Linkedin - A vital Social Media tool

Social networking sites are booming in the world and providing the Buzz to online activities. Among all the top websites LinkedIn is also one of the favorite website on internet. In 2011, Linkedin has 44 million users in the US and 56 million outside, all these figures says everything about the Linkedin. Before starting to discussion we will see the summary of Linkedin.  

Summary of Linkedin 

Website:    http://www.linkedin.com 

Location:    Mountain View, California, United States 

Founded:    May 1, 2003 

Alexa Ranking: 17 

Linkedin popularity: Over 100 million users representing over 200 countries around the world 

What you can do with linkedIn.com

• You can find a contact information for any company
• You can sell/ promote/ advertise your product
• You can search for employee
• Find useful information about businessman / companies / people
• If you want to start your business in new city
• Find business partners for your company
• You can create your online reputation

Profile in linkedin.com: 

Your profile is important on LinkedIn, so before preparing your profile on linkedin.com remember the below points:

• Read / Refer few other people profile on Linkedin.com
• Write attractive profile with your targeted keywords because the profile is your marketing piece
• Understand what is important to the person
• Look for what people are interested in
• Check for red flags about profiles
• Number of connections – there interest in LinkedIn
• Join groups on Linkedin, It represents your interest

How to find people on LinkedIn? 

Main thing is to find the people on Linkedin, this is the most important thing.

• You can contact directly to Linkedin members through your connections
• Find your friend and connect them
• Friend of a friend

What you can Search on LinkedIn.com?

• The Searching Feature lets you find people.
• You can find people in Companies
• You can find people by name
• You can find people in industries
• You can find people in Cities
• You can find people in almost any way you want
• Once you found them – then you read the profile and you know something or a lot about them

Send E-Mail’s through linkedIn.com

• E-mail system to talk to people in LinkedIn
• Connects you for Q&A
• Has a great feature “Replied” which means you have answered this e-mail
• People who use LinkedIn READ their LinkedIn e-mail – those who don’t use LinkedIn don’t read it – Many Of Your Messages will be ignored

Participate in “Questions and Answers” on Linkedin

• Ask Questions or Answer Questions
• Asking – gets answers and people who will connect up with you
• Answering – gets you a reputation, lets others learn your expertise
• Look for interesting people and questions

How to use your network? If you are calling into a company

• Start With A Search For The Company Name

you now are calling an individual

• you know what they do
• you know their hobbies
• You may have something in common
• You can start – “Hey Sue – we are LinkedIn connections….
• How does that affect a Cold Call?

How to sell our product on Linkedin?

• Search in your target market
• Find the specific users of your product
• Find the buyers of your product
• Find customers of your customers to drive demand
• Find people who consult to people buying your product
• Find people who can help you improve your product

How to find employee on Linkedin? 

LinkedIn probably provides the single largest network of recruiters available. They are continuously looking at their LinkedIn contacts to find people to present to their clients.

• Do reference checks – call employees of the company where the person worked
• Search the resume of the people – see what they say about them
• See how they present themselves to the world

How to find people in a new city?

• A great way to find a set of contacts that can start you up!
• Find potential partners
• Find potential suppliers
• Find people that can tell you which hotel to stay in
• Anything you need – you know have somebody to help you through your problem
• 18. If you are looking for a business partner
• Find suppliers – both local and International
• Find people who are need you
• Find people looking for a joint venture
• Their profile will provide background that you may be hesitant to ask about

Remember

• Effective LinkedIn Usage requires a large network
• LinkedIn is for people who need people
• LinkedIn is a Chamber Of Commerce on Steroids
• LinkedIn is for many different purposes
• A Large LinkedIn network means anytime I need to find anyone - there is a good chance I have a starting spot.