Are You LinkedIn?
Are You LinkedIn?
If you are not LinkedIn, you are left out. The youthful generation of 20-somethings who have bid and sold their companies for billions of dollars understand how to leverage today’s technologies to connect. Technology is not an end in itself, it is a means for social networking. Business is relationships. It is not who you know, but who knows you. Are you known? LinkedIn is the premier online business networking tool to help you play in the new economy.
Why LinkedIn?
There are three reasons to use LinkedIn:
- To be discovered
- To be branded
- To increase influence
Your network is your net worth. If you know less people, you will:
- Have less knowledge
- Have less opportunity
- Be invisible
LinkedIn is a system for managing and measuring your network. The people you know brand you. They are transparent to viewers of your profile. The experience you have and the people you know tell the story of who you are.
The Technology
LinkedIn is a simple tool to use. Take a look at my LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin/in/dondalrymple
Note these items about my profile:
- My experience
- The people I know
- The testimonials I have received
What story does this tell you about me? What story will your profile tell others about you if they never met you? Tell your story in a way that a stranger becomes a friend before you meet. This is your brand.
Connecting
The goal of LinkedIn is to connect with people you will do business with. It is as much of a tool to give as to receive. Here are ways to add value first – a key success principle:
- Write recommendations for your network. Don’t flatter. Be precise.
- Get out of the way. Connect others using LinkedIn as the medium. Simply say, “I have a person in my LinkedIn network that would be of value to you. I will send you their link and would be happy to connect you.”
- Meet a stranger a week. Look for new contacts that could be strategic partners to your business. Learn how to add strategic partners by asking for the Strategic Partner Referrals tool from AscendWorks. Email us at info@ascendworks.com.
Best Practices
- Research various people and their profiles. Note their branding
- Ask for feedback from others to see what they think of you after reading your LinkedIn.
- Use LinkedIn daily to help others connect. Make it the medium.
- Only have people in your network you are confident referring.
- Make LinkedIn part of your workflow. If you do not, it will not serve you.
- Continue weeding and strengthening your list of contacts. Make it select and rich.
Getting Started
The key to using technology effectively is to dive in and use it. It is an iterative process. Your first draft will not be your last. In less than one hour, you should be able to promote yourself in an effective way and build your business network online. Here are the steps:
- Go to www.linkedin.com and sign up for a profile.
- Create your profile. This is essentially your resume. It is not meant to be exhaustive. It is meant to be promotional. Do not write boring stuff here. People will not read it. That is what your resume is for.
- Invite your network. A simple way to do this is to download the Microsoft Outlook toolbar and use the wizard to mass invite your chose contacts.
- Write testimonials for people who join your network that you value. Request one in turn.
- Ensure your LinkedIn site, http://www.linkedin.com/in/{yourname}, points to other parts of your branding breadcrumb trail. If you want to learn to be more strategic about your brand, contact AscendWorks at info@ascendworks.com.
- As you meet new people, add them to your network.
- Prune, grow and manage your network regularly.
Your network is your net worth. Just because you have a networking tool will not mean your business will grow. It must be strategic. As I have said to many clients, technology is a terrible master. Make technology your slave. Learn to strategically integrate this powerful tool into your business workflow to grow your business.
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