For the past few weeks we have focused on getting started with LinkedIn.
In some ways, communicating on LinkedIn is confusing. For one thing, if you don’t upgrade your account it seems as if you cannot send InMail messages. But, you can. The way you do it is that you have to be a member of the same group and send them a message through that group privately. Go to the group, click members, find the member’s profile, go to it, and then find “send message” and click it.
You can do that by focusing on how you can add value to their business and their lives. When you focus on what your audience needs, and not on what you need (a new client, a sale, money, money, money) you’ll succeed at getting exactly what you really want.
Join several groups that look like they might consist of your target audience. Monitor and participate in the groups daily. Find out what the group talks about. Make note of what their problems are. After a month, if you don’t see people, who fit your target market, leave the group and join another.
When people do post something that is useful attempt to engage them by making a comment about the post. Try to be positive, but you can also be real and call them out on the post if it’s something you feel strongly about and will advance your position as an authority on the topic.
Before leaving any group, try to post a discussion starter in the group. Make sure it’s not a sales post, or just a link to an article. Post a real question, or answer a real question in a new post that someone else in that audience asked or could potentially ask. When people respond, be sure to comment back.
The more people you connect to the better, but you do want your connections to be useful for you. As you become more active on LinkedIn, you’ll notice people seek out a connection with you and you may find that some of them are indeed spammers. It’s okay, you can delete and even block the connection should that happen.
Every day, until you’ve asked every connection you’ve worked with, send out a personal request for a recommendation. The recommendations on LinkedIn, due to the way they’re collected are highly coveted and sought after. The right words will make all the difference. Remember to send a personal note asking for the recommendation with a reminder of what you did with or for them to help them choose their words.
Finally, update your profile regularly with an update, an image, or a post. In addition, keep the rest of your profile fresh and polished. As LinkedIn adds more features, you can add more to your profile. You’ll be happy you did because LinkedIn is a great place to connect with existing clients and find potential clients.
You never know who might be checking your profile out because they want to work with you!
Do you have any other tips to share?
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