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How To Leverage Your LinkedIn Account

Posted on June 6, 2012

There are over 150 million members within the LinkedIn network, and nearly all are there for a reason: to network. How best do you build your own personal network on one of the leading social media sites?

Status Updates:

Just like Facebook and Twitter, updates are key when using LinkedIn. It may be shocking, but only one-third of LinkedIn members visit the site every day. Do your own check. Log in for several days. We suspect that your feed will likely be dominated by the same people day after day.

Remain Active:

Update your status. Share and comment on updates made by others within your network. Send out invitations to new people or past contacts. Joining in LinkedIn group discussions are also a great way to expand your reach.

Continually Expand:

LinkedIn's tools allow you track down a very specific audience. For example, the “Alumni” feature can help you get in touch with former classmates which opens up a whole new level of potential connections. Go back to your past jobs and add colleagues you did work with and even those you didn't.

Be Timely:

There is no universal data on when you should be active on LinkedIn, but there is evidence that allows you to make some educated guesses. Studies show that afternoons are when most members are active and that evenings have a higher level of mobile information.

Participate Effectively:

If you are in the banking industry, posts on Sunday morning might not be the best of times to engage. Try several different times over several weeks to see when you can gain the most connections or have the most engagement opportunities. Find the one that works best for you and your sector.

Contribute:

Four out of every five LinkedIn members are members of at least one group. The problem is that just being a member doesn't get you very far. To really get the most out of LinkedIn, you need to participate. Ask questions of those within your groups. Submit your own feedback on other discussion points. Describe your own experiences when others ask.

Facebook, Twitter, and Pintrest get a great deal of attention within the social media world, and rightfully so, but LinkedIn and others can be excellent resources to network, expand your search engine reach, and more.

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