7. 1. Optimize Your Profile
Summarize for your audience and for search
Include information about your company or group as appropriate
8. 1. Optimize Your Profile
Use applications to provide more context and
increase connections.
9. 1. Optimize Your Profile
Solicit meaningful recommendations from
People relevant to your target audience
People who have well-developed networks
10. 2. Connect Your Network
Import contacts
Search colleagues and classmates
Use LinkedIn Outlook toolbar
11. 3. Promote Your Company
New feature added November 2008
Edit copy for target audience and search
More robust elements coming soon
12. 4. Find People
Advanced Search
Input field
Sidebar search
Saved Searches
Reference Search
16. 6. Join Groups
Introduce yourself
Participate – join discussions, ask questions
Give before your ask
Avoid shameless self promotion
Don’t start a new discussion if an old one fits
18. 7. Ask & Answer Questions
“I've had luck simply posting that "I'm looking for
connections in such and such a city", when I'm headed
there for a sales trip. It's been really great to have referrals
or for people whom I've forgotten about show up.
Especially when I'm busting into a new market and mostly
cold calling. I'm in Austin right now and 3 of the 9 appts.
that I have while I'm here are from Linked In leads.”
19. 7. Ask & Answer Questions
“Can you please put something in your presentation on
how unacceptable it is to use your LinkedIn contacts to
spam people?! I am on this for business connections, etc.
NOT to get ridiculous emails from [NAME DELETED] about
his ridiculous [PRODUCT DELETED]. This sours me to
accept anyone with a sales background. “
Just my two cents. :)
20. 7. Ask & Answer Questions
“Hey Mark -- Good to hear from you! Would LOVE to talk
with you about LinkedIn, but my thoughts are too
numerous for email. Call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX and I will
tell you how I use LI from a B2B standpoint.
23. Learning More
LinkedIn Learning Center - http://learn.linkedin.com/
LinkedIn Blog - http://blog.linkedin.com/
Using LinkedIn Q&A -
http://www.linkedin.com/answers?
categoryHome=&category=ULI
Editor's Notes
35 million professionals worldwide
146% y-o-y growth
All Fortune 500
250,000 new users per week
700 million possible by end of 2009
Richard Tait, CEO
Planning games in Starbucks
Knew customers were Starbucks consumers
Decided to try to reach Starbucks buyer, but couldn’t get through
Mapped out his social and business connections, invited them to play-test sessions
In a couple of months, he called them saying, “I keep hearing about this game, what is it?”
Last year, they sold to Hasbro for $77.5 million
Your headline by default will be your current title. You have up to 124 characters to make it more interesting.
Think about keywords and searchability.
What will your audience be looking for?
You can change the URL for your personal profile
Summary section, can be more than your professional summary, can include description of your company too. Write for search and write for your audience.
Ask for high-quality references that are going to meaningful to your target audience
Ask people who are well-connected
Ask for specifics – e.g.
Three ways to do this:
- Use Add contacts feature in LinkedIn – manually add contacts or bulk import
- Use LinkedIn to look up former colleagues or classmates
- Use the LinkedIn plug-in for Outlook to identify new contacts based on your Outlook contacts folder or email patterns
Company pages are a new feature, launched in Nov. 2008
Still in beta.
At the moment, you can edit your company profile and flag inaccurate information.
In the future, you’ll be able to upload additional content – like photos,
Improvements in searchability
Three ways to make contact with someone you don’t already know:
- Ask for an Introduction – Free
- If you’re a paid member – can use InMail
Third way, members of the same group:
Need more meat in terms of do’s don’ts how to get most out of Groups, etc.
Participate in discussions
Contribute to the community
Give something before you ask
Post polls
Follow up on people’s answers
Avoid sham
When you post a question, follow up on other people's answers. Don't start a conversation and walk away. Many people will lurk until they see there is a conversation. If you start a conversation, then participate.
Avoid shameless self promotion. People don't react to it well. Instead of directly making offers, ask questions that would identify people worth talking to and engage them via follow up.
If you would like to get more connections with relevant people, then simply put "connection invitations welcome" and your public email address under your signature to replies.
Post news items. It's easy, and makes it simple to get information from your website or something of interest out to the group.
Don't start a new discussion if an existing one fits. Why? Because when you follow up to an existing conversation all participants in the conversation are emailed in addition to the digest that goes out to members of the group. This means you will get more eyeballs to your post by following up on an existing discussion than by starting a new one.
Introduce yourself. If a group has an Introduce discussion, jump in and introduce yourself. If not, then jump in and do an intro post. Make sure you mention who you are, something personal about yourself (this makes the intro real) and what you do. Here's a great example.
Need more meat in terms of do’s don’ts how to get most out of Groups, etc.
Participate in discussions
Contribute to the community
Give something before you ask
Post polls
Get information
Make contacts
Build your reputation