Category Archives: Networking supercharged

Hi, my name’s Mark.
I’m on LinkedIn and I’m not looking for a new job

October 11, 2012 by

If that sounds like an introduction you might make at a “self help” group then maybe that’s not that far off the mark. Certainly, on occasions, I almost feel like I should be apologising for the fact I use LinkedIn in a variety of other ways. A situation not helped by people I meet who aren’t on LinkedIn and who tend to come out with the same reason – “well, why should I join, I’m not looking for a job”.

What does LinkedIn say, then?

Now, I lay much of the blame for this fairly and squarely at LinkedIn’s door – they make a lot of their money from their ‘hiring solutions’ so it’s understandable that they don’t (more…)

Article Categories: Businesses using LinkedIn, LinkedIn Training, Networking supercharged
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Want to make an impression on LinkedIn? Just say “Hi!”

July 15, 2012 by

Short and sweet today and, at the same time, one of the most powerful things you can do on LinkedIn.

You receive an invitation to connect and press the “Accept” button. Another contact made.

Should you leave it at that? I say no. At that moment, perhaps more than any other, you have the perfect opportunity to develop that potential relationship easily and immediately by writing back and getting the conversation going … right there and then.

Think about it for a second and imagine you were doing this face to face. Someone has decided to approach you {sends an invite} and extends a hand with a cheery smile and a brief introduction {personalised message}. You shake it warmly in return {accept invitation} and then … (more…)

Article Categories: B2B Advice for LinkedIn, LinkedIn Advice, LinkedIn Tips, Networking supercharged
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Get your Business Card contacts onto LinkedIn

February 17, 2012 by

LinkedIn Business CardI seem to accumulate piles of them. Many sit sadly on my desk or in drawers gathering dust, unused yet only occasionally unwanted. Finally, when I do manage to file them, they are replaced by a new set after the next show, exhibition or networking event, often to suffer the same fate.

I am of course talking about business cards.

I’ve always known that I really ought to get more organised and productive with them, perhaps sorting and filing them by level of interest or speciality or even by event.
The trouble is that it would be impossible to manually keep in contact and up to date with what they are doing even for a consummately organised networker – and I’m really not one of those.

So, to be brutally honest, in the vast majority of cases they are stored away for a rainy day only to be forgotten about or, when I do think “Yes, I remember talking to someone who did that!”, all too often I find the details are no longer accurate anyway.

No longer the case. LinkedIn to the rescue. (more…)

Article Categories: B2B Advice for LinkedIn, LinkedIn Strategy, Networking supercharged
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Getting your network on LinkedIn

October 5, 2011 by

LinkedIn - Connecting People on LinkedInWe all have networks of contacts. Thankfully, we don’t usually refer to them as “our network” – we talk about business colleagues, friends, clients, family, people we met at networking events, prospects etc. Nevertheless, they are all part of our personal and/or business network.

Therefore, for me, an important first step in developing our online network on LinkedIn is to link up with these people, the ideal people that you want to connect with – the people who are in your network already! While it does many things, one key element is that it immediately makes their network more visible to us – not to then dive in and ‘pillage’ but to identify where personal introductions might be possible through people we know well. There’s no stronger approach to a company than through a personal introduction and this opens up that opportunity.

So how to bring our networks online

In most cases, we keep in touch with them by phone or, more often than not, by email. And there’s lies an opportunity and one that LinkedIn offers us some tools to help (more…)

Article Categories: LinkedIn Advice, Networking supercharged
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Remember to say “Hello!”

August 19, 2011 by

Say hello on LinkedInShort and sweet today and, at the same time, one of the most powerful things you can do on LinkedIn.

You receive an invitation to connect and press the “Accept” button. Another connection made. But should you leave it at that? I say no. At that moment, perhaps more than any other, you have the perfect opportunity to develop that potential relationship easily and immediately by writing back and getting the conversation going right there and then.

Let’s face it – if you were at a face to face networking event and you’ve just gone through the “preliminaries” of introducing yourselves, would you just leave it at that? It would seem unusual to do so … maybe counterproductive even, almost giving off the message that well I now know the minimum about you and that’s all I want. (more…)

Article Categories: LinkedIn Advice, LinkedIn Tips, Networking supercharged
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What is Openlink on LinkedIn?

June 24, 2011 by

Openlink - LinkedIn Openlink NetworkYou may have seen a much smaller version of the symbol to the right on some people’s profiles next to their name and, generally, next to a Premium account symbol too. While it’s not that obvious, what it signifies is that the member is part of the OpenLink network on LinkedIn.

OpenLink is something that is available exclusively to Premium account holders and indeed, in my opinion, is a key benefit of these paid for business accounts. Essentially, it lets people who are members to find and get in contact with other professionals who are interested in meeting new people. It also opens up the ability for anyone to contact you and makes certain that anyone can see your full details in the search results, whether the searcher is part of your network or not. Let me explain …

(more…)

Article Categories: Businesses using LinkedIn, LinkedIn Strategy, Networking supercharged, Using LinkedIn
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