Think of LinkedIn as a nuclear Rolodex with over 35 million users. It’s easy to use and has a ton word-of-mouth marketing power. LinkedIn is useful for brand building, collaboration, group organization and business development. As with any new medium, the best way to learn and get comfortable is to just get in there and start using the network. Here are few basics to get your business started.
Cultivate Your Network
LinkedIn is a contact network consisting of your direct connections, the connections of each of their connections (termed second degree connections) and also the connections of second degree connections (termed third degree connections). First and foremost, get in the habit of connecting with all your business contacts. When you get a business card at an event, find the contact on LinkedIn and invite them to join your network.
Expand your network by browsing or searching for second or third degree connections you wish to meet. LinkedIn let’s you search by a variety of powerful terms. In addition to Name, search by Company, Title, Location, Industry and group affiliations. Then, use the Get Introduced feature to obtain an introduction through a mutual and trusted contact.
Attend to Your Profile
This is critical. Put your best foot forward and make yourself more “search-able” by presenting yourself honestly and completely. Reconstruct your scholastic and business history. Sell yourself and your business. The more you put in the more you get. Humanize your profile by attending to details, expressing your interests and including a picture. Make sure your most important attributes are highlighted in your Public Profile by clicking on the View Public Profile link. Make edits or rearrange if necessary.
Get Recommendations
Some people go overboard with recommendations. Ideal business recommendations are specific and brief. If you’ve done good work, don’t be shy. Request a recommendation from your clients. One subtle approach is to provide an unsolicited recommendation to a client or partner. Hopefully they will reciprocate by endorsing your solid work and relationship.
Status Updates, Blog Feeds and Answers
Unlike other social mediums, it is NOT OK to incessantly update your LinkedIn status (called “What are you working now?) I recommend once a day. Be sure to keep the subject matter business oriented. If you have a blog, take your marketing to the next level by plugging a blog feed into your profile. LinkedIn also let’s you ask and answer questions among your network. The best questions and answers deal with real substantive problems, not transparently self-promoting “plants” – so don’t be cheesy. Updates, feeds and answers are critical marketing features because your network will periodically receive insightful updates about your activity and keep you top-of-mind.
Join Groups
Groups are very popular on LinkedIn for many industries and are a great way to jump start a stalling network. They are also useful for organizing, communicating and finding events. Many traditional or established groups use LinkedIn to recruit and collaborate. Again, you get what you put in. If you add authentic value and participate actively you and your business will be noticed.
Check out our friends at Chicago Home Interior Pros to see how network techniques apply to interior designers and architects.
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July 11th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I have been working with different social media applications for a few years now. I try to get to know their strengths and weaknesses. I joined Linked in. I set up an account, and I explored its many uses. Unfortunately since I am not a power recruiter, and I dont have a product to sell I cant find a real application for this platform.
In short, nothing of value seams to be driven through it.
I could be wrong.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Hi John – Thanks for note. Many folks similarly wonder about LinkedIn. I think there is definitely value, but it needs to be channeled based on your objectives. As a media channel, the numbers don’t lie. LinkedIn offers a segmented and “free” way to address many prospects. If you’re selling yourself, there are groups and discussions happening on almost any business topic. So for folks who dip their toe and engage, at a minimum, there is an opportunity to build brand, word-of-mouth, referrals, establish credibility and drive awareness. More advanced opportunities exist for lead generation and measurable inbound marketing.
At a minimum, a company like yours should be teasing your website posts into LinkedIn and showing off your rich capabilities. You might also try defining a target audience of folks how may refer business. What is the demographic? What professions? Interests? Each can be segmented and targeted with content that drives traffic to your site and generates business. Your blog is rich. I would look for easy ways to spread the word and definitely include LinkedIn in the new media mix.
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May 26th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Agreed. Personally, I have seen the best results from joining topic-driven LinkedIn groups and making sure my recommendations were up-to-date. LinkedIn is a great online networking tool. As with anything else, the more you put in to it, the more you’ll get out of it.
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