LinkedIn has had a reputation for being a bit like an old gentleman’s club where everybody looks down their nose at new members.
I’m here to tell you that those days have gone! Hoorah! LinkedIn has recently added loads of new features and has even started looking a bit modern too.
Ok so it’s never going to have the laid back atmosphere of Twitter or Facebook but that’s cool because it is a slightly different species.
There is still a tiny bit of “old gentleman’s club” about it and that is because it is geared more toward the corporate world. Consultants, business owners, corporate employees and freelancers tend to be the “norm”. But it is still a great place to meet people and create solid business relationships and to showcase ones expertise.
I have 7 tips below to help you get the most out of your membership at Linked In, don’t be frightened to get in amongst it, there will be no Lording it up from anyone on my watch!
Tip One
Spend some quality time on your profile – this is the window to your soul. This is where a business connection starts, it you have not bothered to complete your profile properly then no one (and quite rightly so) is going to look past that. So beef it up, create a compelling profile and finish it off with a strong profile summary.
Tip Two
Add Connections! – It sounds obvious but yes add connections continuously. Once you have added everybody in your address book and email client, you can start adding people you hook up with on Linked In, through Linked In groups and all the other social media networking activities.
Tip Three
Recommendations – Ok there is a little etiquette that needs to be adhered to here when we ask for and give out recommendations. It is ok to ask people you work with Or have worked with in the past to give you a shout on Linked In. If you have worked with someone and your experience was a good one then give them a recommendation. Most of the time they will recommend you back.
Tip Four
Get connected - If you have a blog you can connect it to your LinkedIn account. Depending on your blog platform Linked In provide applications to hook them up, it’s automatic so when you post to your blog it gets fed to your Profile and Status feed. There are also tools such as http://hootsuite.com which is great for managing all your social media platforms.
Tip Five
Join or start a Group – If you only do one of these tips… make sure it’s this one, groups are one of the most underused features of LinkedIn. Starting a group is real easy and will create a lot of interest but if you have only just joined my advice would be to join as many groups as you can. Not just any old group but groups that are closely aligned to your niche or area of expertise. Once you have joined these groups it is now time to get involved. You can participate by posting news & blog articles, joining discussions and posting events or even job notices that you think will be of interest to the group. The more you participate the more you will get noticed as someone it would be good to be connected with.
Just by participating in two or three groups you will end up meeting dozens of people in the same industry as you. And you will learn a lot too!
Tip Six
Create a Poll – In my experience people like a good survey or Poll as it is termed in LinkedIn. Polls are a great way to get real time feedback from your peers & target audience. When you have posted to the group, created an event or just want some general feedback, use LinkedIn to carry out a poll. You can advertise it to your targeted industry groups and get some really great feedback.
Tip Seven
Ask Questions and Answer Questions – This is all about getting involved and creating activity around your area of expertise. Ask questions about anything related to your market. Ask about Start Up Businesses, Conferences, Event Planning, Group Creations or just general LinkedIn support. There are always bags of members willing to help.
On the other side of the coin is answering questions. This is where you can show off your knowledge and expertise and in the process end up meeting new contacts. There is a rating system with LinkedIn answers and getting the tag of “Best Answer” will give your creditability a great boost and will indicate to everyone that you are indeed an expert in your field.
So in conclusion you can see you can build your network with minimal effort. The key is to be present on Linked in everyday. Really get involved, join the conversation and you will soon be a powerful networker.
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