Thursday, August 6, 2009

Me On (and in) LinkedIn - Why I Love LinkedIn

Like almost everyone else who has joined LinkedIn, I sat there for over a year and did not do much.

I would look at the screen and nothing would happen. I would lean my head against the screen and whisper "connect with me" and nothing would happen. Short of lighting incense and chanting, I was at a loss as to how to proceed.

Then a couple things happened. I read Jason Alba's book, I'm on LinkedIn, Now What? Then I read David Meerman Scott's The New Rules of Marketing and PR. I added the lessons from each and went (in April, 2007) from 150 contacts then to over 1,700 today, from 1 group to 50 (yes, 50) groups, from no Q&A to "Best Answers" in 10 categories and being a regular Q&A user, from 5 recommendations to over 200, from a flat, short profile to one that, when printed, runs over 40 pages!

In short, from not having a clue to starting to maximize the value of this really incredible tool.

In my August 2008 seminar (Government Marketing Best Practices, version 7.0) I stated that any business magazine or association that does not have a social media back end is doomed, because they are natural online and offline communities.

Today, hundreds of of business publications and associations have groups on LinkedIn.

Why LinkedIn?

It is the ONLY major social media platform designed for business professionals. It is a natural home for business groups and publications.

It is also a grossly under-utilized tool for many of those registered, but like me 2 years ago, these are people waiting for something to occur. Don't wait - act!

I share my lessons learned in a 3 Cd set. It says it is for "B2G" (business-to-government), my market. But the lessons apply to anyone.

Plug the CDs into your computer, get on to your LinkedIn account, and listen to the CDs while you navigate LinkedIn. Start maximizing the value of this totally cool tool for you and your business.

Good luck!

http://federaldirect.net/order2008gmbp.html