As I release the 2nd edition of the book it is still one of the only books that lays out a LinkedIn communications strategy.  Most books simply tell you what LinkedIn is and help you learn how to accomplish tasks such as completing your profile, creating a group, answering questions, etc.  Nothing wrong with that, I released two such books:  LinkedIn 101 in 2008 and The LinkedIn MBA in 2009.  There are enough people that will continue to release these types of books which are great for people new to LinkedIn.

This book is for the person that has figured out the basics of LinkedIn and is ready to put it to work for them.

The core of the book evolves around the simple concept of understanding your three true LinkedIn networks.  I’m not talking about degrees of connection, but three distinct networks determined by the ability to communicate a message to.

Your three LinkedIn networks are:

• The entire LinkedIn membership
• The people you are directly connected to
• The people who belong to the same groups that you do

Each of these networks have specific ways that you can communicate directly or indirectly to.  Understanding how to reach each with your message is what takes LinkedIn from a networking tool to a business growth and lead generation tool.  Its what I discuss in LinkedIn Marketing Secret Formula.

The book was originally released at a cost of $39.99.  I still think that the information in the book is good value at that price point, but for a short period I am going to offer a 40% discount with a request that you simply post a review as a comment to this post.  To read more information on the book and purchase click here.  Be sure to use discount code:  2Y4001.

If you’re interested,  I am simultaneously releasing the 2nd edition of “The Insurance Brokers Guide to LinkedIn” and “The 100% Complete LinkedIn Profile Workbook”.

Interested in earning money helping promote the book.  I have set up an affiliate program splitting commissions  50/50.  To sign up Click Here.

I’ve seen a lot of back and forth discussions about the new LinkedIn Open Groups.  A lot of the negatives that I see people mentioning stem from the thought that this will further encourage spammers to post promotions and add little value to discussions.

LinkedIn Rant w/ a Solution

In 2010 LinkedIn decided to remove the New Article board from groups or per what they put out “combine the news board and the discussion board”.  At the time people were pretty good about posting discussion questions on the discussion board and links to blog articles, online news releases, and articles to the news board.

I assume LinkedIn felt it would be natural to combine the two opening up a new board called Promotions to give group members a place to promote products and services.  They were wrong.

The reality is that many group owners faced with an influx of blog posts to their discussion boards, overreacted in my opinion, by taking the draconian steps of banishing posts with Links in them.  Heaven forbid that someone should actually use a “Business” social network to actually grow their business.  Eventually the consensus seems to be that blog posts should be posted to the promotions board, which while some blog posts are blatant shills, the majority are written by people that seek to first share value and then benefit from the goodwill generated by what they shared.

The solution is simple.  LinkedIn should bring back the news article board.  That would mean that within a LinkedIn group your have a place to:

1.  Share Conversations (Discussion Board) – interact with fellow group members

2.  Share Content (News Board) – allow content producers to share content which encourages further content development

3.  Share Value (Promotions Board) – help companies promote their products and services and members to find discounts

4.  Share Wealth (Jobs Board) – help someone find a job

(end of rant)

Back to the Open Group Question

Given that LinkedIn missed the mark on removing the news board, my initial reaction to Open Groups was no.  I have to admit that there was no basis for opposing open groups other than I did not want to open the group to postings by others who are not members.  After reviewing the setting page I changed my mind and have taken my four groups to open groups.

Here are the Group settings and what I selected for my groups.

Section 1: Group Settings – Choose none, some, or all options

1. Enable the Discussions and News features. – YES

Sub Choices:

A. Enable the Promotions Feature. – YES

—– Allow only moderators and managers to move discussions to the Promotions area. – YES

B. Enable the Jobs Feature. – YES

—-Allow only moderators and managers to move discussions to the Jobs area. – YES

C. Automatically remove content flagged by group members. – YES

—-Number of flags: 10 flags automatically removes post

2. Display the Subgroups tab. – YES

Section Perspective: I wanted to enable as many features as possible to provide members options. Also wanted to remove the ability for anyone to move posts to jobs or promotions board. Too many past issues with this.

Section 2: Permissions:

1.  Options for Members of this group: Select only one of the following

A.  Free to post (discussions, promotions, jobs and comments). – I chose this selection

B.  Free to post promotions, jobs, comments only, and submit everything else.

C.  Free to post jobs, comments only, and submit everything else.

D.  Free to post comments only and submit everything else.

E.  Submit everything for approval.

2.  Options for Anyone on LinkedIn – Select only one of the following

A.Free to post comments, and submit discussions for approval.

B.  Submit both comments & discussions for approval.

C.  Submit comments for approval only (no discussions allowed).

D.  No contributions allowed. – I chose this option

Section Perspective: I want group members to be able to post freely.   I only want group members posting in the group

Section 3: Restrictions – Select none, some, or all of the following

1. Require moderation for new groups members. – NO

Number of days that a person is new to the group:  0 days

2.  Require moderation for new people on LinkedIn. – No (not allowed to post per above setting)

Number of days that a person is new to LinkedIn: 0 days

3.  Require moderation for people with few or no connections. – No (I only allow people with at least 10 connections to join my groups)

Section Perspective: Evaluating as I move forward, but I don’t want to limit new member (but if I begin to see a lot of spam from new members I will have to address)

Section 4: Membership – Choose one or the other

1. Auto-Join: Any member of LinkedIn may join this group without requiring approval from a manager. – NO

2. Request to Join: Users must request to join the group and be approved by a manager. – Yes

Section Perspective: My groups are all Georgia based and to join you must reside in Georgia. Everyone must submit a request to join. I make exceptions for recruiters (anyone offering potential jobs is welcome), to people who previously lived in Georgia, and folks looking to move to Georgia.Display this group in the Groups Directory. – Yes

Section 5:  Additional Settings

1.  Allow members to display the logo on their profiles. – Yes

2.  Allow members to invite others to join this group. – Yes

Section Perspective: I’ll take the additional exposure.

LinkedIn Open Groups Wrap Up

Based on my understanding of the setings I can do two things that make it worth moving to Open Groups:

1.  I can restrict comments to only members.

2.  By opening the group I allow members content to be seen by anyone and indexed by search engines

I get to increase exposure to the group and to members who contribute and I get to limit contributions to only group members.  I benefit as a group owner, members benefit, and non-members benefit.  Its a win-win-win solution.  LinkedIn may have missed the mark on removing the New Board but they nailed this on on the head.

What do you think?

Social Media Sonar provides the following four resources for FREE… 1.  The Blog, 2. The Online Marketing/Social Media Blueprint, 3.  Conversion Rate Optimization Guide, 4.  Resource Center.  If these help you implement your own online marketing program, great. We love helping people. If you decide you need some help, great. We love new clients.  Contact Us if we can help you.

Today I’m excited to announce the first industry specific guide that I have written about LinkedIn.  This guide was developed based on the 8 years of experience that I have as an insurance broker and the expertise I’ve developed since 2006, using LinkedIn to drive new business.

The Insurance Brokers Guide to LinkedIn is relevant to any business person, but the examples and terminology are geared to insurance brokers.  Here is a list of the content:

• Foreword by Jeremiah Desmarais, Vice President Marketing, Norvax
• Authors Note
• Introduction
• Action Step 1:  Understanding Why You Are on LinkedIn
• Action Step 2:  Extending Your Networks
• Action Step 3:  Building Your Credibility
• Action Step 4:  Leveraging LinkedIn
• Bonus Action Step:  Prospecting with LinkedIn
• Wrap Up
• 14 Quick Action Steps
• 6 Social Media Tools You Should Be Using

Mondays are the day that I post my most significant blog post for the week.  If you’re looking for Part 2 in the 10 Part LinkedIn series it will be released on Monday.

One of the statements I made in Part 1 was that I wasn’t sure why people chose to sign up for a LinkedIn account and then did nothing.  Someone posted a comment to the blog stating that most people don’t know what to do once they sign up for an account.

I can understand that lack of knowledge would lead to lack of activity.  The next question I have, though, is “why is anyone letting a lack of knowledge get in the way of a potential resource that can help you grow your network, develop relationships, and drive new business?”

With any new tool, technology, etc. you have the choice in how long it takes to go from a novice to an effective user.

• You can choose to do nothing
• You can choose to learn it on your own
• You can choose to tap into the knowledge of others
• You can choose to outsource the activity

When I started to learn how to use LinkedIn I chose #2 and #3.  First I looked around the site to see if I could figure it out on my own.  While I learned the basics I decided I would be better served tapping into the knowledge of others to speed up the learning curve.

I started reading any blog I could find that talked about LinkedIn.  At the time there weren’t that many so I bought a LinkedIn ebook.  This one ebook provided the framework I needed to build a foundation of knowledge about LinkedIn.  It also introduced me to some tips and strategies to put to work immediately.

The book I purchased was a high level overview of LinkedIn.  When I decided to write my first LinkedIn ebook I decided I would take the opposite approach and write a very detailed book.  I also decided to base the book chapters on the navigational structure of LinkedIn, making it a great reference tool.  Have a question about Groups, go to the Groups chapter.

In June I released the revision of my first book re-titled as the “LinkedIn MBA”.  I also wrote a workbook, the “LinkedIn MBA Workbook” to help people create a “killer” profile, begin building their credibility, and extend their reach.  Combined the two form a perfect resource for someone who has a LinkedIn account but is not sure what they should be doing.

The book is over 150 pages with close to 100 screenshots and the workbook is around 21 pages.  So you have a choice.  You can continue to do nothing.  You can invest the time to learn it from scratch.  Or you can invest $9.97 (the cost for the book and workbook combined) and begin putting LinkedIn to work for you as soon as today.

The question to ask yourself it what is your time worth?  The minimum wage is $7.25 so if it takes you 40 hours to learn what is in the book and work book your time in cost at a minimum would be $290.  (the average hourly rate for a LinkedIn member is actually $52.40 making the time cost $2,096.15)

The information I share on this blog is free and you can learn a lot by reading through the posts.  I just don’t have the space to provide information in as detailed a manner as in the book.  Also the blog is written based on what I find interesting each week, whereas the book is organized more on a start to finish basis.

For more information on the LinkedIn MBA and the LinkedIn MBA Work book go to http://socialmediasonar.com/book.html

Stop by next Monday for Part 2, “Why are you on LinkedIn?”, of my LinkedIn series.

This past week Erik Wolf and Stephanie Frost, hosts of the Gravity Free Radio show were desperate for a guest so they turned to Scott Dunn and myself.  I’m always happy to be filler for Erik and Stephanie.

In addition to the show Erik and Stephanie run Zero-G Creative, a killer web design, graphic design, and web tools company that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a unique website and online presence.

The show covers LinkedIn bouncing from building your network, optimizing your profile, and leveraging LinkedIn.  There’s a better explanation on the show at the Gravity Free Radio show

To listen to the show go to  http://gravityfreeradio.com/archives/187

Social Media Sonar provides the following four resources for FREE… 1.  The Blog, 2. The Online Marketing/Social Media Blueprint, 3.  Conversion Rate Optimization Guide, 4.  Resource Center.  If these help you implement your own online marketing program, great. We love helping people. If you decide you need some help, great. We love new clients.  Contact Us if we can help you.

Over the last couple of weeks I have seen cases where members have had their accounts suspended for violations that had been previously overlooked.  Just yesterday I spoke with someone who had a client whose account was suspended for including their email after their name.  There was no warning just an email from LinkedIn advising them that their account had been suspended and to contact customer service to discuss.

Personally I don’t see where this impacts anyone else or infringes upon their use of the site so I don’t agree with LinkedIn’s action.  From a business perspective, though, LinkedIn built the network and has the right to dictate the terms.

LinkedIn is in business to earn profits and one of the ways that they do so is by selling premium accounts which provide members the ability to contact a number of people not in their network directly through the use of InMails.  They also sell these for $10 a pop.  Providing an email allows some people to avoid using InMails to grow their network.

LinkedIn also states that members should only connect to those they know.  Another point where I disagree.  When I go to a chamber networking event they don’t tell me to only talk to people I know.  I’m there to meet people I don’t know.  My perspective is that LinkedIn is simply an electronic version of the chamber, so a large part of the value is connecting to others I don’t know.  This allows me to expand my network and develop opportunities that were previously out of reach.

There are several notices in the list of Dont’s in the user agreement that are relevant to today’s discussion:

1.  Include information in your profile or in Status Updates which reveals your identity such as an email address, phone number or address or is confidential in nature;

2.  Invite people with whom you have no prior relationship to join your network;

3.  Upload a cartoon, symbol, drawing or any content other than a photograph of yourself in your profile photo;

If you look at enough profiles you will see profiles that include an email address along with the person’s name.  Traditionally this was done by LION’s to facilitate connecting with others.  You can argue the merits of open verses closed networking, but for Open networkers this has been a great help to building their networks.

I have only stumbled on the phone number a couple of times and have not seen anyone listing their address.  If you currently have your email included in your name field you may want to rethink that choice.

The second point, as noted above, is one I disagree with.  When I changed my networking strategy from a Hound Dog to more of a LION (not an official LION but more open in who I connect to) I noticed that the number of my unexpected opportunities increased. (expected and unexpected opportunities are discussed in my post -Ed Jones Had Me at Hello)

I think at some point the majority of people have connected to at least one person they did not know.

The third point I actually agree with LinkedIn.  As a business networking site that focuses on people connecting to people anything other than a personal head shot or photo doesn’t make sense.  The proper thing to do is to create a companies page if you want to promote your company.  If you want to promote a product or service use your profile to include keywords and applications to highlight either.

You’ll notice more people willing to connect and interact if they know who you are.  When I see a profile that is a business name or a product all it says to me is this is a person that doesn’t understand social networking.  This person isn’t interested in developing relationships but simply participating to sell a product.

I’m up front stating that I am on LinkedIn to grow my business and make money.  But I also understand that the first step to doing so is providing value to others with no expectations.  Over time this apporach will allow others to get to know you, start to like you, and eventually trust you.

The end result is that what has previously been allowed may now result in your account being suspended.  The points above have always been violations of LinkedIn’s “user agreement” only now action is actually being taken.

Social Media Sonar provides the following four resources for FREE… 1.  The Blog, 2. The Online Marketing/Social Media Blueprint, 3.  Conversion Rate Optimization Guide, 4.  Resource Center.  If these help you implement your own online marketing program, great. We love helping people. If you decide you need some help, great. We love new clients.  Contact Us if we can help you.

Last week I wrote about the top 5 mistakes on LinkedIn.  The list was made up of mistakes that were strategic in nature, and dealt with mistakes that affected your ability to monetize LinkedIn.  Today we take a look at the Top 5 mistakes from a tactical perspective.  These mistakes affect your credibility, success in connecting, and ability to generate success.

1.  Typos, Grammatical Errors, Pointless Info
If I had to choose one area that I am guilty of violating my own advice it would be this one.  Typos just happen.  I write most of my posts now in Word to avoid misspellings, yet I constantly get caught by misspelled words that are simply the wrong word spelled correctly.  ”Your” instead of “you”.  ”Can” is “an”.  And many others.

Its always fun to write a post that talks about typos only to receive emails from my readers correcting errors.  I still feel strongly about the subject, but I’ve come to terms that for me they will periodically occur.  In the end its a function of time and with the growth of the blog and the need to continuously add content (and run my two other companies), I’ve chosen to rely on help from my readers.  Hopefully the content is valuable and can overcome a typo here or there.

Also make sure that you are providing relevant content.  Pointless information wastes time and adds no value.

What to do:
Write online posts in a word editor.  Go back and read it after an hour or two.  You’ll see things you missed.  Review your information to confirm that it is relevant to the conversation.

2.  Canned Invitations…not personalizing your invitations

This one seems to be a topic I write about often and yet immediately after writing this post I will receive invitations using the canned LinkedIn text.  LinkedIn could resolve this issue by simply changing the included text to “Add your invitation information”.

Until then you have a choice.  Personalize the invitation and have close to a 100% positive reaction or use the canned text and have a 50/50 chance of your invitation being viewed positively.  Given the potential for someone indicating “That they don’t know you”, personalization is as much a defensive action.

Personalization can be telling the invited how you know them, referencing common connections or groups, telling the person why you want to connect, and the value you bring to the table.

What to do:
Personalize the invitation.

3.  Requesting Recommendations that haven’t been earned
Even worse is requesting an invitation from someone you don’t know.  Its not your connections job to build your credibility.

I received a request to recommend a connections work this weekend.  The problem is that I don’t know this person and have never used their services.  I connect to others I don’t know because it increases the chances of unexpected opportunities finding me.  I’m willing to help as much as possible, but writing a false recommendation isn’t one of those ways.

What to do:
Request recommendations only when earned from people you know.  Give recommendation to only those who you know and who have earned them.

4.  Keeping Your Public Profile Hidden
The people that you are connected to can view your complete profile.  But what about people outside of your network who want to know more about you?  If you have set your profile to be accessible to all members no problem.

If you haven’t you may be limiting your opportunities.  There may be reasons to keep your profile hidden, but these are few and far between.  If you want to attract opportunity you have to provide information that is viewable to all LinkedIn members.

What to do:
Make your profile viewable to the public.  ”Click on the “Edit Profile” tab and at the top right click on the “Edit Public Profile Settings” text link.  Then click in the check boxes to allow all of your profile to be viewable and then save your settings.  There is a link at the bottom of the page to view your Public Profile.  Click on this to see how it looks.

5.  Taking Negative Actions
Everything you do either adds or subtracts from your online brand (I’ve said this over and over…its that important) so act prudently.  If you disagree with someone do so in a professional manner.  If you answer a question provide a well thought out answer that adds value (answering 300 question in a week may get you on LinkedIn’s weekly expert list, but what it really says is that somethings wrong with your business if you have this much time on your hands)

If you don’t want to connect Archive the invitation rather than choosing the “I don’t know this person” option.(when you choose IDK the person sending the invitation can see that you did so.  That may not matter but it creates a negative perspective about you that may not affect you but is better not existing.)

I could write for hours on this one topic but if you use common business sense you can avoid most of these.

What to do:
Use common sense.  I don’t know how many times I’ve typed up a response only to delete it once I thought  about what it said about me.

Wrap Up:
This is just a small sample of tactical errors.  Most are easy to avoid if you think about your actions before executing them.  If you wouldn’t do or say it in person don’t do it on LinkedIn.

Bonus Mistake: Unsolicited Sales Pitches
I really don’t need to explain this any further.  If you want success on LinkedIn provide value and communicate your messages indirectly.  Direct sales pitches are more likely to have a negative impact on your efforts.

If you would like to build a solid foundation on LinkedIn my “LinkedIn MBA” guide is a great resource.  Its currently priced low at $4.97 for two reasons:

1.  I want as many people as possible to build a solid foundation on LinkedIn.  This leads to more activity and helps every other member; and

2.  I want to create a desire in as many members as possible to get to the point that they want to go from using LinkedIn from a networking perspective to a money making perspective.  I call it going from “Connecting to collecting”.

That’s where the “LinkedIn MBA Workbook” ($7.97) and the “LinkedIn Marketing Secret Formula” ($39.97 but only $29.98 using discount code: x25rdr) come in to play.

These two resources will help you take the next step.  They do cost money but if you compare the cost to the time it would take to discover and learn the information included they are a cost effective way to learn LinkedIn.

Buy the books or simply continue reading the blog.  Either way you’ll likely know more about LinkedIn today than you did yesterday.

Warm Regards,

Sean Nelson
**Don’t keep the blog a secret.  Twitter, Digg, and other social sites are a great way to share with your friends and others.

1.  Not Having a Purpose or Not Understanding Why You Are On LinkedIn
Quite simply if you don’t know the answer to this question then how do you know what actions you should be taking on LinkedIn? There are numerous reasons to be on LinkedIn and you may have several. The actions you take should be done to support your purpose.

My ultimate goal is to grow my business (make money) so I focus on growing my networks and communicating my message as often as possible. Because I know my purpose, have determined what actions support this purpose, and implement my strategy on an ongoing basis, I have been successful in developing new business clients.

Action Steps:

a. Write down the top 3 reasons why you are on LinkedIn

b. Determine what actions will support each reason

2.  Failure to Participate
There are 50 million people on LinkedIn and a large majority do not interact with others on a consistent basis. This is a direct result of mistake number one. Without understanding your purpose you can’t know which actions to take that will produce a positive outcome.

There are only so many hours in a day and people tend to repeat what works. Social media marketing rarely provides quick results. Most often success is built over time only after people get to know you, like you, and trust you. You have to have the patience to continue participating when you’re not seeing the results.

There are no guarantees that your efforts will produce results, but if you do not participate consistently, I guarantee that you will not find success.

I spent almost a year providing value and interacting before I started seeing results. Now I can count on several inquiries each week from potential clients looking to engage my services.

Action Steps

a. Commit to taking action on a weekly basis

b. Schedule these activities

c. Post them next to your computer or in your electronic calendar

3.  Presenting an Incomplete Picture
On LinkedIn people get to know you through being connected, belonging to common groups, the information your share, and your profile. People want to look at your profile and have a clear understanding of who you are and how you might be of service to them.

If you don’t provide enough information for them to know those two pieces they are unlikely to go looking for the information. You need to make sure you have a detailed profile. You need to include a professional photo. You need to have links to your websites, blogs, etc.

If you’ve been fortunate enough to get them to view your profile, you’ve accomplished the hardest part. It would seem a shame to lose them for simply failing to provide enough information.

Action Steps

a. Look at 20 profiles to see how others are presenting themselves

b. Spend an hour each month working on your profile

c. Personalize your profile–add keywords, personalize your public URL, and Change your Web URL’s to the name (go to edit and choose “Other”)

d. Look at the LinkedIn application to see which make sense to add

4.  Not Sharing Information or Providing Value
Mistake number three is about people getting to know you. Number four is all about getting people to like you. It’s a simple fact: If you provide value to others without asking for something in return people will start to like you.

The quickest way to generate goodwill on LinkedIn is to provide value to others. Directly this might be responding to a connection or introduction request. You can also build goodwill by providing thoughtful responses to questions in Answers and in group discussion posts. Another great way to provide value to others is through writing recommendations for those who have provided great service or assistance to you.

Everything you do on LinkedIn either adds to or subtracts from your online brand so make sure you put some thought into what you say. Participate consistently and you’ll notice that your profile visits increase and people will start interacting with you.

Action steps

a. Find at least two connections to introduce each week.

b. Answer at least three questions each week

c. Identify connections that deserve a recommendation and write it. Try to find at least 15 people to recommend. Make sure these are 15 people that deserve it. If you can’t find 15 now, build this up over time

5.  Failure to Build Credibility
By addressing the previous four mistakes you will have reached a point where people know and like you. You may have even started to build some credibility. There are six ways that I document to build your credibility. These include:

A. Your Profile: first impressions count.

B. Answers: In number four we addresses answers from the perspective of providing value. This is also a great way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. Whenever you answer a question it is available for anyone on LinkedIn to view. Your Direct connections are also notified that you answered a question on their Home page.

C. Recommendations: Nothing beats having another sing your praises. I have found that my client recommendations have been a huge part of building my online brand.

D. Your connections: Who you are connected to can have an impact. When I seek to connect to others I will often reference a common connection in the invitation.

E. Your Groups: With groups you have something in common with fellow members. I reference common groups in invitation requests as well.

F. Providing Value: This will help others grow to like you but it also is very helpful in building your credibility.

Action Steps

a. Answer at least three questions each week in your field of expertise

b. Try to get 10 recommendations. You can request recommendations but only do so from people you know that you have provided great service or help to. If you don’t have 10, keep providing great service and you’ll get there. When you do, join The “Top Recommended People” group on LinkedIn.

c. Grow your connections based on your connection strategy

d. If you don’t belong to 50 groups find 50 that are relevant and join.

e. Seek out every opportunity to help others.

Wrap Up

There are many other LinkedIn mistakes I could mention including avoiding typos, having multiple accounts, etc. These 5 though are fundamental mistakes that will impact your ability to monetize LinkedIn.

I’m a firm believer that the true value in LinkedIn is as a vehicle to add to your bottom line. You may have joined to network, to find a job, or to advance your career…all are great reasons… and all that at the end of the day are about monetization.

It’s OK to be on LinkedIn to make more money. It’s what will keep you coming back and participating, which in the end helps every other person on LinkedIn.

SONARconnects is a full service advertising and marketing agency.  We help our client’s by showing them how to develop strategies and tactics to build communities of people, communicate their message, and monetize their social networking/media presence.  Our client’s include Lenny’s Sub Shop, Copeland’s New Orleans Style Restaurant (ATL), Action Business Coaching (ATL), Aussie Pet Mobile (ATL), The Frederick Group, and MyCustomDay.

If you’re struggling to understand how to use social networking/media to build brand awareness and drive new business call us for a Free consultation at (404) 663-3997 or visit our site:  http://www.sonarconnects.com.

There are two ways to do this; both using applications.  I’m going to explain how to do so using the Google Presentation application.  I’m going to assume that you have already added the Google Presentation application to your profile.  If you would like to see a tutorial on posting a video with SlideShare go to Nathan Kievman’s profile and he discusses doing so in a video.

“Read text instructions below” or Subscribe to the Blog”  to get the PDF Guide with screenshots for every step. (link will be sent in your subscription confirmation email.  Current subscribers will receive an email with the link to the pdf guide later today by 12 PM EST)

1.  Sign into LinkedIn and on the left you have your side navigation links.  At the bottom is the link for “Applications” and you want to click on it.

2.  On the applications page you want to click on “Google Presentation”.

3.  On the Google Presentation page…at the top right… is a text link:  “Go to application”.  Click on it.

4.  On the next page (Headline is “How will You Present Yourself) you’ll see an empty white box on the left side and text above.  In the text is a text link “create your presentation”.  Click on this link.

5.  This takes you to Google Docs and has started an untitled presentation document.  You want to click on the Insert Tab and select “Video”

6.  This will open a pop up window that allows you to search You Tube for videos.  Once you find your video click on it and that will activate the “Select Video” button below.  Click on the button.

7.  This adds the video to your presentation.  If you notice a lot of white space around the video you want to resize it.  Simply click on the white boxes at the corners of the video and drag them to fill in the white space.

8.  Next click on the File Tab and chose “Rename” to rename your video.

9.  Next click on the File Tab and choose “Save and Close”.

10.  This will take you back to the Google Docs page and your presentation will be shown.  Click on the check box next to your video.  Next click on the More Actions Tab and choose “Publish”.

11.  This opens up another page and you want to click on the “Publish Document” button.  You can then close this browser page.

12.  Go back to the original page that you clicked on “create your presentation”.  Refresh the screen and your new presentation should be visible in the left box.  There should be an ad in the right box.

Your presentation will be underlined and look like a hypertext link.  Click on your presentation and this activates the blue “Post to Profile” button.  There is a check box next to it to notify your network that you have posted a new presentation.  Click on the blue button.

13.  If you see your video in the right box you’ve now posted the video presentation to your profile.

14.  Go to your public profile to double check that your video is there.

It looks a lot more complicated than it is if you follow the steps outlined above.  If your video is not on YouTube you will need to create a YouTube account and load your video there first.