Your Task:  Visit my new blog post “The 7 Worst Mistakes on LinkedIn and Their Fixes“.  This post will help you identify and correct the mistakes I see many people making on LinkedIn.

VOTE NOW:  Your click is your vote.  *******Comments on tT7he post are a major component of the voting so please consider adding a comment.*******

Thank you and have a great day.

Sean Nelson

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.

I finally resorted to creating a non-LinkedIn site to provide that sense of community for one group (www.northfultonbg.com).  With the addition of the searchable directory and the discussions features the equation changed.  Now you can interact with others.  The problem is that few people are participating.

So if you’ve joined a group, what are your expectations?  Is it only a cool graphic on your profile?  Is it too simply be able to contact and connect with a larger network without having to pay for a Premium account?

Discussions are the one feature that could truly provide value yet most people either aren’t reading the discussion questions or they just aren’t responding.  I posted a question in a 200 person group asking “What do you expect to get out of being a member of this group?”.  Seven days later and not a single response.

If I asked this same question in Answers I would probably get 30 to 40 responses.  The problem with these responses would be that active participants would be supplying the answers.  The real question is for those not actively participating.  It’s a Catch 22.  They’re not participating so they won’t answer the question, but their input would be valuable.

So if you’re not active (but for some reason you’re reading this blog), what do you expect out of group membership?  By the way if you are active, we’ll welcome any answers to the question.