Tuesday 6 January 2015

A LinkedIn Kinda Day

06 January 2015

Today was a good day not to leave the house. It was snowing out there and I prefer to see it from the window then to be out in it. Luckily it isn’t too heavy so won’t slow down life too much but I am using it as a good excuse to get admin things done both for business and for my mom. I am already anticipating my flight back to London on Sunday evening and feels like I’ve had no time at all here in New York. In reality I have been almost 3 weeks but so consumed with getting my mom better and out of hospital that I have had little time to concentrate on anything else.

I just have to be a little patient in terms of new ventures and getting work done. Today though I did get through work bits and pieces. I listened to a LinkedIn webinar earlier (well I need to be honest and say I got through half – sometimes find webinars a bit mind-numbing. They need to get to the salient points more quickly rather than fluff it out). LinkedIn is such a powerful business tool and I think more than ever I will need it this year with so much to do. This Webinar gave tips on how in only 18 minutes a day you can get over 1500 qualified prospects a year. Some very interesting points and some very fundamental.

I have always thought LinkedIn was a great tool and can actually say I’ve had business from it. If for no other reason it keeps you in both former and current colleagues’ minds. I do though despair on how poor some profiles are on LinkedIn and I really think many fail to see that LinkedIn is not like other Social Media Channels where you can get away with being a bit blasé and sloppy. It is Professional Networking and if you can’t take the time to write a good profile and keep it updated, then you shouldn’t be on it – it is that simple.

A few easy tips for LinkedIn that will make a difference:

-          - Complete your profile and update it regularly.
-          - Use a professional photo for your profile image. No image there? You just don’t care enough.
-       -    Join groups but not just for the sake of it. Take part or don’t bother.
-        -  Share regular status updates if even only a great article you’ve just read
-         -  Check out who has viewed your profile. Very interesting and an insight as to who is interested in you.
-         -  And one of my biggest bugbears – don’t send me an invitation to connect without telling me why or how you know me. Send me an invitation personalised to me telling me why you would like to connect.

That last point is really one that is vitally important. I hate getting ‘I’d like to connect with you’ messages from someone I don’t know without any explanation. I can assure you it is likely I won’t accept. Sometimes you may intrigue me with the request once I’ve viewed your profile but I will still send you a message asking why. A lot of wasted time for busy professionals.

I recently took another LinkedIn course and found it fascinating. Searching for people whether it is looking for a long-lost colleague or that highly-prized contact in the company you are trying to sell to, there are some really great tips and short-cuts.  It isn’t all about recruitment companies although admittedly they are rampant and annoying too.

So it was a LinkedIn kind of day today. Not wasted time at all. It will serve me well when I launch my various new ventures.


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