Getting what you want through your online business network

September 24, 2008 Zena Weist

Agenda

• Quick stats• What’s in it for you?• LinkedIn Inbox spam – UGH!• Resume vs Profile• Managing Contacts• Recommendations• Q&A• Groups• Resources

Why LinkedIn?

• 25 Million registered professionals• 7.5 Million unique visitors: 8/08• Up 171% yr/yr

What’s in it for you?

Relationships Matter– Lends a credible, yet personal touch to

professional networking – Stay connected without upkeep– Reconnect

LinkedIn Inbox Spam

• Account & Settings– Email Notifications

• Contact settings• Receiving Messages• Invitation Filtering

– Privacy Settings

• Archive• Not expected to

answer, it’s the exception

• “Unfortunately, because X, EQ is not accepting vendor communications for Y at this time”

“This isn’t a resume, it’s a profile”*

• Your profile– Update in bit size chunks– Professional Headline– Summary– Specialties– Public Profile– Work History | Summarize

*Quote: Mike O’Neil, CEO, Integrated Alliances

Your Contacts, Your Way

• Invite 25-50 peers through networks, your executive level functions, business cards

• Strategic level vendor contacts are key industry resources

• You don’t have to accept all requests, archive

Recommendations

• Recommendations matter– This story can only be told by the person

giving the rec– Numbers, Specific project, Positive

impact– Give recs to those connections you want

to be associated with:• Manage up, across, down• Build credibility through association

Questions & Answers

• Build awareness of your expertise through answering

• Rating• Connections• 80/20• Build credibility through association

Groups

• Local• Past employers• Associations

LinkedIn Resources

• Mike O’Neil– mikeonlinkedin.com– Integrated Alliances

• Dave Taylor:– LinkedIn How-Tos

• Guy Kawasaki: – 10 Ways to Use LinkedIn

• David Erickson– Strategic Marketing with LinkedIn