How to Create Your Personal Brand Using LinkedIn

 

These days just about everyone has a LinkedIn account. LinkedIn is an excellent site to promote and sell yourself as a professional, and your company, or organization. Follow these steps and you will be way ahead of the crowd when it comes to using LinkedIn for personal branding.

  • Step #1

Determine what you want your LinkedIn profile to do for you. LinkedIn is about much more than posting a picture. It is a chance for you to stay connected to people, showing them who you are and what your goals are.

  • Step #2

    Don’t be boring. There are 40 million members. Make what you have to say interesting enough to get read. Stand out in a very big crowd! You can pull in other content such as your blog, books you are reading, etc., to keep things interesting.

  • Step #3

    Now it’s times to write a summary, rock it! You can write it in the third person if you like. It may feel strange like you are bragging about yourself. When you write in the third person, it gives you the opportunity to write your full name. Of course, you can always write in the first person too. Remember to incorporate your company name, your keywords, and anything else you want associated with your LinkedIn profile.

  • Step #4
    A photo is important. Even if you are self-conscious about how you look in a photo, remember this ñ those that are thinking of working with you. If a person is going to pass judgment on you by your appearance then they might as well do it right away rather than later. Have a headshot taken if you must. Professional photographers can get a good shot of everyone.
  • Step #5
    For your url get a vanity url. For example, if your LinkedIn profile looks a bit like this

    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joe-blow/3/231/438

    you can make it available at

    http://www.linkedin.com/in/joeblow

    This is much easier to remember than the first url.
    There are steps on how to do this on our blog post : http://www.linkedintraining.ie/469/how-to-brand-yourself-in-linkedin/

  • Step #6
    Show our profile to another person and get their feedback. Then you can tweak it. In fact, show it to a few people. At least once a month you should tweak your profile.
  • Step #7
    Now it is time to start using LinkedIn. You can begin to recommend people who you work with, look for old co-workers that you really liked and respected.

There you have it, Seven simple steps to help you create your personal brand using LinkedIn.

How to Create a Company Page on LinkedIn

 

If you own an online business you can create a company page on LinkedIn.com. The importance of having a company page is that it establishes your business entity as separate from your personal profile, and people who have done business with you can add your company to their profile. This is one more way to connect with others, and to promote your online business.

 

Simply go to your Home page of LinkedIn.com, and then click Companies. Look for the “Add a Company” link, and click it. Simply fill out the information provided. You must have the right to add a company so do not do this for companies you do not own, or manage.. Then click Continue.

Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 15.39.06

Fill out your company profile, add a logo, and information as fully as possible. You can add in a Twitter account, add employees or contractors, and grab your LinkedIn button code to put on your company website so that you can get more followers. Fill out each section completely from the overview to the Products & Services area. From here you can list your products as well as a link to the product and / or service. You can also add photographs for your product or service and a disclaimer. Once you add one product or service, you can add more.

 

Adding your company page is very versatile. Aside from promotions, you can even add in a YouTube video to talk about your products and services. Make sure to choose your keywords well, and try to fill out this page completely. Don’t be scared to make a YouTube video for this area, it will increase your sales and it doesn’t have to be perfect. From here you can promote your product or service too with just a few clicks.

 

A really awesome feature of the Company Page is that you can also see the analytics and know at a glance how many people are looking at your company, who is following you, and see an entire overview of the analytics at a glance. Analytics are very important to ensure that you are using methods that work to advertise your goods and services.

 

Some rules about creating a company page. Make sure you don’t already have a company page. In order to create a company page you must have an authenticated company email address that is not a free email address like Gmail or Yahoo! Mail.  You can only create a company page if you’re an employee or an owner of the company in question.

 

Once you create a company page you can post jobs to your company page if you’re hiring. Click on Careers then click Post a Job. Then fill in all the areas. Don’t worry you can pick contractor too. Fill out the information listing an email address where people can apply for the job, or link them to a specific website for applications. Choose the rate you’re willing to pay for the job listing. Then click Next and follow all the instructions for payment processing.

 

How to buy a targeted linked in advertisement

 

Advertising your online business on LinkedIn.com is an excellent way to get your advertisement in front of qualified and eager buyers. With LinkedIn.com you can choose your budget, and target your market down to the smallest detail including, job function, industry, demographics and more.

 

You get to set your price limit and like other Pay Per Click on you pay, when someone clicks. Right now the minimum cost per click is $2.00, with a $5.00 activation fee that will be applied to clicks. They give you a suggested bidding amount depending upon your keywords and niche so you will always be able to make sure you’re bidding competitively.

 

To purchase an advertisement you must first have an account of your own, then go to http://www.linkedin.com/advertising or click “Advertising” from the bottom of the page.

  1. Click Start Now — If you’ve not signed in you’ll be requested to do so at this time.Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 12.49.08
  2. Ad Campaign Name — Name your ad campaign something you will recognize, so you’ll be able to view your analytics at a glance.Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 12.51.18
  3. Ad Variation — Choose whether you want to link to your web page, or another page on LinkedIn.com.Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 12.51.39 Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 12.57.12
    Each variation allows you to add a different headine and image. You can add variations by clicking the “Add a Variation” button below the variations.

    Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 12.57.20
    There will also be a preview of your variation in a box to the left.
    Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 12.57.29Once you’ve finished with your variations, click Next Step.
  4. Targeting — Now choose how you want to target your advertisement.  You can choose one or all of the following: Geography, Company, Job Title, Group, Gender and Age. In addition you can click the box that allows your advertisement be seen on the LinkedIn Audience Network which are partner sites. Once you choose your demographics click Next Step.

    Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 13.02.23
    Linkedin will also give you an estimate of the number of Linkedin Members that will be your target audience, Along with some tips.
    Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 13.02.31

  5. Payment Method — You can choose from Pay per click (CPC), or pay per 1,000 impressions. With Pay Per Click on only pay if someone clicks on your advertisement. If you pay per 1,000 impressions (CPM) you pay per how many times the advertisement is shown across the network. No matter which one you choose, you then choose a bid.

    Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 15.19.56

  6. CPC — If you choose CPC you’ll need to make a bid on what you will pay each time someone clicks through from your link. The minimum bid is $2.00.
  7. CPM — By choosing CPM you’ll need to make a bid, the maximum amount you will pay for 1000 impressions. The minimum bid is $2.00.
  8. Daily Budget –  Here type in how much you’re willing to spend per day. The minimum is $10.00.
  9. Show My Campaign — You have a choice to pick that your ad will show continuously, and you can turn it off whenever you want to, or you can set it to expire at a certain date. Once you choose one of these, click Next Step.
  10. Billing Information — Fill out the billing information required. They take MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover. Fill the information out completely, then check the box to agree to LinkedIn Ad Agreement. When you’re done click Buy Now. You will immediately be billed $5.00 and then you’ll be billed periodically during the campaign.

    Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 15.23.14

 

The approval process is next. If you’ve ensured that you followed the advertising guidelines provided by LinkedIn this process will not take long, usually within 24 hours. It is very important to read the guidelines and follow the rules so that you will not experience any delays.

How Professionals Can Benefit From LinkedIn

 

Professionals turn to LinkedIn as a method of communication. By creating relationships and sustaining those relationships, they can enjoy the full benefit of LinkedIn. LinkedIn builds credibility, which in turn provides networking opportunities to professionals.

Referrals that are obtained through a professional LinkedIn network offers a number of opportunities These referrals are also more qualified and because LinkedIn offers a very efficient method to build your referral base, it’s extremely popular. LinkedIn is an excellent forum to network and to build referral systems that are strong and reliable.

When you connect with individuals on LinkedIn, you then are able to take advantage of what are referred to as second and third tier contacts. You can take advantage of these levels in order to further build your referral base. It can quickly gain momentum and before long, it will be growing rapidly.

Quality not quantity are the best motivators. When you are connecting with individuals on LinkedIn, it is more important that you look for quality connections. Qualify your connections before you start sending out he invites. When you are communicating with any of the referrals, you should reference LinkedIn Today. The news section will provide you with relevant industry news that can help you determine quality and relevance.

LinkedIn continuously adds new products and apps that help to improve the professional lives of those using LinkedIn, which is more than just a place people go when they are looking for jobs. LinkedIn focuses on building relationships through groups and by using LinkedIn Today, where you can connect with other like-minded professional contacts, so you can communicate freely. You will be updated with industry news that is relevant, so you will be prepared and ready.

LinkedIn is able to use a vanity URL specified for the business, which can be more professional and easier to find on LinkedIn. LinkedIn offers job postings and it offers tracking of information such as when individuals leave a company, along with day-to-day tasks.

Groups are one of the most powerful tools that LinkedIn offers. Not only should you join relevant groups, you should participate in those groups. Doing so can be far reaching and it can lead to new business, which translates to more jobs, and increased revenues.

When you use all or some of the tools that LinkedIn has to offer you can create a profile that can have maximum impact. As a professional, you’ll discover opportunities you never dreamed of.

 

Enhance your business prospects with LinkedIn

 

Gone are the days when banners, print ads, posters dominated the advertising world. In this competitive business world, social networks are acknowledged as great marketing tools to boost the existing businesses or build up a new business. Various social networking websites work differently to help the businesses with their marketing strategies. When it comes to LinkedIn there is a world of opportunities as it helps to establish a strong clientele base which takes your business to exceptional heights. For this, you need to create a fabulous impact on the users of this website in order to enhance your business prospects.

To come up as a successful entrepreneur, you need to have an astonishing and professional profile to attract a large number of visitors. For the potential customers, who are already interested in your business services and products, you need to present a clear picture of how they can benefit from your business. You can brilliantly place testimonials with some information about your company’s history in order to showcase the flexibility, professionalism and your business dynamics.

Today, an increasing number of entrepreneurs are realizing the importance of this amazing social networking website and acknowledge it as a brilliant asset to promote their services, products and the business as well. This gives a great opportunity to the businesses to reach their target audience and potential customers and thus successfully enhance their niche market. As a business owner, all you need to do is efficiently reach out to the people who share the similar interests. For this, you can even make the use of keywords in order to find those individuals and then successfully establish the connection. Thus, you can use various approaches to promote your business offerings through LinkedIn and assure yourself positive results. However you need to make certain that you do this persistently and correctly. LinkedIn allows you to stand apart and give your business an edge as compared to your competitors.

 

Changing How I do Business Using LinkedIn

 

If you find yourself wondering if LinkedIn could have a positive affect on your business, the answer is an emphatic yes. Many online business owners will tell you that LinkedIn is one of their most valuable tools.

Participating in LinkedIn is a great way to bring in questions and queries that are later converted into paying sales. Many businesses have been able to get business directly from LinkedIn. The key is patience. You won’t generate revenue overnight but the customers you do establish often become long-term customers.

If you are targeting B2B companies, LinkedIn will be a very valuable tool, as it is preferred over Twitter and Facebook according to a recent study. However, it is not enough to just put up a profile. You will need to take the time to create a detailed profile, and then you need to participate on the site. Groups are a great way to do that.

When it comes to groups, the more the merrier. Seek out groups that meet your profession, your industry, or your niche. Then make sure you engage in conversation on those groups. Over time, you will increase traffic to your website, and you can improve your Google ranking. Make sure you use Google Analytics so that you can see where your traffic is coming from.

Do not make the mistake of thinking LinkedIn is just a source of business. It is so much more. You can use it to seek our vendors; find consultants, hire professionals, and these same people can refer business over to you.

Group discussions can be a valuable source of information. You can learn all kinds of great things like streamlining business procedures, learning how to use LinkedIn to change how you do business, finding ways to find better vendors and suppliers. The groups are a wealth of information. If you participate in the groups you are a member of, you will also be a source of information for others. It’s a two way street and when used properly, and can be very beneficial.The internet has changed the way we do business. Social media has changed the way business is done even more, and LinkedIn, which prides itself in being a business resource, simply takes things a little further keeping things focused and business related. If you are not yet using LinkedIn, the time has come for you to sign up and begin to enjoy the benefits it has to offer.

 

Building Your Online Business With Linkedin.com

 

Linkedin.com is a vibrant professional social network of which you must be a part. If you’re serious about marketing your online business, one of the most respectable and useful online networking communities is Linedin.com. You’re likely familiar with Facebook pages, and profiles and Linkedin.com is sort of like this, only better. On LinkedIn.com you can create a personal profile but you can also create a company profile.

 

Linkedin.com is more professional in nature. You’re not going to play games on Linkedin.com, or share your child’s potty habits. No one wants to know what you had for dinner, or anything about your politics. What they care about is your business acumen. This is all business and not for personal information. Yes, you should be yourself, and how much you share directly depends on what type of business you’re in. But always keep in  mind potential employers and potential clients are here.

 

To make the most of your LinkedIn.com membership it’s important to ensure that you fill out your profile completely. Put a nice headshot that projects a professional image that fits in with your niche. Include as much information as possible in the profile itself. Put something in every section. Include a feed to your blog, and connect Linkedin.com to your Twitter account. This is not the time to be anonymous. Today, online business owners must be open, upfront and honest about who they are. Be yourself so that you can connect with people.

 

Current contacts are easily brought into your Linkedin.com system via the handy Gmail important function. It’s a great way to find people you already know so that you can connect to appropriate people. They key is connecting to people you know, have worked with, and then via them connecting to new people who might want to work with you too. You should also be helping people in your network make connections. If there are people in your address list that you’re only connected with due to very personal reasons who have no possibility of providing anything useful to your LinkedIn experience, don’t add them.

 

Send an invite to connect with you on LinkedIn.com to your current clients, and the subscribers who are on your email lists. Once people connect with you that you’ve done business with request a recommendation via LinkedIn’s system. Additionally, give recommendations to people with whom you’ve worked and you truly want to publically recommend them. Remember that if you recommend someone you should truly be happy with their services or products.

 

Join relevant groups and participate in the group. Give people advice, have intelligent business related discussions. You are promoting yourself, but not in a way that is loud and used-car salesmen like, but in a way that demonstrates your knowledge and skills to the world. Contribute in a useful way and you’ll impress people who will want to do business with you.

 

There are three levels of membership prices ranging from $19.95 per month up to $99.00 per month. Each membership offers a different amount of access to connections including the people you do not know, the ability to search profiles, and learn information about companies. You can pay your membership monthly or yearly. Start with the free account because it is fully functional and there is no reason to get an upgraded membership right off the bat. Instead, concentrate on building an excellent profile and building up your connections.

 

Building Strong Business Connections on LinkedIn

You may already have a LinkedIn account. Are you using it in the manner that you should be to get the maximum benefit from it? Itís important for your profile to be complete and then you must leverage the connections you have made.

If you find LinkedIn isn’t doing a whole lot for your business, you may be concentrating your efforts in the wrong place. A common mistake is to spend all your time building your online connections so that you are able to strengthen your visibility and credibility. That is important; however, that is not your toughest challenge. A much larger challenge that you face is to take the connections that you establish and deepen them so much that those people are buying what you are selling

The success of all social media relies on relationships, and LinkedIn is no different. Meaningful interactions are a must to the success of any business, whether that interaction occurs face-to-face or online.

You need to pay close attention to the connections you are making and what they are doing. You are connected to them online, so it is highly likely that they will be posting the events they plan to attend. If you see that those events are occurring in your region, you should also plant to attend them. If the events are live, you should attempt to set up an appointment where you can meet face to face. It will do wonders for the growth of your business.

Your timing is of the essence. The goal is to build deep relationships with the most important of your connections. In a perfect world, you would do this with all your connections but initially start with the connections that you feel can have the greatest value to your business.

Don’t be afraid to ask for advice on LinkedIn. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t just love to get their opinion in there. Everyone wants to feel valued and important. You will be quite surprised at the number of very good responses you receive. When you reach out you are able to communicate with one of your connections and begin to build a relationship with that person.

LinkedIn is a powerful tool for building strong business connections providing you understand how to use it properly and maximize your relationships on LinkedIn. We’ve started you down the right path. There is plenty of other helpful information available online so make use of it!

You can also find more helpful advice on the Blog or on our Facebook page.

How to stay in touch with business professionals

 

Social networking sites are playing a crucial role in making businesses successful. To own a business is easy, however lots of strategies are required to make it lucrative. In current era, more and more business owners are utilizing social networking sites for business promotion. LinkedIn is a famous site which has been used by unlimited business professionals and those who are looking for a job. It has gained popularity as users get an opportunity to showcase their competence in a particular field. Accounts of this site are based on two formats i.e. personal and business.

This site has given a boost to the recruiting industry. Every user can learn plenty of professional things about other users by viewing their profiles. On this site, professionals are identified for their experience and skills. Members of this site can find jobs and apply directly. It offers an ideal opportunity to those who believe in building up business relationships. Credibility of a person is enhanced when he gets recommendation from other person. Creating an account on this site is not at all a time-consuming process. After creating a profile, an individual can leverage his connections and resources. Moreover, profiles can also be updated if required at any point of time. In the profile, achievements, awards, areas of expertise, current designation in a company, certification courses and additional information can be mentioned. If you are searching for a job, it is assured that reputed companies will approach you when you have an account on LinkedIn. In relevant groups of this site, anyone can write articles and blogs which are thought-provoking. It has been observed that majority of business owners are not aware that they can reach investors and business partners by having an account in LinkedIn.  In addition, one can also view that how many connections a user has.

 

Building Meaningful LinkedIn Relationships

If you have any type of professional life, which most of us do, you should have signed up at LinkedIn. You will create a profile just as you do on other social media sites. However, just setting up your profile is not enough. You need to make sure your profile is complete and working effectively so that you get the most benefit and value from it.

LinkedIn is recognized as a very effective way for professionals and businesses to build relationships that eventually will lead to business opportunities. It is also recognized as a great way to strengthen your network, maintaining it and keeping it strong, and ensuring you get the most out of your business.

To begin with, you will establish connections that will help you increase your exposure online and help you to boost your reputation. Make sure that you have filled out the business profile so that those who are surfing and visiting the site can check it out. You should include people from within your company that you work with.

Once you connect with others, you need to do more. To build a relationship you have to go deeper. If you just connect but you never interact, there will be nothing for either of you to gain from the experience. Itís critical that you interact if you want LinkedIn to be a successful component of your business.

You might be surprised to learn that it is all in the timing. As soon as you make a new connection, you respond to a question, you are introduced to a business associate, etc. you need to make the move to communicate directly with this person. There are tons of ways to bridge that gap and open up communication. You can ask a question, show interest in what they are saying, give advice, etc.

Make sure that you make the most of every event. Pay attention to events and activities that are happening in LinkedIn and that you are involved in. There are likely a number of events that you business could benefit from. Try to find live events in your area, or follow web events.

Be a resource to other LinkedIn members. If you know how to listen to other, it can be a very valuable tool. Sharing your expertise with others is an excellent way to build significant relationships within LinkedIn and these relationships are far reaching to your business and may eventually translate to revenue.

Knowing how to build meaningful relationships on LinkedIn will help you to create a viable tool that can benefit your business in many different areas.

Website Powered By: Superior Internet Marketing An Internet Marketing and SEO Specialist Firm

Savvy Business Gals