What is Linked-In?
LinkedIn is a database of over 50 million
professionals. Twitter, while we love the instant communication, lacks
in the area of space to offer more information about yourself. Facebook
is demo-graphically all over the place and its hard to find people.
LinkedIn is better formatted and designed, and you can add way more
information about yourself as well as search for those in your industry
without getting a list of mixed results you don't need.

Why Join
LinkedIn?

Here are my top three reasons for joining, and why you
should too.

1) Reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, and
building up your network. The more members that connect with you, the
more others will find you.

2) Share your experience and advice.
There are thousands of groups you can choose from, or if you like,
create your own. There is also a feature where members can ask questions
as well as answer them. This allows for you to participate on the site
and allow others to learn and connect with you.

3) You can set-up
your profile for better search engine optimization which I don't have
to tell you is key to being found by more members searching for
individuals within your line of expertise. When adding your links such
as your business profile, there are several choices to name those links
(My Website, My Blog,etc.) Instead, click on other so that you may add
your own keyword enhanced title for that link so rather than use the
given choices, you can use a customized anchor like "Auto Parts Store"
for your business link.

There are some Do's and Dont's that
you'll need to keep in mind as a member of LinkedIn.

Do's

1.
Tell all your friends and family about the site to get instant
connections and start buidling a larger network.
2. Use your updates
regularly (even 3 times a week is better than once every month or so)
3.
Be thoughtful on your posts, and keep in mind that this is a
professional setting.
4. Keep your profile updated
5. Use some of
the add-ons that are built into the site such as linking your blog posts
and Twitter account

Don'ts

1. Do not send hard sales copy
to your connections, or anyone else. This is a professional site and
you should respect every one's space. Repeated attempts to try and push
your products or services on others will only get you banned.

2.
Do not spam members in any way. If you want to try and connect with
someone you do not know, see first if they have any mutual friends or on
another site. Then ask them to join you on LinkedIn

3. Do not
share personal information on posts; Such as "I'll be out of town
for...". You never know who's reading.

LinkedIN terms to familiarize yourself with:

1.
Network: Everyone you are connected to, be it friends; family;
colleagues; as well as the groups you have joined is a part of your
Network.
2. Connection: Think of your followers on Twitter. These
individuals that you are connected to are considered connections. All of
your connections can view your profile information, and vice verse.
3.
Recommendations: Those you have worked with or for can provide you with
recommendations about your performance and their experience within your
LinkedIN profile. The more recommendations you get the more others will
want to work with you.
4. Invite/Invitation: This allows you to send
emails to people you'd like to invite to join you on the site and
connect.
5. Groups: Groups are created by those for a common purpose.
There are thousands to choose from and in every category. It's best to
join ones that fit your networking goals.

So now you know all
about LinkedIn.

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About:
Nic Soto, founder of Public Relations Depot, is an
innovative small business marketer using public relations and online seo
marketing to help her clients stand out from a sea of competition.
Learn more at http://www.prdepotchicago.com

Public Relations
Depot caters to new and small businesses who are seeking more budget
friendly alternatives to increasing their visibility, harnessing free
publicity and improving search engine rankings. Ask Nic how she can help you market
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