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This week's tip is a result of my thoughts on a question I received from an attendee at my newest live class called "Using LinkedIn to Generate a Steady Stream of Sales Prospects," which, by the way, the audience just loved. I will offer it again on February 20. Get the details and register here.
Speaking of live classes, my last beginner's class of the year is the evening of November 29. Don't miss this chance to learn more about LinkedIn and be ready to hit the ground running in 2012. Details and registration here.
The question asked at the sales class was, "What are the best ways to get the most exposure on LinkedIn?"
 My quick answer was group discussions and Status Updates.
Upon reflection, I realize the question requires a more complete answer. Rather than keep the idea to myself, who better to share it with than all my LinkedIn friends, so here goes.
LinkedIn's Top 6 Features for Increasing Your Exposure
Webster defines "exposure" as:
"presentation to view, especially in an open or public manner."
That sure sounds like something we would all love more of, and LinkedIn is here to help.
I will start with the LinkedIn feature I feel will give you the widest exposure, followed by a short comment, and then a resource to help you learn more.
1. Answers
Ask or answer a question here, and the whole LinkedIn world may see and hear what you have to say. You can search for questions by topic/industry and also set up an RSS to send you new questions that are posted in your area of interest.
When it comes to broad exposure, this is the home run on LinkedIn. I personally haven't done a good job of leveraging this feature and need to make it a higher priority going forward.
Resource: LinkedIn Learning Center)
2. Posting in Group Discussions
When it comes to exposure, the bigger the group the better. Also, the closer the group profile is to your target market the better as well. Remember--you can join up to 50 groups on LinkedIn. And as you might have guessed, my recommendation is that you find 50 great groups and join them for increased exposure, search ability, and information sharing.
Some of these groups are what LinkedIn refers to as open, and thus the discussions will also be available in a Google search, so you just might pick up some exposure that way as well.
3. Posting your own personal Status Updates and "liking" or "sharing" your connections' Status Updates
These will go out to your entire network. Easy thought here: More Connections=More Exposure.
(Resource: LinkedIn Status Updates: The 7 Do's & Don'ts blog post)
4. Posting your own Company Status Updates and "liking" or "sharing" other companies' Status Updates
Your Company Status Updates go to your company followers. Most of us are just beginning this journey of attracting followers, but just think about the exposure Hewlett-Packard gets when they send out a Company Status Update. Over 373,000 people may see that update.
The moral to this story is for maximum exposure, make sure you have a company page, attract followers, and make regular Status Updates.
When you "like" or "share" another company's Status Update, the update appears in the Status Update feed of your entire network, and this is another great way for you to gain exposure.
(Resource: LinkedIn Just Gave Your Company a Voice blog post)
5. "Liking" or commenting on group discussions
This is a very easy way to gain exposure without having gone through the effort of finding the information or posing the question. Comments on group discussions appear in the discussion feed. The amount of exposure will depend on the number of members in the group.
(Resource: Are You Likeable blog post)
6. Sharing information on applications like SlideShare, Blog Link, and Portfolio Display
When you choose to have any of these applications loaded onto your LinkedIn account, you are then directed to the actual website of the application to set up an account. Upon completion of the setup, you are then part of their site, and any presentations or information you post will be available to their users--giving you that additional exposure.
This may be a long shot, but if you put up a great Power Point on an area of your expertise and someone goes into SlideShare and searches that topic, your presentation, along with any profile information you have shared, would be displayed.
(Resource: LinkedIn Learning Center)
What other features have you used to increase your exposure on LinkedIn?
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Thanks for the great tips!I am only just beginning to explore the power of LinkedIn – in the last 2 weeks I’ve doubled my connections and they are growing daily. As a leadership development consultant, facilitator and executive coach, I leave and breathe through networking!