Should I be Linked IN?
OK, I’ve heard of it? What should I do next?
Probably most of us have heard about Linked In. Many of us have a profile and some connections but the most common statement I hear about LI is something like: “I received a few invitations to connect and I have a profile but I don’t know what to do now”. So, we end up with a dead profile, couple of connections and it never goes anywhere.
So, what’s the point?
I encourage you to look into Linked In as a means of practicing networking best practice. Huh? What does that mean?
Think about LI as a tool. Once again, we have talked about marketing tools here before and encouraged you not to rush straight to the favorite tool of the moment. LI is a networking tool and all the rules of face to face networking also apply here. Namely: Give to get (give value and information and don’t expect to join a group to harvest leads from day one), it requires commitment, you need a goal, you need to know why you are doing it, it really helps to be genuinely curious about other people.
How does that work on line?
LI is set up to allow you to find people of interest and therefore you should complete your profile as fully as possible. This means that you have to complete a summary of what you do. Bearing in mind this is a business site primarily, this means you have the chance to write about your business. Hint: the rules of marketing apply here - this is a means of grabbing attention therefore the focus should be on the issues of your client and not a list of your services and how great you are.
How to add value - there is a section called “Answers”. Search it for keywords in your area of expertise and give freely of your thoughts and experience. Give is the operative word here - share your knowledge and people will be more interested in you. Again, this can’t be self serving. Please don’t go into a question and write: “I can help you on this, here’s my website” as I don’t think that will work well.
Enter a conversation - you can ask questions too. When you get answers you should enter a brief dialogue with the person who responded and thank them. They may be future partners with you.
Revisit goals
I’m often asked something along the lines of : “what business have you had from linked In?” This is a fair question but difficult to answer directly. I know some people who can point directly to such business. In my case I know of contacts made that have attracted attention and got us talking which led to business. I know people who spoke to me directly after viewing my profile on LI. Here’s the thing for me - that is my goal. I want to be more visible and have people develop an extra way to contact me. LI isn’t the only thing I do by any means but as a tool it fits well into my marketing toolkit. It may well be worth checking out for you too.
Tags: Linked In, marketing, networking, online networking