We were really thrilled to have such an enthusiastic response to the webinar we ran last week with the PharmaMKT LinkedIn group, “7 Key LinkedIn Changes Pharma Marketers Can’t Afford to Miss”.
During the session we packed in a lot, from new ways to sort and message your contacts and to raise your visibility on LinkedIn, to considering which companies should build Showcase pages and which new LinkedIn mobile apps might be useful.
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to answer your questions during the live event, so we’ll answer them here instead.
Here goes, and if you have any more questions on how Pharma companies can use LinkedIn to grow their business, please email Lucy at lucia.muniz@gmail.com or Miriam at miriam@brainstorm-digital.co.uk
How valuable is only sharing content that is not original, ie reposting someone else’s work?
Sharing ‘third party content’ – ie content created by someone else – is an important part of any social media strategy. As long as the material is directly relevant to your contacts and fans, you can still provide value to them, and show yourself to be a helpful resource who is in touch with their problems and issues.
Can it be all you share? No. Material written by someone else will never have the same impact that original material does. You can’t expect to convert clients with another company’s content.
But on the other hand, most companies can’t produce enough original content to fuel a good social media programme. Nor, if they did, would their fans and followers get as rounded a perspective from them.
We suggest that around 20% of what you share online should be your own. 80% can come from someone else – just be sure to acknowledge this, and add your own take when sharing it, so that you make it in some way your own.
I recently made a post to Pulse and then also shared the post to 4 different groups. Was that appropriate?
Of course once you’ve written a good piece, you want to distribute it as widely as possible. When it comes to posting links to your own material on groups, you need to be careful. As we explained during the webinar, many people take exception to anything they perceive as ‘self-promotion’ on groups, and if your post is marked as Spam in any one group, you will be subject to moderation in them all.
We suggest that you pay careful attention to the rules of the group, and what others are posting in them, to see what seems to be acceptable. LinkedIn’s rules on self-promotion are clear; you can access them here.
Again, if you are going to post a link to your own piece, try and start a discussion around it, so it is clear you are not just being self-promotional, but adding value. When in doubt, consult the moderator.
In terms of posting the same piece to four different groups, there is a natural tension here between your interest in getting your piece seen by as many people as possible, and moderators’ desire to have original material in their groups. The compromise we recommend is to use different wording when introducing the piece to each group, or trying to spark a different discussion. That way you’re sharing the piece four times, but giving each group something unique.
Could you repeat the name of CRM tools?
Of course. The one we showed on the slide was Capsule. We also mentioned Infusionsoft, Salesforce and Nimble. There are many other ones out there with varying capabilities.
I don’t have or can’t see the Publisher icon. Is this for free accounts or Premium?
LinkedIn Publisher is for all accounts, not just Premium, however it’s still being gradually rolled out to all users. You will know you have it when you see a pencil symbol in your status update box. 
Would you recommend republishing posts from an existing company blog – or would you rewrite the content to make it unique for LinkedIn’s new publishing platform?
LinkedIn’s rules allow you to republish old posts from your blog, but unique content is better (your audiences may be different and in my experience, shorter content does better on LinkedIn than it does on company blogs).
One important consideration is SEO, and whether reposting your blog content on LinkedIn will affect your website traffic. It’s still unclear, so try to rewrite rather than post the exact same post if possible, and consult your SEO advisor for personal advice first.
How often should a company post commercial postings for best results?
If by commercial you mean explicitly mentioning your products and services, about 20% of the time is just right. Any more than that and you will annoy people by coming across as too pushy.
Are you able to send us a copy of the Powerpoint?
Webinar participants should have received a copy by email the day after the event, but just in case, here’s the link again: http://www.slideshare.net/dbermant/pharma-webinar
You can also watch the webinar again here.
How can I keep up with LinkedIn’s updates more regularly?
Follow the official LinkedIn blog – it has a section for New LinkedIn Features.
We hope that was helpful,
Lucy and Miriam
