What’s the Best Way to Connect with New People on LinkedIn?

What’s the best way to send a LinkedIn invite to somebody you don’t know?

If you are in sales, marketing, recruitment or looking for a job you’ll know that to generate leads you sometimes have to connect with new people to create opportunities; the question is really how do you go about this in the best way.

I decided to ask Aimee Bateman who is a featured writer for The Undercover Recruiter what she thinks. In this video we talk about:

  • The best ways of connecting with prospects on LinkedIn
  • Why personalising a message is so important
  • What option to pick (friend, colleague, classmate, done business with etc)
  • What invites Aimee herself would accept/reject
  • Aimee’s words of wisdom regarding LinkedIn invites

RELATED: How NOT to Connect with Recruiters on LinkedIn

Filed Under: LinkedIn, Video Tagged With: ,

My PeerIndex Social Media and Influence Interview

peerindex score jorgen sundberg

Here’s an interview I did with the good folks over at PeerIndex. They kindly invited me to an event in London a few months back and we’ve kept in touch since.

My PeerIndex profile (and everyone else’s) is unfortunately frozen so looks a bit dated but they are working on a new layout to presented soon apparently.

You can see the original piece article here: PEERINTERVIEW: Jorgen Sundberg.

1. What attracted you to social media?

I started using social media when I was still a technology recruiter. Historically, recruiters relied on their own database, job adverts and referrals. The calibre of people I was looking for would never apply to jobs, their details on our database would most likely be out of date, so referrals was the main source of finding ‘fresh blood’.

Until of course one day I discovered LinkedIn, luckily ahead of most of the competition. We were able to network on LinkedIn, identify and approach the right candidates, especially the ones who weren’t looking for new roles. So I have social media to thank for a good run in recruitment – and now I am a social media consultant.

2.How do you use social media in your line of work?

In several ways, first of all I use social media to have a professional identity. I know most people will find my LinkedIn and Twitter profiles when they google me. Second, I use it to connect with people I do business with; partners, customers, suppliers and such. Third, I use it for branding; sharing useful updates from our blogs, industry sites, general social media tips ‘n’ tricks. Finally, we also use it to target new clients based on demographics, location, job titles and so on.

3. What five tips can you give on how to be a good influencer?

  • Know your purpose – what brings you onto social media in the first place? Is it to get a job, promotion, clients, investors? Have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and try to set some success metrics if possible (e.g. X number of relevant followers by end of Dec).
  • Find your voice – you ought to look at what 3-5 things you want to be known for online. The more targeted you can be, the better. Nothing wrong with talking nuclear physics and lol-katz but make sure you get the balance right.
  • Find your peers – who will be useful for you to engage with? Who would you love to have read your new blog post or retweet you? Identify the influencers in your space and make sure you get on their radar for the right reasons – apply a non-salesy approach here please.
  • Be a leader – retweeting Mashable and TechCrunch all day is not original. Stop looking at what everyone else is doing and do your own thing. People will respect you for having your own opinion and daring to do something different. And you will become a leader in your niche over time.
  • And as the question included the word ‘good’, remember that you have influence and you have to use it for good things. Help out with charity campaigns whenever possible, retweet and highlight contributions for less known users and try to be helpful if you have the time. Remember that you are setting an example for lots of new users every day.

4. Where do you see social media going in the next five years?

Finally dropping the word ‘social’? I have a feeling social media will be embedded in everything we do from now on. Humans crave attention from other humans and social media has enabled us to get this wherever we may be (provided there is 3G or WiFi of course).

5. Who is your favourite influential tweeter?

Outside the social recruiting bubble that I operate in, I enjoy tweets from @Queen_UK. Who knew she had such a sense of humour? And adopting technology at that age, well done.

meerkats selling insurance again

6. Three websites which you would recommend are:

Again outside the recruitment / HR world, I would recommend:

7. If you were an animal what you be and why?

A meerkat, need to sort out car insurance.

photo by: marfis75
Filed Under: Jorgen's Life, Monthly, Press Tagged With: , , , ,

How I Found My Perfect Match [Cosmopolitan Interview]

he says she says cosmopolitan interview sundbergs

The internet is great for many things. Using it I’ve bought a house, got my last job and oh yes – found a wife. Thanks to Match.com I’ve been happily married for almost a year now. And just in time for our first anniversary, Mrs Sundberg and I have been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine here in the UK (Page 113/114 June edition).

Our piece isn’t on the magazine’s website but I have managed to get my hands on the article and photos. Many thanks to Brands2Life, Match UK and The Worx for making this happen!

Below is the article in its entirety as written up by Lorna Gray. You may want to check out the PDF originals as well; Page 1 & Page 2.

- – -

‘We found love online’ Internet dating can be a nightmare – but not for this couple. Do you believe in instant attraction? Newlyweds Sophie and Jorgen from north London did – even before their first date.

So, how did you find each other?

SOPHIE “We met online in 2008. Some of my friends had tried internet dating so I decided to give it a go.”

JORGEN “I think we both found it hard to meet people because we were living quite hectic lives in London and I was ready to settle down. I’d only been on the website for a few months when I met Sophie.”

Who made the first move?

SOPHIE “I sent him a message. I thought he looked really sweet in his pictures on Match.com and he seemed like my type of guy. My friends warned me about players online so I was quite selective in who I spoke to. But I just had a really good feeling about Jorgen.”

JORGEN “The first thing that struck me about Sophie was her pictures. Her gorgeous red hair stood out as I’ve always loved redheads. Oh, and the freckles. Very cute. I was really flattered she initiated it.”

SOPHIE “We messaged back and forth a few times and spoke on the phone. Then we decided to go on a date. It sounds nuts but I already knew it was something special. I’d told my mates about him and everything.”

JORGEN “I was the same. I couldn’t wait to meet her in person.” Were you nervous on your first date?

BOTH “Yes!”

SOPHIE “When I got on the Underground to meet Jorgen, I realised in my nervous state I had left my front door unlocked and my oven on!”

JORGEN “So my first impression was Sophie in a mad panic, on the phone to her flatmate telling her that their flat was going to burn down. It was oddly endearing.”

SOPHIE “Luckily my flatmate was on her way home so I managed to relax. We went to a really nice Thai restaurant and then for some drinks. There was an instant attraction between us and the conversation flowed easily.”

So you knew that there’d be a date number two?

SOPHIE “Yes, I even broke my no-kissing rule! I told myself I wasn’t going to kiss anyone until I’d been on three dates with them because I was taking it really seriously. I was determined to find a meaningful relationship – I didn’t want to mess about.”

JORGEN “But I guess it felt like we’d been on three or four dates by the first time we met anyway, as we’d spoken so much and found out a lot about each other.”

And how did your relationship blossom?

JORGEN “Sophie and I became ‘official’ quite quickly, probably after about five dates.”

SOPHIE “Looking back, it was all a bit of a whirlwind but we both knew what we wanted. It wasn’t long before I knew we’d be together forever.”

Aww! What was the proposal like?

SOPHIE “We were in Lille in France in December 2010. We’d been out for dinner and it was snowing outside with all the Christmas lights on – very romantic. That is, until Jorgen said he had a stomach ache and asked if we could walk a bit slower.”

JORGEN “It was a decoy!”

SOPHIE “I didn’t realise, though, and I was worried about him. I was talking nonstop until he asked me to shut up as he needed to say something. I thought he was going to ask what to do about his stomach pain… but instead he caught me by complete surprise and said, ‘Will you marry me?’”

JORGEN “And she said no!”

SOPHIE “I blurted out ‘no’ because I was in total shock. But then I asked him to repeat what he’d said and answered, ‘Of course.’”

jorgen and sophie sundberg egypt cologne and getting hitched

What was the wedding like?

JORGEN “It really was the best day of our lives. We got married last May in London and had our reception at Alexandra Palace. We put a lot of thought into making it as personal as possible.”

SOPHIE “We tried to integrate our Swedish, Italian and Irish roots. We walked into the church together as Swedes do, we had an Irish harpist, and we had an opera singer perform in Italian.”

Lovely! What’s the glue that holds you together?

SOPHIE: “We have a similar outlook on life and generally just like being together, which always helps!”

JORGEN: “We definitely have the same mentality. But we’ve got different interests, which is good too. She’s outdoorsy, whereas I like reading and blogging.”

What’s your advice for a successful relationship?

SOPHIE: “I’d say 100% honesty, even in the small things. Sex is obviously  important but you shouldn’t base your relationship on it.”

JORGEN: “I’d agree – it’s all about being honest.”

mr and mrs grilling test

Mr & Mrs Test – Jorgen’s Grilling

What’s she most scared of?

HE SAYS: “Sleepless nights.”

SHE SAYS: “I’m scared of heights.”

What’s her worst habit?

HE SAYS: “Talking too much!”

SHE SAYS: “I talk a bit too much for him.”

What does she like you wearing?

HE SAYS: “My skinny jeans and tweed jacket.”

SHE SAYS: “His blue suit or tweed jacket and skinny jeans with brogues.”

What’s her favourite song?

HE SAYS “House tunes from the ’90s – possibly Rhythm Is A Dancer.”

SHE SAYS “Barry White’s You’re The First, The Last, My Everything. It was our first dance.”

What could she not live without?

HE SAYS “Me! (and Italian cooking ingredients).”

SHE SAYS “Jorgen.”

HE SCORES: 3/5

Mr & Mrs Test – Sophie’s Grilling

What’s he most scared of?

SHE SAYS: “Taking off in an aeroplane, or heights.”

HE SAYS: “Scuba diving.”

What’s his worst habit?

SHE SAYS: “When he shakes his leg.”

HE SAYS:  “When I constantly shake my leg.”

What does he like you wearing the most?

SHE SAYS: “Skinny jeans, heels and a sparkly top… I think.”

HE SAYS: “Skinny jeans, sparkly stuff.”

What’s his favourite song?

SHE SAYS: “I don’t think he has one favourite.”

HE SAYS: “Anything by Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones.”

What could he not live without?

SHE SAYS:  “Me… or the internet.”

HE SAYS: “Sophie (and the internet).”

SHE SCORES: 3/5

- – -

thank you note match.com uk dating direct

Related: So We Got Married [Wedding Dance Video Inside].

Filed Under: Jorgen's Life, Monthly, Press Tagged With:

10 Ways To Make Social Media Work for Your Personal Brand

Make Social Media Work for You

ShortList Magazine here in the UK recently interviewed me about social media and personal branding. If you have never seen the magazine, it’s a commuter-optimised publication handed out for free every Thursday around Britain, currently with a circulation of half a million.

The content is not very in-depth as the name suggests, just like many bloggers they like to write their articles up as lists. This way it’s a quick read and most people can get through the magazine during their 45-minute commute to the office (well, if they live in London at least).

Here is what I came up with and thought would be published – but as you can see from the image above, they edited and shortened the text slightly.

1. Control Google

Your personal brand is equal to your Google search results, the best way to influence these results is to get active on social. Search engines love to see fresh content coming out of blogs, Twitter and LinkedIn.

2. One Picture

You want people googling you to find the same or at least similar picture of you on different platforms, recruiters always cross-reference candidates for instance. Use one image across the board that represents your brand online. If you’re a lawyer you should probably wear a tie, an architect could get away with a turtleneck.

3. Tagline Consistency

Your personal tagline is where you tell the reader who you are and what you do in about 10 words. Whatever your tagline is, make sure it’s in your Twitter bio, LinkedIn headline and other places to achieve that consistency.

4. Know Your Audience

Being on every two-bit social network is not going to help you, instead look at where your target audience like to hang out and be there. Accountants like LinkedIn, marketing types are all over Twitter, writers like blogging and photographers tend to favour Facebook.

5. Connecting with People

Just like traditional networking, social networking is all about who you know. Social media has made it easier to approach senior business types that historically have had strict gatekeepers. For instance, you can start with following someone on Twitter or commenting on their blog. Exchange a few words online to make sure you’re on their radar. Then advance things by connecting on LinkedIn and take it from there.

6. Content Marketing

Just like large companies think about the content they put out on social media every day and week, so should you. Set up a system of procuring quality content from around the web that is relevant to your audience. Present this to your network on a regular basis, just remember to add your twist to anything you share if possible.

7. Create Content

Even better than procuring content is creating content. This way you are not just reporting the news, you are the news. Content can be anything from a blog post, a podcast or a simple YouTube clip that you can embed anywhere. Ideally others will enjoy your content and like, share, comment.

8. Listening

Any good salesperson does more listening than talking. Any good social media user will set up a listening system so they can monitor mentions for their name, company and industry keywords. The more you know about your market, the better you can position your brand. Use Twitter Search, LinkedIn Signal and Google Alerts for this.

9. Meet People

Social media allows you to network from home but some of the strongest business relationships I have started on social networks and were then taken offline. Make sure to meet up with people for a coffee, lunch or at events – this will create even stronger bonds online.

10. Remember to Switch Off

As brilliant as social media may be, it’s also a giant time bandit. If you find yourself easily losing half an hour just following a hashtag, it’s time to cut down. Try setting a daily limit on your social media activity by using tools like Freedom and StayFocusd.

What’s worked for your personal brand on social media? Please let me know in the comments!

Image credit Rhiannon Hughes

Filed Under: Expert Interview, Personal Branding, Press, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

My Social Media Interview for a University of Hertfordshire Dissertation

I was recently asked a few dissertation questions by a student from the University of Hertfordshire (that’s just north of London in case you are wondering). The questions were about how Link Humans was set up and how we move things forward. Here are my answers:

What’s the background information about Link Humans?

Link Humans was set up in 2010, the objectives are to consult, train and advise companies on the use of social media for recruitment, marketing, brand building. There were two of us starting out in London and we are currently four, based in London and Paris.

What issues did you face in marketing and promoting your business during the early days?

No brand awareness for Link Humans to begin with but we did have our personal brands to leverage (still do!). No budget for marketing so we have done it all ourselves on social media and networking events in London.

What social media tools you use to promote your business and how effective are they to reach your target market?

We blog about once per week on the Link Humans site, these blogs posts are then broadcast to Twitter via the @LinkHumans account and our personal accounts. We also share our blog posts on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Blogging has been very effective as long as we write relevant articles about the target market and make sure that industry people see the posts. We try to ensure the content is inspirational, the idea is that potential clients will see what other clients have done successfully and will want to work with us.

How can your business make the best use of social media?

I hope we’re already doing it. We’re all very active on Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging and some of us use Facebook and Google Plus with success. We could use YouTube more and add informational videos, on-screen tutorials, interviews and testimonials.

What are the difficulties or challenges faced when using social media related to your business?

Time – Twitter for instance can be very time consuming, we try not to get sucked in too much as it’s easy to lose an hour just following a hashtag.

Delegation – who does what on a daily basis, we have keep a schedule of activities and responsibilities.

Keeping it relevant – we know that prospective clients are probably not going to be on Pinterest, instead they will want to read a meaty blog post that relates to their challenges. So whilst we are early adopters of new social networks we have to remember who our target audience are.

Social media is a mode of communication that develops everyday, how do you update yourself?

Everyone at Link Humans deals with social media but it’s still difficult to keep up with new developments as changes happen constantly. There is so much information out there, the trick is to filter it down to what is really important. One way of doing this is to use Google News, LinkedIn Signal and reading respectable blogs.

How do you measure the success of using social media?

Quantitative – followers, conversations, website analytics, email subscribers, enquiries, business meetings, sales

Qualitative – brand awareness, reputation, word-of-mouth

See more at The Story of Link Humans [Video Interview].

Filed Under: Expert Interview, Monthly, Networking Tagged With:
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