Making the most of LinkedIn
The popularity of online networking sites has grown exponentially, and the business-focused LinkedIn site is no exception. It is used for staff recruitment, information and contact sharing, posting and answering questions, and for collaboration and sourcing business partnerships. LinkedIn has 90 million users worldwide and around 200,000 users in New Zealand. Find out how you can use LinkedIn to boost your business profile.
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What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn was established in 2003 and has grown into the largest business-to-business networking site and will be among the first social media networking companies to become a public listed company. LinkedIn’s early membership was predominantly in the US, but 90 million people around the world now use the free-to-join site.
LinkedIn is popular with business people. Because of its business focus, it is seen to be more useful and a less voyeuristic experience than that found on other social network sites. LinkedIn members can connect to business people through their networks and are able to communicate with a large number of business people around the world in a short space of time.
Although LinkedIn membership is free, there are other levels of opt-in premium membership (Business, Business Plus and Pro) with greater networking access and features, which come at a monthly fee charged in US$. These features allow you to send a limited number of direct mails to people not in your direct network. The paid-for options can aid the networking process, but are not necessary to benefit from your LinkedIn membership.
How does LinkedIn work?
Much like other online social networking sites, LinkedIn allows you to set up a profile. The big difference is that the information you supply is far more business orientated. You are encouraged to invite your business contacts to join your online network, and can reconnect with past colleagues and associates by searching for people online or inviting them by email. The more people you connect to directly on LinkedIn, the more people you will be able to contact and connect with via your LinkedIn network.
You are also encouraged to list your current employment, previous employment, and qualifications. People you have worked for, or with, are able to post recommendations online and this turns your LinkedIn profile into a powerful online CV that can be viewed by people in your network.
Like Facebook, LinkedIn has a status update option, but this is generally updated less frequently – roughly two to three times a week – and with work related content like: “I’m working on…”. However, the most effective networking on LinkedIn comes from joining business interest groups on LinkedIn. These groups give you access to a large number of professionals in your field or related fields. You can use these forums to ask or answer questions and make valuable connections.
While LinkedIn does allow you to set up a company page, it has, at this stage, a very limited purpose for promoting your business. This means you’ll need to use your own personal profile to make a name for yourself, and thereby your business, as an expert in your field.
Getting started on LinkedIn
To get started on LinkedIn, you’ll need to register online and set up your profile. It is a good idea to:
- Add a photograph
- Enter your profile information in as much detail as possible
- Invite everyone in your business network to connect with you
- Ask a few people to endorse your work
- Provide links to your website, Twitter Feed and blogs
- Change your status update every few days
- Use additional features like Reading List and My Travel. This enables you to share your thoughts on good or controversial books or let people know when and where you are travelling. This information can lead to business opportunities or meetings.
Making the most of LinkedIn
Making use of LinkedIn Groups is the best way to make the most of the networking opportunities that LinkedIn presents. LinkedIn allows you to join up to 50 groups, but it would be better to be more selective and focus on a few groups that would be useful for positioning yourself and your business.
- Identify a handful of groups that represent your target market, choosing groups with a couple of hundred members. Visit these groups on a regular basis – a couple of times a week – and make frequent and consistent posts on the group forum. You should aim to add value to popular discussions by providing insight or opinion, or asking interesting questions.
- Starting your own discussion on a group forum can be an effective tool. It’s best to become familiar with a group before you post your own discussion. This will allow you to post a question that will be both useful and popular. You should aim to encourage as much engagement as possible in the discussion. Promoting discussions and connecting with others on LinkedIn will build your influence among your business network.
- Starting your own LinkedIn Group is another option, if you have the time and have identified a niche interest that other people share.
You can also build your reputation as an expert in your field by answering questions posted under LinkedIn Answers. Browse the question categories to find topics you are knowledgeable about and invest some time in crafting a well-rounded answer.
Advertising on LinkedIn can be a cost-effective way to reach your target audience. Payment for advertising is per click or per impression and you can control how much you spend on adverts on LinkedIn by selecting your budget limits. You can also control who will see your adverts by selecting targets based on geographic location, job function and seniority, industry and company size, or gender and age.
Your adverts can contain a small graphic, a headline, a link to your website or LinkedIn page, and up to 75 characters of text over two lines. You are also able to set up variations of your advert to test which combination of words produces the best results.
