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With over 60 million users, Linkedin has become the most powerful online tool for professionals to win new business. The following Linkedin tips will help you use it more effectively.

Even if you’re not a Linkedin expert, using it is not too difficult - certainly within the capabilities of most professionals. Most have got beyond the stage of using Linkedin as just an online CV and have realised they need a client focused profile. They’re also able to use Linkedin to connect to potential new clients and contacts. But most business users still under-exploit many areas of Linkedin. One of these is the Linkedin status update.

There are two ways you can use Linkedin status updates to help you grow your business.

Firstly, you can use your own status updates to good effect. Linkedin status updates can be a very non-intrusive way of keeping contacts in touch and up to date. Constantly emailing or calling can seem too pushy - but a Linkedin status update can prove a gentle reminder of what you do. But updating your status is an non-intrusive way of getting a gentle reminder out.

Depending on their settings, your contacts will get a regular email with a summary of the status updates of their contacts. And they also see the updates when they log in. Most updates tend to be rather boring: new connections or profile changes. So if you can create interesting updates that actually send a useful message: “Ian is relaxing after an intensive selling skills workshop - great feedback” then it will more subtly get across your capabilities and expertise.

You can also usefully use the status updates of your contacts.

You can get a lot from this. You can quickly note when things have changed in their lives. it may trivial - they’ve just watched something great on TV - or it may be they’ve switched companies or roles. When your contacts make status updates, it’s more often than not about something important to them - even if it might seem trivial to you.

Something to look out for is when people connect to new contacts. It just may be that these new people would be great contacts for you - and this is the ideal time to ask for an introduction.

So overall, while status updates aren’t going to ever be your primary business development tool - far from it, they can help you establish and grow relationships which could lead to good new business.

Tags: Business, Business Development, linkedin, marketing, networking, sales, Social Networking

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