Hello and welcome to this article concerning how to leverage your LinkedIn presence, such as who to connect with and what groups to become a part of. This article may be read in conjunction with another offering entitled "Top 5 Tips to a Memorable Profile on LinkedIn" which discusses how to build a solid profile. Today, we will look at. Tip #1 - the 3 i's of appropriately connecting on LinkedIn Once your profile is well under way, it is time to start building up your network. Here are the 3 i's of connecting well on LinkedIn: 1. Import: LinkedIn has a functionality whereby you allow the system to access your address book - on Outlook or on Google Mail for instance - and LinkedIn will tell you who among your contacts are on LinkedIn. This is a neat and easy way to quickly create a network based on folks you already know. 2. Invite: when you identify someone whom you would like to connect to, send them an invitation to connect by pressing the blue 'Connect' button. Do this ONLY if you already know the person - for instance, you met them recently at a networking event. You see, if you contact someone in this fashion without them having any prior knowledge of who you are, you risk for the individual to respond "I don't know [your name]": your account will be restricted if you get five so-called IDKs ('I don't know's). If you don't know the person, employ instead the introduction route (see point 3 below) or use the InMail functionality to send them a message explaining who you are and why you would like to connect. If they respond positively, then it will make sense to send them an invitation at a later stage. When you press 'Connect', LinkedIn proposes to you a prefabricated message which I heartily recommend you amend. Instead, write a personalised message as this will increase your chances of the individual accepting your invitation: remind them of when you two met and indicate why you would like to connect. Be mindful that LinkedIn only allows a maximum of 3,000 invitations: this may seem a lot but let me suggest that you still be mindful of how many you send out lest you end up running out. 3. Introduce: when you identify someone you would like to add to your network on LinkedIn to but don't already know, the most effective way to connect is to ask one of your existing LinkedIn contacts to introduce you to them. This is likelier to be a successful route than contacting them out of the blue using the InMail functionality. Introductions work like recommendations and endorsements: they lend you credibility with the person you'd like to connect to. If the introduction is successful, you can then press 'Connect' in a second stage. Tip #2 - wisely accept invitations Just as there is a protocol around sending invitations, there is an etiquette for accepting invitations. I am often asked: "Should I accept invitations from folks I don't know?" Here are a few suggestions to help you decide whether to accept an invitation you are unsure about: Did the person send you a personalised message helping you to place them? If so, have a think about the potential benefits of connecting with that person. What kind of profile does this person have? Do they feature a photo for instance? Is their public profile comprehensively populated? Make sure to connect to real people rather than spammers luring you with a ghost profile. What affinities do you two have in common, such as groups, interests, workplaces, skills? How many connections do they have and what kind are those? Consider whether you might want to be introduced to some of this person's contacts in due course. Tip #3 - calibrate your time commitment Let me say first off that LinkedIn is the most static of the top three social media sites. While Facebook and Twitter encourage daily activity, there is no such need with LinkedIn. How active you will choose to be depends on whether you wish to just maintain a presence or to actively engage others - for instance, when you are looking for a new position or interested in sourcing information. At the very least, use the 'Share' functionality to keep your network abreast of any meaningful update - such as a new role, a fresh qualification and a recent accomplishment. You can also use this functionality to share material, such as articles or videos you found interesting. Note that you do not need to update your network when you revise your profile: LinkedIn will do that automatically. Here are my three recommendations to ensure you optimise your time on LinkedIn: At the onset, as part of your original effort to set up your profile on LinkedIn, start building your network in parallel by mirroring on the site your offline set of connections, such as colleagues, customers, suppliers and even friends and family. You can be fairly sure these people will accept you into their network straight away. And remember that you are connecting not only to these individuals, but their networks as well. While a direct connection may not be able to help you directly, one or more of their contacts might. Secondly, keep your involvement with LinkedIn light and easy. When you meet someone new, have a quick peek at their LinkedIn profile and consider sending them an invitation. Along similar lines, when something new happens that is related to your professional life - a change in your professional circumstances or reading an interesting article, quickly visit the site and either revise the relevant section of your LinkedIn profile or share an update! Finally, increase your level of activity when you need to, for example when you are seeking a new role, ask your contacts for the recruiters they know and can introduce you to. Similarly, ask your groups for tips on how to go about doing something you yourself are unfamiliar with. Use LinkedIn to find information about a company you are interviewing with. Leverage being part of group by learning more about other group members than you would by just seeing their public profile, in particular their full name. This is usually restricted to first level contacts. You can also leverage being part of a group as LinkedIn facilitates connections between group members saving you the trouble of being introduced. Tip #4 - carefully select groups to join Another frequent question is "What groups should I join?" My rejoinder is always: "What do you want to join groups for anyway?" If it is about keeping in touch with school and university mates as well as ex-colleagues, then join school and university alumni groups. Most companies also have networks, some differentiating between ex- and current employees. If it is about keeping abreast of developments in those fields which you work on or are simply interested in, enter key words in LinkedIn's search engine and find groups that match. For example, I searched for 'Credit' and 'French expatriates in London'. There are over 1.7 million groups on LinkedIn, some of which with over a million members so there is plenty to choose from. LinkedIn limits you to a maximum of 50 groups. Some groups are open to anyone while others are closed - which will be denoted by a small lock logo next to the group's name. When you apply to join a private group, the group manager will vet your application so make sure your profile clearly showcases how your application is relevant lest you be rejected from joining. Get a feel for any group you want to join so you determine how useful it will be for you to join: scroll down the right sidebar to access group demographics. Consider how you will engage with the groups you join. Are you happy just looking at the weekly digest of discussions? Might you sparingly comment, initiate a poll or participate to a discussion? Or do you plan on actively posting material to a particular group? I recommend that you pay attention to your settings for each group and notably whether to receive a daily or weekly digest. Tip #5 - know who looked at your profile Unless visitors have set their public profiles to anonymous, you can click on the "Who's viewed your profile?" link and see a list of them. The free account limits how many you can see while paid accounts give you the whole list. The fact that someone looked at your profile is a good reason to maybe reach out. Even when you get visitors described as "Procurement Professional from the Pharmaceutical Industry" you can still click on the link: LinkedIn will give you a list which will include your actual visitor. I find it very educational to know who may be interested in my profile. Again, while there may be nothing to it at the current time, knowing who looked you up might come in handy at a later stage. The practice of looking at the profiles of people who visited yours is known as "looking back" and it is an important source of new potential connections. Bear in mind therefore that folks whose profiles you visit may also look back at your profile and seek to connect with you. There you have it: five straightforward tips to make the most of LinkedIn by appropriately inviting folks to connect, shrewdly accepting the right invitations, calibrating how much time to spend on the site, joining the groups that make sense for you and "looking back" at your visitors. Author of the "5 Gear Shifts to Accelerate your Career!" report, Alexandra helps ambitious and high-performing professionals tackle their frustration at work so that they resolve a complex problem, find a way out of a difficult situation or achieve a personally-meaningful objective. As a Career Accelerator, Alexandra works with gifted individuals to obtain the promotion they deserve, orchestrate an in-house move to a different group, succeed fast in a new role as well as get clear about their next job and how to find it. Alexandra's clients get to do more interesting work which they enjoy, avoid becoming stuck in one job when in fact they want variety, and learn to lead and work through others if they wish to. That way, they make a greater difference to their firm and, of course, grow their income! Alexandra will share with you stories and insights from her gratifying but eventful 23-year career in global finance, from Paris to the City of London via New York's Wall Street which you can use to accelerate your career faster than on your own! Alexandra is the author of the career management e-book "5 Gear Shifts to Accelerate your Career!" Get your copy by going to Alexandra's website at http://coachingforinspiration.com. Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Alexandra_Sleator/977200 Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7904884

Do you have an account on LinkedIn? If so, ask yourself: "Is it really working for me?" The ultimate online professional resource, LinkedIn is the place for you to establish your professional self and share what makes you brilliant. Whether you are job-hunting, networking, or establishing yourself as an industry and thought-leader, your LinkedIn account is something that should not be neglected. Whether you're just getting started or have been there for a while, here are four actions you can take right now to start working on your LinkedIn account to make sure it's working for you.

Your profile: Make sure that your LinkedIn profile is rich with content and information about you. This is no longer an option, it's a necessity. Would you hand an incomplete resume to a prospective employer or client? It's the same thing. This is your first impression, that crucial moment when you can turn an interested person into a fan, potentially making a sale, landing a job, or, at the least, making a great impression that will serve you well down the road. Don't waste this opportunity.

• The Summary is a great place for your cocktail story (aka elevator speech). Write it out, share what you are doing now and why it is special.
• Make sure everything is up-to-date and your experience not only listed but shares why it makes you valuable for future ventures.
• List every social media account, blog, or website where you are active and that you would like to share with your connections. This increases your visibility across the board.
• Don't forget your interests - use them to tell a well-rounded story of yourself. Do you climb mountains, organize charity events, volunteer? This is a place to share those extras that can make you stand out from the crowd.

Take some time to look at your LinkedIn profile and kick your profile up a notch. Making yourself stronger in LinkedIn makes your value more apparent, your recommendations more meaningful, and your presence active. Your connections will notice.

Nurturing Your Connections.

For the second step of improving your LinkedIn experience, we're going to look at your connections. Your profile is complete, but if that's all you have, we need to now really use LinkedIn for its purpose - "linking" or connecting professionals. Here are some statistics about LinkedIn you might find interesting:

• People with more than twenty connections are thirty-four times more likely to be approached with a job opportunity than people with less than five.
• All 500 of the Fortune 500 are represented in LinkedIn. In fact, 499 of them are represented by director-level and above employees.

Here are few tips for expanding your circle of connections and nurturing those networking relationships you are building.

1. Challenge yourself to reach out beyond close personal and work friends. Make a list of the top 20 people you would like to connect with and reach out to the - leaders, speakers, former colleagues, someone you always wanted to work with, industry rock stars. If LinkedIn protocol prevents you from reaching out directly, make it a goal to connect with someone who can "introduce" you via LinkedIn.

2. SUPERUSER TIP: When inviting a new connection, make use of that tiny little link in the invitation box ("add a personal message") to add a personal note - it's always appreciated and can often help you attain a connection that may not have happened.

3. Each month, add 20 more people to your list to connect to. Look at who your current connections are linked to and see if there is anyone from your list there - or people you may want to add to your list. As your connections expand, so will your horizons and you will find there are a wealth of valuable people within your reach.

Good Karma
For this step, we're delving into the subject of using Recommendations. These take the place of the "references" section of your old hard-copy resume. But they are even better. Highly visible, no limit, and easy to access, your LinkedIn recommendations can make a huge difference when you have a potential new employer, client, joint venture partner, etc attempting to learn more about you. Here are a few tips for building up your Recommendations:

1. This may seem backward, but start out by writing recommendations for other people first. Whether it's your MBA professor, a former client or business associate, colleagues, or service providers, if they did a good job, let them know. Make a goal to write at least 2 a month, if possible. It's a win-win, they will be grateful for the recommendation, you will raise your visibility within the LinkedIn community.

2. Ask for recommendations: Keep this to a minimum and DON'T fall into the trap of trading recommendations. It's obvious and a turnoff for those reading about you. However, if you have had positive business relationships with people you are connected with on LinkedIn, kindly ask them if they would mind writing their comments down in the LinkedIn recommendations format.

3. Any time you receive an email, voicemail, or feedback survey with compliments about you personally, also reach out to those people - ask them if they have LinkedIn accounts, and politely ask if they wouldn't mind writing those words down.

4. Another bonus: Writing and receiving recommendations shows that you are an active and forward-moving user in LinkedIn.

So head out there and start writing up some recommendations. You'll be surprised at how soon you will start seeing some return your way.

For the final step of learning to leverage your LinkedIn, I am going to share with you a very simple secret for increasing your visibility and making new connections. It's simply a call to you to "Be Active."

The more active you are within LinkedIn, the more benefit you receive. LinkedIn update emails sent to all your connections will republish to them what you are up to. The LinkedIn home page will also republish your updates to all your connections when they log on. There's no moss growing on you - other users will see a person who is in the game and keeping it fresh by participating in life and business.

Here are some ways to stay active for a healthy LinkedIn profile:

1. Updates: The easiest - and best - way to be active on LinkedIn is to let people know what you are doing by using the "update" function. You can access this either from your LinkedIn home page or from your Profile page (see the screen grabs). Did you attend a conference, speak at an event, receive an award, climb a mountain? Share your accomplishments and the activity in your personal and business life that will show off your best self.

2. Join Groups: Use the groups tab at the top of the LinkedIn page to search for and join groups with focuses that you are interested in. After you do this, join in the conversation. Ask and answer questions. Share your knowledge. Again - stay active.

3. Speaking of Q&A - check out the "Answers" section of LinkedIn. A place to ask and answer questions - here is your chance to chime in as an expert, share your knowledge and show your value.

Dawn Mena is a professional writer who helps entrepreneurs and business owners create captivating copy that shares the heart and the value of their business. She shares her knowledge gained from 20 years as a writer and editor at top media organizations like the Los Angeles Times and Star Lee Magazine for female entrepreneurs through her "Captivating Copy" ezine at http://eepurl.com/_iHg. Claim your free copy of "10 Easy Articles to Captivate Your Audience and Grow Your Business" at http://www.getcaptivatingcopy.com now.

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