LinkedIn is for Connecting

August 26, 2008 :: cbensen

LinkedIn is well known as a place for business professionals to network with like minded people. It’s easy to use and with a few extra steps beyond creating an account you can find new opportunities for your business.

Here are five steps to get you started after you create an account.

1. Make sure that your Summary is descriptive of what you’re looking for & what your company offers. Chris Brogan recently had a great list of ideas to pay attention to when creating your profile.

2. Connect with people that you know. You can use your email address list to see if those people are on LinkedIn. You can also search by name or company. When you find people that you know, you can connect by using their email address. They will appreciate a quick note about why you’re connecting.

3. Find a group to join. There are many! Groups offer many opportunities to meet new people. They range from location specific to topic specific

*tip – if you want to connect with people & don’t know their email address use the Group option & select one of yours. Then write a personal note telling them why you want to connect.

4. Answering questions is a great way to meet new people & establish yourself as knowledgeable in your subject area.

5. Asking a question can also introduce you to new people as well as provide you with expert advice. I recently asked a question that resulted in saving me a lot of research time.

So LinkedIn can be used to connect with like minded people, share ideas and answer questions that you have about your business. It’s a perfect place for the busy professional!

Bonus tip: You can also download all of the email addresses to create a mailing list. For example if you created a group – you could do a mass email.

For further reading:

articles at My Solution Spot

articles on SCORE Chicago

What tips do you have for using LinkedIn?

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Tawny Press

Good post. One are I am still at odds with is the use of groups. I agree with your theory, of joining a group, writing a personal note and exchanging a link. I have found some wonderful contacts using this method and later followed up and met them in person, continuing a professional relationship. In my mind, joining a group and placing a badge on your profile, shows willingness to be part of a “group”. A group of individuals, who want to share ideas and interests.

Many people do not share this theory. I myself was surprised when I reached out to members of two LinkedIn groups, and was blocked when group members replied “I don’t know this person”. What surprised me more was I am an active member of both professional organizations, outside of LinkedIn.

Below is from a recent, yesterday, email from LinkedIn. This is who they strongly suggest contacting LinkedIn members.

1) Only use your invitations for individuals who you know.

2) The reconnect feature should be used solely to reconnect with individuals that you personally knew through a mutual employer or through attending the same educational institution.

3) If there are individuals that you wish to connect with but they do not fall under the two categories listed then we encourage you to use our other features which include InMail, OpenLink or Introduction requests.

On 4 and 5, I agreed whole heartedly and I myself should make more time to participate in this area, has from limited use I have used it, I have made valuable connections.

Very good ideas.

Paul Rasmussen

Great Article, I think one of the things that often happens is that people don't do the basics well in relation to Linkedin and then wonder why it is they don't get the result they want from it.
I recently posted about a few simple things that people should do in order to get the best out of Linkedin.

http://pauldrasmussen.blogspot.com/2008/12/link...

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