Mike & Lori, The LinkedIn Rockstars, started out their speaking careers as corporate technology trainers. Their speaking style is deeply rooted in their vast experience educating the audience on the technology-related topics. The training is now squarely focused on business networking with LinkedIn and Social Media Marketing. These two are true industry authorities in the intersecting LinkedIn, Social Media and technology-related sectors.
It is both important and interesting to note that live audiences remark most about how entertaining Mike & Lori’s appearances are and they often site how the music and the message go so very well together.
Whether it’s the Doobie Brothers’ “Takin’ it to the streets” inspiring sales professionals to get more involved with LinkedIn or Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” talking about putting up defenses on Facebook, the LinkedIn Rockstars weave the music and the message together so well that the education becomes engrained in your soul like the catchy lyrics of a song. It really works and AUDIENCES LOVE IT!
How to use this guide:
The speaking topics and the associated costs are not dependent for the most part. Speaking is billed on a time and format basis, from 1 hour to a half day. A 60 minute address might cost $x,000, while a 75 or 90 minute version will cost more.
Clients may request either Mike or Lori individually or BOTH Mike & Lori speaking together in the “Duet Format”. They will do their best to accommodate specific requests, but their high demand means they are not always able to meet requests. All the more reason to BOOK YOUR DATE NOW.
When looking at the options for speaking topics, take a brief moment to look at these questions designed to get you thinking about your need. It will make the topic selection process that much easier.
1. What does your audience have in common (for focusing the material)?
Do they work at the same company? Are they business partners? Are they technology firms? Realtors? Sales Professionals? Advanced users? Beginners? Business owners?
2. What are they most interested in knowing about regarding LinkedIn, Social Media and related topics (for selecting business examples)?
The basics? Tips? Sales? Marketing? Business Development? Recruiting? Branding? Executive Issues?
3. Do you want a more visual show with large projection screens or one more focused on the speaker and the audio for your audience?
A relative scale of the importance of the visual and audio elements is shown from 1 to 5 for each topic.
4. Do you want a more educational experience or a more entertaining and motivational experience for your audience?
A relative scale of the importance of the educational and entertainment elements from 1 to 5 is shown for each topic, with a 5 meaning that it is most emphasized.
SPEAKING TOPIC 1 – Rock your business world with LinkedIn and Social Media
Does the world of Social Media contain more questions than answers for you? The chatter, the clutter, the noise, what does it all add up to? What does a business professional have to be aware of to participate in Social Media and excel in a business as a result?
This presentation, terrific as a keynote, is a high level overview of LinkedIn and Social Media specifically for business. Full of real world examples, it explains how others are using these tools to find targeted individuals and engage them in business.
Actionable takeaways that attendees will experience:
- Understanding of how the business community is using LinkedIn and Social Media particularly in sales and marketing applications
- Strategies for separating business and personal interests in Social Media.
- Specific actions that users MUST TAKE and the important PITFALLS TO AVOID.
- Time management strategies to keep Social Media from controlling too much of your personal life.
- What the future holds for the business landscape as a result of Social Media and what you can do to take advantage of it.
When you don’t know what topic or program you need, select this topic. The LinkedIn Rockstars will (in real time) adapt this more general material to the particular audience by responding to their input and adjusting the material appropriately. This is the safest bet when you don’t know your own audience.
Audience Type: General business audience
Format: Keynote or Interactive Lecture
Presentation length: 60, 75 or 90 minutes
A/V: Speaker Only or Speaker w/PPT
Recordings: allowed with limited license and a master copy to the speaker
Audio Factor: 4
Visual Factor: 2
Entertainment Factor: 4
Education Factor: 1
SPEAKING TOPIC 2 – Craft a Rockstar business image with LinkedIn and Social Media
What is the brand called YOU in the online world? How do you look to others on the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter? How does your business look to clients, prospects, partners? Does it attract business or repel it?
Nowadays, in the world of Social Media, your business image is hard to build, manage and control. Still, there are specific things individuals and businesses CAN DO to keep it all properly focused and under control.
Actionable takeaways that attendees will experience:
- Understanding of the components that make up one’s online business image
- How businesses can have a powerful presence on Social Media
- The Google factor – how search engines spread your online image in Social Media world.
- Porting your existing brand to Social Media
- Maintaining a common brand identity across online platforms
This is a highly interactive session as the speaker seeks out real world input and examples from the audience to provide specific, real-world advice to attendees.
Audience Type: General business audience
Format: Keynote or Interactive Lecture
Presentation length: 60, 75 or 90 minutes
A/V: Speaker w/PPT
Recordings: allowed with limited license and a master copy to the speaker
Audio Factor: 3
Visual Factor: 3
Entertainment Factor: 4
Education Factor: 4
SPEAKING TOPIC 3 – Getting to the Top of the Charts with LinkedIn and Social Media
Social Media is quickly defining who are the “followers” and who are the “leaders”. Which are you and which do you care to be?
No matter where you are in your ability and experience level with LinkedIn and Social Media, this program will ensure there are no important areas that will catch you off guard, no blind sides that will come bite you. It also ensures you know where the opportunities are for expanding your business success with LinkedIn and Social Media.
Actionable takeaways that attendees will experience:
- The Integrated Alliances LinkedIn and Social Media Business Methodology and how it paves the way for business success.
- What the important business platforms are and how individuals and businesses use them most effectively.
- Specific actions businesses and business users can take to get business flowing.
- How one engages others on LinkedIn, on Facebook, on Twitter.
- Techniques for keeping Business, Business and Personal, Personal
This is a more instructional session than some of the others. It is designed to educate the audience and for the information to be retained and acted upon. It works!
Audience Type: Those interested in Sales, Marketing and business development
Format: Interactive Lecture
Presentation length: 60, 75 or 90 minutes
A/V: Speaker w/PPT
Recordings: allowed with limited license and a master copy to the speaker
Audio Factor: 4
Visual Factor: 4
Entertainment Factor: 2
Education Factor: 4
SPEAKING TOPIC 4 – Why LinkedIn and Social Media make sense for (name your audience) and how to get started
Maybe you are scratching your head wondering about whether this Social Media stuff has an application for you. You might finally be convinced to get involved and be wondering where you start at this point in the game? How can you make up for lost time so you will actually see competitors in the rear view mirror?
Actionable takeaways that attendees will experience:
- How this specific audience (customized to audience) can begin implementing LinkedIn and Social Media to drive business opportunities.
- The Profile as the starting point on Social Media.
- The importance of a network and how it is built on the platforms.
- Finding and engaging others on LinkedIn and in Social Media.
- Specific sub-topics of interest to this specific audience, customized to the appearance.
NOTE – This speaking topic requires customization at additional cost.
This is a more instructional session than some of the others. It is designed to educate the audience and for the information to be retained and acted upon. It works!
Audience Type: A specifically defined, homogeneous audience
Format: Interactive Lecture
Presentation length: 60, 75 or 90 minutes
A/V: Speaker w/PPT
Recordings: allowed with limited license and a master copy to the speaker
Audio Factor: 4
Visual Factor: 3
Entertainment Factor: 1
Education Factor: 4
SPEAKING TOPIC 5 – High Powered LinkedIn Strategies for Technology Professionals and Businesses
The technology sector adopted LinkedIn early on, mostly due to the San Francisco Bay area being home to the epicenters of both industries. Tech insiders might say that networking layers 1 thru 7 led to layer 8 networking, which is widely viewed to be Social Media.
The very nature of technology products, and the projects they get embedded in, lends itself especially well to LinkedIn. Different products, different providers, different installers, different software, COMMON PROTOCOLS.
The LinkedIn Rockstars have a specific interest in this industry sector – it is in their heritage.
Mike O’Neil is a 20+ year sales engineering veteran in systems integration, applications development, telecom, Internet and hosting for some of the largest firms (US West/Qwest, CompuCom, Cable & Wireless, Internap). Lori Ruff is a Microsoft Certified Master Instructor who has a deep technology background as well.
Actionable takeaways that attendees will experience:
- How technology professionals and tech-related firms can find and engage business partners using LinkedIn.
- How the unique language of technology sector is best applied to take advantage of the vast searching capabilities within LinkedIn.
- How the IP networks relate to “cloud-based” Social Media Networks.
- Unique ways tech sales professionals can uncover new business opportunities using the LinkedIn network.
- Recruiting and the tech sector.
This program is very much tied to technology professionals. Those that do not understand the unique language of the business will not understand all of the material. Those that do understand the language will get a TREMENDOUS value from it as a result.
Audience Type: Technology professionals, employees of technology and tech-savvy firms
Format: Interactive Lecture
Presentation length: 60, 75 or 90 minutes
A/V: Speaker w/PPT
Recordings: allowed with limited license and a master copy to the speaker
Audio Factor: 4
Visual Factor: 3
Entertainment Factor: 1
Education Factor: 5
SPEAKING TOPIC 6 – Can Privacy be protected in the Day of Social Media
Have you wondered if your privacy is intact? The Internet is not new, but social sites present new challenges in the way information is shared, accessed and saved. There are things you can affect and those things you can’t. Join Lori Ruff for a lively discussion about Social Media platforms and Privacy, such as why facebook seems to be the big issue, important things you can do to maintain or control your online privacy, and how to respond if something happens.
Actionable takeaways that attendees will experience:
- Understanding what social media privacy is and how you are affected
- Gain an awareness of steps you can take to secure your personal information online while interacting in the social sphere.
- What you can affect and what you can’t.
- Why Facebook seems to be the big issue.
- Learning how and where to respond if there is a problem.
Audience Type: Executives, Legal, HR professionals, recruiting industry
Format: Interactive Lecture
Presentation length: 60, 75 or 90 minutes
A/V: Speaker w/PPT
Recordings: allowed with limited license and a master copy to the speaker
Audio Factor: 5
Visual Factor: 1
Entertainment Factor: 1
Education Factor: 5
FUTURES – The Crystal Ball: Trends in Social Media
Knowing what to do today is often based upon what may happen in the future. The future of Social Media is one that requires a good knowledge of the path that led us here. It is a path that Mike O’Neil and Lori Ruff actually forged. Mike joined LinkedIn in January 2004 when there were barely 100,000 users. His vision of the future is added to by his longtime technology career where he alpha and beta tested products before they were generally available.
In the pending book, Rock The World with Social Media, Mike and Lori take what they know and hear from others, add what they FEEL and then paint the future in a fun and insightful way.
There are a variety of topics to choose from and they may be combined into a compound address that really engages audiences. Pricing is based, once again on length and format.
It is recommended to allow 15 to 30 minutes per topic. Most clients select three sub-topics with up to 5 possible in a single address.
Be sure to factor in Q&A as this is a very attractive topic for audience participation.
- How Facebook will take over the business world with word processing, E-Mail, multimedia messaging, CRM, VOIP services
- B2C2B –Business to Consumer to Business marketing targets corporate clients through the individual that work there.
- How Microsoft’s Windows 95 and Office 95 foreshadowed the future of Social Media
- WAV goodbye to the MP3 and compressed music in a Terabyte world. The changes to digital music that will come as technology advances.
- Location-based services – when WHERE you are matters ONLINE
- What about when those mergers and acquisitions resume – e.g. Oracle acquires facebook, Salesforce.com buys LinkedIn, Apple teams up with Twitter, Sprint integrates foursquare into devices, what will the world be like?
- How technology breakthroughs will change everything – e.g. Petabytes (Pb) of storage, 10 GB Internet connections, iPhone 7, iPad 3, Android.
- The coming day when you don’t have a PC or a laptop (mobile devices)!
Audience Type: Executives, Business owners
Format: Interactive Lecture
Presentation length: 45, 60, 75 minutes
A/V: Speaker w/PPT
Recordings: allowed with limited license and a master copy to the speaker
Audio Factor: 5
Visual Factor: 1
Entertainment Factor: 5
Education Factor: 3
