Making the Most of LinkedIn

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 1, 2011 -- LinkedIn is a social networking site created especially for professionals. LinkedIn enables you to set up a free basic personal or company account which provides access to other professionals, communities and groups. Users can search for jobs, promote themselves online and get ‘LinkedIn’ with other professionals.


What the Statistics Say

- There are approximately 6million LinkedIn users in the UK
- LinkedIn is one of the fastest growing social networking sites

- 25-34 year olds account for 39% of LinkedIn users in Europe while 35-54 year old account for 38% of users
- 69 of Fortune 100 companies use LinkedIn


Reasons to be on LinkedIn

- Primarily targeted at professionals
- Enables users to expand their real and virtual professional network
- Provides access to the hidden job market
- Users can search and apply for jobs


Remember the 3 Basics to Getting it Right

In addition to staying professional, 3 things should also be remembered when creating an account:

- The Product: its about you, what you do, what is your offering

- The Brand: define your USP, what makes you different
- The Market: other professionals, companies and industries, your audience

What you make of these 3 things determine your results. It’s simple;

“The way you ‘brand’ yourself determines whether the ‘market’ wants to know the ‘product’”.


Golden Rules to Making the Most of LinkedIn

Create your brand: Differentiate yourself, know and promote your USP. Make sure your updates and profile promotes you.

Maximise the tools: Make utmost use of the tools available to you to promote your brand.

Develop a Marketing Strategy: Carefully select the information you want to share and how you share it.

Reach Out: Connect with people outside your immediate group of friends and co-workers, connect with recruiters and others in companies who you think you could gain or share information with.

Join Groups: This enables you to meet people of similar interests and opens more job opportunities for you. You could also learn new things as you share your views in these groups.

Get Noticed by Providing a Lending Hand: Providing help by answering questions or simply helping people in terms of referring them for a job ensures you stay visible and increases your online profile as a valued user. Soon enough you become the person people want to know.

Address People Personally: Whether responding to a personal request or to a group, addressing people personally goes a long way in creating and building a positive rapport.

Personal Touch: Remember to keep things real and genuine in your profile, updates and conversations. Being sincere and being yourself increases your chances of being successful and finding a real fit in the market.

Pay It Forward: Do something for someone in your network without asking for anything in return. You will be surprised how quickly good news travels. Again, this helps as you become the go to person thereby increasing both your network and value.

Get Recommended: If you have provided a service or product to someone or an organisation, send a friendly request for a recommendation. Recommendations increase your credibility and success in networking.

Complete Your Profile: This may seem obvious but you will be amazed how many people have incomplete profiles. In a virtual world, incomplete profiles create suspicion. Completing your profile enables viewers to understand your offering and increases your credibility.

Making the Most of LinkedIn