This infographic finds that LinkedIn may not be all that it’s cut out to be. Sure, it’s great for business, but people only use it for that – business.

They found that people of the business mindset are still in that mindset even when on Facebook. Using it effectively could tremendously help your business. We’ll let the infographic give you the rest of the details:

This should come as no surprise to those who are business minded. Linkedin is more of a no non-sense social networking site. “I don’t wanna see pictures of your gandchild, I wanna know what your company can do for me”. This mentality rules out Facebook and Twitter seems less than organized for targeted searches of a professional nature.

Business minded people are drawn to Linkedin and the numbers don’t lie. Check out this bar graph assembled by HubSpot:

Some tricks to using LinkedIn for growing your business include paying attention to what’s already working for you on the site. Look at what draws customers in and do more of that. It just makes sense. Why do you think big company’s always ask, “How did you hear about us?”.

Also, stay vigilant. Just because blogs about your industry are mentioning you and bringing in leads doesn’t mean that is the only vehicle you should rely on. Keep expanding your horizons and testing the waters. Exposure in different circles can be crucial to expanding your base of customers.

Word of mouth is still the best way to gain fame in any arena. People love to reccommend services. It makes them feel connected. If someone has an overwhelmingly positive experience or unique story about your services, attempt to capture that feedback and get it visible to other potential clients.

Not that Facebook isn’t a good place to advertise, but to me, it seems like more of a ‘family and friends’ network. Concentrate on something designed for strict business and marketing connections.

LinkedIn can be a tremendous source of web traffic, and perhaps more importantly, it can be a tremendous source of highly targeted web traffic, given the professional nature of the network.

Do you count LinkedIn among your most valued traffic sources? Let us know in the comments.

A while back, we posted an article about how LinkedIn can be one of your most valuable traffic sources. We talked to entrepreneur Lewis Howes, who claimed LinkedIn was one of the top traffic sources to his blogs.

“Anytime you can increase the size of your network on LinkedIn, it will give you the opportunity to distribute your content to more people, therefore driving more traffic back to your site,” he said. “You need to take into consideration that LinkedIn has the highest average household income per user over any other social networking site (even NYTimes.com and BusinessWeek.com readers). That being said, these are business decision makers you are targeting with your traffic from LinkedIn. The network is for real, and it will only continue to grow in time as there are currently 60 million professionals.”

That was over a year ago. The network has indeed grown significantly since then. It now has over 100 million members, and going public probably won’t do much to slow down growth.

Howes had written his own article on steps to take to drive traffic with LinkedIn. These were:

1. Complete your profile.
2. Increase you connections.
3. Customize your website links.
4. Answer questions.
5. Update your status.
6. Join niche groups.
7. Post comments in groups.
8. Add RSS feeds to groups.
9. Create a group.
10. Add the blog application to your profile.

Since that article, LinkedIn has done quite a few things, and luckily for site owners, some of them have huge implications as traffic drivers.

Earlier this month, BusinessInsider posted a pretty inspirational chart showing how traffic from LinkedIn suddenly skyrocketed:

Nicholas Carlson says LinkedIn product manager Liz Walker told the publication that the traffic was “coming from a bunch of sources – mostly new products like LinkedIn.com/Today, newsletters, and LinkedIn News.” LinkedIn’s “inShares” (see the LinkedIn share button at the top of this article) contribute to these. Obviously using these and/or other plugins from the company can help.

LinkedIn Today is a product the company launched in beta in March. It was launched with the aim of showing what users’ connections and coworkers (people you know) are sharing, what industry peers are sharing, and what stories are interesting to the broader audience. If you’re creating compelling content, just like with any other social network, you have a good chance of increasing your traffic here, provided you are able to drive influence within your industry.

Again, this brings forward the appeal of targeted traffic, as opposed to just traffic. LinkedIn Today is accessible via the “news” tab on the LinkedIn homepage.

Of course, LinkedIn has a news feed section just like Twitter/Facebook, so building your network in general is key. Obviously this key for reasons beyond traffic, but it should certainly help in this area as well. LinkedIn’s Lindsey Pollak recently provided some tips for sprucing up your presence on the network, which could help overall. She suggested kick-starting your keywords, featuring a new photo, adding some apps, and getting active in groups.

“If you’re not attracting a lot of interest to your LinkedIn profile, take a look at what words you use to describe yourself,” she says. “They might be doing more harm than good. Last month, LinkedIn released a list of the top 10 LinkedIn profile termsthat are most overused by professionals based in the United States.”

These terms are as follows:

Extensive experience
Innovative
Motivated
Results-oriented
Dynamic
Proven track record
Team player
Fast-paced
Problem solver
Entrepreneurial

Suffice it to say, you should be giving people a compelling reason to want to connect with you, and separating yourself from the crowd. Even if you are already doing this with your content, they may never see the content if their first impression of you comes from a lackluster LinkedIn profile.

In terms of apps, she says, “If you travel frequently, try TripIt, which enables you to share your travel itineraries and potentially set up appointments and build deeper relationships with LinkedIn connections in the cities you visit. If you’re a visual type, consider SlideShare or Google Presentation, which allow you to add presentations to your profile. I also love the Reading List by Amazon, which invites you to post books you’re reading and share your reviews with your LinkedIn connections. The overall goal of adding more applications is to give people as many reasons as possible to find something in common with you.”

Essentially, these are just more ways to spark engagement, which can trickle down into traffic (and engaged traffic at that). LinkedIn’s app directory can be found here. Obviously the Groups also contribute to the engagement factor.

Also keep in mind that LinkedIn regularly sends emails to users. These include emails for LinkedIn Today updates and Network Updates, which display profiles, connections, new contacts, posts, groups, photos, recommendations, and applications.

Study

A recent study from LeadFormix found:

1. 24 % of all visitors from LinkedIn to a B2B website are enterprise visitors (leads).

8. Visitors from LinkedIn company pages are most likely to spend more than 10 minutes on a company website.

Given all of this week’s LinkedIn news, it’s clear that the network is bigger than ever, and doesn’t show any signs of dwindling down anytime soon. If you’re not capitalizing on it as a potential traffic source, you might be missing out big time – and at a time when the importance of diversifying your traffic sources has truly been driven home by Google’s Panda update. It’s also worth noting, however, that people sharing your content on LinkedIn can actually help you with Google’s social search.

LinkedIn has expanded its mobile presence recently too. This should only help general use of the network, and potentially help for increased traffic as well. Last month, the company launched the first version of its Android app. Shortly before that, they also launched a feature phone app. Remember, there are still a lot of people out there that haven’t upgraded to smartphones. This can keep them engaged with the network and show them your content while they’re on the go.

Do you see significant traffic from LinkedIn? Comment here.

While the announcement doesn’t make any mention of expansion beyond these three industries, it would only make sense. The company already has strong footholds in a variety of sectors with sites like The Huffington Post, Engadget, AOL Autos, etc.

It does say, “AOL Industry will offer subject-specific news, information, tools, video and analysis, and foster niche communities that enable professionals, experts and government employees to engage each other.”

The new initiative makes interesting use of LinkedIn. Users can use the social network integration to see personal connections to people and companies that are making news in a particular industry.

“Launching AOL Industry allows us to bring to specific business sectors the same sense of community for which AOL Huffington Post Media Group consumer sites are well-known,” said President of the recently formed AOL Huffington Post Media Group, Arianna Huffington. “We’re applying a blend of news, opinion and engagement to industries that have their own unique audiences, and creating a forum for influencers to connect and communicate with one another. We’re excited to launch AOL Energy today and see the site as an original offering for decision-makers and experts looking to keep up with a fascinating, fast-moving and complex field.”

The AOL Industry unit is being led by VP and General Manager Jay Kirsch. He says, “We believe there’s a great opportunity in creating targeted platforms by and for influencers in distinct industries and government. These sites will combine the best of news and information with the social, visual and personal aspects of today’s web. In fast-moving, specialized industries, decision-makers need an easy to use, authoritative source to stay on top of the news and to connect with one another.”

Naturally, the whole thing creates some new advertising opportunities for the company. “This is not only an incredible opportunity for industry experts and thought-leaders to take advantage of a unique platform, but it’s also a new way for advertisers to connect directly with executives and influencers in these sectors,” said AOL Advertising President Jeff Levick.

AOL Energy is up and running, while AOL Defense and AOL Government will be “launching soon”. Peter Gardett, Colin Clark, and Wyatt Kash (respectively) have been appointed as editors.

Much of this trend has been based upon B2C offerings, however, and where B2C trends occur, B2B trends tend to follow. It’s happened with email, social media, and will likely come around again full circle with local and even local email. 

It’s all about the next Groupon or "the Groupon of…fill in the blank" these days, it seems. Google and Facebook, for example, have products on the way like Google Offers and Facebook’s Buy With Friends that could rival Groupon in the niche of localized deals and group buying. 

Everywhere you look, you see Groupon clones or some niche variation on the concept. For instance, you’ve got:

- "The Groupon for Good"
- "The Groupon for Casual Games"
- "The Groupon for Green Shoppers"
- "The Groupon for Travel"
- "The Groupon for Publishers and Bookstores"
- "The Groupon for Cause Marketing"
- "The Groupon for Moms"
- Etc. 
- Etc.
- Etc.

Groupon is about group buying, but even more so, it’s about localized content and email marketing. How do I know what Groupon offer is available in my area every day? I get an email from Groupon letting me know, and I know it’s personalized to me based on geography, which makes it much more likely to be something I’ll actually use, than if it were something available to all Groupon customers around the world. 

Now apply that concept on a B2B (that’s business-to-business) level – perhaps an office supplies vendor, a business that cleans uniforms. In fact, you can apply it to B2C businesses as well, because the businesses have employees, and they’re all consumers. 

B2B works for consumer-facing businesses too. A restaurant, for example, could offer a business a way to give their employees discounts on meals, or a golf club or gym could do the same with discounted memberships. 

In fact, the concept works even for national brands (which could spend a lot of money with such a service) that have local locations. Much of the appeal of local is on the consumer side anyway. A consumer (or business on the receiving end) is likely to feel a deal is more personalized to them as long as the local angle is there (this is an area Groupon could improve upon itself, by the way).

Email marketing works for B2B. It stands to reason that local email marketing, of the sort Groupon caters to, would work extremely well for small and local businesses. It also stands to reason that we’ll see more startups looking to fill this void in the Groupon-mania induced gold rush of 2011.  

Expect to see more "The Groupon of…" verticals aimed at local businesses. Groupon calls itself the "savior for small business". There’s room for such a savior for local B2B business too, which isn’t the kind of business you normally see in your daily Groupon emails.

ChoiceVendor is based in San Francisco and was founded by CEO Yan-David Erlich and VP of engineering Rama Ranganath.

"Our acquisition of ChoiceVendor is right in line with our top priority to build a world-class team at LinkedIn, says LinkedIn CEO  Jeff Weiner. "We’ve admired the work that Yan-David, Rama, and the talented ChoiceVendor team have done for some time now and are excited to have them join us, especially given their highly relevant work experience."

"Since Yan-David and I worked with members of the LinkedIn team in the past during our time at Google, we’ve kept a sharp eye on the company’s phenomenal growth," said Rama Ranganath, one of ChoiceVendor’s co-founders. "We’re excited about the direction that LinkedIn is headed, particularly in terms of helping its members derive valuable business insights from the site, and are looking forward to joining the team."

LinkedIn currently has over 75 million users. Financial terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed. 

According to BusinessWeek, Weiner is hinting at an IPO, saying it would be an option for the company has it adds talent and technology tools that appeal to businesses. According to that article, the company expects to have 900 employees by the end of the year.

According to the results, about 66 percent of marketers utilized social media this year, up from just 20% in 2007. Half of those surveyed use viral videos, up from a quarter in 2007.

Top social networks used by marketers according to the survey:

- Facebook (74 percent)
- YouTube (65 percent)
- Twitter (63 percent)
- LinkedIn (60 percent)

The most effective newer media platforms in 2009 according to the survey:

- Search engine marketing (SEM) (65 percent)
- Own Web site (59 percent)
- SEO (55 percent)
- E-mail marketing (45 percent)

"As more media platforms become available, it is imperative that all marketers continue to assess their capabilities and select the platforms that are best suited to help them meet their brand’s goals and objectives," said Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the ANA. "With this proliferation of media, marketers must work harder, survey the entire landscape available to them and create their brand’s most optimal media mix."

The survey highlights the differences in social media use among B2B and B2C marketers. B2C use more mobile and Facebook marketing, while B2B use LinkedIn and even Twitter more. B2C marketers get more out of search engine marketing, while B2B marketers get more out of webinars.

When it comes to paying for social media campaigns, 55 percent of those surveyed shifted funds from their traditional media budgets, while 48% shifted funds from other marketing communications budgets. Only 26% created an incremental budget. ROI and metrics are still the top concerns companies have about social media.

The report breaks down the use of social media by Social Technographic role by type of social media involvement (types explained in this PPT):

(Click To Enlarge)

The “Overall” column indicates what percentage of those surveyed fell into that type of social media activity. Note that, obviously, there is overlap between roles—Creators, who generate online content, can also be Critics, who leave blog comments, etc.

Takeaways here:

• 91% of these decision-makers consume social media including blogs, video, and customer reviews.
• 69% of Spectators use social media for business purposes.
• 55% of the B2B buyers in this survey are Joiners—they’ve created profiles on social networks.
• After Spectators, the most popular role is Critics (again, people who leave comments on blogs, review products, etc.), with 58% of those sampled engaging in this activity, and 37% using it for business purposes.
• Other than the Inactives, B2B buyers in IT fields were more engaged in social media—but the gap between IT buyers and non-IT buyers is narrowing.
• 43% are creating media, including blogs and videos.

The report also made some recommendations and general observations, including:

• Buyers use social technology but don’t rate it highly in terms of its influence on their buying decisions, despite the fact that they count on peers’ opinions to make decisions.
• Social applications should be integrated into other marketing. For example, National Instruments makes technical content from its customer community central in its marketing activity—this is a model other B2B sellers should follow.
• Reach out to people by role—people with the same job description form natural communities.

What other applications can we see from this information?

Comments

A few years back when we talked affiliate marketing with eBay, we ended on a note about industrial and similar businesses that could make more of their online marketing efforts, but for myriad reason did not. Search marketing offers potential returns a B2B firm should consider.

The KoMarketing Associates blog showed seven ways search marketing, with Google as the central theme, promise so much for the business to business market. For starters, they recommend a B2B company enter its products into Google Base.

A huge benefit comes from having products uploaded to Google Base. At the top of the search results for a relevant query, just under the paid search section, one’s listings might appear as part of Google’s Product Search.

For placement purposes, making it to this section means a lot more people see it, and since those viewers searched for terms related to that B2B product, they may have a strong interest in closing a deal.

Using YouTube to promote a company by demonstrating products and providing other information serves as a complementary way of marketing via search. A query for how to manage a piece of machinery, answered in an authoritative way with a video on YouTube, helps reinforce brand authority for the viewer.

That’s a powerful marketing prospect, one that firms should be loathe to overlook. The arrival of universal search, where videos and images mix with text links in search results, means such videos stand a chance of showing up in Google’s heavily used search pages.

KoMarketing Associates also noted the virtue of promoting a B2B appearance at a trade show through both SEO and SEM. With search marketing, a clickable ad that leads to an appointment at an event may carry through to a sale.

They also stressed the importance of marketing for export, as well as for local markets. A B2B customer in one’s local market makes for a valuable commodity, one that a little SEO strategy should help capture.

Size doesn’t matter in B2B, as a company with products and a market in demand for them benefit from connecting. If competitors already embrace search marketing to capture this, a firm that isn’t doing as much needs to play catch-up to help with profitability.

Galen De Young, managing director of Francis SEO, says research suggests b2b customers overwhelmingly ignore PPC ads in favor of organic listings. That and local search often fails to present businesses that serve a larger area than just their home base, or also nearby cities.

The second issue, where lists of service areas are often incomplete or inadequately promoted, is not properly addressed by alternative geocentric search concepts based on mapping. Listings still appear for the home office area only, even though business is done outside of it.

De Young gives a nice tutorial about ways to optimize your local business’ website for better visibility in organic search results. Some of the advice will seem standard to professional SEOers, like making sure there is a landing page for every market or location served, and that each page has unique content rather than template-generated pages with location information substituted in.

There are also some finer points made, like making sure URLs are not just static, but each URL, URL title tag, and meta description are geo-specific. Anchor text for links should also reflect that, and information shouldn’t be hidden from search bots via drop-down menus.