Category Archives: Using LinkedIn

LinkedIn Endorsements – my two pence worth

October 30, 2012 by

You can’t have failed to notice over the past couple of weeks that your updates have been filled with notifications of people endorsing each other. Whether this has been annoying you or has encouraged you to check out the profiles of those people, you’ll probably have your own opinion as to whether this is a key new feature or a step in the wrong direction.

Anyway, here’s mine …

For me, LinkedIn is a professional business that people use in a variety of ways from networking to developing business, to recruiting or job hunting. As such, anything that enhances your reputation or helps you achieve this is of benefit, particularly if it increases your standing amongst your peers or ‘ticks’ one of the list of requirements that potential prospects are working through.

My issue with endorsements is (more…)

Article Categories: B2B Advice for LinkedIn, LinkedIn Advice, LinkedIn Site Changes, Using LinkedIn
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LinkedIn Tip: Get changed in private

September 2, 2012 by

Making changes to your profile is key to developing a strong presence on LinkedIn – adding elements and tweaking are useful not just because you are honing the information that you present to people, but also because it makes you more visible to your network.

Automatically, every time you add something to your profile or make a change, then your 1st level contacts are informed via a status update – in general, this is good as it demonstrates to your network that you are active at the same time keeps you ‘front of mind’, even if only in a small way.

However, there may well be times when you’ll want to have a real overhaul of your profile or you want to make certain changes that you would prefer to be made “under the radar” (more…)

Article Categories: LinkedIn Advice, LinkedIn Tips, Q & A on LinkedIn, Using LinkedIn
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LinkedIn Tip: Saved searches save you time

June 25, 2012 by

LinkedIn Tips and AdviceHere’s a quick way to keep up to date with any new people who fit certain profiles you’re interested in, without lifting a finger. Essentially, new business prospects delivered to your inbox every week … automatically. Sounds interesting? Then read on …

When I’m using LinkedIn for targeted business development, perhaps the key element I use is the advanced search function – being able to target the type of person I’m looking to approach using a combination of job title, company, location, industry or any of the other filters that LinkedIn offers is an absolute godsend. That’s also why it always takes up an important slot in the “LinkedIn for Sales” workshops that I run.

Anyway, once I have my targeted search in place (more…)

Article Categories: LinkedIn Advice, LinkedIn Strategy, LinkedIn Tips, Using LinkedIn
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LinkedIn Tip: Planning makes perfect

May 2, 2012 by

LinkedIn Tips and AdviceHaving hesitated for a while about adding a LinkedIn tip which has the word “Planning” in the title – it does seem to scare people – I’ve decided to finally take the plunge, although I haven’t quite plucked up the courage to add one with “Strategy” in just yet. :)

However, planning is hugely important because, like all of the social media channels, LinkedIn is essentially a tool for you to use in the way that best suits your needs. I am constantly reminded of this when I see people advise newly joined members of LinkedIn to first of all get their profile up to date. Hugely important I agree … but a close second after first deciding why you want to be on LinkedIn and what you want to get from the time you’ll be spending on it.

It’s therefore key to work out from the start what (more…)

Article Categories: LinkedIn Advice, LinkedIn Strategy, LinkedIn Tips, Using LinkedIn
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Searching for Groups on LinkedIn just got easier

April 4, 2012 by

LinkedIn Groups searchWell, it needed to happen … and finally it did. The search function for the groups section on LinkedIn has just got an overhaul to bring it a little more in line with the rest of the site and not before time, it has to be said.

Groups on LinkedIn are an absolute treasure trove of information, debate, contacts and prospects – a key element of the site that really delivers value at all levels. There are currently some 1.2 million groups, all run by LinkedIn members like you and me, and they deliver a huge variety of content and focus areas, so being able to find the right ones and tap into them is invaluable.

From a sales and marketing perspective, they also provide a veritable goldmine of information and opportunity – though one which needs to be used with great care.

However, the challenge has always been finding the most appropriate ones to participate in. Using my own rule of thumb, with 1.2m groups on offer and our ability to join (more…)

Article Categories: Groups on LinkedIn, LinkedIn Course, LinkedIn Site Changes, LinkedIn Training, LinkedIn Workshop, Using LinkedIn
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Quality versus quantity in your LinkedIn network

August 30, 2011 by

Quantity versus QualityThere’s long been an (often) animated debate as to the “right” way to approach networking and particularly to building your network.

In the red corner: there are advocates of a quality based approach where you only connect with people you either know well or who are directly relevant to you and what you do;

In the blue corner: over here, the watchword is ‘quantity’ and so the aim is to connect with all and sundry and rely on the idea of serendipity, that’s to say that these people are bound to know someone (who knows someone) who will be interested in what you do or offer.

LinkedIn of course supports both approaches and seemingly takes no sides in this.

However, there is a caveat to this because of the way that LinkedIn structures and displays its search results, which may influence your thoughts on this. This is particularly relevant if you are looking at this as a (new) business development tool (more…)

Article Categories: B2B Advice for LinkedIn, LinkedIn Advice, LinkedIn Strategy, Using LinkedIn
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