Blog Archives

Using Groups on LinkedIn

Posted by Milena Regos on August 1, 2010

LinkedIn is an excellent social media network site for professionals and people who want to connect with their industry peers, find business leads, grow their professional network and extend their reach.

I really like LinkedIn and have been using it for a long time to stay in touch with my professional network. Recently, they introduced changes to Groups. You can join various Groups on LinkedIn to stay close to people of the same interest.

Below is a short video on the new features within Groups. Give them a try – you will see the benefits from Groups very soon. Enjoy!

What are your thoughts on LinkedIn? Are you on LinkedIn? Connect with me.

Categories: Blog Business LinkedIn Social Media Web 2.0 tools | No Comments »

Getting the most out of LinkedIn in 7 easy steps

Posted by Milena Regos on May 2, 2010

I’ve used LinkedIn for about 4 years, but most of the activity on it happened in the past 1 year. As people are getting more and more connected online, LinkedIn shows up as number one tool for searching for a job (the increase in unemployment rate probably helped), getting your professional network in one place and staying on top of your contacts’ latest moves. How to get the most out of LinkedIn? Here are some tips I’ve found useful if you want to get the most out of LinkedIn:

1. Photo: Upload a professional looking personal photo. I know this is a no brainer but I still see some people with no avatar on their profile. I wouldn’t want to connect with faceless person, would you?
2. Profile: Fill out your profile completely. Try to avoid copying and pasting from your resume. If you want to show up on search engines, make sure to use keywords that describe what you do and what you want to appear for on Google. List all companies you have worked for and all schools you have attended. You will grow your network faster if you do. Search Engine Optimization works on LinkedIn if you fill our your profile with selected keywords.
3. Grow your Network. This one is the most important step. After your profile is complete, start growing your network. Connect with all contacts that you would like to from your existing contact list in Outlook or wherever you are keeping your contacts. Keep in mind that LinkedIn can act up sometimes during the upload. I hope they fix that issue soon. As you meet more people, check to see if they are on LinkedIn or periodically upload your contacts and see who you are missing. Networks take time to grow so be patient but at the end it’s worth it. It’s all about who you know, right? Just make sure you are connecting to people you actually know and want to be connected with.
4. Groups: A great way to meet more people from your industry is to join groups on LinkedIn. There are thousands of groups in each industry. Find some that look interesting and ask to join. I have never been denied participation in any group, but I’ve mainly joined marketing and internet groups, which fits my profile. Be careful with how many groups you join as you may get bombarded with emails if you opt-in for the daily digest. You can choose weekly or turn off all emails. Groups are great way to meet more people, keep an eye on trends, post articles you’ve written, ask questions and respond to questions that you have expertise in. Please, make sure you provide some value to the group.
5. Keep your status update fresh. If you are on Twitter, you can update your status from there. I use HootSuite to update all of my social networks.
6. Recommendations: Recommend some people you have worked with and ask for some recommendations from people who know you well. Please, make sure you don’t always have the same recommendations written for you as the recommendations you have received. It looks way too cheesy.
7. Applications:  LinkedIn comes with some great third party applications that will help keep your network informed about your interests and activities and keep your profile fresh. For example, I use their SlideShare application to display my PowerPoint presentations that I have made available online, WordPress plug in to show my latest blog posts, Reading List on Amazon to display what I’m reading and my recommendations of that book, TripIt to show my trips to my network and see who’s close to me if I want to connect in person while on the trip.

What’s the value of LinkedIn? Personally, I have found it to be a great network to stay in touch with people I have worked with in the past and present who I may not necessary want to friend on Facebook. It keeps contacts up to date and it’s a valuable tool for putting people in touch with each other and letting your network know your latest activities. I have found people I need from my network.  I have received recommendations on potential vendors and stayed in touch with people. The latest LinkedIn development is that now you can subscribe to company’s updates, making following a company look a lot more like your experience on Facebook.

LinkedIn is useful only if you use it right. What experience have you had with LinkedIn?  Are you still using an old style paper resume or have you completely moved to using LinkedIn for it? Any other tips you’d like to add? What mistakes to avoid? See this post from Neal Schaffer. And finally, let me know if you want to connect with me on LinkedIn.

Categories: Blog Business eMarketing LinkedIn Small Businesses Social Media Technology Web 2.0 Web 2.0 tools | 6 Comments »

The Black Eyed Peas and the Now Generation

Posted by Milena Regos on February 23, 2010

Lately, I’ve become a total Black Eyed Peas fan. I love their music. I work out to it, listen to it at home, cross country ski with it, listen to it on weekends, when I work and when I fall asleep. One of their songs, “Now Generation” has interesting lyrics touching upon social networking, our desire for urgency and immediacy and how we want everything NOW.

The New Customer is defined by the following characteristics:

1. I want it now and if I can’t have it now, I’m moving along. I’m certainly not waiting. I’m not waiting in line, I have no time.

2. I’m connected all the time – at home, at work, in the car, when I’m walking, eating out, partying.

3. I can Google everything and find the answers to everything in zero time.

4. I can compare prices, read reviews,  ask my friends for advice. I’m web savvy.

5. I’m informed, educated and know where to look for information. I can see through your marketing and advertising lies.

6. I have no patience. I want immediate gratification. Superior Customer Service. I want to be treated as an individual.

7. I am the NOW GENERATION.

Ask yourself – How is your company adapting to the New NOW Generation?

Great song!

Categories: Blog Creativity Customer service eMarketing Facebook Marketing Social Media Social Media Marketing Video Web 2.0 | 4 Comments »