LinkedIn needs to be a habit, Future Factory's Breakfast Briefing says

“What we find happens when people learn how to use LinkedIn for new business, is that people get very enthusiastic about it,” she said. “But after a couple of weeks, urgent tasks take over rather than the important– understandably – and LinkedIn falls further down the task list.”

Jasser alerted the audience of six key points to LinkedIn success:

1. Establish your presence online– be clear on what your company and what you can offer to clients and prospects through thought-leadership content.

   Tip: To help drive traffic to your website, ensure your personal LinkedIn profile includes a link to your company website.

2. Choose the right connections – by researching what you have in common with a prospect and writing tailored communication.
3. Creating engaging content – posting useful and engaging content based on what your audience is interested in. Don’t broadcast. Communicate.

   Tip: Google AdWords can help you to understand what advice and information people are searching for, and you can use this insight to guide and inform your content calendar.

4. How to cross-sell and up-sell on LinkedIn to build loyalty – making your company a thought leader and educator.

   Tip: If you don’t have time to always write fresh content, you can share great and relevant content from other sources and influencers that perhaps you follow.

5. Communicate in groups – involving your company in groups by being genuine, helpful, and informative.
6. How to use ‘InMail’ – by avoiding common fails by talking about your company, instead focussing on answering how you can help your audience.

   Tip: Add the prospects name into the subject line of your InMail. They’ll be much more likely to open the message!

Tom Webster, account director and marketing lead at The Future Factory, said that the event was designed to help its existing clients and contacts be informed about the best practice for using LinkedIn. “LinkedIn is often thought of as a corporate site, and not for the creative industries,” he said. “We wanted to show that it was a good tool for new business, if used properly.”

Jasser also emphasised that half-hearted attempts wouldn’t work. “Don’t just talk for the sake of it,” she said. “Listen to your audience and respond. People now have an attention span of 8 seconds, while a goldfish has 9, so your commentary has to be engaging and relevant.”

The Future Factory is running its next breakfast session, which take place quarterly, in February around the topic of ‘How To Sell Your Agency’. Speakers, dates and location will be announced in December.