How To Network Effectively On LinkedIN

Tweak Your Biz » Marketing » How To Network Effectively On LinkedIn

How To Network Effectively On LinkedIn

by lornasixsmith on April 10th, 2012
17 Comments

There are now over 100 million people on LinkedIn, people you can do business with, people you can impress with your profile and your knowledge. Most business people have a profile on Linked In and I’m sure you do. However, is your Linked In profile as professional, effective and engaging as it could be? I‘ve noticed more and more business people failing to update their Linked In profile effectively; leaving it incomplete and not making use of the many benefits within Linked In. Here’s our recommendations for ‘what to do’ and ‘what not to do’ on LinkedIn.

10 Ways To Improve Your Linked In Profile

Ensure your profile is 100% complete. Different sections carry points, for example, adding a completed summary will earn 5%. Having 3 or more recommendations earns Linked In kudos too. A photograph earns 5% but ensure it is a professional one, rather than one you might use on facebook.
Optimise your profile by including relevant and highly searched keywords within your job title, your summary and your specialities.
Ensure your summary reveals your expertise, your accomplishments, your ambitions and gives readers a sense of who you are as well as including a select number of those all important keyword phrases.
Giving your website its full name looks more professional ( Linked In provides the wording ‘Company Website – change this to the name of your business) and include a link to your website and blog. Remember this link will contain good SEO juice too.
Many Linked In profiles are not unique and individual, ending in a long number. It is easy to create a personalised Linked In url by clicking edit beside the url, inserting your name and clicking save.
When requesting a connection, always change the standard message and personalise it. Refer to when you met the person and why you would like to connect. You never know, the other person may have forgotten all about you. A friendly request means that it could be the start of a good working relationship.
When asking for a recommendation, do personalise the request. Asking the person to focus on particular areas of your expertise will ensure that their recommendation includes optimised keywords and focuses on the areas you wish to highlight.
Joining groups that are relevant to your industry and taking part in discussion should get you noticed for all the right reasons.
Look for questions within the ‘Answers’ section and become involved in the discussions and contribute by answering any queries, thereby building on your credibility as a trusted source of knowledge and expertise in your area.
Starting a group and inviting others to join will also position you as a ‘thought leader’ and a ‘doer’.

5 Actions We Don’t Recommend For Linked In

DON’T send a connection request to people you don’t know stating they are your friends – your requests will be ignored or refused. Don’t ask people to connect just because you are both members of the same group, especially if there are hundreds of people within that group.
DON’T send out standard recommendation requests to 200 contacts, even though the facility is there. If you are expecting someone to spend time writing a recommendation for you, invest a few minutes in writing them a personal note.
DON’T use Twitter to update your Linked In profile. Twitter is much more informal than Linked in, hence the vocabulary and tone used for both social media platforms should be very different. Seeing people’s casual or conversational tweets on their Linked In profile does not do their brand image any favours. By all means, let your Linked In updates feed into your tweets but never the other way around.
DON’T post personal updates on your profile but ensure they all relate to your business and your professional standing. Posting an update twice a week would be deemed sufficient in my opinion.
DON’T ask for favours before you establish a good working relationship. Look upon Linked In as an effective networking tool where you work to help other people if you can, then they will help you in turn.

Linked In offers you a means to control the identity of your brand, of your business. Use it well to optimise the success of that message and build relationships that will be beneficial to your business success.

Image: ricardogranda.com

Category: Branding, Linkedin

Tags: Linkedin, online networking

The Author: lornasixsmith

Lorna co-owns Write on Track, offering social media consultancy and ghost blogging services. She is also a co-organiser of the Blog Awards Ireland and KLCK Bloggers Network. Her knowledge of online retail is also extensive from owning a home accessories online store for 5 years. http://www.writeontrack.ie

Add Your Comment

http://twitter.com/chris_mortimer Chris Mortimer

Hi Lorna,
Great post, love your advice on tone coming from Twitter, that’s a mistake I’ve made myself.
Was thinking in light of your “5 do not dos” I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post I wrote last week about the changes LinkedIn made to Connect requests lately, think it may change the value we all get from the LinkedIn network. The link is below:

http://www.search-integration.se/linkedin-connect-change-creating-user-value-or-just-revenues?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=blog-linkedin-201204

Thanks!
http://twitter.com/JBBC Marie Ennis-O’Connor

Great post Lorna – lots of good advice and tips.
I find Linkedin groups are a wonderful resource and use them regularly to connect with others in my PR and marketing field. I use LinkedIn groups to share knowledge, ask questions, research, and learn new things. I also find it a good source of referral back to my website.
http://www.bloggertone.com Niall Devitt

Great reminders, Lorna!

I have to admit that I get really disappointed that Linkedin remains so badly utilized by so many business people, It really is a superb networking platform.
http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

My pet hate; (DON’T) start a group, throw in a few posts and expect it to take off! I see this all the time. Groups in LinkedIn need momentum – sometimes hard to keep going. They are also used to spam people unfortunately but this now happens across all platforms.

Great list Lorna, particularly No 1 DON’T – never ceases to amaze me that people still do that, and expect a connection! I suppose stats will ditacte that if you connect with 100, chances are 10% will automatically connect anyway.

Great post Lorna!
http://www.sianphillips.ie/ Sian Phillips

Great post Lorna. I know I don’t use LinkedIn enough. I think I have my profile updated ok but then I don’t do anything with it – a waste I know.
http://write-on-track.com/ Lorna

thanks Chris, I will check out that link
http://write-on-track.com/ Lorna

It’s my pet hate too Elaine and considering the number I get, there must be a lot of people that seem to see it as okay.
http://twitter.com/CodyMWard Cody Ward

Lorna,

Great list! I’ve found your #9 to be the most beneficial on LinkedIn. I started answering questions not really knowing what would happen and was very surprised with the feedback I was getting. I started to realize that I held a unique perspective and could share some experience.

- Cody
http://TheMarketingShop.ie/ Debbie McDonnell

Great post Lorna.

On the area of updating Linkedin from twitter, I don’t personally have a problem with this as it’s better to have some activity on an account than nothing particularly when time is an issue. I do think however that people need to be aware that they can choose to send selected tweets only to Linkedin as opposed to sending everything there.
http://twitter.com/Finkorzak Flissitations

Thanks Lorna, I have recently joined LinkedIn and these are great tips to get me started.
http://twitter.com/Erickson_Cheryl Cheryl Erickson

Hi Janine, some great points on the side of the business. I would think they should also be the example, look for top quality employees that are capable of engaging themselves, and train all their staff soft skills. There is a lot of personal reward when staff feel productive and involved.

Granted having an environment where people are respected, able to bring their desires to the table, and encouraged to look for opportunities is helpful, but it is still up to the person whether they chose to be effective and engaged, or not.

The financial rewards have never been my reason for excelling, although nice to have, it was more of a surprise.The real prize was going home feeling that I did an excellent job, made a
difference, was appreciated, and a personal drive to do better. I think it is a two way street and not just the responsibility of the employer or the employee.
http://www.callboxinc.com/ Julie Dawn Harris

Being open minded to accept ideas from your workers is better. You can’t be right all the time. Let them participate in decision making and let them get involved. Know their interest, their potentials and their weaknesses this will help you manage them with regards to their tasks. Higher productivity could be achieved if you’ll try this.
http://www.thesmarttrain.com/ Elaine Rogers

I was thinking of Dale Carnegie as I read this post – He implies that every person has one main inherent need – to be appreciated, to feel important. Everything else comes from that core need.
Any praise, reward or feedback needs to be genuine, and as Heather below mentioned, not an “empty gesture” – I’m sure we have all experienced similar at one point. Talent will walk if not enriched, empowered, appreciated and rewarded.
One thing I would add to this conversation is the importance of the “hirer” role in all of this. Strategy will only work if executed well, and by the right people. I have many clients who have been frustrated by the hiring process used in companies they applied for work. The most common complaint is about the interview, and more specifically, the interviewer. It’s hard enough to find the right talent for our businesses, but we must honour them with quality and experience in our human hiring process.
Great post Janine.
http://www.theexecutivesuite.com/blog/ Warren Rutherford

Elaine, thanks. I was asked recently to put a seminar together for “knowledge workers” from the standpoint of recruiting them to a region as part of an economic development strategy, understanding that the common use of the term connotes those trained in technical areas – IT, engineering, sciences, biotechnology, etc. I’ve always seen a different interpretation to the term. I’ll be working this perspective more.
http://www.theexecutivesuite.com/blog/ Warren Rutherford

Thanks Niall, great point. I read recently about management practices using the one best way approach to increase production. Great I guess in the short run, as the article pointed out managers expected that if staff couldn’t stand the requirements (low pay – long hours, no recognition), they could leave and could be readily replaced with other folks seeking work. Short run because they may be missing a great opportunity for alignment.
http://www.theexecutivesuite.com/blog/ Warren Rutherford

Thanks Anika. Great leaders and managers understand what’s necessary to motivate employees by developing a culture of collaboration and cooperation. You are correct that listening, understanding, and respecting different perspectives are important leadership and management attributes.
http://www.theexecutivesuite.com/blog/ Warren Rutherford

Julia, good observation. Acceptance of different ideas and decision-making participation are healthy leadership practices. Thanks for your observations!

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