Hello, All, and Welcome Back:
More and more business owners around here are starting to take note of LinkedIn as an important business development tool and are beginning to feel comfortable with people spending time during the work day on this powerful networking site. This is not easy since most of us did not grow up using “the internet” for work, but we are getting there. I hope these Week #35 tips will help you see more productivity from the time you are spending on LinkedIn.
Profile Tips
When I teach about the importance of recommendations, some people are very skeptical about the legitimacy of the recommendations and wonder if people will think they are credible. Remember -- everything on the internet comes with those same issues, not just LinkedIn and for sure not just your recommendations. That being said, I still feel they are really important for the following reasons:
1. They are the only thing on your profile you didn’t write.
2. They are a great chance to get some more of the valued searchable keywords into your profile.
3. They not only appear on your profile, but also the person who wrote them has a reference to you on her profile as well, showing that she wrote you a recommendation.
4. The more recommendations you have, the higher you will be in the LinkedIn search algorithm.
5. They really add to the verification of the credibility and expertise you are talking about throughout your profile.
Here are some things to think about when evaluating whether a recommendation is accomplishing the objectives of credibility and expertise either for you or the person you are evaluating:
1. What specific qualities or accomplishments are described?
2. What is the position of the person who wrote it?
3. What was the relationship between the individuals?
4. How long ago did the person have the relationship?
Connection Tips
As much as I love doing a lot of my LinkedIn work on the weekends, my experience has shown (and several articles/blogs I have read share the same feeling) that people are much more active and engaged in the site on Monday-Thursday, and you will get your most productivity out of the posting of changes in profile, status box changes and other updates during that time slot.
However, where searching is concerned, it will not matter when you do your searching since it doesn’t ping anyone that you are up to something.
Wildcard Tip or Question
I found an interview that I think you will find interesting. It is with Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, from Ad Age Magazine titled “LinkedIn: The Purposefully Unsticky Social-Media Site” from Oct, 2009.
http://adage.com/aboutdigital/article?article_id=139738
Miscellaneous News and Notes--
Some of the other resources I provide are:
• Customized corporate training classes
• Keynote and workshop presentations for conventions and association meetings
• Corporate social media strategy consulting
• For Sale: LinkedIn training DVDs for beginners and intermediate users
• For daily tips, follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/WayneBreitbarth
Here is my upcoming schedule for teaching/speaking so you can share with friends, relatives and business associates. Follow link or paste into your browser for additional details and registration information.
Mon May 17, 2010 Wayne's LinkedIn Power Formula Training for Beginners
M&M Office Interiors; 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
http://budurl.com/xfjh
Mon May 10, 2010 Wayne's Intermediate LinkedIn Power Formula Training
M&M Office Interiors; 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
http://budurl.com/89ft
Wed May 19, 2010 Caffeine & Connections (Free coffee and LinkedIn help)
Gravity Marketing; 6:00 AM - 8:00 AM
http://budurl.com/ur79
Have a super week, and I hope I see you around town.
Wayne
Wayne C. Breitbarth
President
M&M Office Interiors, Inc.
W233 N2833 Roundy Circle West Suite 100
Pewaukee, WI 53072
office 262-781-2600
cell 414-313-7785
