LinkedIn is an important tool for those both looking for work or settled in a position.

1. LINKEDIN:
GETTING STARTED

2. What is LinkedIn? “LinkedIn is the
world’s largest professional network
with over 175 million members and
growing rapidly. LinkedIn connects you
to your trusted contacts and helps you
exchange knowledge, ideas, and
opportunities with a broader network
of professionals.”

3. So why should you have a
LinkedIn profile?
There are many reasons!

4. LinkedIn allows you the opportunity
to maintain professional contacts
LinkedIn continues to grow and change through the
years, but many of the characteristics of the site remain
the same, such as prior job and school
history, recommendations and contact information. In
addition, LinkedIn continues to make upgrades (which
we’ll be discussing in a later Marketing Monday). You can
also gather and display recommendations from previous
contacts, making it easy for others to gain more
knowledge about who you are and how you work with
others in a professional setting.

5. Finding and filling job positions
Since LinkedIn centers on job related content, it
should be the first place you look for or post a
job. LinkedIn allows you to search for jobs by Job
Title, Keywords or Company name, as well as a
more advanced search. When posting an
available job, LinkedIn allows you to see who
has viewed the posting as well as see applicant
profiles, making it easier to recruit the correct
person for the position.

6. Encourage potential business
prospects
There are many opportunities to turn your
interaction on LinkedIn into potential business
opportunities. An often used addition to a LinkedIn
company page (which we will discuss in next week’s
Marketing Monday) is the LinkedIn Group page (see
an example here). LinkedIn Groups give you the
opportunity to post valuable information, as well as
allowing members of the group to post and interact
with one another. You can use this information to
highlight your particular expertise in the field you’re
discussing.

7. Brand yourself
When creating a LinkedIn page, make sure you use the custom
URL option. This custom LinkedIn URL can be used on so many
things, add it to your email signature, your business
card, anywhere you display your personal contact information.
LinkedIn is most often used to grow your network of other
professionals, so make sure that when you meet somebody
remember to add them to your contact list. One thing a lot of
people fail to do is finish their page to 100%, making them less
searchable. Also check for spelling and grammatical
mistakes, others will notice. Remember, when somebody
types your name or the name of your company into Google
your LinkedIn page is often in the top 5. Make sure it’s the
best it can be in order to make a good impression.

8. Click here for a series of short video
on how to get your LinkedIn profile
started: http://learn.linkedin.com/pr
ofiles/overview/