by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Jul 15, 2011 | Job Search, job search tools, Social Networking
Lewis Howes (Photo provided.)
LinkedIn is growing in importance as a tool for professional and small business networking. Here are a few things worth knowing about the world’s second most popular social network.
- The average household income of a LinkedIn user is $109,000, and most of these members are business decision makers.
- LinkedIn has built a registered user base of over 100 million, up from just 32 million in 2008, and is growing at over one person per second.
- LinkedIn’s corporate customers have grown since 2008 to over 4.8 million.
- LinkedIn’s hiring solutions revenue for the first quarter of this year totaled $46.3 million compared to $16.9 million in the first quarter of 2010.
- According to Howes, making money, expanding their businesses, networking, and finding a job are probably the most important reasons the average consumer creates a profile and connects with others through LinkedIn.
- He also notes that, compared to the way businesses have networked and promoted their services in the past, LinkedIn is more efficient and less expensive.
A while back, I enrolled in LinkedInfluence, an online training course by Howes’s and his business partner Sean Malarkey. I have personally gotten a lot out of this course, and I think you will, too. Sean and Lewis are two really well-respected experts on Twitter and LinkedIn. I connected with them on the
Third Tribe Marketing group a while back, and had an opportunity not long ago to interview Lewis for a Technorati article on LinkedIn’s recent IPO.
LinkedInfluence will help you really understand how to use LinkedIn to expand your professional network and gain career and business leads. I personally joined this program and have seen the benefits. I’ve gained new followers, expanded my network, and been offered new business opportunities based on what I learned. At this point, I can easily say that I have experienced at least a ten-fold return on my investment.
More importantly, I finally understand the power of this great tool, and can share my knowledge with others. I’ve already shared tips and tricks with my clients that have helped them with business and job leads.
But there is more…Sean and Lewis have figured out some incredible new techniques for increasing your Twitter following and you’ll get those as a bonus for purchasing this course. I haven’t tried many of these techniques, but will soon.
Click the link below for a sneak peek at LinkedInfluence.
(Please note that this is an affiliate link. This means that if you do purchase the program through this link, I might make some money.)
I hope you will check it out. LinkedInfluence was one of the best investments I made in the last year.
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Jul 14, 2011 | Job Search, job search tools, Social Networking
You’ve probably heard of LinkedIn. With over 100 million users, it is the world’s largest online professional network, and has captured the attention of professionals and businesspersons who see the potential value of online networking to move forward in their careers and their businesses. But when it comes to “getting LinkedIn,” many don’t understand the how to use it effectively.
So let’s get down to business, and up to speed, with what you need to know about LinkedIn to move forward in your business and career.
The first thing you need to know is that LinkedIn is not simply an online replacement for your résumé. If you only use it that way, you are doing it wrong!
Many of us grew up and started our careers when computers were making their way into businesses and homes, and though we are very competent users of e-mail and office productivity applications like Word, Excel, and Access, it’s hard for us to understand the point of “getting social.” We use our computers to do work!
Using a social network to get work is a separate, but related, skill set. It comes easily to those raised as “digital natives,” who have always been connected to their peers online. For their generation, it’s a basic skill, not a luxury to be learned if you have time. And it does require a lot of work, a lot of consistency, and a lot of “long-haul” thinking.
Let’s dig into some terms now, so we’re all talking the same language.
Social Networking is different from Social Media. Social Media is a publishing medium. You can construct a message and deliver it where it can be found online. It’s a great way to get your one-sided, carefully constructed messages out, in a way that increases brand awareness. Social Networking, on the other hand, is an engagement medium. Like joining the Chamber of Commerce or any other network, it can reap great benefits for your business, but only if you know your network, the people in it, and where your common interests converge.
Social Networking is a very special kind of professional networking, in that it allows “shy networking”-content and competence-based conversations around subjects of common interest. It can be a great equalizer for those who aren’t as comfortable with in-person networking, because it gives them a global platform for showing their “chops,” and get connected to others based on their knowledge, skills and interests.
To get the most out of LinkedIn, you need to put some time and energy into using it effectively. Here are Five Quick Tips for Getting Started:
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Join groups related to your region, industry and niche. Follow the conversations until you are ready to add something, and when ready, jump in! It’s okay to “lurk and learn” for a while, but effective social networking requires that you add to the conversation. Speak up!
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Ask and answer questions. It lets others connect with you as mentors, and people like that. It’s natural to be drawn to people who could use your help. Let other people be your expert mentors every once in a while, too. You’ll be surprised at how answering a few questions or offering support and encouragement can pay off. As in real-world networking, the gains can be exponential and long-lasting!
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Add applications to help you share your knowledge and increase the interactivity of your profile. You can add SlideShare presentations, Behance portfolios, your blog feed, a recommended reading list, and many other utilities. Only add those that you are willing to learn to use fully. Otherwise, you may seem foolish or inexperienced with the technology.
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If you don’t know where to start, just start! Be brave, try new things and ask questions. Those who don’t try new things won’t reap benefits from emerging technology and social networks, while others who do will move forward, onward and outward, toward the new frontiers of business.
My name is Sean Cook, and I am a Career Coach, Organizational Consultant, Writer and Speaker, based in Athens, Georgia. Through my company, Cook Coaching & Consulting, LLC., I help professionals design intelligent strategies for moving forward in their careers and businesses. For more information, connect with me on LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, e-mail me at sean@higheredcareercoach.com, or just pick up the phone and call me at 706-363-0539.
A version of this article appeared recently in Chambering, the magazine of the Barrow County (Georgia) Chamber of Commerce.
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Jul 13, 2011 | Job Search, job search tools, Social Networking
LinkedIn has passed Myspace to become the second-most popular online social network in the U.S., behind Facebook. According to an article this week on CNN, comScore, an Internet analytics firm reported that LinkedIn had 33.9 million unique visitors in June, approximately 500,000 more than the month before.
By contrast, Myspace experienced a drop of about 1.4 million U.S. visitors from May, and Facebook smashes all of them soundly with 160.8 million unique visitors in June.
This doesn’t really surprise me, because I have been using LinkedIn more and more for professional networking, and have been helping clients understand how to use the network effectively. A couple of months ago, I did my first local seminar here in Athens, a half-day workshop on LinkedIn, coupled with an opportunity to get a professional headshot from one of my local clients, Ann Yarbrough.
The seminar went well, and resulted in a few opportunities for me to get my name out in the area. One of the attendees was the publisher of the Chamber of Commerce magazine for the next county over (Barrow), and she offered me a chance to contribute an article. Two representatives of one of the local phone book publishers and they really enjoyed the seminar, and offered me a free ad in next year’s phonebook. And Ann got a free ad and an offer to possibly have her photos on the cover of the phone book, as well. I’ll be offering an online seminar soon on LinkedIn, based on the format of this presentation. In the meantime, I’ll be running articles this week on how to get the most out of LinkedIn.
Tomorrow: Why you need to “get” LinkedIn.
Don’t forget! If you are still looking for a job, I am running a coaching special until July 15! For $300, participants will get 4 coaching sessions, access to online activities, and brief e-mail and phone check-ins for 6 months. The special price for this offer will expire July 15, or when enrollment reaches 20, whichever comes first.
This is the lowest rate I expect to offer on individual coaching this year, and I am planning to raise my regular rates on August 1st, and to change the structure of packages I offer individual clients.
So, if you are still looking for a job, and could use a strategic partner to help you move forward in your career, act now!
Go to the sales page and sign up now for the Summer Coaching Special.
