This week’s episode of Good Girls Get Rich is brought to you by Uplevel Media CEO and LinkedIn expert, Karen Yankovich. In this episode, Karen shares how you can use LinkedIn to maximize virtual events and conferences.
COVID has changed our world, and that includes the way we network. With many events being held online, it’s important to learn how to connect with others virtually.
#GoodGirlsGetRich
We want to hear your thoughts on this episode! Leave us a message on Speakpipe or email us at info@karenyankovich.com.
About the Episode:
I miss in-person events and conferences. But with current limitations due to COVID, it’s important that we learn how to network on virtual events. It can be difficult to adjust to at first, but once you get the hang of it, you might find virtual-event networking to be more beneficial than in-person networking! So how can you use LinkedIn to maximize virtual events?
1) Ramp Up Your LinkedIn Profile
First, start by making sure your LinkedIn profile is in tip-top shape. Your profile is the place to display who you are and who you’re becoming. If you need help fine-tuning your LinkedIn profile, there are countless Good Girls Get Rich episodes for you to listen to and learn from!
2) Strategically Connect with People
Next, when you’re attending the virtual event, you’ll most likely be divided into a break-out room. When you are in the break-out room, take time to get to know the people, and take notes about the people you’re connecting with. Then, block out an hour after the event to spend time following up with the people you connected with.
3) Follow Up
Of course, you can’t connect with everyone, so prioritize who you think you could collaborate with the best. Then, make sure to connect with them on LinkedIn, and try to set up a time to jump on a phone call with them.
Virtual events bring many networking opportunities, and LinkedIn is an invaluable tool to help you connect with others and move forward in your business goals!
Episode Spotlights:
- Where to find everything for this week’s episode: karenyankovich.com/156
- Introducing this episode’s topic (1:46)
- Virtual networking can be better (3:58)
- Ramp up your LinkedIn profile (4:53)
- Strategically connect with people (6:37)
- Follow up (12:06)
- Episode recap (13:17)
Resources Mentioned in the Episode:
- Sign up for the She’s LinkedUp Masterclass
- Join my free Facebook Group if you have any questions about today’s episode
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Read the Transcript
Karen Yankovich 0:00
You’re listening to the good girls get rich podcast episode 156.
Intro 0:06
Welcome to the good girls get rich podcast with your host, Karen Yankovich. This is where we embrace how good you are girl, stop being the best kept secret in town, learn how to use simple LinkedIn and social media strategies and make the big bucks.
Karen Yankovich 0:24
Hello, I’m Karen Yankovich. And this is Episode 156 of the good girls get rich podcast. And this podcast is brought to you by she’s linkedup where we teach women simple relationship and heart based LinkedIn marketing that gets you on the phone consistently with the most profitable perfect people for you, people who will change your business, your life and your bank account for ever. This is Digital Marketing with these cool tools we have now like LinkedIn right with the human touch, because human to human marketing, getting on the phone with people getting on the phone with the exact right people is how we make the biggest sales how we land, the biggest contracts. And I want that for you. So if you’ve listened before, if you love what you hear today, you know, we love to hear from you. So you can leave us a review. Or even better take a quick screenshot of this and let your audience know you’re listening to the show today, use the hashtag #goodgirlsgetrich or tag me I’m @KarenYankovich across all social media, and in the show notes, you can also leave us an audio message. We love getting audio messages, because that way you can tell us maybe what you think of the show, maybe you have a topic for an episode you’d like me to record or a guest you think we should have on the show speakpipe is the best place to do that. And you can get that in the show notes at KarenYankovich.com/156. So we are talking today about how to use LinkedIn to maximize virtual events and conferences. And you know, at the time that I’m recording this, it just turned spring of 2021. So you know, the last 12 months have been crazy, right? Crazy, we were just kind of thrust into this virtual world that some of us were more prepared for than others. And, you know, some good and some not so good has come from all of that. But you know, today what I want to talk about is the value of virtual events and conferences, because they’ve always been here, right? They’ve always been, we’ve always had virtual events, we’ve always had virtual conferences. But now that that’s all we’ve had for a year, you know, I think we’re starting to are I’m starting to see the huge value. And I want to show you what I’m talking about there. You know, I love conferences, how many of you that listen to the show, we’ve met at a conference, I love meeting people in person, I love socializing at conferences, I love the opportunity to just kind of travel to different places and go to in person conferences. And you know that when you do that meet lots and lots of people, and you leave there sometimes like like what the heck just happened, it was a whirlwind, right? with virtual events, we can be more intentional, we can be more intentional with the people that we meet, we can be more intentional with the follow up that we do. And I’m not saying that it replaces in person conferences. But I’m what I’m saying is I think we’re learning that there is a there’s a place for this, there’s a place for this, right? Like maybe you belong to a chamber of commerce, right, I can tell you that there’s been some Chamber of Commerce in my world that have done some great jobs at virtual networking events. And while I’ve been members of these chambers, or for years, I have met more people in the last year, that then I probably have met it all the in person things I’ve gone to, I’ve met a lot of people, right, I’ve met tons and tons of people over the years. But it’s like you come home, you have a stack of business cards, you’re like what the heck just happened, right? With these virtual events, what I’m finding is that I can actually dive deeper. And to me, that’s what I love to do. So I’m going to talk a little bit about that. Because you know, in many ways, I think sometimes virtual networking can be better, right? Let me tell you what that mean. What I mean when I say that, like yes, yes, yes, yes, I want to go to in person events again. But I am not a fan of working 10 hour days, right. And when I go to a virtual conference, I got to drive I got to beat you know, you spent a couple hours there you drive back and yes, it’s fun, I will do it again. But a strong virtual networking strategy, for sure saves me time, for sure saves me time. So I think that what what my world will consist of is a combination of both, right but because I really do hope that virtual networking can stays because I have made probably stronger and more profitable connections with virtual networking than I ever did with in person networking. So let’s talk a little bit about what I mean by that and how you can do this too. So the first thing you need to do is you need to make sure that your LinkedIn profile is in tip top. shape, tip top shape. Okay, you can go back through episodes of this podcast where we talk about all different sections of your profile, you know, or you can reach out to me go to Karen Yankovich comm slash call and schedule a call to find out how we can support you with your profile, but you want to have your profile done. This is more important now that we live in this virtual world than ever than ever, right? Because people are throwing your name in a search bar to see who you are to see what you know what it is that you do and how it is, you know that you do it. And if you’re for real, right, and it has never been more important to have your profile done. And you’ve probably heard me say this before. But having your profile done doesn’t mean listing all the jobs you used to have, right, your LinkedIn profile is not your resume, your resume is all about who you used to be. your LinkedIn profile should be projecting you into the future, who is the you of the future, who is the you that you want these people at these virtual networking events, or frankly, in person networking events, right, or anywhere, but who is this person that you want them to know. And that who I want to see show up on your LinkedIn profile, I want you to hook me I want you to let your freak flag fly and tell me how different you are than everybody else that does what you do, right. And that is how a profile can really help you do this. Now, I’m not saying without a great LinkedIn profile that you’re cooked, it’s not going to work. But what I am saying is with a great LinkedIn profile, you’re going to stand out. And that’s what we need to do in this noisy, crazy digital world, we need to stand out, and I want you to stand out. Okay, so let’s move on to the second thing that you need to do. The second thing that you need to do is, as you were at these virtual networking events, I want you to strategically connect with people. And when I say strategically, I’m not saying don’t connect with people that you just can’t think of who if they could be a value, right? Because there is definitely times that you’re going to connect with people. And you’re not going to realize the opportunity that might be there for you. Right. And I’ll give you some examples of that. But let me just give you let me just kind of paint this picture for you. So one of the virtual networking events that I consistently go to shout out to the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce are doing a great job with their virtual networking events. And they have a woman in business network. And obviously, I teach LinkedIn to women. So I love that I love their women in business community. And what they do is they bring you into this networking event, and then they break you it’s a zoom event, and then they break you into rooms, right, you can do the little, I can’t remember the call now. But they break you into different little groups, right. And each group has six people, seven people, and you spend 510 15 minutes in that group, getting to know those people, when have you ever gone to a networking event where you’ve gotten a chance to sit there and not have to listen to 100 people tell you who they are, but just six people, six people. And let’s remember, you’re sitting in front of your computer. So what I basically do is I always have I’m a big fan of like five by seven note cards. And I always have a note card in front of me and I write as soon as I get into that breakout room. That’s what they’re called breakout rooms. As soon as I get into that breakout room, I write down the names of everybody in the room, and I give it lots of space in between each name, so that I can take notes. And I make sure that as people are talking, I make a note like maybe they’ve said they just you know, they just, I don’t know, finished a project or move to a new house or are new to the community. I’ve never been to one of these meetings before. Something that that I want to remember about that person and I write that down. And I also put stars next to people that I totally, absolutely want to make sure I follow up with for whatever reason, right. And I take notes, and I try to be really present. So I don’t spend a ton of time doing any research on these people while we’re live. But usually you break into like three or four breakout rooms, maybe three breakout rooms. So you have a chance to take notes, actual notes on like, you know, let’s say 18 to 20 people, and you have notes about them with little stars next to the people that you think you really you think there’s an opportunity to follow up with. But you also have personal notes about all the other people, okay, when I have one of these events on my calendar, I block out at either an hour after the event or an hour the next day. To follow up on that this is key, this is key, you don’t want to just block out the two hours, whatever for the event, you want to block out another hour after it for follow up. Okay, this is important. And then what I do in that second in that follow up hour, right? I go in to all of the pro I look for every single person that I can find, I can’t always find their LinkedIn profile, although I will say again, another shout out to the Princeton chamber. They give you the opportunity to share your LinkedIn profile upon registration, and then they share that list with everybody afterwards. Right. So while there’s lots of other people at that event, I don’t feel the need to connect with people that I didn’t personally meet at that event. Because frankly, 20 people is a lot of people already right. It’s a lot of people already if you’ve heard me talk before, you know I want you to connect with five people a week because I don’t want you to be overwhelmed, we’re gonna talk about that in the next step. But in this step, I want you to take that that our that post conference, our post networking event hour, and follow up with people, and actually connect with them on LinkedIn and say it was great meeting you last night at the Princeton chamber women in business event. And that’s where you’re This is where you put your little note about what you remembered about them. Congratulations on your move to the area. I hope you love it. Make sure you check out this restaurant because it’s one of my favorites, or like something personal, right? This is so easy. Can you see how easy this is because you took notes while you were talking to them. So now you’re following up with them on LinkedIn. And that’s the next thing. So you’re connecting strategically. Now, remember that you’ve got your stars too, right? So you want to make sure on those stars, you actually say I would love to connect, and jump on the phone, because I think that there’s I’ve got my brain is racing with opportunities we might be able to collaborate on. Right not, I think she’d be a great person for my program. But things that I think we can collaborate on, okay, so you make sure you want to say that and you immediately move those people with the stars too great to meet you last night, or Good to see you again, I had no idea that you blah, blah, blah, right? I let’s get on the phone for a couple minutes, cuz I’ve got some ideas, right? That’s what I want you to do. So connect with all of the 18 or 20 people you met in those rooms, but then go straight for look, let’s get on the phone with people that you think there’s an opportunity for you to collaborate or that can can, you know, move you further in your business or your life, whatever that looks like, right. So that’s the second thing. First thing is your profile. Second thing is to connect with these people. Now I described to you one type of networking event that I’ve been going through. But there’s other ways, other types of networking events, they’ll do not take the list of 100 people that you might have gotten to remember I said that give you the list of all the people that attended with their LinkedIn profile, do not do that. Do not do that you don’t need 100 new LinkedIn connection requests. In fact, I think I think 20 or 30 is too many, right? So I think that’s too many. So I want you to be very strategic with this. Because the next step is I definitely want you to follow up with these people follow up. So when you know like my LinkedIn inbox, if you may have heard me say this before, my LinkedIn inbox is where the money is in my business. So I am on it, if you message me on LinkedIn, I’m gonna respond to you very quickly. Now, the reality is sometimes I get backed up and and the reality is, you know, I have an inbox that is a little bit like the black hole. And I’m not saying that, like, I’m proud of that I am working on clearing that out, but you’re going to go into that black hole in my inbox. But if you’re on my LinkedIn, if you accept my connection requests, I am not even if you don’t have a store next to your name, I’m still going to follow up with you, I’m still going to follow up and say, you know, I’d love to hear more about what you’re doing. How long have you been a member of the chamber, like literally human to human, start a conversation, because number one, you don’t know if or when hopefully, your networking events where you think your prospects are, right? Like you don’t want to be networking in a place where your prospects aren’t. So the virtue of the fact that you’re at this networking event, everybody, there is somebody that you want to follow up with. But again, strategically, because if you do too many, you’re not going to do this part, I want you to strategically say, you know, tell me more about this or whatever, right? So so there’s that little hierarchy, right? The people that you’ve that you have the star next to you go straight to asking for a phone call. But the next ones, you still want to follow up, you want to follow up them. And this is the where the money is on LinkedIn, not the connections, not having a lot of connections, it’s in the follow up, it’s an I’m not saying don’t get on the phone with those other people, right, there may be an opportunity for you there. And you never know what it is I can tell you, the opportunities come from places you least expect almost every time almost every time. It’s not this path. Well, like they’re my perfect I they’re my ideal client, they fit my ideal client avatar that I’ve created. So that’s the person I want to follow up with. That is almost never the path to more money in your bank account on LinkedIn, it is always being open to the opportunities that are unexpected. And that is and you don’t know what that is until you just start this human to human conversation with people. And by the way the conversation isn’t I think you should buy my program. Maybe it’s here’s what I do. Who do you know, that might be a good fit? Do you belong to other networking events? I love to speak at networking events, especially groups of women, do you belong to other ones? Right? Then you can maybe get in front of another entire audience. These are all the things, these are the conversations that happen in the follow up. Okay, so let’s recap this a little bit. First, you got to have your profile done. You got to have it done. If you want some help with that. Remember Karen yankovich.com slash call that’ll get you on the phone with someone or me or someone on my team and we can talk to you about what that looks like. or do it yourself. There’s lots of you know, it’s not easy to do your own LinkedIn profile. But for sure you want to you want to have that profile. Then you want to look at your best you wouldn’t walk into it. And networking event in person, right? Just having mulched your yard or covered in topsoil, right and haven’t showered in three days, you wouldn’t do that, right? So this is the same thing you want to have your profiles on so that you look at your best, you will look at your best, this could very well be your first impression, right? As soon as they might have met you at a networking event, but then they Google you, or they throw your name in a search bar to see what more about you. And you want to show up where they go, Wow, I need to know her. Right. That’s what you want. The second thing is second thing is strategically connect with people at these virtual networking events. Okay, strategically, if you get a list of 100 people there, do not connect with 100 people just connect with the people that you’ve met. Right? with, again, little stars with people that you want to dive a little deeper into more quickly. So you’re kind of prioritizing your time, right? Because remember, I said earlier, I don’t want to work 10 hours a day. But this is where the money is. This is where the businesses, right if you’re an entrepreneur, or you know, or you have a paycheck and you’re looking to expand your, your network, remember people you know, we’ve heard for years, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, I think it’s what you know, too, but we can create the who you know, by doing these kinds of tasks. And the last thing is follow up. The fortune is in the follow up. If I can be cliche, this is so important. You got to do the follow up with these people. Okay, so tell me Are you ready? Right? Are you ready to do this? Like, I want you to even look for an event I What is your task? Your homework from this podcast episode is to look for a virtual event to join. There’s so many of them. I’m sure you’re getting invitations on a daily basis, right? Find one find not 10 find one, find one where you think there’s opportunities for you, whatever that looks like, Okay, and then go to that note, that networking event be present. Right, have your note cards ready, have your pen ready, take notes, and then do the follow up and listen to this again, if you need to hear exactly how to do that. Okay, you may have heard me refer to LinkedIn as my money tree. It can be the same to you. If you’re intentionally connecting with people that can lead to more money in the bank and virtual networking is a goldmine for us for those kinds of things. So if you want to know a little bit more about the strategies behind all of this, I’ve got a free masterclass that if you haven’t already watched yet, you will even if you have already seen we’ve updated it, we’ve just updated it. So go to waterthatmoneytree.com to check out our free masterclass is what are that money tree.com. And that’ll help you understand a little bit about the mindset shifts that you need to make, like I gave you one in this episode, right? Like your resume is all about who you used to be your LinkedIn profile should be about who you’re becoming. What are that monetary calm takes you to our free masterclass that offers a couple of other mindset shifts around LinkedIn and strategies, right, the strategy behind it to help you start to make LinkedIn your money tree. I offer this to you and this podcast, because to me, we need to lift each other up right as women, as you know, frankly, as human beings, we need to lift each other up. I do this podcast to support you. I’ve got this free masterclass to help you get started. And all of these things are the first step to some LinkedIn success. So let’s lift each other up, right help me help you share this podcast, take a quick screenshot of this episode on your phone, share that on social tag me so I see it and I can share it with my audience and get you in front of my audience. And this is how we both get more visibility and let’s kick some 2021 booty together. The bottom line is this can be really simple. I want this to be simple for you, and I’m here to support you. I’ll see you back here again next week for another episode of the good girls get rich podcast.