Linked-In is the uncover infiltration pro of the Social Media state. Its the most unobtrusively of them all. It also is the only social media site that most business professionals recognize immediately as a tool. And many people have at least received an invite. Actually, the first few times I got an invite I just deleted them. What did I want with a directory site? Who cares? Eventually I did say yes and have learned so much since! Linked-in is far more than a "directory" of who you know.

As I continue to review social media websites, its about time I discussed Linked-In. I have met some people who are not really "internet" types who rave over this service. I'm not in love with it but I've seen quite a few benefits which I will relate. If you'd like to hear a more personalized review, here is social media guru, Jennifer Laycock, explaining why she if she had to pick one social media it would be Linked-In.

Time: Linked-In can take very little time and still be a great resource. If you do some initial work up front you can quickly use the service just for benefit. Establish your contact list. Send out the email to everyone you know. Don't think of this as spam. Its easy to delete the message. I even had people who thanked me for inviting them. After you're all set up, you only have to use Linked-in when you want to. Unlike Plurk or Twitter, there are no constant updates being sent to you, nor do you have to make any.

Clutter: None of it here. No applications, the ads might as well be invisible, no wall graffiti or updates. The profiles are simple, easy to navigate. There also is no mental clutter. This site is strictly business. Who do you know? How do you know them? No one is going to talk about giving their dog a bath or playing scrabble. The world is simplified. Everyone there is looking for the same thing, opportunities.

So what exactly are the benefits?

Jobs: Find business, find employees, make money. Do you own a carpet company and are looking for new homes in your area? Search by name, by company or by industry: maybe you should hook up with a realtor or a construction company. You may not know one but someone in your "circle" might. Then you can get an introduction and bam, problem solved. You can also send out an email to all the people you are conneted with and ask things like: I'm looking for this contact, or I want to hire a receptionist. (You can also pay to list a job, I hear its very successful). Also, finding a job using linked-in as your resume is also becoming more popular. Its not mainstream yet, but as we go more paperless I think people will accept a link to your profile instead of a boring resume.

Credibility: Linked-In offers a number of ways to build your credibility. You can join organizations that are both on and offline. You can ask people to endorse you and your company (and do the same for others). You can also answer questions in your field, this can label you as an "expert" and also prove you know what you are doing! On top of that, you have the opportunity to introduce people to your background, your network and your web presence.

Information: The questions section of Linked-In is really underhyped. I think the possibilites involved there might be endless. If you listened to my podcast with Doyle Slayton, you may have heard him talk about Linked-in. He says ask a question you already know the answer to and see what happens: you may learn more, re-evaluate your answer, meet people with similar views and also have a chance to test the waters before sharing what you know. This is also a great chance to find about things you really need help with, people love to anwer! Plus, you never know what answer/question might lead to eventual business.

My Experiment: Recently I asked a question on Linked-In; mostly to test Doyle's theory. I picked mobile marketing which was just labeled as reaching "critical mass" today. I already knew all the statistics, and have been closing following its growth with mixed emotions. However, I wanted to see what would happen. Within an hour people were sending me answers. By the time the question closed I had 21 answers and most were well thought out and informed. Not only that but one of the first answers I recieved was from Frank Feather, a well known "Futurist". I read and highlighted one of his books when I was just starting college, in fact I'd say it was THE book which inspired me to really dig into the internet. Needless to say I emailed him back and am now his 500th contact on Linked-In. I'm hoping to continue to chat with him (maybe I can get a quote from him when I do a blog post about mobile). Just that one contact has made my entire experience on Linked-In worth it. How else would I have met him? I just thought it was a neat little story to end on.

I had a friend say they had a love-hate relationship with Linked-In. I'd love to hear about other people's stories and successes. I would never call myself an expert on Linked-In, I know far more about Plurk or Twitter, so please share!

We're linked-in here!

Tags: Business Resources, Business Suggestions, Linked-In, Marketing Your Business, Social Networking Online

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 4:36 am and is filed under Business Suggestions, Veribatim. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.