Stephanie Ward
LinkedIn is more than just a place to post your profile and forget about it. You can be more visible on LinkedIn without devoting an enormous amount of time to it.
Connections are strengthened when you interact and share ideas and information. And a solid network is vital to growing your business.
Here are seven ways to increase your presence on LinkedIn:
1. Post a recommendation for someone you’re connected to. A key element of effective networking is to give first. And you never know, someone else may feel compelled to write a recommendation for you. This is not the reason to do it, just a possible outcome.
2. Join a group. On the navigation on the left click on Groups. From there click on the ‘Groups Directory’ tab at the top of the page. You can then search the groups based on: keywords, categories, or languages.
Another way to discover interesting groups is to see what groups your connections are members of.
Once you’re a member of a group, join the discussions and look for people you may know but are not yet connected to and invite them to connect.
3. Post your reading list. This is on the left navigation under ‘Applications’ and it’s super easy to add books you’ve read or are reading. You can also “watch” the reading lists of people you are connected to.
What a person reads gives you insight into what interests them (and you to them). Sharing similar interests can create a bond and lead to new projects.
4. Check out who has been looking at your profile. This is located on the right sidebar of your home page and is under the heading ‘Who’s Viewed My Profile?’ and if you click underneath you can see a list.
You may find that you know people who are looking at your profile and you can invite them to connect.
5. Invite people to connect. I know, this seems ridiculous to mention but often people get into a reactive mode and wait for others to ask them to connect.
If you meet someone and exchange contact details you can search Google using the keywords of their name and LinkedIn to see if they are already on LinkedIn. If they are, you can send them an invitation to connect.
If there is someone you would like to be connected with, but don’t know personally, you can request that someone you are connected with (that is connected to the person you want to meet) make the introduction for you.
6. Update your status daily, a few times weekly or as often as possible. You can share quotes, interesting links to articles and websites, and ask questions. This positions you as a resource and keeps your business visible.
You can also comment on the status updates and changes of people you’re connected to. Congratulate someone on a new position or comment on a particular project.
7. Add a presentation to your profile using ‘Google Presentation’ which is found in the navigation on the left under Applications. This is a fast and easy way for people to find out more about what you do or learn about valuable information you have to share.
There are so many more ways to use LinkedIn, this is just a short list to get you started. Hang out at the site and spend some time exploring which applications and features will work best for you.
If you visit LinkedIn every other day or weekly in ten minutes you can update your status, comment on what others are up to, and invite a few new connections.
These actions will increase your visibility and deepen connections you have with your network. This will increase your potential to attract more clients and build your business. So don’t blink, get linked.
© Stephanie Ward, 2009
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