Leveraging LinkedIn

While Linked-In is a social network focused on networking in the professional world, for many people who participate in the emerging digital social world, LinkedIn is a static service that holds their resume or curriculum vita and a collection of acquaintances and that is that.

Linked-In can be so much more, but it requires, like most social media, active participation, management and effort. There is no exact blueprint for LinkedIn success, but there are steps you can take to optimize its benefits for you professionally.

Background

Launched in May 2003, Mountain View, Calif.-based LinkedIn is riding the growth of social media, rapidly expanding to 85 million members from 200 countries in November 2010. The company claims that a new member joins the network every second. LinkedIn competes with Viadeo (30 million members) and Xing (10 million members).

Wisdom — Linked-In isn’t a free-for-all network -– you can not spend a weekend adding thousands of connections to become a Linked-In megastar. That’s not the point. The service is about helping you network with your professional relationships.

Linked-In requires that you have a relationship with someone or have a connection to someone. Like Facebook, Linked-In identities are built on a foundation of trust and honesty. Of course, they can be gamed but for honest people, it just makes sense to be the you who you are.

That means being professional, courteous and personable. You should use the service to enhance relationships, not replace them digitally. Though it has many automated services, if you don’t make it personable, people are not going to respond.

—Executive MBA Programs.org offers 10 rules of etiquette for Linked-in [http://executivembaprograms.org/ten-rules-of-linkedin-etiquette-for-business-professionals/]

Limitations – LinkedIn has limitations designed to limit spam. If you try to connect with too many people who respond “I don’t know you,” LinkedIn will require you to include an e-mail address with a connection request. If you are hit with a limitation, you can contact their customer service department for help.

LinkedIn also has limitations on the number of groups you can join and how you can connect with people who are not in your immediate circle of connections.

You are limited on a free account to 5 introductions per month. You can not contact someone who is two degrees away.

An excellent resource for optimizing your LinkedIn usage is Linkedintobusiness.com by Viveka Von Rosen of Fort Collins, Colo.

Her blog post of Oct. 13, 2010 15 LinkedIn Tips for Business Professionals
[http://linkedintobusiness.com/2010/10/15-linkedin-tips-for-business-professionals/]
is a worthwhile read and can help you optimize how you use the account.

Concepts

1. Be a Strategic Open Networker (SON). Invite only people already on LinkedIn and join groups with lots of members to maximize your network under LinkedIn’s 50-group limitation.
2. Invite strategic people to connect using groups. Search “companies” to find key people.
3. Download vcards and organize them using Outlook or other e-mail clients.

Profile – You are limited to 200 characters on your professional headline, share your expertise and use keywords to make it findable.

Summary – Use keywords for your industry and remember you are limited to 2,000 characters.

—>Join groups, install applications.

Networks – Aim for 200 to 250 people in your network, which could give you a third-degree network of 1.5 million people.

If you are a job seeker, you should spend 6 hours a week on LinkedIn, otherwise 4 hours a week is a good target for normal maintenance.

See Wesst.org http://www.wesst.org/2010/06/15/how-to-leverage-linkedin-if-youre-out-of-work-12-linkedin-tips-for-job-seekers

USEFUL LINKS

1. LinkedIn Case Studies

http://kylelacy.com/20-linkedin-case-studies-and-examples-for-professionals/

2. More: 20 Case Studies using LinkedIn

http://www.socialmedia.biz/2010/08/13/how-to-optimize-your-linkedin-profile/

3. How to Optimize LinkedIn Profiles.