At Marketing Options International (MOI) we believe LinkedIn is one of the most powerful online professional networking tools. LinkedIn has over 75 million members in over 200 countries with a new member joining every second. At MOI we understand that linking with professionals from across the globe means that as a business we can develop and nurture worldwide relationships and quickly access insight and resources that we can trust.
The Marketing Options International Team across the world have recently attended workshops on how to receive the maximum benefits from LinkedIn. We wanted to share with you some key learning so you too can learn how you can maximise your virtual networking opportunities and build your professional network with people you trust- after all trust is the cornerstone of which business relationships depend.
Getting Started. Build your Profile
- Add a photo of yourself (ideally one of you looking professional and avoid fun, holiday or family shots)
- Add a statement about yourself under your name. i.e. Passionate B2B marketing professional who enjoys news challenges. (a lot of people here just add their job title however this is a wasted opportunity)
- Post regular updates of what you are working on. Aim for 1 per week. Updating your status means you will remind your network what you do and what you’re an expert in. You can also share interesting articles ensuring your are kept top of mind within your network
- Add in your current position and key responsibilities and who you’ve worked for previously
- Add your company website (note you can add up to three sites)
- Build out your personal elevator pitch with the statement section of your profile. Here you can also list out all your areas of expertise under specialties. This particular section of your profile is highly optimisaable.
- Make sure your settings on your LinkedIn Profile are ‘full view’ this allows people and search engines to find you
- Personalize your URL. Change your LinkedIn profile URL from the default one to include your name. This helps people to find you
Build your Connections:
Start with your existing contacts, suppliers and clients. And ask to connect whenever you have interactions with people whom you trust as a rule at MOI we avoid connecting with people with whom we don’t know or haven’t worked with.
Ask and Provide Recommendations:
This is a strong feature on LinkedIn. Get in the habit of asking for recommendations for work/project you’ve undertaken. If you are still in touch with previous colleagues/clients/suppliers ask them to recommend the work you did. – please note that when you ask for recommendations you need to have that person as a connection and its likely that they may ask you to return the favour. When writing recommendations make sure you are authentic and sincere.
Join and Engage with ‘RELEVANT’ Groups.
Search for and join industry-related LinkedIn groups , the icons for those groups will show up on your profile letting your network know you are involved in your industry. Where possible try and engage with conversations within the groups.
Install Applications.
LinkedIn has great integration with a number of applications with our favourites including WordPress and BlogLink, SlideShare and Polls. Use these applications to demonstrate your expertise and keep your profile fresh and interesting.
When used effectively LinkedIn is a highly powerful networking tool. We hope that our top tips guide helps you reap the maximum return from this business application.
Happy Networking!
