Linkedin - Keeping in the Loop

LinkedIn is a terrific professional networking tool. Not only can you (and you should) be posting updates on your Profile page, but you're also able to keep up on what your associates (connections) are up to from their updates. Regularly browsing through the current updates will keep you current.

Here is a list of simple LinkedIn DOs and DON'Ts for networking:

DO: check updates (and post your own) regularly... at least once per week if not more.
DO: send messages to your contacts -- you can do it right from their update. If they have posted their update to Twitter, you can post a comment/response to their update and 'Like' their status. This keeps your name and your company in front of potential clients/associates.
DO: send private messages to your connections with updates, well-wishes, notes of congratulations, etc.
DO: send notes and updates to new clients, You can send a message to multiple contacts at once by selecting them from the Contact - My Connections list and clicking 'send message."
DO: request introductions via LinkedIn from current clients and request recommendations (we'll go more into depth on referrals in the next post)
DO: Tag your Contact List: Under contacts - My Connections you can select from your contact list and 'tag' them as colleagues, parnters, new clients, etc in order to better organize your contact list.


DON'T: Spam ... regular contact is good... going overboard is not.
DON'T: Make it personal... keep it professional.
DON'T: Use a hard sell... this is networking, establishing and maintaining relationships

In the next post we'll discuss using LinkedIn to get referrals and to do company research.