In 2007, Jason Alba wrote the book, I’m on LinkedIn, Now What?
9 years later, I’m totally amazed that a large percentage of business professionals are still saying the same thing.
With over 400 million people worldwide and approximately 115 million in the United States, if you are truly serious about building your business and your online reputation, the time has come for you to start embracing the power of LinkedIn.
Let’s take a peek at the power of LinkedIn.
According to LinkedIn, here are the numbers:
- 400 million members
- 2 new members coming aboard every second
- LinkedIn user goal – 3 billion
- 100 million unique visitors to the site monthly
- Geographic reach – 200 countries
- 48% of all adult online users are active on LinkedIn
- 35 billion page views in the second quarter of 2015
With those kinds of numbers, I’m sure that you’re getting the picture.
Here are my suggestions to you:
- If you’re not already on LinkedIn, I suggest that you do it immediately. Just go and sign up for a FREE account.
- If you’re already on LinkedIn, but you’re not sure how to use it or what to do next, read on for some helpful tips.
As Glenda, the Good Witch, told Dorothy when she felt that she was not in Kansas anymore, “like all good things in life, you always start at the beginning.”
Tips for Success on LinkedIn
1. Why are you on LinkedIn?
It’s important that you fully understand WHY you’re on LinkedIn.
Are you looking for a job? Do you just want to build your online reputation? Do you want to find new prospects for your business? Are you looking to build your network? Or possibly, do you want to better educate yourself?
Regardless of your specific reason, you have to become somewhat purpose driven as to why you’re on LinkedIn.
Once you have that sense of purpose, begin by taking the following steps…
2. Complete your profile
Ask yourself the following question… If someone took a look at my current profile, would they be interested in connecting with me? Or, does my picture and my online resume profile reflect the person I feel I am?
The point I’m making is simply to be sure to complete your profile with all the good stuff you can share about yourself.
3. Develop a connection strategy
In order to have a completed profile, you must have at least 50 connections. But only having 50 connections is not a large enough network to start building momentum.
My suggestion is that you aim to have at least 250 connections, so start connecting with people you know and people you want to know. Remember that the more connections you have, the more you can help make a difference for yourself and those in your network.
4. Get involved by joining groups
With over 2 million groups already launched on LinkedIn in every conceivable industry and interest category, my suggestion is that you join at least 10-25 groups.
Currently, LinkedIn allows you to join up to 100 groups.
LinkedIn is all about engagement and conversation. Find local groups in your area as well as industry-related groups and be a part of the conversation. By joining groups, you then can access many other like-minded professionals.
5. Develop the habit of doing what successful people are doing
With all the opportunities surrounding LinkedIn, it can become a bit overwhelming.
Keep this in mind – You only need to know what you need to know. Keep it simple. Don’t get stressed. Allow the power of LinkedIn to support your online networking efforts.
For those of you that would like a simple approach to a building a daily activity on LinkedIn, here is a proven approach to growing your LinkedIn presence:
Spend 15 minutes a day on LinkedIn doing the following:
- Look at status updates
- Like, comment, and share
- Check messages; read and respond
- Keep up on conversations
- Check your notifications
So when all is said and done, LinkedIn is all about effective outreach, timely responses, and managing the conversations that develop.
If you’re reading this and want to take advantage of a FREE 30-minute LinkedIn strategy session, go to my calendar and schedule a time to speak with me.