Marilouise Muller

Date: August 9, 2017

Name: Crushing it on Social Media – Growth Hack of LinkedIn and Facebook

Presenters: Marilouise Muller and Eddie Yuen

Many startups use social media to brand their business; moreover, most of them do not know how to utilize social platform effectively, especially LinkedIn and Facebook. YVR Startups meetup invites Marilouise Muller, the Founder of Propel Solutions, and Edward Yuen, the Digital Marketing Specialist of Motic, to discuss their perspectives on social media. In this presentation, Marilouise Muller will share her tips on LinkedIn, and Edward Yuen will share his strategies on Facebook. Entrepreneurs will learn the simplest ways to reach out to potential leads through social media.

Marilouise Muller is the Founder of Propel Solutions Ltd, Suuty Technologies, and PropelU Academy Inc. She has successfully use LinkedIn to build her reputation in her industry. She helps many worldwide organizations through LEAN process and PROSCI change management. Edward Yuen is the Digital Marketing Specialist for Motic. He is the Co-Founder of YVR Startups meetup. He helps many mid-sized businesses and nonprofits on strategic marketing, especially social media management. Moreover, he has the passion of a Community Builder that helps young people connect and engage.

Crushing it on LinkedIn

The mission of LinkedIn is to connect the world’s professionals to enable them to be more productive and successful. Many of entrepreneurs are not aware that LinkedIn has two major objectives: get people to work, and B2B. Muller explains LinkedIn is a powerful connector for B2B. Based on statistic, LinkedIn grows 9% per year. LinkedIn has entered the Chinese market and it has the best track record for lead generation. In fact, LinkedIn is one of the fastest growing social media networks in the world.

“LinkedIn is not for social, yet it is for business”

Entrepreneurs use LinkedIn for 3 main reasons: create identify, create network, and increase knowledge base. Muller will explain how entrepreneurs can utilize LinkedIn profile for their businesses.

To create an effective professional LinkedIn profile, it is necessary to get a professional headshot. Based on stats, a professional headshot will generate 14 times more profile views on LinkedIn. The headshot should be forward facing and smiling. Entrepreneurs should never use selfie photo on LinkedIn. They need to watch out for crooked ties and messy collars. Muller believes LinkedIn is the life time email for success. Entrepreneurs need to remember they can use LinkedIn to tell their whole story, and it is their electronic resume.

To capture recruiter’s attention, entrepreneurs need to include expertise, accomplishment, milestones, and call of actions in their description write up. They should use their industry keywords as much as possible. Muller wants entrepreneurs to be aware that the first 220 characters are immediately visible on desktop version and first 92 characters for mobile version.

To achieve LinkedIn all start status, there are 7 things entrepreneurs need to accomplish on LinkedIn.

1. Include industry and location
2. Include an update of their current position
3. Have at least 2 past positions under experience
4. Include education
5. Have the minimum of 3 skills
6. Have a profile photo
7. Have at least 50 connections

It is important to include skills because it helps entrepreneurs to be searchable on LinkedIn. LinkedIn allows people to search 3 different levels. In fact, many entrepreneurs are not aware that LinkedIn is a hidden job market. All profiles have profile views, post views, and search appearance. Entrepreneurs can use these stats to optimize their accounts.

The next step is to claim the vanity URL. It is recommended by Muller to setup the vanity URL on LinkedIn. Since network is a great asset for entrepreneurs, they should treat it like a CRM, where they can easily reach out to the right people and interact with the right LinkedIn groups.

Entrepreneurs can add media and make sure of visual content. This includes video, sign up, and articles. This will attract potential business. In average, many leaders usually spend 20 minutes to read articles on LinkedIn. In the experience section, Muller believes it is important for entrepreneurs to include a description of what the organization does. It creates that additional value and connection with the organization.

Muller suggests entrepreneurs when someone sends them a thank you email, they should quote them and ask if they would recommend them on LinkedIn. When they want to connect with someone, they should always include a personal note. The note should answer these 3 questions.

• Where you meet?
• Who introduced you?
• Why are you reaching out?

Entrepreneurs should upload their logos, description and other relevant content. They can comment on current events, case studies, or blog posts. Muller emphasizes 43% of marketers found a customer through LinkedIn. To increase exposure on LinkedIn, entrepreneurs can reach out to people through their posts. They can congratulate them on their new positions. They can learn about other people through news feeds, which comes from auto Google Alert. Entrepreneurs can ask for introduction and share articles to demonstrate their knowledge of their expertise.

LinkedIn Premium is a service that allows entrepreneurs to see who view their profile. It also has the InMail function where they can surpass all connection levels. LinkedIn group is another feature that can help entrepreneurs interact with others. LinkedIn group is only valuable if members are active and are the target audience. LinkedIn group can have active posts, allows people to have regular engagement. It is a great way to brand with content and it is a place to have free job postings.

LinkedIn is now expanding to the market of sharing and recording live videos.

Crash course to marketing on Facebook

Based on statistic, Facebook has over 1.86 billion users worldwide. It is the community with consumers in a non-obtrusive way. Entrepreneurs use Facebook for brand discovery, build brand trust, brand engagement, lead generation, conversion, and retention. In short, there are 5 stages to create trust on Facebook: discovery, engagement, evaluation, conversion, and retention. Entrepreneurs can focus the right audience, which means Facebook allows them to reach out to their specific audience in their specific niche.

Yuen shares the formula for trust:

• Value x Time x Consistency

Yuen explains Facebook is biased. Facebook has the goal to keep people in Facebook as long as possible. Therefore, sharing post is prioritized on within Facebook posts then external links. Facebook will favor posts that have many engagements, such as likes, comments, and shares. Furthermore, the prioritized order is livestream, video, and then image.

Entrepreneurs can create Facebook page or Facebook group. Facebook page runs like a mailing list, but not everyone gets to see the post. Yuen explains Facebook is not a charity, which means entrepreneurs need to pay in order to increase the reach. Facebook group runs like a community. It provides great supports from members. The preference of either Facebook page or Facebook group depends on brand tone and brand voice. Many entrepreneurs create Facebook group, but they often forget to brand it.

Yuen wants entrepreneurs remember that when it comes to branding on Facebook, it is not about them. People join group or like a page is because they see entertainment, status, or something new and exciting. Entrepreneurs should never be a spammer. They can invite or encourage people to take action. Moreover, entrepreneurs need to do something remarkable. This includes livestream. Humor can be a great way to connect. Lastly, it is important to be informative, not annoying. They should find ways to add value with the right content. Yuen believes the ratio should be 70:20:10. This means 70% from public share, 20% from individual posts, and 10% go for the ask. Entrepreneurs cannot rush trust. Consistency is the key. Therefore, entrepreneurs need to plan ahead on schedule, use online tools, have consistent frequency on posting.

“Trust and authority does not come automatically”

“You need to prime the pump”

Yuen provides 4 traffic hacks for entrepreneurs to use to gain exposure on Facebook. First, seed best posts. Entrepreneurs should put money on the best post, and do not boost posts that are not engaging. Second, use livestream. Third, have giveaway. They can share giveaway and boost post as an ad on Facebook. Last, have engagement linked giveaway.