Training - LinkedIn

IT IS IMPORTANT TO REALISE THAT LINKEDIN IS NOT JUST A TOOL FOR EMPLOYERS OR PEOPLE LOOKING FOR A JOB. IT IS A HIGHLY VALUABLE NETWORKING TOOL AND CONTAINS THE BEST DATABASE OF PROFESSIONALS ACROSS THE GLOBE.

Many people make the mistake of only using LinkedIn for recruitment. It is in fact the second-best Business to Business marketing tool (Second only to Facebook) and a great tool for build connections and growing own personal/business network.

LinkedIn features possibly the best profile template available in the world today, along with an easy to use search system to find people (potential clients, networking contacts or sources of information). A strong LinkedIn profile will be found by people looking for your skills.

LinkedIn also has a comprehensive personal development training system which is developing new subjects and skills to learn every year.

Building your Linkedin Profile

It is important to fully complete your profile. It’s a little like building a CV but the tools do make this easy and once you have it you simply keep it up to date when you have more information to add. Focus on the last 5 years in history and summaries years before unless you have skills in the past you are keen to use in the future.

Once you have built your profile it is important to build your connections. You should be able to find people you know relatively easily so spend time connecting to as many professionals you know as you can. Then the magic happens. Once connected to people you will start to see their connections and will have opportunities to then invite these people to connect.

To the right is a great video guide to building a strong LinkedIn profile.

NB: Even though there is a focus on recruitment the fact is you will still need to use these tips to build a profile that will help promote your business.

Build your Recommendations

Like reviews on Facebook or Google building recommendations on LinkedIn is very important. Make sure you connect with clients you have a great relationship with and ask them to write a recommendation for you.

Visit LinkedIn Daily

Get active on LinkedIn. Write posts specific for this audience and comment, share and engage with others in your feed. Proactively look to grow your contacts and definitely use the messaging system to organise meetings with potential clients or business networking partners.

Need more help? Tony has been using LinkedIn since it started in 2003. A sixty-minute session will help you understand how to get the most out of this very powerful business sales/networking tool.