http://blog.linkedin.com/

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/networking/a/linkedin2.htm

I attended an excellent and thought-provoking seminar last week hosted by our local Chamber of Commerce on how to use LinkedIn in your business.
The presenter was Udo Misch of Neocloud Marketing.

I took a lot of notes on my iPad that subsequently vanished! But I remember the most important points which i am happy to share. The discussion began as a precursor to the description of the social media site  and how it fits and differs from other social media.  There are really a host of places to learn this stuff on the web as I’ve mentioned above.

I’ve felt that I didn’t really understand or know how to really use LinkedIn  and leverage it as part of my overall social media presence. I am keen on the idea of expanding my professional network and professional profile of my own LinkedIn home page, which in in process.

How do people find you  or anything on the web:
Through Search and discovery.
Search is done by bots (search engines)  that scan the web and the content is hosted in various directory/libraries, in other words, search engines such as Bing, Google, Yahoo, etc.

Discovery is research by people making queries for specific content or keywords.

The importance of a blog is underscored because it is the hub of your website.  Every post becomes a new page on the web with content relevant to your target audience. Thus each new page is created on the web that leads back to you, which is optimal for search engines rankings.

In turn you’ll use distribution of your content via social media sites, such as LinkedIn to drive discovery.

So how are we sharing content? What’s most important is the type of content we share?
Infographics are quite powerful ways to share and are trending well now. I am considering developing one for my own LinkedIn profile.

There are many free software offerings available to create your own infographics.

The LinkedIn Platform is here to stay, and eliminates the BS factor found in written resumes.

LinkedIn can :
Help drive sales
Include customer service relationships
Enhance your peer network
Become a place for continuing education
Be a great business marketing tool

 LinkedIn Profile Tips for a better and more Professional LinkedIn Profile

A complete LinkedIn Profile is critical, and should contain:

• A professional photo- a must for the professional profile

• Business  title , and keyword rich description

• Be sure to include the general area where you are.

• Bio Summary should be short. Remember business people who use LinkedIn  are very busy and don’t have the time to read a novel. Use of bullet points could be a plus.

• Experience should be succinct and to the point.

Be sure to include all your other url  links to social media sites , Including a LinkedIn company page,  Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Blog, Google+, YouTube, etc.

Groups- Join those that fit you and be part of the conversation. Do not try to sell or push yourself. It could look spammy.

Get a simple customized LinkedIn URL for your page- Great for search engines to find you!

Leverage skills listing with keyword rich word that will attract your target audience, and the search engines.

LinkedIn Updates

You should post at least one update daily. About every eight out of 10 posts should be related to interesting content, and only 2 of the ten should be self-promotional.  You can also cross post to Twitter, and others.