LinkedIn Part 1: Can LinkedIn Work For You?
If I had a penny for every time someone told me “I’m on LinkedIn but I don’t really know how to use it to use it”, I would be a rich man. There are literally millions of people with many more millions of connections yet few people have actually been able to use it to generate an economic gain.
So for the record, being a member of LinkedIn can make you money! That’s an easy statement to make. I can even point to client’s that I have that are the result of being on LinkedIn. What’s not so easy is to document a clear way that anyone or everyone can use LinkedIn to make money.
You have to first understand that LinkedIn is nothing more than a tool, much like a chamber of commerce is simply a tool to help you network. For some people membership in a chamber is economically beneficial. For other it’s a waste of time and money.
It’s how you use the tool that determines the winners and losers.
About a year ago I decided to get serious about trying to make LinkedIn work for me. I’ve studied it, blogged about it, and even written a book about it. I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m not sure that I can put the final piece of the puzzle in place for you, but I can help you get started.
Over a series of posts I will try to lay out a foundation for using LinkedIn to generate business. This is simply a platform in which you will need to adapt to your business and your self to find success. LinkedIn is personal in that what works for one person may not work for another.
I don’t have all of the answers (if I did it would cost you $100 to read this), but we can at least start with what are some potential uses of LinkedIn:
- Enhance and Expand your current networking
- You can use it to establish credibility
- It can connect your online brand and offline brand
- You can catalog your testimonials
- It gives your audience (prospects, clients, and peers) a place to interact with you.
- Research potential partners or clients
- Connect into sales or partnership opportunities
- Find a new job or new employee
- Be found
- Share knowledge and expertise
- Introduce connections
- Recommend worthy individuals
I’m sure there are many other ways to use LinkedIn and you can add them by comment or email them to me and I will add them to the list. In future posts we’ll dig a little deeper. Until next time, connect away!
**This is the first post in a new series I will be writing and contributing to www.businessradiox.com, which is the work of Lee Kantor. The articles will be posted on both sites
Tags: Can LinkedIn work for you, lee kantor, LinkedIn, www.businessradiox.com
May 4th, 2009 at 4:40 am
[...] LinkedIn Part 1: Can LinkedIn Work For You? - November 29th, 2008 [...]
May 4th, 2009 at 7:44 am
should it be more about improving your revenue not a simple get rich quick scheme
May 4th, 2009 at 11:08 am
David,
Thanks for the comment. It should be about a lot of things including times when you gain personally and times when you help others. If you approach it from a pure social perspective it’s about the interaction regardless of whether or not you see a financial gain. If it’s strictly about driving revenue then the only thing that matters is did it drive net income. My perspective is that it’s both. You should be able to financially gain while at the same time it should produce interaction.
Most people have experienced the social side of LinkedIn, but not many have also found a way to benefit financially. Like with most networking it requires time and will likely require that you be first willing to give.