So, you’ve created your LinkedIn profile and started adding connections. Now what? Is it enough to just make connections in LinkedIn? The adage “out of sight, out of mind’ is very applicable on LinkedIn. Unless you are utilizing your contacts, not only will you be forgotten, you’ll also be defeating the whole purpose of business networking. Want to maximize your LinkedIn connections?

What is the purpose of networking in real life? To promote business, make new deals and reach out to people who can be potential customers or partners. Similarly, LinkedIn connections are also there to help you promote yourself, reach out to the right people, find a new job etc. To use your LinkedIn connections to their full potential, here are a few tips.

More the merrier

The best way to use your connections is to use them to build even more connections. Just like you would do on Facebook and other social networking sites, you can also look into the connections of your connections. Since LinkedIn keeps users updated on new connection of their existing contacts through emails, take a few minutes to see who they are. You might find people you want to connect with via them. Your shared connection can then introduce you to each other.  Be careful, not to jump past your connection and request a second or third degree connection.  The “linking” of each other is what makes LinkedIn so powerful and you can run the risk of getting a “Do Not Know” from that second or third degree connection and those can be fatal to your LinkedIn account.

Give and Take

Networking is all about building relationships. You can’t have anything unless you give something in return as well. With LinkedIn, giving translates to making recommendations and introductions. Everybody wants a recommendation. A recommendation can boost your career scope, get you noticed and makes it easy to network with big bosses. So, if you start recommending your colleagues, you are bound to make them grateful. In return, they will surely start recommending you back on LinkedIn. If you have your previous manager or boss in your LinkedIn network and leave him a good recommendation, imagine how good it will look on your profile to have a recommendation from the boss.

Introductions are icebreakers in LinkedIn. After all, you are trying to connect with people you don’t know personally. However, when you introduce one of your connections to another one, be sure you are confident that both are on the level. Any negative incident between these two will reflect back on you as you were the go-between. So when someone asks for an introduction, consider carefully. Also, see if that person is well connected enough to return the favor.

Socialize

So how do you socialize on LinkedIn? You join groups and contribute to discussions and threads. LinkedIn is full of groups that bring people with similar positions and fields together. You will not only find good connections by joining the right group but you will also gain a lot of information. Group members are always sharing tips, information and news. It is like having free access to a hotline.

Share your two cents by writing articles, features, and starting discussion threads, asking and answering questions. This will also allow other group members to understand you better and many will come forward to connect with you. If you are having doubts or facing problem in your business or career, you can post relevant questions in your group. You will most likely find help from experts on the field and it is the perfect way to find these knowledgeable people.

If we’re LinkedIn, let me know if I can help you.  If we’re not, “let’s connect!”

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In both our business and personal lives, etiquette holds lot of importance. However, on the Internet, the rules of etiquette tend to blur. The impromptu abbreviations and slang that we often use on social networking sites may not be the language that’s proper for the professional world. When you become part of the website LinkedIn it becomes even more important that you follow the rules of etiquette that define the world’s only professional networking site.

What makes LinkedIn so different from other networking sites is that people you are networking with can be your next boss or colleague, people who can make or break your career. So, all those good manners that you carry into your interview should be applied here. Of course, formal etiquette translates into more than “avoid Capital letters” or “do not spam.” Here are the top LinkedIn etiquette rules to help you make the most of your LinkedIn profile.

1. Presentation

Presentation translates into creating a polished profile. In the virtual world of LinkedIn, your profile is how you first appear to other people – your first impression. A crisp, polished profile is the same as a crisply ironed business suit. Upload a complete profile before you start networking. Incomplete profiles make bad impressions, like mismatched socks. Casual language will make a casual impression. Build your profile like your resume, putting your best foot forward. Your skills, assets, accomplishments – present everything clearly to make the best impression.

2. Networking Protocols

Unlike networking in other social websites, LinkedIn networking has its rules of conduct to follow. First of all, the purpose of LinkedIn isn’t to socialize. While your goal is to connect with professionals who you have worked with and those who want to work with or get help from, unsolicited networking requests are bad manners in LinkedIn. Network carefully, extend your handshake first to known people and then to unknowns, but selectively and with the help of your current connections.

Be polite in your requests to strangers. While people in a relevant field should not have any reason to decline your request, phrasing your request incorrectly can get you into trouble. Repeated requests or requests to people who are not even remotely related to your field or your friend circle are also no-nos. A “best practice” is to use your current network on LinkedIn and find one of your 1st Degree connections that is also connect to the individual you hope to connect with and ask your 1st Degree for an introduction.

If you are asking anyone to forward your profile to someone in his or her network, then remember your profile will reflect on your friend’s credibility as well. So, along with a good profile, word your request politely as well. Don’t lie or give false impressions. Networking with someone on the premises of sharing ideas and then trying to sell him or her product will be seen as bad form.

3. Social Etiquette

Of course, there is a social aspect to LinkedIn. Just like in any social gathering, there should be politeness, small talk and some give and take.  For instance, if someone recommends you, return the favor. If you are introduced to a new contact by someone, send a thank you message. Make a good impression with your entire network and it will automatically fetch you more good contacts.

Good manners also apply to handling requests and messages that are sent to you as well. If you receive a request from a known person that you do not want to connect with, you might not want to reject the request outright. Simply archive it. People tend to forget over time or understand that you do not wish to connect with them.

Similarly, if you are sent a networking request from a stranger from an unrelated field, reject the request with a polite message stating your reason. If a friend extends the profile of a third party contact that you do not want to entertain, reply to your friend stating clearly, but politely, why you are hesitant. However, if you get too many such requests from a known person, you might want to consider if your friendship is worth that hassle.

4. Don’t nag

LinkedIn is not like Facebook or Orkut, where people spend hours chit chatting. Professionals hardly get the time to spend on networking and they don’t like wasting time over unnecessary updates or messages. Since most people on LinkedIn have their daily updates mailed to them periodically, constant activity or buzzing people with profile updates hourly will definitely irritate your contacts. Try to limit your activity to once per day, and keep it professional.

5. Don’t Lie

You’ve heard it all your life, “don’t lie,” and that applies to LinkedIn too.  Even white lies and half-truths can come back to bite you. Just like in job interviews, it never pays to lie about your work history or skill. Since this kind of networking is without any boundaries, if at any point you lose the trust of any one of your contacts, it will filter down to all your contacts.

6. Read the fine print

In case you haven’t already, go through the User Agreement you accepted when you registered with LinkedIn. There are certain obligations on your part that LinkedIn expects you to follow and you should be clear about them. LinkedIn is not a market place where you can make a profit. It is more like a gathering of like-minded people where you can develop ideas. Understand the LinkedIn mission and you will be able to understand what is the right etiquette for such a place.

Remember, your online presence can be the first impression you make, so make it a good one! By following these steps, you’ll be on your way to connecting with those important people in your field.

Do you have other “etiquette tips?”  List them below.

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Don’t you love simple and easy stuff?  Well, here are my 5 Simple Steps for getting started with LinkedIn.

As you know, LinkedIn is the professional networking site where you connect with like-minded business professionals or prospects that you would like to do business with.  LinkedIn is not as “social” as Facebook and Twitter or even YouTube, it’s truly about building a strong professional relationship with others that you would like to do business with whether you are the buyer or the seller.

To get started with LinkedIn is quite easy:

Step 1 - Establish your account at linkedin.com.  Enter your email address and a secure password. (Be sure to jot it down so you don’t forget, or you can use Roboform.com to assist with remembering passwords)

Step 2 - import your current contacts, those that you are already connected to and/or doing business with, into LinkedIn through the Add Connections Tab located under Contacts.  This is an easy way to build your connections in LinkedIn without having to search for them.

Step 3 – Build your Profile to 100%. LinkedIn walks you through the process of building a strong profile, shows the progress you are making and what remains to be completed.  Work toward 100%.

Step 4 – In order to reach that 100% completeness of your profile, you need to be recommended by former clients, colleagues or co-workers.  Don’t be afraid to ASK for these recommendations.  All they can say is NO.  Or better yet, recommend others and maybe they will return the favor by recommending you.

Step 5 - Search and Join “niche” groups and get into the conversation.  What better way to position yourself as an expert than to respond timely and accurately with answers to questions.  Those who are not connected to you will quickly want to be connected because you are the expert or “Go-To” person for this topic.  And you can answer as many questions as you have the answers for.  So Become an Online Celebrity by responding to questions on LinkedIn.

Just those 5 Steps will get you started and racing out of the gate on LinkedIn to quickly build your connections and potential clients.

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No matter what your business, no matter what product, service or expertise you are selling, you need the right words to sell. Of course, in this “Web 2.0” world, there are so many places and platforms that need relevant and persuasive words – blogs, press releases, Squidoo lenses, articles, newsletters and bios/profiles for Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, to name a few.

Many successful marketers will tell you that copywriting – the ability to put what you are selling into words that actually sell – is the #1 most important skill to have in marketing. And this is true now more than ever.

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At the end of 2008, I had an opportunity to read many blog posts from Internet experts making their predictions for 2009 and guess what was at the top of their list: Social Media Marketing. It is anticipated that Social Media will grow at unprecedented rates in 2009 and beyond as more and more businesses seek to leverage this powerful new marketing channel.

A further prediction is that Social Media Marketing Services will be in very high demand through 2009! Most businesses either lack the time or expertise to effectively carry out all the necessary Social Media Marketing Activities and will be seeking to delegate these tasks to skilled Social Media Marketing Specialists.

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