Author: promotorasys

The 15 Best LinkedIn Profile Tips To Make Your Profile Stand Out

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The 15 Best LinkedIn Profile Tips To Make Your Profile Stand Out

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We all know LinkedIn is a great tool that you can use for networking or finding a new career, but we don’t always take full advantage of its capabilities. It’s easy for first-time users to set up, and even easier to start making connections or looking for jobs. However, an important thing that some people forget about LinkedIn is it’s a great way for you to build your brand. 

 

One of the ways you can do this is by making your profile stand out. 

 

So, if you’re a new user just getting started on the platform, or you’ve been on LinkedIn for a while and you just want to spruce up your profile, you’re going to want to dive into our 15 best LinkedIn profile tips to make your profile stand out. 

 

Tip #1: The first thing you’re going to want to do is make sure you’ve selected a profile photo that showcases who you are. You will want to make sure that your face is easily seen in the photo and that you’re dressed professionally (or at least dressed how you would dress for your dream job). A recent trend with profile photos is adding a bright-colored background to your headshot. The bright colors help to make your picture stand out, and the pop of color has been said to “stop the scroll” so that people spend more time looking at your profile. 

 

Tip #2: While you’re focusing on photos, the next thing you’ll want to do is add a banner image. This should be unique to you, your business, or something you’re passionate about. There are several ready-to-use images available on LinkedIn, which change seasonally. You can also use photo-editing software or a site like Canva to help you design the perfect banner for your profile. 

 

Tip #3: Once you’ve got the perfect profile photo and banner, the next step is to craft an engaging headline. You’ve got 220 characters, so it doesn’t have to be limited to just your job title. Your headline is your chance to stand out by showcasing your skills, and even show recruiters that you might be seeking a new position. An example of this might look like “your current position or the position you’re seeking | a couple skills | seeking a full-time opportunity.” Using vertical lines / or pipes | is a good way to separate the keywords in your headline and make it look more organized. 

 

Tip #4: Take your time and write an “About” section that showcases who you are, where you’ve been, and where you are looking to go with your career. This is one of the most important steps, and, believe it or not, a lot of people skip this section. You’ll want to spend some quality time on this to make sure you get it right. You have 2,000 characters to show your skills and tell your story. Don’t use this section to just list your skills and accomplishments. Share examples of your skills at work. The “About” section is a great way for connections and recruiters to get to know you, so you want to make sure you include as much detail as possible. 

 

Tip #5: Now that your profile is set up, you’re ready to start networking. One easy way that you can start growing your network is to sync your email address book to your LinkedIn profile. This helps you find tons of people that you probably already know are on LinkedIn. Once you start making those connections, your profile will become visible to their connections, as well. 

 

Tip #6: We all have hard and soft skills that we capitalize on to help us make connections and get jobs. Luckily, there is a section on your profile where you can list these skills. As you start making connections, people can endorse you for them, as well. This is a great tool to use to show recruiters what you are capable of, and once you have a few endorsements, it shows that not only do you claim it’s a skill, but others actually agree. You don’t want to create a long list of irrelevant skills, but definitely take time to go through the list, and find the skills that are important to you and the job you do or are looking to do. 

 

Tip #7: Once you’ve added your skills and you’re ready for some endorsements, you can start endorsing others. Go through your network to find people you have worked closely with in the past, and start endorsing them for some of the skills they’ve listed on their profile. Typically when someone receives an endorsement, they will return the favor, so this is a great way for you to encourage others to endorse you, too. 

 

Tip #8: Being endorsed for a skill isn’t enough sometimes. You might want to show that you possess a skill by taking a skills assessment. These are fairly new to LinkedIn, but they are a great way to showcase your skills, and they even earn you a cool Verified Skills badge to display on your profile. These online tests typically require you to pass with at least a 70% or better and cover a wide variety of skills like Excel, Powerpoint, SEO, and so much more. The skills assessments are voluntary and if you don’t pass the first time, you can always retake them. 

 

Tip #9: Outside of skills and endorsements, LinkedIn also has recommendations. These are basically personal testimonials from people who you’ve worked within the past. LinkedIn makes it very easy to request recommendations by providing a drop-down menu that allows you to choose the person and reminds them of your work position. LinkedIn also provides you the final say in whether or not these recommendations are shown on your profile. 

 

Tip #10: You can never go wrong with adding your education and things you’ve learned to your profile. A great way to show that you are continually working to learn and grow is by adding LinkedIn Learning to your profile. These courses allow you to earn certifications for a wide variety of topics, and these certificates can be easily added to your profile. This shows others that you are consistently working to be more knowledgeable and want to stand out in your industry. 

 

Tip #11: If you are a content creator, then this next tip is for you. There is a section on your LinkedIn profile called Featured and this is where you can add projects you’ve worked on, blogs you’ve published, content you’ve created, basically anything that will help you stand out. It’s important that if you add content to the Featured section that it is your original content, and you keep it fresh and update it frequently. 

 

Tip #12: You can follow all of these tips and create an amazing profile, but it’s not going to stand out if you aren’t sharing content and putting your profile out there for others to see. This doesn’t have to be content that you create, it can be shared from other people, but it will make your profile more visible if you are regularly active. 

 

Tip #13: LinkedIn is all about algorithms, so the more you interact, the more others will see your content and be able to interact with you. Even if you are sharing content regularly, it’s not guaranteed that others will see it, so an easy way to ensure your profile and your content are getting the impressions you want is by engaging with other people’s content. This is as easy as a comment on someone’s post. You want your comment to be thoughtful because it will be seen by all of your connection’s connections. This is a great way to get your profile in front of even more people and create new network connections. 

 

Tip #14: To ensure that you have relevant content in your feed to share, you will want to follow relevant influencers within your industry. As these influencers share content you find interesting you can share it for your network to see. The important thing to remember is that you need to add thoughtful commentary to the post, don’t just share it directly from the influencer. As people see you sharing content that is relevant to your industry, they will see that you have a passion for what you do and will understand more about what you have in your profile. 

 

Tip #15: Another way to showcase your passion for your industry and to make your profile stand out is to use LinkedIn as a platform for publishing long-form content. You can share articles and blogs you’ve written and use these as ways to start conversations. If others find your articles to be beneficial, then they will seek out your profile so they can read more of your work. 

 

This might seem like a lot of steps and feel a little overwhelming, but making your profile stand out doesn’t have to happen all in one day. You can break this down into small tasks and work on it over time. The important thing is to make sure you’re taking steps to make your profile stand out so that you can grow your network and pave a path to success.

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10 Relationship Management Systems that Work

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10 Relationship Management Systems that Work

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Once you have implemented your lead generation strategies and relationship-building steps, you need to manage your list of network connections. 

 

Nurturing your business relationships is the best way to turn those connections into long-term customers. Since every company is different and every connection has different marketing needs, there may not be a one-size-fits-all tool. Each company needs to determine what features its relationship management system needs. We have a list of the 10 best business relationship management systems that work.

10 Relationship Management Systems

Leadfeeder is a website visitor identification tool. The tools allow you to discover which companies visit your website, and whether they completed an online form or contact you on the site. This provides the user with information about the site visitor, including which pages visited and how long spent visiting, where the visitor was before using your site, and vital information about the company including contact information, number of employees, and industry.
 

Sumo is a simple and easy tool that takes two steps: Install the software and activate the capture form. That is all it takes to begin lead generation and email capture. Sumo offers a free plan, as well as paid plans that start at $39 per month. 

 

Autopilot is a program that builds lead generation and the lead nurturing process. The lead generation then becomes automatic without any more effort on your part. With Autopilot, you can design your personalized connection experiences that capture the leads and convert them. 

 

One of the best tools for relationship management and lead generation is Act-On. The features for this tool include landing page optimization, website visitor tracking, and A/B testing tools. Act-On also provides the user with the ability to create custom website templates.

 

Lead Squared is a great tool for capturing leads. The platform has tools that help the user understand and identify buyer intent signals. The features that help you manage and organize all business-to-business leads include Merchant Lifecycle, Marketplace CRM, and Vendor Onboarding. 

 

Turn “clicks into customers” with Leadpages. This platform is designed for the smaller B2B business outlets. Leadpages allows the user to create a webpage that permits the business to connect with new leads and convert them to regular users. 

 

SharpSpring allows users to get to know their potential connections better. This paves the way for you to market to them, and eventually sell to them. The platform has features such as dynamic form and landing page builders to help enable lead nurturing. Plans for SharpSpring start at $550 per month. 

 

One of the original and still the best email marketing solutions is Constant Contact.This B2B platform has email templates and the ability to make your own marketing website. The platform also has social media marketing tools so that you can use Facebook and Instagram ads to bring leads to your website. Constant Contact has a free 60-day trial period; its plans start at $20 per month. 

 

Litmus is an email marketing tool that is designed around continuous improvement. The platform makes it easy to build, test, and analyze email campaigns. Litmus has a seven-day free trial, then plans start at $99 per month. For email marketing made better, use Litmus. 

 

HubSpot allows you to have all your marketing tools in one place. The features included with this platform are blogs, social media management, live chat, video, and ad tracking and management. HubSpot Marketing Hub also includes the ability to create content, attract visitors, and convert leads. The paid Marketing Hub plans start at $50 per month. 

 

Creating a business relationship strategy can be a tough task to implement. Your individual company needs will determine the relationship management system that works best. PS Inc can help with all your business networking and relationship management needs. Contact us today to get started.

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How To Avoid the Most Common Relationship Management Errors

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How To Avoid the Most Common Relationship Management Errors

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A huge part of the business networking process is to grow business collaboration and create strategic relationships. A new business connection can be precarious at first. While the first impression of your new connection is still fresh, you must avoid these common business network relationship mistakes.

Common Business Relationship Mistakes

Error: Too Much Friction in the Sales Process

Nothing will turn off that new lead more than a tumultuous sales process. No one likes being passed around to different salespeople on a call when you have an issue with a product or service. Doing it this way can greatly damage your brand new business-to-business network connection.

How To Avoid It:

For efficiency’s sake, it is best to have one experienced salesperson handle all the stages of the sales process for each lead. This experienced salesperson will be able to sort out the potential leads from the stale ones. Another way to avoid this mistake is to increase training and communication between the sales teams. These may be two-person teams consisting of a junior and a senior salesperson. This helps create strong sales management, low staff turnover, and rigorous sales.

Error: Following Up Too Slowly

It is unacceptable to wait several days for a follow-up contact. We are all busy and we all meet many people every day, but so do your connections. One way to cause a new connection to go from hot to cold is to fail to cultivate the new relationship right away. It won’t take long for the relationship to go from business collaboration to just another contact on the list.

How To Avoid It:

A quick follow-up to all connections should happen as soon as possible after the initial meeting. It can be as simple as a quick greeting on a social media message platform, or an email fully introducing you and your business. If you have something to share, such as an industry newsletter or a resource list, include it in the email to add value to the connection.

Error: More Lead Generation than Brand Credibility

Many people are so fixated on growing their business connections that they neglect promoting brand credibility. You do not want to be aggressive with accumulating connections to the point that you turn them off, both to you and your business. If your brand is unknown in the market, it will be a long and hard battle to get it to grow.

How To Avoid It:

Start out planning lead generation strategies and combine them with brand building. If you implement too much lead generation but neglect to equally work on the brand building, you may not be happy with the results. Gathering the leads is the easier part of the plan. But, if these new leads do not connect with your brand, they may drop you and go to the competitor’s site. This is why you must invest in building your brand credibility.

Error: Not Utilizing Your Marketing Department

If sales slow down, your prospects may be hesitant to buy right away. When your company does quite a bit of lead generation, it will take a great deal of time to nurture these leads. The problem develops when the salespeople become in charge of nurturing the leads. This takes away from their time working on the sales in progress.

How To Avoid It:

One of the primary functions of any marketing department is nurturing new clients. Have your marketing department handle everything involved with nurturing your leads until they are ready to buy.

Error: Failing to Deliver Value with Every Interaction

When networking, people connect over some common ground. People want to interact with someone that they can view as an advisor or mentor position in their industry. That is why networking without delivering some value to the relationship is a mistake.

How To Avoid It:

Give your connections something to take away from every meeting, post, or message. When you are trying to make new connections, give them a fact or some information that will keep them interested in you and your business. 


Business-to-business relationship management is an extremely important part of growing your business. PS Inc can help with all your relationship management needs. Contact us today to get started.

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How Can You Make Your Network Work For You

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How Can You Make Your Network Work For You

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Business networking can greatly increase the visibility and productivity of your business. Proper network management requires time and a few simple steps to make it happen. 

The key to making your network work for you is developing a relationship strategy that fosters constructive relationship building. These relationships can lead to many wonderful business collaboration opportunities. 

Attend Networking Events

Attend all the industry networking events that you can. Any business can benefit from these events, but is it especially important for small business owners and business professionals to attend local business functions. Contact your local chamber of commerce to see if it has a schedule of local networking events. For regional and national networking events, you can find many through LinkedIn. If you join industry-specific LinkedIn groups, you will be in the loop for newsletters and invitations to networking events.

Pick a Goal for the Networking Event

It does not matter what networking endeavor in which you choose to participate. Set an agenda before attending the event. Ask yourself what exactly you would like to accomplish during this time. For instance, are you there to make new connections, learn more about your industry, or participate in a community charity event?

Always Be Socially Active

As far as networking is concerned, it does not only happen at business events. Be socially active with people you interact with in your leisure time, as well. This is as easy as casually chatting it up with people at the gym, local sporting events, or your children’s school activities. You never know if that casual acquaintance could become a new network connection.

Know the Worth of Your Business and Promote It

Take the time to create a pitch about your business to generate referrals and connections. Make sure that the pitch you create is clear about what you do, who your customers are, and what makes you stand out over the competition. People are very impressed when a colleague can clearly articulate their business and its objectives.  Doing this can pique the interest of this new connection to your company and hopefully begin a new business relationship.

Find an Icebreaker

If beginning conversations with strangers is awkward for you, try to find an icebreaker to get the dialog flowing. You can do this as easily as a compliment on someone’s tie or dress. This gives the other person the chance to talk about themselves. You can also base it on some common ground like owning the same cell phone or other product and comparing notes.

Be An Extrovert

Once you get to a networking event, make the most of your time. Don’t sit alone at a table or bar quietly, actively work the room. Smile, make eye contact, and say hello to everyone. Walk around and introduce yourself to people and tell them about your business. Take this time to get to know others, as well. Actively listen to what they have to say, and parlay that into a dialogue about your industry and your respective businesses.

Follow Up

While at networking events, collect business cards and contact information for everyone you meet. Connect with these people on Linkedin and other social media channels. Try to find some reason to follow up with the new connection. Send them an email that says it was nice to meet them at the event and you look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship. You can keep yourself in their orbit by occasionally sending them an article online, inviting them to another event, and even wishing them happy holidays.

Give and Take

Networking cannot be a one-sided relationship. Successful networking involves quite a bit of reciprocity for both parties to benefit from the relationship. A business network relationship can fade fairly quickly if one person is always asking for some kind of favor but is unwilling to do the same for others.

Ask for What You Want

One sure way to not get what you want is neglecting to ask for it. For your networking efforts to be a success, you will need to ask for assistance. Make sure that you have a clear understanding of what you need and be able to articulate that.  When the other person asks how they can help you, you can tell them exactly what is needed.  

Not sure how to make the most of your network? PS Inc can help you. Contact us today to get started on growing your network and utilizing the connections you already have.

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How to Grow Your Network Organically

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How to Grow Your Network Organically

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Business networking is a task that takes quite a bit of time and effort to build, maintain, and grow. A business’s network of mentors and colleagues has become one of the most important facets of building and maintaining a business.

Why is growing a business network so important?

There are numerous benefits to building a strong business network. If you were to ask any small business where they get most of their new clients, they will tell you by word of mouth. That type of in-person meet-and-greet marketing is what networking is all about. In fact, a study reported that as many as 78 percent of startups say networking is paramount to all of their business endeavors. 

The benefits of growing your business network are limitless. You will meet people in your industry at both the local and national levels. You will learn about innovations from people in your industry. There will be the opportunity for valuable business partnerships, the ability to generate new connections, and maybe even land a new job. So the best bet all around for your business growth is to start a network and keep it growing. 

 

Below are a few network management tips to help you grow your business network.

How to Grow Your Business Network Organically

Deepen Your Already Existing Network Relationships

When it comes to networking, quality is sometimes more important than quantity. In other words, don’t put your focus on just accumulating as many people in your network as soon as possible. First, get to know the people already in your network a bit better. Read and comment on their posts, and try to keep a dialog going about a topic of mutual interest. Don’t make the mistake of reaching out to a colleague only when you need something. Instead, you can just message them to chat about the business. This relationship-building method will create a sense of camaraderie within your network and make the relationship stronger. 

Learn Something New

To avoid stagnation in your business growth, learn a new skill to broaden and expand your professional network. Of course, it is beneficial to keep the focus on your area of expertise, but don’t limit yourself. If you decide to dabble in another professional discipline, you are opening the floodgates to a whole new group of contacts to expand your professional network. Beyond just learning and connecting online, you can also attend a conference or trade show in this new skill or discipline. The opportunity for new network connections at these events is well worth the price of the ticket, and then some. 

Start a Monthly Networking Event

Plan an informal networking event every month. Reach out to all your relevant contacts with an invitation to your event. If there are many people in your network that are in your city or local area, you can plan a monthly breakfast or luncheon. This can be a great opportunity to speak to your colleagues, and swap industry information and tips. If your network is more spread out over a distance, why not host a virtual event? You can schedule a Zoom conference with all your network.

Volunteer with a Professional Organization or Serve on a Board

One of the best ways to grow your network organically is to volunteer your time to a cause or serve on a board based on your career field. The benefits of networking this way are double: you grow your network and you earn a boost with professional references. Participating with these organizations also usually provides passes to great events, which, of course, will then become additional networking opportunities. These naturally expand without much effort if your initial goal is connection.

Increase LinkedIn Activity

LinkedIn is the premier site for business networking. One of the best ways to grow your network is to increase your activity and your visibility on LinkedIn. Share your own posts on LinkedIn frequently, while liking and sharing those relevant posts of your colleagues. This will put your business front and center in the feed where your connection’s network members can see your activity. This could lead to new connections, a possible business collaboration, or even an opportunity to create strategic partnerships.  Do not go through all the trouble of creating a LinkedIn profile and gathering contacts, and then just disappear from the site.


Need help with the steps to grow your business network? PS Inc can help you. Contact us today to get started on growing your network organically.

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The Insider’s Guide to How Networking Can Help You Stop Selling

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The Insider’s Guide to How Networking Can Help You Stop Selling

The Insider’s Guide to How Networking Can Help You Stop Selling

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Does your network work for you? If not, you’re going to want to keep reading.

It’s no secret that networking can be a time-consuming process, but if done correctly, a good network will bring you all the leads you’ll ever need for your business. If you start with a solid foundation and nurture the relationships within your network, your connections will do all the work for you and you’ll never have to sell again. So, how do you get started?

The first step is to stop selling your product and start selling you.

This might sound crazy, but trust us, it works.

As you meet new people and get to know them, take the time to genuinely get to know them. Don’t try to throw them a pitch or sell your products to them.

Take time to learn about them and ask about their business. This will go a long way in growing your relationship with them and will come in handy in the future when you are sending them leads because you know the type of client they are looking for.

People don’t want to be sold to constantly, so they will remember you as the person they enjoyed getting to know and who didn’t sell to them right away, or ever.

Also, let them get to know you.

It’s normal to want to be a little guarded when you are meeting new people, but try to open up and let them learn about you. Show them that you want to learn from them. Be fully present in the process. Let them see your passion for your business or your industry without talking about your products or selling your services. This will help them to form a relationship with you, and make them feel like they know you and can come to you in the future with leads.

The next step is to give energy.

We also like to call this “being a value-added connector.” 

We’ve all met people that just drained all the energy from the room because all they wanted to do was sell you something. Don’t be that person. 

When you find a way to give energy, people will want to be around you and work with you because when they interact with you, they feel good about the interactions. They walk away more energized and excited for the next opportunity to work with you, and, in return, introduce more people to you. The more value and good energy that you can give to your connections, the better. 

Giving energy or adding value can be as simple as offering to do a favor for someone, writing a referral on LinkedIn, or making a recommendation for a restaurant or even a book. Regardless of how you give energy, it will show your connections that you are dedicated to building a real connection, not just a business connection. They will be happy to introduce potential leads to you because they know you’ll treat the people within their network with the same care and compassion that you treat them with.

The last step is to stay in touch.

You don’t have to talk to everyone in your network every single day, but reaching out from time to time just to check in and say hello keeps the relationship fresh and shows that you haven’t forgotten about them.

This can be as simple as a text or an email — just a little something to let your connections know that you’re still around and you still want to have a relationship with them. You can add extra value by sending an article or a book recommendation with a note that lets your connection know that you thought they might find value in it. This lets them know that you’re keeping an eye out for things that might be beneficial for them and reminds them to look for things that might benefit you, such as leads, for instance.

If you follow these three steps with all of your connections, you’ll never have to sell again. The people within your network will bring you all of the leads that you need because they are going to want to provide you with the same value that you have provided for them.

So, if you take the time to nurture your relationships and truly get to know your network, it will do the work for you. You just have to put in the effort to connect with people. That’s a lot easier than cold calling, right? 

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‘What is LinkedIn’ 5 Secrets for Beginners

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'What is LinkedIn?': 5 Secrets for Beginners

_What is LinkedIn_ 5 Secrets for Beginners

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You might be asking yourself, “What is LinkedIn?”

Well, the easy answer is it’s a social media platform, but it’s so much more than that. LinkedIn is a business networking and job search platform. It’s a way for you to meet and connect with people with whom you might never get the chance to connect otherwise. It’s an opportunity for you to sell yourself for potential job offers. And it’s a place for relationship building that can last you a lifetime. 

There are more than 500 million users on LinkedIn. Think of all the opportunities for networking that gives you. However, if you’re new to the platform, it might seem a little overwhelming. So, where do you get started?

Here are our 5 secrets for beginners. Follow these steps and you’ll be a LinkedIn pro in no time.

Secret #1: Build a strong profile

The first thing you will do is create your profile. You’ll want people to know who you are and what you do so they will want to connect with you. 

You can start by personalizing your photo and banner image. Make sure you have a professional-looking photo. LinkedIn is a professional platform, so you probably don’t want to use the same photo you use for your Facebook profile for your LinkedIn profile. You can also upload a new image for your banner. This allows you to showcase your personality or your work a little more. 

You’ll also want to write an engaging summary about yourself. This is where people are going to learn who you are and whether or not they want to connect with you, so take some time to develop this section. There is a 2,000 character limit, which is plenty of room to share some valuable information about yourself. 

Adding in some SEO or industry-specific keywords into the summary section is a great way to help others find you through search, so try including a few of those if possible. 

Once you’ve created a strong profile, you’re ready to get started on LinkedIn.

Secret #2: Start growing your network

The next thing you will do is grow your network. 

As you want to grow your network thoughtfully, don’t add everyone that LinkedIn recommends for you. If you know some people within your network or industry who are already using the platform, then go ahead and add them. This will help to show the LinkedIn algorithm the type of people that you are interested in connecting with and will help to make their suggestions more personalized. 

You will want to send these new connections an invite with a personalized message. Use this opportunity to explain to them who you are and why you are interested in connecting with them. This allows you to start developing a relationship with them right from the beginning. 

Once you’ve added people you know, you can start looking outside your network to add new people who you might be of value to and who might be of value to you. 

The people within your LinkedIn network are going to be your key people when it comes to personal and professional growth, so make sure that the people you are connecting with are the right people for you.

Secret #3: Engage, engage, engage

Once your network is growing, it’s time to start engaging with those people and the people within their networks. The beauty of LinkedIn is that it doesn’t just show you the content that your connections share, but it also shows you the content that they are engaging with. 

This is a great opportunity for you to make even more connections based on your network connections. 

You will want to be active on LinkedIn every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes at a time. Take a couple minutes and look through your news feed to see what your network is sharing and engaging with. If something stands out to you, that is a chance for you to “like” it or leave a thoughtful comment. Take time to leave comments that are beneficial to the conversation; don’t just write “agree” or something that doesn’t add value. Your network will see that you aren’t being genuine and will know that you’re just trying to build visibility. 

The more you engage on the platform, the more your connections can get to see you and get to know you. If they see your name coming across their screen several times a day and you are adding value to all the conversations they see you conducting, this will make them want to engage with you even more.

Secret #4: Share your own content

As you become more comfortable on the platform, it’s time to start sharing some of your own content. 

Maybe you write blogs that you want to share, or maybe you just share a few articles that you think your connections will enjoy and find value in. Whatever the content is, make sure that it is relevant to the platform. Leave the memes and non-professional content for other social media platforms. Use LinkedIn to help you and your network grow professionally. 

LinkedIn is always changing, and with each new update comes new features that you can utilize to help you connect with your network. One of these new features that can produce great results and get a lot of engagement is polls. The great thing about polls is that once someone in your network answers the poll you created, the people within their network can also see the poll and respond. This is a fantastic way for you to share content that will generate tons of engagement and get your name in front of more people.

Secret #5: Keep developing those connections

Just because you’ve created your connections and you get comfortable on the platform, that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop or slow down. 

You will want to keep developing the connections that you’ve created. Keep engaging with their posts, keep sending them messages, and keep adding value to the relationship. This is the number-one way that you will get value from using LinkedIn. The more you nurture and grow your relationships, the more you can count on them in the future to help you find a job, a lead, or a reference. 

LinkedIn isn’t a hard platform to use, but it does take time to learn how to use it correctly. 

If you follow these 5 secrets, you then will be well on your way to becoming a Linkedin expert. 

Just remember, it takes time to develop relationships. You aren’t using the platform to see what others can do for you; you are using the platform to add value and see how you can help others.

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What is a Value-Added Connector and How Does it Impact Business Networking?

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What is a Value-Added Connector and How Does it Impact Business Networking?

What is a Value-Added Connector and How Does it Impact Business Networking

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Have you heard the term “value-added connector”? If not, it’s OK, you might already be one and just don’t know it yet. If you aren’t quite a value-added connector just yet, then maybe you’ll work on becoming one after reading this. 

 

So, what is a value-added connector? Well, simply put, a value-added connector is someone who adds value to their connections. Pretty self-explanatory, right? There is more to it than that. A value-added connector is a person who knows that relationships are built on both giving and receiving, though they prefer to give much more than they receive. This is also a person who seeks to add value to everything they do. 

 

Being a value-added connector can greatly impact your business networking, but how exactly can you add value? For starters, you can add value through your conversations with your peers. If you can bring new thoughts and ideas to the conversation, you can add value for those within your network. Perhaps you can help your connections come up with a new way to think about a problem, or maybe you challenge an idea to help them work through it in a little more detail. Adding value to a conversation shows those inside your business network that you’re able to think outside the box and you don’t just stick with the status quo. This will prompt them to come to you when they have something they are working on and need advice. 

 

You can also add value to your network by introducing them to new connections. These connections don’t have to be potential clients. These can just be new connections to help them expand their own network. If you know someone within your network is looking for a person in the Human Resources field to bounce ideas off of, then you can introduce them to one of your HR connections. This situation is mutually beneficial for all of you. It helps both of your connections meet someone they might not have met previously, and it helps to show both of them that you’re able to add value to your relationships. This will help in the future because they will be more eager to assist you if you need a connection. 

 

Introducing connections within your business network to new clients is another way to add value to the relationship. If you work in the marketing field and one of your clients needs help designing their website, then maybe you know an excellent web designer you can connect them with. This is again mutually beneficial. Your client gets a beautifully designed new website, your web designer friend gets a new client, and you build up the level of trust with both of them. Your client will most likely continue using your services and will even recommend you to their own network, and the web designer will help to direct new clients to you when their own clients have a need that you can assist with. 

 

One final example of being a value-added connector comes from introducing those within your network to a product or service that you provide. This doesn’t mean you randomly reach out to people within your network and try to sell them something. This means you know they have a problem and you can provide them with a solution. An example of this would be a person in your network who is a restaurant owner mentioning that they need help with their social media marketing. If your expertise is in marketing, you can connect with them and offer them some general advice on improving their marketing efforts. You are still adding value because you see that they have a problem and you are attempting to help them solve it without asking for anything in return. Don’t try to sell your services, leave it up to them to decide if they want to expand on the relationship. 

 

It’s easy to see how being a value-added connector can help to improve your business networking. If your business connections see that you bring value, they are more likely to reach out to you and work with you. Networking isn’t just about connecting with people because you want them to do something for you; it’s about connecting with people to build genuine relationships and to help each other grow. When you are a value-added connector, you not only help yourself and your business grow, but you also help those within your network grow, too.

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How to Benefit From Your LinkedIn Network

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How to Benefit From Your LinkedIn Network

How to Benefit From Your LinkedIn Network

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As a society, we use social media for several different reasons, but when you think of networking, there is one specific social media platform that comes to mind — LinkedIn. By its own definition, LinkedIn is a social networking site that allows you to manage your professional identity, build and engage with your professional network, and access knowledge, insights, and opportunities. 

To some LinkedIn is just a glorified job board, but to many others, it is where some of their strongest business connections have been formed. Whether you’re looking to connect with someone to find a new career or you’re seeking to make connections to build potential clients, LinkedIn is the place for you. So, what can you do to benefit from your LinkedIn network?

The first thing you’re going to need to do is set up your personal profile page. This page allows you to add as many personal and professional details as you want. At a minimum, you will want to add your most recent employment and any degrees or certifications you’ve received. This will help others in similar fields or backgrounds to connect with you. Once you’ve got your profile set up, then it’s time to start connecting. 


LinkedIn has a search tool that allows you to narrow down the field of people you can connect with. Are you looking for connections in the pharmaceutical field? Perhaps you’re looking to connect with people with former military backgrounds? There are search features available that let you find connections with specific jobs, companies, or even schools listed in their profiles.

As you narrow down these new connections, you’ll want to make sure you are including a personalized message. A new connection is more likely to accept your request when you introduce yourself and share why you’re reaching out to connect. This invitation also allows you to start a conversation. You can use this opportunity to start building a relationship. Do not use a personalized invitation to pitch your business. The opportunity for that might come along further down the road, but right now you’re going to want to just focus on developing relationships with your new connections. 

 

Once your potential connections start to accept your invitations, you will begin seeing their content appearing on your home screen. Use this as an opportunity to engage with them. Like or comment on their posts, but make sure it is a meaningful comment and not just a simple “I agree.” As you engage with these posts, you will show your connections that you are genuinely interested in what they have to say and you can add value to the conversation.

LinkedIn also allows you to search for hashtags that you can engage with. If you are interested in marketing, you can search for #marketing, #digitalmarketing, #socialmediamarketing, and so much more. This will allow you to see and engage with content from people outside your network. Having meaningful engagement with these posts provides you with the opportunity to expand your network even more. 

 

Once you’ve made some meaningful connections and you’ve started building those relationships, how can you use that to benefit you or your business? Well, that all depends on what you’re hoping to achieve. 

 

Are you looking for a job or a job reference? Then once you’ve built relationships with some people inside the network you’re hoping to find a career in, make it known that you are looking for a job. You can update your headline to state “seeking a career in _______,” you can share your resume in a post, or you can reach out to your network directly to ask if they have any leads for a potential job. You’ll want to be sure you have a good relationship with someone before you reach out to them to ask for a reference, though. A total stranger probably isn’t going to put their name behind someone they don’t know. 

 

If you’re using your LinkedIn network to get new clients, you’ll want to ensure your connections know what it is you do and who your target audience is. You’ll also want to ensure they know your relationship is mutually beneficial. If they can provide you with new clients, you will need to be able to provide them with something in return in the future. As you’re developing your relationship with your connections, you should go into it knowing that it isn’t a one-way street, and you need to be able to return the favor if and when they can help you. 

 

LinkedIn can be a very powerful networking tool, but you have to make sure you know how to use it properly. Your network can include hundreds of people, but if you aren’t working daily to grow these relationships, then you’ll never be able to capitalize off of those connections. It’s important to remember that relationships are a two-way street. If you don’t put the effort in, you won’t be able to get anything out of it. You can hope to reap the benefits from your LinkedIn network if you are only willing to put in the work and build relationships.

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