Advantages with the LinkedIn to your Business

Advantages with the LinkedIn to your Business

LinkedIn is one of the most popular networking websites that is in great demand today. Although it is classified as a social networking website, it is mostly a professional networking website and is a great resource for entrepreneurs as well as job seekers alike. It is different from most other websites in the niche in this respect and has many a great corporate biggies as its members. Basic membership at LinkedIn in free of cost and it offers a detailed profile setup (this is basically a digital resume and it consists of education, skills, website links, work history and many other details) compared to any other social networking website. Networking is very important at LinkedIn and is akin to the Kevin Bacon game (six degrees). It differs in the aspect that it is highly important to a career-oriented individual. Let us what makes LinkedIn so important.

LinkedIn has grown leaps and bounds in the recent past and has been the beacon of the social networking niche. A few figures would illuminate the situation. All figures below are form September-October 2008 and LinkedIn has grown over 200%, if not more since.

• LinkedIn attracted a record 12 million unique visitors in September 2008 which has been pegged at a 200% growth over the previous year.
• LinkedIn is home to over 9 million savvy networkers (networkers who have begun to use social networking before it actually existed) and these networkers have the most connections (an average of 61). These networkers make the most of LinkedIn and are estimated to have an annual income of over $93,500.
• Linked has about 8.5 million senior executives as members and their average annual incomes is in the range of $104,000. These are people who are happy with their power jobs and use LinkedIn to connect to their colleagues. This segment has about 32 connections on an average.
• LinkedIn also has about 6.6 million late adopters who have come later to LinkedIn after a lot of invitations. They are mostly professionals and have an income level of about $88,000 a year with an average of 23 connections each.
• The rest of the users at LinkedIn are categorized as “exploring option” and number about 6.1 million. They are mostly working professionals and are looking for other job options. With an average personal income of $87,500 and about 20 connections, they put the LinkedIn network to good use.

Best ways to use LinkedIn more effectively to your Business

• Fill out your profile completely to earn trust.
• Use widgets to integrate other tools, such as importing your blog entries or Twitter stream into your profile.
• Do market research and gain knowledge with Polls.
• Share survey and poll results with your contacts.
• Answer questions in Questions and Answers: show expertise without a hint of self-promotion.
• Ask questions in Questions and Answers to get a feel for what customers and prospects want or think.
• Publish your LinkedIn URL on all your marketing collateral, including business cards, email signature, email newsletters, web sites and brochures, so prospects learn more about you.
• Grow your network by joining industry and alumni groups related to your business.
• Update your status examples of recent work.
• Link your status updates with your other social media accounts.
• Combine your social media approach: when someone asks a question in Twitter, respond in detail on LinkedIn and link to it from Twitter.
• Use the search feature to find people by company, industry and city.
• Start and manage a group or fan page for your product, brand or business.
• Research your prospects before meeting or contacting them.
• Share useful articles and resources that will be of interest to customers and prospects.
• Don’t turn off your contacts: avoid hard-sell tactics.
• Write honest and valuable recommendations for your contacts.
• Request LinkedIn recommendation from happy customers willing to provide testimonials.
• Post your presentations on your profile using a presentation application.
• Check connections’ locations before traveling so you can meet with those in the city where you’re heading.
• Ask your first-level contacts for introductions to their first-level contacts.
• Interact with LinkedIn on a regular basis to reach those who may not see you on other social media sites.
• Set up to receive LinkedIn messages in your inbox so you can respond right away.
• Link to articles and content posted elsewhere, with a summary of why it’s valuable to add to your credibility.
• List your newsletter subscription information and archives.
• Find experts in your field and invite them as a guest blogger on your blog or speaker at your event.
• Post discounts and package deals.
• Import vCards and contacts from other applications to find more connections.
• Export your contacts into other applications.
• Buy a LinkedIn direct ad that only your target market will see.
• Post job listings to find qualified talent.
• Look for connections related to a job you want.
• Find vendors and contractors through connections.

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