Alice

Everybody in the business world knows that LinkedIn is the professional social networking site, and that anybody worth their salt should be a member. But it’s not just somewhere to put up your profile (which, by the way, is more like a CV than a mere description) so that people can find and connect with you (though that is always a very good thing to encourage), you can use LinkedIn for many marketing purposes as well.

LinkedIn is now connected to other social networking sites, in particular Twitter, where you can feed your updated status comments directly into your Twitter-stream, and vice-versa, either automatically or using the hashtags #in or #li.

You can feed your blog’s RSS URL into your LinkedIn profile which automatically updates with a headline link and a taster of your post’s beginning. A great way to promote your blog more than just including the link to it in your profile.

Oh, and in the links capacity in your profile, don’t just use the standard ‘My website’ description, use the ‘other’ facility to be more descriptive or supply the website’s or blog’s proper name.

Join up to as many groups as you can. These are a fantastic way to network and spread your expertise. Participate in the discussions, feed relevant resource material into the news sections, and share your knowledge. Create your own group for your company or organisation, an excellent opportunity for your own promotions or keeping in touch with interested parties.

Regularly participate in the Question and Answers section of LinkedIn; a thriving area that you can’t afford to overlook. It’s perfectly positioned for spreading your expertise, doing marketing research, finding out what’s happening in your particular niche, finding answers to your most pressing questions. This is a fantastic resource of valuable information, which can be sent to your Google homepage through RSS feeds so you can immediately view the most recent questions to get your contribution in fast. And if you’re fortunate to be chosen as the best answer, this is indicated on your profile and signature throughout LinkedIn.