Words from Social Media Trainer about Linked-in!

Ever heard of LinkedIn?
Keep getting request to join up from your colleagues? Don’t miss out on a great opportunity, read on…

You may have had the odd, or even quite a few, invitations from colleagues about joining up to LinkedIn.com, and have resisted joining - after all, maybe you don’t have time for such sites, do you?

Well- the news is… if you don’t get yourself into gear and join you could be missing out on a whole lot of opportunities and networking with some great people.

So what is all the fuss about?

Linked-in.com is an online CV about you and other possible business prospects, but with a whole lot more attached to it. For instance, you can add PowerPoint presentations, BOX files, and even link your blog to it, which means the reader can see a huge amount of detail about you professionally, but nothing personal.

So why is this important to you I hear you ask?
Well, if people don’t know you exist, how can they find you and possibly do business with you?

LinkedIn is meant to be more than an online CV, it is a place to network like all social media, but the major difference with this site, is it is all business people [50 million to be precise] although that is growing at about 1 person per second worldwide. Everyone on the site is looking to make business connections, and the fact that it is online, means you can take advantage of it 24/7, there are no time restraints and no venues to get to. Simple. 
And you know what, it really works.

Ever wondered where Bill went to when he left your company? Search for him on LinkedIn, and hey presto!... he is probably there. This is useful if you are a recruitment agency like Frog and have positions to fill, and Bill might just have been the right guy for the job. It may also be useful if you are background checking someone, and they worked with Bill…the list is endless.

There are plenty of ways in which to use the site, but you need to be effective.

Think of it as a traditional networking event; ask questions, talk to as many people as you can, and keep in touch.

Just don’t expect the world to come to your door just because you have joined, because it won’t. Take action, make a plan, and dive in!

For further resources, go to the website www.bluebanana.co.nz