Introducing Maximizing LinkedIn for Business Growth

Well , I'm going to introduce my fifth and latest book to you , which is going to cover all of that , but you got to stay listening to this next episode of the your Digital Marketing Coach Podcast digital social media content , influencer marketing , blogging , podcasting , vlogging , tick-tocking , linkedin , twitter , facebook , instagram , youtube , seo , sem , ppc , email marketing

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The digital threads that you need to cover in order to be successful with your business leveraging digital and social media . This is episode number 378 . And today I'm going to talk about my upcoming book , which , well , when this publishes , it will probably be the first day of publication .

But before I get to that , I always like to share some industry news , which I am following , and wanted to share my own opinions and feedback with you . So , first of all , openai is releasing new AI models . I believe the code name is Strawberry or something like that , but we have O1 Preview and O1 Mini .

I have yet to gain access to these and I think , as you begin leveraging ChatGPT more and more , you find that sometimes it isn't good at analyzing deeper information or basically asking a more complex question based on multiple deliverables and analysis of multiple data points . At least that's what I've found .

So I think if you're a beginner , well you know , life goes on as usual , but if you're already getting savvy and leveraging these tools on a daily basis , these are definitely things to be looking for .

If you don't know , these models represent an upgrade in reasoning , logic , contextual understanding , and they are designed to handle those more complex tasks that I talk about , and they are noted to be able to improve accuracy in generating responses and interpreting nuanced information .

So definitely , you know , keep your eyes peeled on what OpenAI continues to evolve , and obviously they are still the giant .

I know that a lot of people talk about Claude by Anthropik , which Amazon is a big investor in as well , and definitely , you know , stay tuned for more info on them as well , but ChachiBT definitely is the one I also want to share with you . An interesting marketing survey that came out that said nearly half of US consumers feel ignored by marketers .

44% specifically express the sentiment , and , despite the use of targeted ads that is marketers we love to do 67% of people dislike feeling trailed by brands , while 70 percent find these ads irrelevant .

Right , we never know why someone comes to your website , but just because you retarget them , it doesn't mean that they are necessarily interested in what you have or your ads are irrelevant to them . That's something that you're going to have to make the call on .

You know , the disconnect here highlights how out of touch many marketers are with their audiences , even when leveraging data . So there are opportunities to stand out , to connect . But unless you are in better relationship , better communication with your customers , you will never know .

And that is really a point that I talk about in Digital Threads , which is going to be released October 1st . Hopefully the pre-sales page for that is going to be up as well by the time that you download this episode . But email gives you a chance to develop a more intimate relationship and really to find out what your customers are interested in .

If you find out what your customers are interested in , hopefully you can expand upon that to target other consumers who are not your customers . Hopefully you can expand upon that to target other consumers who are not your customers , but maybe in a way that they feel that you are not ignoring them , that you are aligned with their interests .

So you know , at the end of the day , consumers prefer companies that connect with them on a values-based level and are willing to pay more for this authenticity . So rethink the way that you are digitally communicating with customers and prospects Email , obviously , but social media also is a great way to do this and leveraging brand ambassadors .

These are all things that I have dedicated chapters for in Digital Threads , so make sure that you get that when it comes out . If you weren't part of my Kickstarter campaign , all right , so not a lot of news in digital marketing , but those are the two things that I focused on .

And , by the way , if you are not a subscriber to my newsletter , these insights were already shared last week , so make sure you go over to neilschafercom slash newsletter so that you can be the first to get all of my insights and all of the latest content that I publish across the internet , along with other recommended reads .

And if you had bought my upcoming book on LinkedIn that I'm going to talk about today on pre-order and sent me the proof of purchase , you would have been invited today to an exclusive special webinar on LinkedIn .

So make sure you sign up to the list so that you get informed of all these things , because sometimes , by the time I announce it on the podcast , it's already too late , as it is in this case . All right , personal update . Well , we have digital threads coming . No-transcript in the next two weeks as I prepare for the official launch .

This episode is really about the launch of my fifth book , which is Maximizing LinkedIn for Business Growth .

Now , if you have been a subscriber to my newsletter or you've been over to my website , I have always promoted the annual update of a free lead magnet or ebook that I had called Maximizing LinkedIn for Business , and what I decided to do was extend the content . I added more than 50% more content . In fact , I think it's 75% more content .

So a 10,000 word free PDF is now about 17,500 words . I added a lot of new information , including my advice on leveraging AI in LinkedIn , and I am now putting this on sale for 99 cents ebook only and , like I said , it is available on all the major retailers . I do plan to expand this .

I have had a beta reading team and , once again , if you were with my newsletter , you would have found out about this , but I've had a few dozen people give me a lot of good feedback and I am going to be fleshing out maybe two or three more chapters , so I foresee this , in the next month or two , becoming a 20,000-word book , in which case I will be

raising the price and have a paperback and audiobook for that as well . So , for those of you that don't know , I used to be known as the LinkedIn expert . I published two books on LinkedIn back in 2009 and 2011 .

And I still see the same evergreen content out there and I still see a lot of people with a lot of questions about LinkedIn and I have a lot of perspective , I have history and I have a lot of fresh ideas to offer .

And that is why , even though I am publishing digital threads because I already had a lot of content to work with and I wanted to celebrate the 15th anniversary of publishing my first book , which was called Windmill Networking Understanding , leveraging and Maximizing LinkedIn For those that might remember I thought this would be a great opportunity to share my latest

thoughts and really serve a new generation of professionals , marketers , entrepreneurs and business owners that want to leverage LinkedIn better . Since being on pre-sale , we have been consistently number one in a number of categories home-based business , advertising , home-based business sales and selling .

Writing skills and advertising been the number one new release in advertising . I'm looking at Amazon right now , number one new release in small business sales and selling . So really excited by the traction and I thank you all If you have pre-ordered my book . I cannot thank you enough , but I'm really excited to share this with you and to get your feedback .

Now that you know that I'm not going to say it is a beta book . It is a book , but I will be fleshing out more content and I would love to hear your feedback if you think something is missing from it . So let's talk more about this book , because I want to give you some advice without your having to read the book .

Through this podcast , I'm hoping to share with you some of the most important takeaways from the book . By the way , it is called Maximizing LinkedIn for Business Growth a practical guide to building your brand and driving results , and , like I said , you can find it everywhere , and if you can't find it , please let me know .

I will definitely point you in the right direction . So let me read you the introduction and I think that'll give you a better feel , and then I'll cover a few points .

Since writing two books on LinkedIn more than a decade ago Windmill Networking Maximizing LinkedIn and Maximizing LinkedIn for Sales and Social Media Marketing I have used this book to keep my past readers , as well as present community , educated on best practices when using LinkedIn for business .

As a digital sales and marketing expert , my goal has always been to help other people prosper through the effective use of this powerful medium .

As the needs and trends of its users continue to change with demographic shifts , the growing amount of non-professional content emerging on the platform and the various features introduced by LinkedIn over time , this book will show you which older LinkedIn practices still work , as well as the new things you can use to leverage the power of LinkedIn to further your career

and benefit your business . You'll notice that I focus both on professional branding and the business benefits in this ebook .

Before proceeding forward , please connect with me on LinkedIn linkedincom slash in slash , neil Schaefer , and let me know you came from this ebook when you send me your invitation , and I already want to thank some of you that have already connected with me through the book .

Obviously , if you'd like some additional help after reading this book , you can join my group coaching community so that I have the opportunity to answer any digital social media marketing questions you have and help you to move your business forward . We still have a few spots open . Go to neilschafercom slash membership . So I want to share with you .

I'm going to read chapter one in its entirety , because I think this really gives you a good backdrop . Now there are 10 chapters , so I'm going to read you 10% of the book , beginning with understanding LinkedIn's impact today .

Chapter two is how LinkedIn is used today for business , and understanding that will give you a better field for the various ways in which you can leverage it . Chapter three is all about your profile . Chapter four build your network . Chapter five establishing credibility through recommendations . Chapter six engaging on LinkedIn building relationships through interaction .

Chapter seven prospecting on LinkedIn finding and connecting with potential clients . Chapter eight chapter eight is a pretty heavy chapter which is all about creating content that resonates on LinkedIn . Chapter nine is the brand new leveraging AI to enhance your LinkedIn Really excited to share that with you .

And then chapter 10 is all about creating a LinkedIn playbook building a daily routine for success . So let me read you this first chapter and I think that's going to give you a really , really good idea about the book about LinkedIn in addition to that introduction . So chapter 1 , linkedin Statistics Understanding the Platform's Impact .

Let's first look at LinkedIn by the numbers to understand its power . I include these numbers to share my perspective on LinkedIn to help you gain the most out of reading this book , so please do not skip ahead . If you ever see me speak on LinkedIn , I always start or on really any social or digital media , I always start with mindset .

But before we get the mindset , we have to be on the same level of understanding with how powerful these networks are , and it often comes from understanding the numbers and the data the way that I see them . So I digress , but that is why I want to share this chapter with you . So LinkedIn has been around since 2003 , about the same time Facebook emerged .

That is where the similarities end . While Facebook began as a social network requiring you to have a college email address , linkedin grew from the connections of its founding team of professionals .

This led to Facebook being a more open network of friends , while LinkedIn continued to use a privacy feature , degrees of connectedness and restrictions on the expansion of networks . This has had several effects on their statistics , as you can imagine . Not the biggest social network , but highly influential .

Since expanding trusted networks isn't a free-for-all , linkedin has stayed much smaller than Facebook . In fact , there are only about 1 billion users worldwide , according to LinkedIn's search . The breakdown of users by geography is the United States . This data is actually from last month , august 2024 , 215 million users in the United States .

That is a lot of users for one country . When you consider the United States population , well over 50% of Americans have a LinkedIn profile . India is second with 124 million . Brazil third 73 million . United Kingdom fourth with 38 million Once again , a good portion of their population . France , 32 million . Indonesia , 30 million .

United Kingdom fourth with 38 million Once again , a good portion of their population France , 32 million . Indonesia , 30 million , canada 24 million , mexico 24 million , italy with 21 million and Spain with 20 million . So if you want to collaborate , network , sell to those countries .

Obviously there are a lot of people there on LinkedIn that you could reach out to and connect with . Now , 1 billion users to me sounds like a lot , but if you are involved in social media marketing , you know that that is in contrast to Facebook's nearly 3 billion members .

Even newer , instagram already has 2 billion members and the newest social network , tiktok , has already reached 1.5 billion . So LinkedIn lags and that's why they are not the sexy social network compared to the TikTok , the Instagram or the Facebook .

Now , when compared to Facebook users by country , interestingly enough , according to this data , linkedin has more users in the United States , united Kingdom and France than Facebook does . So , while Facebook is truly a global platform , linkedin continues to have a relative strength in the United States and parts of Western Europe , a platform focused on professionals .

With that said , linkedin is a very , very special social network . Unlike nearly all the other players , linkedin is the only platform that continues to be focused on business and professional networking . It's where professionals go to showcase their personal brand , promote their companies and do business .

Traditionally , linkedin has been a social network that mainly attracts professionals and businesses who are interested in growing their careers .

While LinkedIn originally grew as a place to connect with hiring managers and be found for that dream job , it has become more than that and now also attracts the engagement of professionals looking for an outlet for professional networking . It is said that 53% of college graduates in the United States are now members of LinkedIn Decision makers and business leaders .

If you're looking to do business with other professionals or project your corporate image where it matters , this is one of the best digital platforms to do so , because , according to LinkedIn statistics , four out of five LinkedIn members drive business decisions . Now , that is an interesting stat . How important are those business decisions ?

We don't know , but if you consider that 99% of businesses are small businesses , and if you think of all the small business owners that might be part of LinkedIn , that data starts to make a little bit more sense . Linkedin is also the most used social media platform among Fortune 500 companies , with 98% of executives at these companies using LinkedIn .

It should come as no surprise , then , that 80% of B2B leads generated through social media come from LinkedIn . It should come as no surprise , then , that 80% of B2B leads generated through social media come from LinkedIn . There are also millions of LinkedIn users who are in positions which may be beneficial to you .

Sales professionals have access to corporate buyers , and marketers have access to influencers A wealthy user base . Did you know that 50% of LinkedIn users in the United States have an annual household income of $75,000 ? And 53% of Americans who make more than $100,000 per year use LinkedIn ?

This shows the high level of not just wealth but professionalism in the LinkedIn demographic and obviously hints at the wealth that this demographic has . With LinkedIn users more likely to belong to high-income brackets . You get a feel as to its user base , including many who have substantial purchasing power and investment capacity .

Linkedin's content , visibility and organic reach what makes LinkedIn especially powerful for the business person is the relatively high reach that your content can achieve here . For instance , did you know that LinkedIn content receives 15 times more impressions than job postings ?

It's a data , and in the book you'll be able to see the link to the source of that data if you're curious . This is a sign that not only is LinkedIn not just about jobs , but its members also actively engage with relevant professional content .

Also , compared to other more popular social networks , linkedin users don't seem to publish as much as the average user does on a platform like Facebook . This leads to a supply and demand imbalance that is favorable for those LinkedIn users that publish content .

This reflects in the average life of a LinkedIn post in the feed , which lasts for 24 hours , exponentially longer than the lifespan of a Facebook post , which is just a little over one hour . And once again , the source for this data is included in the end notes in my book .

Besides that , linkedin consistently ranks as the most trusted social media platform by consumers . Linkedin users trust the content that they see and this , indirectly , can help you become a more trusted authority in your field . Linkedin stands apart from other social networks with its exclusive focus on professionals and business leaders .

Unlike platforms like Facebook , instagram or Twitter , strike through X . Linkedin is not a melting pot of society , but a curated community of individuals driven by professional growth , career development and business opportunities .

This distinction creates a fertile ground for meaningful connections , thought leadership and business development , especially for those who actively publish and engage with content on the platform . Understanding LinkedIn's unique demographic and strategic advantages is the first step towards harnessing its full potential .

As we move forward , we'll explore how businesses and professionals are leveraging LinkedIn in innovative ways , unlocking opportunities that can drive real world success . Let's dive into these practical use cases to uncover how you can maximize LinkedIn for your professional and business goals . I hope you enjoyed the reading of introduction and chapter one .

Like I said , maximizing LinkedIn for Business Growth by Neil Schafer is available pretty much wherever books are sold right now , ebook only launch price of 99 cents . Get it while you can at this very inexpensive price , and if you can't find it at your bookstore , please email me .

I would love to guide you to where you can find it in whatever country you are in , but for instance , obviously Amazon , barnes , noble , google Play , apple Books , kobo , writing Life or Kobo . Those are some of the many places where the book is currently available .

So I will be shifting gears from maximizing LinkedIn for business growth to digital threads on upcoming podcast episodes . But I do hope you'll take advantage of this opportunity to sort of tap in to my advice at a very , very low price and if you do , I would love to hear your feedback .

Feel free to reach out to me and really , if you have feedback for anything I talk about here , neil at neilschafercom , and if you haven't , I do hope that you will hit that subscribe button . We have a lot of great interviews coming up . As you know , half of my episodes are solo recordings and half of them are interviews .

Looking at the schedule , we have none other than John Janch . John Janch is known as the duct tape marketing guru .

He founded duct tape marketing and we are going to be talking all about fractional CMOs , something that I do and something that I think a lot of you have expressed interest in , whether you want to become a fractional CMO or you're considering working with a fractional CMO , considering working with a fractional CMO . We're going to be talking with Andy Lambert .

Andy is a product manager for Adobe Express , but he's also the founder of Content or co-founder of Content Cal , a social media scheduling tool , and we're going to be talking a lot about B2B social media and social media advocacy . We have Dennis Yu , who's known as the king of Facebook ads .

He's going to be talking about your personal brand on Google , which was a really fun topic . We have Dan Gingas talking about customer experience marketing . Nancy Harhut , who is the author of Using Behavioral Science in Marketing , talking about counterintuitive marketing . Michelle Garrett , who is an expert on PR for small business .

Now a lot of great interviews coming up , so make sure you hit the subscribe button and I will be at you again in the coming week . That's all there is for this episode . This is your digital marketing coach , neil Schafer , signing off .

While you're there , check out Neil's digital first group coaching membership community if you or your business needs a little helping hand . See you next time on your digital marketing coach .