need to schedule in some time to give it a red hot crack.

Are there people on the LInkedIn in network that can show me around a bit more (similar to what Google does with Adwords?)

It's fair to say after this thread I need to stop whinging and give LinkedIn some time to show me its capabilities.

Thanks

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BradVert2013

8 years ago

I use linkedin more as an online resume than anything. But I will post some of my article there, and it does generate some traffic. That's about the extent of your linkedin usage. But I do know it can be used very successfully to promote your business. I also know people who have gotten some good jobs from linkedin.

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bhnath

8 years ago

Hey Ginger Ninjas,

In my opinion, you should focus on the 2 or 3 platform's that bring you the most leads & scale it up to bring you more. I do know that Linked In can be very profitable but it's going to take you a few months maybe even some extra training to learn it properly.

Social Media can get very confusing, just use your time wisely and invest it where it makes sense for your biz.

Nathan

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Ignacio Jose Muruaga

8 years ago

I agree with the last comment, you have to focus on the platforms that have already proven to be helpful for bringing new leads, and use the rest of the platforms as accessories to those, there is no sense to spend much time in channels that are not being useful for your objectives.

However I dont agree with the statement that says Linkedin is not useful at all, Linkedin is a very good platform for doing personal branding and generating good reputation. Sure, getting new jobs or leads from there might be hard, but a good social media strategy is much more than just making sales, you need to focus on brand building as well, and Linkedin is a good channel for doing that.

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Richard Tunnah

8 years ago

I get a constant supply of very high value clients from linkedin but you need to work things completely different to most other social media platforms. They don't take kindly to blunt sales messages. They do like recommending people though and being asked for their expertise.

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Ellen Chedid

8 years ago

Hey that is a good questions because i am currently on linked in but am not actively using it.

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mannynowak

8 years ago

Like any tool out there in the social media world, you have to focus and spend time with it. I agree that is other platforms are working for you, go to them.
But if you are in B to B marketing, then LN is a great tool and worth the time there.
I spend time everyday on the platform. But you have to do more than just connect, you have to move to build your relationships. LN is an online networking tool which has the same rules as any networking tool. Relationship building. I always attempt to take the connect to a conversation either video or audio as the next level.
I also try and write an article every week and have a conversation with multiple people.
Hope that helps.
Coach Manny

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gingerninjas 8 years ago

Wow, what sort of work do you do Manny out of interest.

I get a lot of recruiters contacting me and a fair few industry time private messages and I don't write articles, apart from that it is all pretty quiet on there although I have around 400 connections.

Maybe I will open it up for a week or so and have it on my desktop to give it a go.

Is there any way to find out who is 'live' and online on the platform like you can with facebook?
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wordsandthebees

8 years ago

I LOVE LinkedIn!
As you've already identified you probably just need to spend a bit more time on there getting to know it and it's features.
I agree that I used to get spammed quite a lot which is super annoying but you can change your settings so that only people you know contact you.
I use Facebook and Instagram as my social media channels of choice and I find LinkedIn a really quite different form of social media. You attract people who are more interested in your posts from a higher level perspective which I really like.
I can share a blog post on Facebook which will generate a couple of likes and maybe the odd share but in LinkedIn they generate a discussion and I can tell that they're being read and have had more of an impact.
I haven't had any new clients from LinkedIn but I'm confident that I will, and in the meantime it's just a great way to keep up to date with developments in the business world.
Keep at it Ginger! Even if you don't want to work for anyone again, it's still a great place to network

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gingerninjas 8 years ago

Yep, I agree. It just comes down to figuring out what platforms I need to dedicate myself to. I have had a few instances where I have found people that are using fake avatars & also others who have embellished info to make them sound better on their profiles which put me off a bit and I guess.

It's such a small minority but it is a massive world of business connections out there.

This thread has reignited by desire to stick with it.
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ShanayaRodolfo

8 years ago

I never focused much on linkedin but this post is helped to look me into another perspective.

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Digitallabz

8 years ago

I have not been active in LinkedIn myself (no status updates, no linkedIn publishing posts) but I still get inquiries from the network. However, I am interested in doing more in LinkedIn next month because more decision-makers requiring marketing services are sourcing from there. Current best practices to attract people to your profile in this network is publishing industry insights.

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easy gov grants

8 years ago

One reason to take LinkedIn more seriously is that CEOs who are active on this network jumped from 25.4 % in 2014 to 32% in 2015. So whether you're in web development, seo, or copywriting, LinkedIn is the network to attract clients. If you want to spend limited time in the network, I suggest you post in LinkedIn publishing versus joining groups.

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mattsuth

8 years ago

I look at LinkedIn like any networking site and indeed, networking event. People are there to embellish their achievements and to make themselves sound much better than they are. On LinkedIn you have the option for your existing contacts to 'recommend' you for skills that you've added to your own profile which, quite frankly isn't worth the paper it's written on! When someone's name comes up with their skills, you can tick to endorse them or if you don't think they're capable, you ignore the question. LinkedIn is full of people puffing their chests up at what they 'can' do but is no real indicator of people's downfalls or why they may not be suitable for a role or for connecting with.

I can sort of see how, if you're in a certain industry, LinkedIn can be useful however for me personally, I don't see much value in it. It's certainly not a place where people focus on their challenges, more of a 'look how great I am and how much money you should give me' site.
I have also noticed of late that with the 'like' and 'share' function, many people are now starting to get a bit bitter towards ex-employees sharing posts on the difference between management and leadership and all those clich

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gingerninjas

8 years ago

Originally Posted by mattsuth

I look at LinkedIn like any networking site and indeed, networking event. People are there to embellish their achievements and to make themselves sound much better than they are. On LinkedIn you have the option for your existing contacts to 'recommend' you for skills that you've added to your own profile which, quite frankly isn't worth the paper it's written on! When someone's name comes up with their skills, you can tick to endorse them or if you don't think they're capable, you ignore the question. LinkedIn is full of people puffing their chests up at what they 'can' do but is no real indicator of people's downfalls or why they may not be suitable for a role or for connecting with.

I do have to agree with you there - it can be a little heavy on the old recommendations and also I would really love for LinkedIn to check the qualifications and experience before it made this information live.

I once was doing some work for an individual who created a page with the following flaws:

- He listed his business which wasn't registered and touted his services to appear as if he had a solid following and acumen (both business and services were not up and running)
- He exaggerated his experience
- He added an address for his office which was incorrect
- He added skills which were also not correct

This individual ended up racking up a massive bill and never ended up paying (surprise surprise) which was pretty disappointing and uncovered a side of LinkedIn which isn't too flash in my opinion.

I'm all for promoting your services / skills and experience and for the most part it is a great way to link up with people, particularly if you have changed roles and lost touch however it would be a fantastic enhancement if some of the elements of profiles were backed by some evidence.

That said, I will spend some more time on there however I will just be more wary.

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Isaiah Nixon

8 years ago

It's good for reputability and testing what draws in a quality worker. I've posted to get resume and pitch examples and have used it to help me with freelancing. That's about it.

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gingerninjas

8 years ago

Originally Posted by Isaiah Nixon

It's good for reputability and testing what draws in a quality worker. I've posted to get resume and pitch examples and have used it to help me with freelancing. That's about it.

How do you know that the individuals are reputable though? I haven't really seen much freelancing going on with my connections and it is mainly people in the corporate world promoting their wares.

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joseph54

8 years ago

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thesuccesscoach 8 years ago

I find the problem with LinkedIn, is how people use it

You should sell yourself and your expertise there and not your products. When I get connection requests from people that are too salesy I just report them

Or when I do accept them and they say "hi great to connect, does your site need some SEO" it's like no, piss off and don't sell me. Maybe if you share some good content I might contact you or I will look at your expertise but don't spam me.

So the big mistakes people make:
Poor profile - either too little information or they are too salesy, folks you gotta sell yourself by showing results but not in the "used car salesman" type of sales method

False connections - you know these are the people who connect with you saying they are your friend or you worked in a company together - bad start to a relationship!

Spamming groups - you know the way the forums here are moderated and they moderators get pissed when you post junk etc - same thing applies in LinkedIn, except that in LinkedIn you are ruining your professional brand infront of a lot more professional business people who could be your customers - sorry that sounds kinda harsh but I hope you get what I mean

I think a lot of what this comes down to is building a brand, and in order to do this you need to know what your brand is. There's a lot of people who think building a business is about selling junk or reselling products etc - sorry guys that's not true. Here's my test, if you go to the bank to expand your "business" can you give a concise summary of what you do. "um yeah I sell affiliate products some weeks it's a bot creating software, others it is a product about how to make money" - come on guys really?

So start building your brand, start building your expertise. Yeah maybe you are an affiliate marketer, so list out your skills:
communication
pre sales skills
website building
etc etc

LinkedIn can be great, but treat it with care

Richard
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Rexus

8 years ago

I have over 2500 connections, I was a top contributer in my fields and posted articles across the board.

And for all the time spent there commenting, posting and pitching, I got not one single project / job on the go.

So, I ditched it, haven't time to waste out there on what is now in my opinion a frivilous social network.

Laters

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heliius

8 years ago

For me LinkedIn is working.... but other social media pages also working to get business.

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gpacx

8 years ago

I've actually never found LinkedIn to be particularly useful for anything. As a professional, I've mostly found that recruiters use it to try and get a hold of me for jobs that are probably below my pay grade. I feel like it is one of the lowest value platforms for anything related to business development.

I've definitely gotten a few job offers from there and it's worth having your information on there for networking and stuff like that, but real networking happens on your cell phone. If you can't pick up the phone and ask someone for a favour, or for a job, what does it matter how many connections you have on your LinkedIn page?

If you have 500+ people on linkedin, but nobody you can phone in a favour from, you're Linked Out as far as I'm concerned.

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Rexus 8 years ago

I had many contacts through L/in, but nothing panned out. Yes, it is a good place for a work profile, but in terms of getting work I put my focus on Upwork. Much better as there is always a prospective client actually looking for contractors instead of a platform where people have their own pages/profiles to bring in money.
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gingerninjas

8 years ago

Originally Posted by gpacx

I've actually never found LinkedIn to be particularly useful for anything. As a professional, I've mostly found that recruiters use it to try and get a hold of me for jobs that are probably below my pay grade. I feel like it is one of the lowest value platforms for anything related to business development.

I've definitely gotten a few job offers from there and it's worth having your information on there for networking and stuff like that, but real networking happens on your cell phone. If you can't pick up the phone and ask someone for a favour, or for a job, what does it matter how many connections you have on your LinkedIn page?

If you have 500+ people on linkedin, but nobody you can phone in a favour from, you're Linked Out as far as I'm concerned.

I truly know where you are coming from here.

I have had a LI profile for years, I have had the following contact from the profile:

- Recruitment people getting in touch with me (but usually not the right roles or positions that didn't fit my experience).
- Random private messages from people I don't really have any desire to connect with
- Connections with old work colleagues
- Connections with people looking to suss me or my business out a little more

While I have created a business page for my business, I have had little traction and although there is a lot of snooping on my profile, I don't really think it is has done too much.

This thread has shown you have to be tremendously active to get a result, and post, comment, advertise to really get any sort of result.

My aim is to use a very small number of platforms very, very well and close down accounts for the ones that I don't think seem to work.

I have been running my business for quite a while now and some of the best results I get lead wise are by far WOM/referral and website.

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Ignacio Jose Muruaga

8 years ago

I dont know, it can be a good tool for networking, I had a client a few months ago, for whom I collected some leads for his health business, of course I agree that Linkedin is just the place where you pick the leads, but the conversation with them continues through email or other platform.

I think it can be an interesting place to do some work, but it has its limitations.

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Rexus 8 years ago

True, but in my experience I find that the bulk of the people on L/in are looking for work and not workers. But it wouldn't hurt to update my profile.
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AlphaAlpha

7 years ago

I guess it depends. I've never been hired off of LinkedIn, but then I've never really exerted any effort on keeping my LinkedIn profile up to date. Besides in my industry and city, everything seems to be organized around Facebook groups anyway.

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brettb

7 years ago

I'm a software developer and I find that maybe 60% of interviewers check out my profile before interviewing me. So it's kind of useful as an online resume.

If you're in a business niche its a good place to post the odd article but I would say that Facebook and Pinterest are the Social Titans, the rest are falling away.

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Melody

7 years ago

I think for many verticals, such as web development, search engine marketing, etc - it is no longer very effective because to be very blunt: these industrials have been spamming LI for the last couple of years. I probably get 10 connection requests per day for these services, and I ignore them all now.

However, my core vertical is payment processing, and fintech custom solutions, and I do a LOT of business through LI contacts.

It just depends on your space - but I think also it depends on the message that you are sending out too - find a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

I also customize every connection request I send out, and have a very high response rate. I would say that I probably did low-6 figures through LI last year, and that has been the case for the past several years. It's the most productive of all of the social networks by far for us.

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overtonis

7 years ago

Linkedin turned out to be huge waste of time. At first I thought I stumbled on uptapped area looking for influencers. It turns out most on their are working employees who don't have nearly the following on social media I was expecting.