 |
| Connect with blog editor Kory Wells on LinkedIn. |
by Kory Wells, WorkCompEdge Blog Editor
We’re grateful that several hundred of our readers and clients took the time to participate in our recent survey “How Do You Stay Informed and Connected?” We’re still compiling the results, but for today, I want to focus on one trend that was glaringly evident: professionals in the insurance industry (which made up 98% of our respondents) are not taking advantage of social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter. Now, admittedly, Twitter is still pretty new, so it may be understandable that more folks in the insurance industry haven’t yet experimented with it. But LinkedIn? A whopping 85% of our respondents say they’re not using LinkedIn. While we understand that social media may not be for everyone, at least exploring the possibilities – particularly if you are in business-to-business (b2b) sales or service – should be an objective for every business, period. So let’s talk more about LinkedIn today.
Haven’t heard of it/don’t know what it is
When you join LinkedIn (8 Steps to Setup Your Personal LinkedIn Profile), you create a profile that summarizes your career, education, and accomplishments. You don’t mention your family or friends or what you do on the weekend or where you’re going for lunch (unless you’re in the restaurant industry, perhaps). Based on the employer(s), school(s) and location(s) you choose to mention, LinkedIn will suggest other people you may know, and you can make those people a “connection” so that you can see all of their information and status updates from them. You can also search for people by many criteria and ask them to connect to you. THEN, you will be able to see the connections of your connections (a 2nd degree connection) and connect with those people, and so forth. Which leads to the objection…
Well, yes, a lot of us probably do. But as with other social media, LinkedIn is not about being a substitute for relationships. LinkedIn is about nurturing existing relationships and helping you find new business relationships. It lets you visually see who among your contacts may themselves know a prospect you’ve been wanting to meet. It’s also about helping other people find you!
Here’s one member’s comment from a LinkedIn blog entry
I also was a bit skeptical of LinkedIn at first. When I found out the ways to really use it, however, I discovered that it’s a great way to not only find and get introduced to people through your network for business opportunities, etc., but also a way for the people you DO know to recommend your services which can be viewed by the public.
Every time I meet with a new client or come back from a networking function, I tell them about LinkedIn via email with a brief layman’s overview of what it can do, then follow with an invite to connect. I have received more recommendations this way and also been introduced to several new people who I wouldn’t have gotten the privilege of knowing, had I not been using this service.
Not enough time
If you spend time nurturing relationships through phone calls, emails, lunches, business mixers, centers of influence, and other methods, you really should consider adding LinkedIn to the mix. LinkedIn is not something you have to nurse every day. Yes, you will have to spend a little time building your profile. If you’re not the most tech-savvy person, hopefully someone in your office is, and can help you get started. As an almost immediate benefit, creating a profile will help you and your company get a little more love from the search engines. You can also join groups that discuss topics of interest to you. For all this activity, you can receive a summary on the frequency you choose. I get emails from LinkedIn once a week, and usually check in only once or twice a week. It really doesn’t take that long to scan status updates and group activity to see if there’s anything I want to respond to.
Haven’t seen my clients or prospects using it
First of all, LinkedIn has over 43 million members, so have you really looked for those clients and prospects – and the people you know who can lead you to them? If someone you’d like to connect with truly isn’t on LinkedIn and you have their email address, you can invite them to join – and thereby establish yourself as a leader in the relationship. You can send them a personal message with the invitation, and they’ll immediately see your profile, which helps communicate the professional you are. Obviously, if you have their email address, you can email them directly, but in our own experience here at Specific Software, this is simply a little bit different way to approach people, and it’s often successful.
Security issues or no access from work
I know that some of you work in large corporations that have tight control for different software/network security reasons. I don’t have the expertise to argue for or against such policies. Doing business in the virtual world certainly has its risks. However, if the decision to prohibit access is more of a cultural decision in your corporation, I’d certainly question that. I can understand Facebook and MySpace being off limits in some work environments, but LinkedIn? No way.
Summary
I hope this is enough to pique your interest and give LinkedIn a try – and not for just one day. You need to keep revisiting it for several weeks to get the feel and benefits of it. You can start by connecting with me (Kory Wells) at https://www.linkedin.com/pub/kory-g-wells/3/975/787
Also, here are some other resources that may be helpful for you to get even more ideas and details about using LinkedIn:
Business Week: Why Social Media Is Worth Small Business Owners’ Time
Search Engine Guide: Why LinkedIn is the One Social Network I Couldn’t Work Without
Social Media Guru: Why LinkedIn?
I’ll give you a few weeks to digest this and experiment for yourself. Then it will be time to talk about Twitter!