Building Your Network on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is another great resource for marketing your business, product, or service.
Unlike other social networking sites, LinkedIn specifically targets professionals, entrepreneurs, and the like to network right on their website.
It takes the social aspect of networking to a completely different level.
Build Your Network Day-by-Day Building your network on LinkedIn may appear to be a little overwhelming in the beginning, but it doesn't have to be.
Start out small by connecting with people you already know.
With a user base of more than sixty million, it is usually a safe assumption that most (if not all) of your colleagues are on this social networking site.
Once you have connected with people you already know, start reaching out to existing customers.
If you are advertising your LinkedIn profile on your homepage and other social media outlets (such as Facebook and Twitter) you are probably already receiving connection requests from your customers.
As your network grows, start attracting new contacts by searching for people who may be interested in your product or service.
This is also a great way to build business relationships with other companies.
Incorporating non-competing businesses into your network is a great way to get more exposure.
Remember, a hearty network takes time and effort to build and you will only get out of it what you put into it.
You need to be prepared to devote a good amount of time to building your presence within the LinkedIn site.
However, you will find that the investment of your time will have a solid pay off in the end as long as you stick with it.
Marketing on LinkedIn: Building Groups Building a network on LinkedIn is only the beginning of a successful LinkedIn marketing plan.
Once you have firmly established your place within the virtual walls of this social networking giant, it is time to push it a step further with the Groups feature.
There are two sides of this feature - creating groups and joining groups.
First, let's discuss the benefits of joining LinkedIn Groups.
Joining Groups Start this phase of your LinkedIn marketing plan by joining existing groups.
This will allow you to get a feel of how the people within the network communicate with each other, find hot topics for discussion and, of course, it gives you instant access to a larger group of people for your own network.
Take some time to explore different social groups as you familiarize yourself with this feature.
This will allow you to "test the social networking waters" so you can discover how your different networking ideas or plans work with different groups of people.
Build your LinkedIn reputation by actively participating in existing discussions.
Get your name out there so people know who you are.
Once you have built up your "name" with your participation, try starting some discussions of your own.
You will often find that having a strong following on any social network will bring more traffic to your discussions.
Of course, this can always be enhanced with a compelling discussion title and the content to back it up.
The key thing to remember when joining a Group on LinkedIn is that you must not just be a name in the list - you must be an active, participating member.
You will not build your social media reputation by being another "name" in the crowd.
You must make your presence known.
Create a Group Next we will cover creating groups.
Once you are familiar (and comfortable) with the Groups on LinkedIn you will be able to take your marketing plan even further by building your own Group.
Doing so will help to increase your own social network dramatically.
It will also allow you to build a stronger reputation in your own industry or market.
Keep in mind that simply having a LinkedIn Group is not necessarily enough.
You need to be the "face" of your group.
Stay actively involved in the discussions, post credible and reliable information, and don't just make it about your own product.
Make the people in your network feel that they are important because they belong to something.
As your LinkedIn Group grows, you will be able to add Group Managers to help you moderate the discussions and activities.
What many people don't realize is that a lot of social network users really want to feel involved in something important; therefore, they will be willing to moderate a group for no compensation at all.
Use the Manager's Choice (Featured Discussions) feature to highlight your own articles or marketing pieces for yourself.
Don't forget to feature discussions from other users as well - again, so you don't appear to be too zealous with your own marketing plugs.
As you spend more time with your newly formed LinkedIn Group, you will find yourself growing more and more accustomed to the features and how to use them to your advantage.
Take the time to familiarize yourself with what you can and cannot do as you steadily build the number of members in your Group.
Of course, remember to take time to actually get to know your most active participants and keep yourself available to everyone in your LinkedIn Group as a potential mentor or for networking opportunities.
Unlike other social networking sites, LinkedIn specifically targets professionals, entrepreneurs, and the like to network right on their website.
It takes the social aspect of networking to a completely different level.
Build Your Network Day-by-Day Building your network on LinkedIn may appear to be a little overwhelming in the beginning, but it doesn't have to be.
Start out small by connecting with people you already know.
With a user base of more than sixty million, it is usually a safe assumption that most (if not all) of your colleagues are on this social networking site.
Once you have connected with people you already know, start reaching out to existing customers.
If you are advertising your LinkedIn profile on your homepage and other social media outlets (such as Facebook and Twitter) you are probably already receiving connection requests from your customers.
As your network grows, start attracting new contacts by searching for people who may be interested in your product or service.
This is also a great way to build business relationships with other companies.
Incorporating non-competing businesses into your network is a great way to get more exposure.
Remember, a hearty network takes time and effort to build and you will only get out of it what you put into it.
You need to be prepared to devote a good amount of time to building your presence within the LinkedIn site.
However, you will find that the investment of your time will have a solid pay off in the end as long as you stick with it.
Marketing on LinkedIn: Building Groups Building a network on LinkedIn is only the beginning of a successful LinkedIn marketing plan.
Once you have firmly established your place within the virtual walls of this social networking giant, it is time to push it a step further with the Groups feature.
There are two sides of this feature - creating groups and joining groups.
First, let's discuss the benefits of joining LinkedIn Groups.
Joining Groups Start this phase of your LinkedIn marketing plan by joining existing groups.
This will allow you to get a feel of how the people within the network communicate with each other, find hot topics for discussion and, of course, it gives you instant access to a larger group of people for your own network.
Take some time to explore different social groups as you familiarize yourself with this feature.
This will allow you to "test the social networking waters" so you can discover how your different networking ideas or plans work with different groups of people.
Build your LinkedIn reputation by actively participating in existing discussions.
Get your name out there so people know who you are.
Once you have built up your "name" with your participation, try starting some discussions of your own.
You will often find that having a strong following on any social network will bring more traffic to your discussions.
Of course, this can always be enhanced with a compelling discussion title and the content to back it up.
The key thing to remember when joining a Group on LinkedIn is that you must not just be a name in the list - you must be an active, participating member.
You will not build your social media reputation by being another "name" in the crowd.
You must make your presence known.
Create a Group Next we will cover creating groups.
Once you are familiar (and comfortable) with the Groups on LinkedIn you will be able to take your marketing plan even further by building your own Group.
Doing so will help to increase your own social network dramatically.
It will also allow you to build a stronger reputation in your own industry or market.
Keep in mind that simply having a LinkedIn Group is not necessarily enough.
You need to be the "face" of your group.
Stay actively involved in the discussions, post credible and reliable information, and don't just make it about your own product.
Make the people in your network feel that they are important because they belong to something.
As your LinkedIn Group grows, you will be able to add Group Managers to help you moderate the discussions and activities.
What many people don't realize is that a lot of social network users really want to feel involved in something important; therefore, they will be willing to moderate a group for no compensation at all.
Use the Manager's Choice (Featured Discussions) feature to highlight your own articles or marketing pieces for yourself.
Don't forget to feature discussions from other users as well - again, so you don't appear to be too zealous with your own marketing plugs.
As you spend more time with your newly formed LinkedIn Group, you will find yourself growing more and more accustomed to the features and how to use them to your advantage.
Take the time to familiarize yourself with what you can and cannot do as you steadily build the number of members in your Group.
Of course, remember to take time to actually get to know your most active participants and keep yourself available to everyone in your LinkedIn Group as a potential mentor or for networking opportunities.
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