Viveka von Rosen
Co-Founder of Vengreso/LinkedIn Expert
Viveka von Rosen is rightly known as the @LinkedInExpert. She is author of the best-selling “LinkedIn: 101 Ways to Rock Your Personal Brand!” Her business mission is to help sales professionals and business owners create more quality and qualified conversions on LinkedIn.
And as Co-founder of Vengreso, she continues to practice what she preaches; Vengreso is the largest provider of full spectrum Modern Digital Sales transformation solutions.
What should we know about Viveka von Rosen?
Viveka has been a student and teacher of all things LinkedIn since the social media platform had 7 million users. Today it has 700 million. She’s been named in Forbes (4 years running) as a top social media expert and is a regular contributor and has been featured in Forbes, BuzzFeed, Inc., CNN, Entrepreneur, Selling Power and the Social Media Examiner. When Viveka is not handing out advice on social media, she’s either diving or hang gliding or hiking the trails near her Colorado home.
Why did she decide to concentrate on LinkedIn?
When Viveka started using LinkedIn, it had only 7 million users and was just a few months older than Facebook. At that time there was only one book on it. She loved it as a networking tool – a Rolodex on steroids. Since then, LinkedIn has grown to more than just a recruitment tool. It’s a place to build a personal and corporate brand.
Why is LinkedIn an important part of creating a strong brand, whether it’s personal or corporate?
It is more than just uploading a resume or company information. It is buyer-centric. It includes a headline, about section, media you upload – all focused on the buyer.
Have B2B companies done better during the pandemic because they used LinkedIn?
B2B companies have been more effective during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, you might have been good to go with old school with conferences, trade shows, entertaining, etc. But in the past year, it’s been a great way to provide that same information on one platform.
What makes a good impression on LinkedIn?
-Make sure you and your team have a good strong brand.
-Create cohesive background images. Viveka recommends creating more than one. You can have 5-6 generic and some specific to content, events and products. Maintain a library of images and show employees how to upload them.
-Use the 220 characters in the headline to tell people how you can help them.
-Use a photo that actually looks like you.
-In the About section, you have 2000 characters to expand on the headline. Boost it with information on how you can help your target, companies you have helped, testimonials and more.
-In the Featured section, add media to support your brand with video, testimonials, white papers, presentations and samples of your work.
In 2020 there was a 55% increase in conversations. What types of content are the best for LinkedIn if we are trying to create a stand-out brand?
Don’t just get on LinkedIn and do the bare minimum. You must customize the invitation. Answer the question, “why would I want to connect with you?” Remember it’s not a numbers game; always quality, not quantity.
For example, if you are reaching out to a new contact, look at the person’s profile, and address the gender preference. Don’t send them an invitation unless you have a reason. Find something human that you share in common.
Share updates, video, and content that is relevant to your audience, speaks to their pain or desires. Use the post description to explain it.
We know that video is becoming big on LinkedIn. How we can brand with video?
Video is crucial. We don’t see people as much anymore. But we can see our customers online.
You need to create videos and use new tools like LinkedIn Live or upload videos regularly.
Even though men make up 57% of the LinkedIn audience, are there unique ways women can use LinkedIn to their advantage?
Women need to use their voice on LinkedIn. Women have a hard time bragging on themselves, but if they don’t, who will? And you can always get your clients to give testimonials that speak to your expertise. Women should think of themselves as providing a service to others.
Also, women tend to shy away from video but they should get over that hesitancy. You can get your phone and do 100 takes. Or get on Zoom and interview someone. All in the cause of bringing valuable content to your audience.
What’s on the horizon for LinkedIn that we should be looking for?
Most of the new features can be accessed on mobile. But here are three:
- Name pronunciation tool – 10 sec. to state your name and mission.
- Send video and audio recordings one on one – leave someone a video message.
- Start a meeting through LinkedIn all within messaging.
Resources and Links
Viveka’s LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/Linkedinexpert
Viveka’s Faceboook: Linkedin.com/LinkedInExpert
Viveka’s Twitter: Twitter.com/LinkedInExpert
Viveka’s Instagram: instagram.com/LinkedInExpert
Vengreso on YouTube: Youtube.com/Vengreso
Vengreso on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/Vengreso
Vengreso on Facebook: facebook.com/govengreso
Vengreso on Twitter: Twitter.com/govengreso
Vengreso on Instagram: instagram.com/Vengreso
