Welcome to the third and final article of simple things to do on LinkedIn. Please go back to Part 1 or Part 2 if you haven’t seen them.
35. Widen the search
Think about throwing the net a little wider. What other industries could harbour potential clients? Do your skills translate elsewhere? Could your target market be increased? It never hurts to try as many avenues as possible.
36. Get talking
Never underestimate the power of chatting. Start getting to know people, answer questions and just get involved. The more you talk the more people will see your profile.
37. Help out
If you have the time, do favours. LinkedIn encourages endorsements from others so even if you don’t get paid for it, a recommendation from another member will look fantastic on your profile.
38. If you scratch their back…
Start recommending people you’ve worked with in the past – you’ll probably find they’ll return the favour. Be careful to only recommend people you genuinely feel are professional people; you don’t want to get the blame if someone hires a useless person.
39. Just ask
You can also just ask for recommendations from contacts. Use the Request Recommendations tool, but personalize it a little. Let your contacts know how much you value their opinion.
40. Upgrade
Upgrading your LinkedIn account will give you the option to see who’s looked at your profile. Drop a note to those who’ve stopped by. Offer a little more information or to answer any questions they may have.
41. Use InMail
InMails have been found to be 30% more effective than regular email. Sending an InMail is beneficial in that they are of a much more personal nature and the recipient can take a look at your profile and learn about you right away. You do have to pay for this service, but the great thing is that if you don’t receive a reply to your mail within 7 days it is re-credited to your account.
42. Invite your contacts
The LinkedIn Toolbar for Outlook allows you to invite your Outlook contacts to network with you on LinkedIn.
43. Use those contacts
Who does Dave Smith know? Is there anyone in Patricia Jones’ network that could be a potential client? Keep an eye on your contact’s contacts… you never know why you might find.
44. Use your status updates
This is a great way to subtly remind your contacts of who you are. They might suddenly need your services and hadn’t thought of you. Otherwise, it’s “out of sight, out of mind”.
45. Keep an eye on your contacts’ statuses
Any contact initiation could help you, so watch for what everyone else is talking about and throw in your 2 cents when it’s appropriate.
46. Personalize your invites
When you send a contact invitation, it’s very easy to opt for the LinkedIn standard message, but shows a great deal if you do write a little note. This can also open up a window of communication.
47. Work from the outside in
If there is a particular company that you’re interested in reaching, first take a look at its page and list of employees. You’re probably not going to be able to get in touch with the upper tier employees you need to talk to right away, so have a look at everyone else on the list. Perhaps there’s someone you used to work with, or went to school with. Linking with them will give you an in from which you can then build on outside and after LinkedIn.
48. Think about other social platforms
You can strengthen your relationship with LinkedIn clients by following them on Twitter… and if you get close enough, adding them on Facebook.
49. Don’t forget offline networking
Everything doesn’t have to be online. Use LinkedIn as a starting block, but don’t forget how important face-to-face contact is – invite your clients to dinner or drinks. Many people forget, or simply just choose to ignore this, so it can give you a good edge.
50. Use LinkedIn to gather information
When you’ve managed to confirm a meeting with that person you mined on LinkedIn, spend a decent amount of time on their profile. Get as much information as is relevant to you – remember how people put an awful lot about themselves in their profiles and this knowledge will only help you when you do come to sit down with them.
So there you have it. We hoped you learned some valuable techniques to use for your own LinkedIn account.
