Why linked in is a great tool for B2B networking

Custom website address

When companies or individuals think about using linked in they normally bring it back to direct promotion on the site and don't take in to account the profile itself which can have value in the search engines. Google holds websites such as linked in and other social networking sites in high regard and will often place them in the top 10 listings for a brand led term or name of an individual.

Q & A

For those people looking to establish themselves as experts its often a good idea to prove that you can add value by helping others. The nature of questions and answers is much like what forums are sused for although linked in has a much more personal feel to it as you can see what background the person asking the questions has and relate a much more tailored answer. An example of using this for networking as well as finding new clients is when I wanted to find more out about mobile commerce development I asked a question and I found not only a developer but also someone who passed my contact details to someone looking for SEO services UK to which I was able to contact them as a warm lead.

Groups

By participating in groups it can work not only as an educational process for colleagues but also be a good way to gain new customers. The alerts can be set as it happens for updates to the groups, or you can have hourly, weekly updates. You can find that as there are a lot of groups it can quickly become hard to manage and is often good to assign different groups to people in your business that have knowledge in that area.

Make sure you don't list your CV

Most people who write there name and not what they can offer the client to help their businesses. Its good to cut out any blue sky terminology that doesn't make sense to those outside your industry as it could potentially alienate your customer base. A breakdown of the work you've done is important although it shouldn't read exactly like a C.V for example having ppc management services as your company offering. The language you use and writing in short, concise sentences will establish a personality and that you're a clear communicator and don't just speak in techno babble.

How to connect with others (the right way)

When connecting with people its often hard to know for the novice user what is acceptable and what is considered spam. When you receive a request for connection you have the choice to say that you don't know them or report as spam. Its therefore important that the context of how you connect with that person has been established before. If you've met them in person its often an idea to ask them there and then if they're happy to connect with you. Some people will reserve their right to connect with others as part of their objectives or may be concerned that allowing access to your network may result in you selling to all of their contacts.