Thank you to LinkedIn for publishing an Infographic to help us identify the most influential people in this popular B2B social networking platform. First, here are a few tips from LinkedIn on how to connect with other members:
- On a member’s profile, click the “Connect” button
- In the search results, click the “Connect” button to the right of the person’s information
- Visit your “Add Connections” page and allow LinkedIn to send invitations to your contact’s email address
- Spend a few minutes browsing through the “People You May Know” section that appears in the right hand side on your home page
I will share some advanced LinkedIn networking and connection tips in a future blog post. For now, the next step is to identify LinkedIn’s over 16 million influencers – maybe you are one of them!
The Main Characteristics
- Shares
- Active in groups
- Media professionals
- Poll creators
- Bloggers
- Mobile LinkedIn users
In my experience, LinkedIn Groups has proven to be one of the most effective. You can have up to 50 Groups and I recommend that you invest time to search for relevant groups, join in and start some discussions and evaluate whether you should stay. Regularly update your Groups so you can stay abreast of active groups. I suggest you focus on becoming active in a few groups or use a tool such as Hootsuite, Sendible or Oktopost to help you stay abreast of conversations across a larger number of Groups. Before joining a group, remember to check the Group Statistics and browse the current discussions to ensure the Group is relevant and a place you can add value. The profile and rules section will also help you plan how you can best join in the conversations. If you are looking for a high value, “no fluff” group – I invite you to try our new Group for Channel Executives.
It is not surprising that 42% of LinkedIn influencers make over $100,000 and at least 22% hold a title of Director.
Engagement
Influencers are significantly more connected and engaged on LinkedIn. They are:
- 9 times more likely to create content within a LinkedIn Group
- 6 times more likely to follow companies
- 6 times more likely8 to share updates
- 5 times more connected
- 3 times more likely to be engaged with “LinkedIn Today”
What do Influencers do on LinkedIn?
I have heard executives say to me how can we create valuable content that will catch the attention of an influencer? How can I reach out to these people? This last question is arguably the most important because if you know what they are looking for, you can customize your content to provide as much value as possible to your targeted group of influencers. According to LinkedIn, the influencers are trusted decisions makers who come to LinkedIn for necessary information:
- 66% trust LinkedIn as a source of information affecting decision making
- 61% find LinkedIn to be a good source for word of mouth information or brand experience
- 87% state others come to them for advice
- 49% state others often act on their advice
What new steps will you take on LinkedIn to become an Influencer or reach out to connect with an Influencer?
