There are many features on LinkedIn that are worth mentioning and exploring.

LinkedIn has adopted the “gated-access approach” as a security measure. Contact with any of the members requires either a preexisting relationship (or email address) or the intervention of a mutual contact of the member. This is intended to build trust among the service’s users.

LinkedIn Jobs enables you to search for jobs anywhere in the world. You can indicate on your profile that you are open to job offers as well.

LinkedIn Answers is similar to Google Answers or Yahoo! Answers and allows users to ask questions for the masses to answer. This service is potentially more business oriented than the Google or Yahoo! sites and the identity of the participating in the questions and answering are known to the community.

 LinkedIn Groups allows users to establish new business relationships, reconnect with former associates or people from your past. These searchable groups may be alumni associations, industry, professional or other relevant groups. Some groups are specialized, dealing with a single domain or industry and some are non-specific and generic. A LinkedIn group can be created in any subject and by any member of the website community.

 LinkedIn launched a mobile version of the website last year which gives users access to a reduced feature set over a mobile phone. Also, last year, they launched LinkedIn DirectAds as a form of sponsored advertising.

 Navigating the LinkedIn site is rather easy and is best done by experimenting as you work through different fields and options. There is help available throughout the process by clicking on the appropriate tabs.

If you would like to connect with me on LinkedIn or have any questions on how to use the site, email me at sanmaurer@aol.com.

The primary purpose of being on LinkedIn is finding people to connect with, be it vendors, prospective employers, employees, or new clients. You also aim to  get referrals from someone in your network to people you want to connect with as well. You may also want to locate former classmates, military buddies or co-workers who just might be in your network too.

Let’s say you are looking for someone who sells office furniture. You run a search on LinkedIn and discover someone who fits the bill. However, they are “2 degrees” away from you. This simply means that they are a “friend of a friend”. You can then contact the person who is connected to both of you and ask what the furniture salesperson is like, and get a reasonably honest answer. If you want to meet that person, your common connection can make the introduction. A little more work but sure beats going through the Yellow Pages.

Another way to leverage your experience on LinkedIn is to find someone for another person. If you can locate a good vendor for one of your clients, and get the two of them together, it will help strengthen your relationship with that client.

To get started, just “click” on the “Find People” tab. If you are looking for a specific person, use the “Search by Name” option to see if they are already a LinkedIn member.

One of the most used features in the “Find People” section is the “Location” drop-down menu. Generally speaking, the majority of your searches will be limited to the “Located in or near” selection. The southeastern Michigan area covers a 15-county area, reaching from the “Thumb” down to the Ohio border. Entering a zip code that’s anywhere in this area will result in a search that covers this region.

When you have found your target, you can see who your common connection is by clicking on the person’s profile. You can contact your common connection for further contact information or email the target directly. However, in some cases, you might not want to send a request through that common connection. For instance, if you are looking for a new job, your common connection may be someone who you don’t want to make aware of your job hunt or they may be a passing acquaintance to whom you have not yet built any sort of rapport. Generally, you can trust that your common connection will be happy to pass your information along.

When you are ready to make contact with someone you’ve found through your LinkedIn network, click the “Get Introduced” button at the bottom of their profile. If there are more than one common connection between you and the prospect, LinkedIn will ask which of them you want your request routed through. Select the person you prefer to route through and click the “Continue” button. Fill in the appropriate information and write a short message to your common connection. If you need help, there is a link titled “Tips” next to each message field. Clicking this will give you some advice on how to format your message.

The message you compose to your common connection will be eventually be read by your target, so make sure to write the message accordingly. Be sure to clearly state your intentions in a polite and concise manner. When you are done writing, click the “Send” button. Remember that asking for an introduction is the same as requesting a favor and it is nice to follow up with a “thank you”.

You will be able to track your request to see when it is forwarded along by each person in the chain, and will be able to see when the recipient gets it. You do that by clicking on the “Home” tab. From the Home page, just below the tab, click the link titled “InMail and Introductions”. Then, click on the “Sent” tab, and you will see the item listed there. Click on the subject line of your request, and you will be taken to a status page, showing the progress of the request.

Next Post: LinkedIn Features

After you have filled out your LinkedIn profile, you will want to begin building your network by inviting business associates and friends to join LinkedIn. Every time you add one new person to your direct connections, you add their connections to your network as well.

The easiest way to begin is to browse your network and as you go beyond your 1^st degree of contacts, see who you already know in the list.  These are the first people you should invite to be in your 1^st degree connections. (On the homepage, left side of page, click on Contacts, then click on Statistics. Scoll down and click on Greater Detroit area, or to your local area. This will give you access to your current network.)

When you have identified someone you wish to connect with, on the right corner of their profile, you are able to add them to your network. A standard Invitation is offered to send to the contacts to invited them to Linked In. I have found it works best when your invitation is modified to make them more personal. i.e. adding a mention of something you and that person spoke about or when you met them. (Hi Joe, It was a pleasure meeting you the other night at the Chamber of Commerce event. I’d like to invite you to my professional network on LinkedIn.)

In most cases, in order to invite someone to your network, you must know their email address. This is how LinkedIn verifies that you indeed know that person and serves as a protection to its members.

According to Biskner, there are “connection collectors” on LinkedIn who simply reach out to everyone for whom they find an email address and ask them to connect directly. “Typically, accepting their invitation is a good thing, because connection collectors tend to have over 1,000 people on their connections list”, he explains. Some have over 5,000 connections, and the current top person has well over 27,000. “This will boost the size of your network dramatically, acting as a shortcut to reaching a lot more people”. Be forewarned, though, that most of the connection collectors have many of the same people in their connections lists. So, just a handful of these collectors is all you need to reach almost anyone who is reachable through them.

Next Post: Finding People

As a business person, I can’t imagine that you haven’t heard of LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com ). Maybe you’ve heard of it but haven’t joined. Or you’ve joined but don’t have a clue how to navigate the website. 

If you are like a lot of the people I’ve invited to join my LinkedIn network, you haven’t taken the time to research how it works and don’t know how to get the most out of using it. Or even know why you would want to use it. Let me save you the time and effort of figuring out how to navigate the site, allowing you to get active much more quickly.

LinkedIn is a means of networking over the internet which follows the rules of the six-degrees-of-separation game. When you are invited to join, you connect into someone’s network of contacts. When you, in turn, invite someone to join your network, both of your networks merge and grow. In no time you will see thousands of people who you are connected with and are then able to connect with the ones who are a little out of reach.

 According to Wikipedia, the purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection.

The list of connections can be used in numerous ways:

• A contact network is built up in degrees; first degree connections are people you know directly, second degree is their connections, and third degree is the second degree connections. This is valuable information to know who to go to to gain an introduction to someone you wish to meet.
• LinkedIn has links to local, national and international job opportunities.
• Employers list job openings and search for potential candidates.
• Job seekers can view profiles of hiring managers and research which of contacts can introduce them

Creating A Profile

The first thing to do when you enter the site, is to create your profile, which is nothing more than a detailed resume. By doing this it makes you more searchable, so recruiters, potential clients, and former co-workers or lost friends have a better chance of finding you when they’re running searches.

 Be sure to use as many keywords as you can, making sure that you put full information into your job entries, and load up every section. Everything you write can be counted as a keyword when someone is searching. If you say you enjoy downhill skiing, and someone searches for other skiers in their network, you will come up in their search. 

“The easiest and quickest way to build up your profile is to just copy and paste information directly from your existing resume,” suggests Dave Biskner, LinkedIn guru and COO of Biznet Internet Solutions.  “Put in as much information as you are comfortable with. Then, look at the areas of the profile that weren’t addressed by the resume.”

One area might be the “specialties” section of the profile. Biskner advises “to build up your specialties section quickly and easily, pull up other people’s profiles and look at what they wrote in their profiles. Focusing on the more active LinkedIn members will most likely give you the best examples to read for inspiration”

Next Post: Inviting Contacts to Your Network

Your 60-second pitch should be clear and concise and tells people know who you are, what you do, what makes you unique and who can be a good referral to help you grow your business.

Above all, your presentation should be in plain and simple English. Most people make the mistake of assuming that we already know what they do. They talk in what I call “business speak”, using phrases and terms that are related to their industy. But since we aren’t in their business, we are lost as to what they are talking about. Another mistake is that some people talk in “flowery phrases” or abstracts, that don’t mean a darn thing either.

Your commercial can be broken down into four sections:

1)    First, tell us what you do in a simple statement. You can also use an attention-getting question or slogan to grab the interest of the audience.

2)    In  one or two sentences, describe what benefits you offer to your customers

3)    Describe what makes you unique or better than your competition. Most people you will encounter most likely know someone who does what you do. Your goal is to make them want to do business with you.

4)    The last sentence is a statement of who would be a perspective client or good referral partner for you.

Here is a sample 60-second presentation:

Did you know that less than 1% of all websites are professionally optimized? My name is Sandra Maurer, a marketing coordinator at Biznet Internet Solutions. If your website isn’t found on Google when people are searching for a business such as yours, you could be missing countless business opportunities. We specialize in turning your web site into a web business by optimizing the content. Search Engine Marketing is inexpensive and effective and very easy to get started. Good referrals for me are CEO’s and decision-makers in service-related businesses that are looking to outsource custom e-marketing solutions to promote their services and products. At Biznet, we can help your business succeed.

Are you on the entry networking level and want to move up the ladder? Ask people in your network for referrals and introductions to the decision makers. You can even be specific as to who you would like to meet, or for an “in” at a target company.  In addition, using the LinkedIn website (www.linkedin.com) is a valuable tool in seeing how you are connected to people as well. *

After you have set your goal to do business  with big fish, be ready, willing and able to take advantage of the opportunities that come along.

 I had a business associate that I knew as a mortgage broker who started advertising that he was finding funding for movie companies. I had an elite client that was looking to build a movie studio and wanted to introduce the two. However, before I would think of proceeding, it required meeting with my associate to make sure it was going to be a good fit. After an intial contact and two follow-up email conversations over a couple of weeks, I felt like I was begging the guy to meet with me. Of course Iwithdrew the opportunity, never making the introduction. He literally threw away a lucrative opportunity – a potential business proposition in excess of $20M.

If you’d like to meet with me, I charge a $25 consultation fee. You’ll come away with valuable advise and more often than not, a stack of referrals.

* I also teach how to use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites. Email smaurer@aol.com.

Okay, now that you are attending the more elite events, what do you do? The etiquette is somewhat the same as entry level networking, but you need to be very sharp and know that this is a higher level of people who are used to dealing with others at their same executive level.

Several rules apply:

1. Everyone, no matter who, loves to hear their own name. So repeat the name of the person you are chatting with several times in the conversation.
2. Keep constant eye contact with the person. Don’t be scanning the room looking for the next conquest. Give the person you are talking to your full attention.
3. Never talk business at the event. This is not a selling opportunity. If someone asks me what I do for a living, I simply say, “I find money for people”, which of course, gets their attention and they start to ask me questions. I quickly give them my business card and tell them that perhaps we could meet up after the event to discuss how we can do business together. Nine times out of ten I hear from them within a week.
4. A follow-up email or hand-written card is also a way to reconnect with the person. It could say, “I enjoyed meeting you the other night at such-and-such an event” and include a recap of what you discussed, with a suggestion to meet for lunch or coffee.
5. Do not go crazy in your efforts to try to reach the person. If they are interested in reconnecting with you, they’ll respond. No amount of phone calls or emails will change that.

Next post: Looking for opportunities and introductions

In my quest to find the big fish, the most obvious way to begin the process was to seek out networking groups made up of executives, decision makers, and CEO’s. In the metro Detroit area, there is the Oakland Executive Association (www.oea1.com) and the Detroit Executive Association (www.detroitexecs.com).  These groups combines the one person per category format with the requirement of being a business owner or decision maker.

Another effective way to meet community leaders and others who don’t typically attend the mainstream events is to become involved in political campaigns in your community. Every two years there is some kind of local, state or national election and the preparation goes on year-round. There are fundraisers to attend, causes that you can support and candidates that look for all kinds of volunteer help.

In 2007-8, as the campaign manager for Michele Economou Ureste, (www.twp.west-bloomfield.mi.us)  who is now Township Supervisor of West Bloomfield, Michigan, I met community leaders, business owners and local and state level politicians that I would never have been able to meet through conventional networking.

Not into politics? Local charitable organizations have yearly fundraisers and galas that attract the “who’s who” of the community. These events can become costly, ranging from $50 to $1,000 or more per person to attend (with the average being $250) and are tax deductible. Can’t afford to invest in this kind of networking? You can volunteer to be on the committee that plans the events.

The introduction to my biggest client came after meeting a former State Representative at a gala event supporting a cancer wing of a local hospital. Was it worth the $50 investment? You bet.

An executive at an automotive supplier was given the opportunity to attend a private charitable event held at the home of a former CEO of a top-10 Fortune 500 company.  At $500 per person, only 23 people attended the event. The executive found himself sitting at the same table as the CEO. They struck up a conversation and discovered they had auto racing in common. They talked for over a half-hour. At the finish of their conversation, the CEO asked that they keep in touch and gave the exec his personal contact information. Was getting the cell phone number of this highly repected CEO worth that  $500?  Not to mention the high-end networking he did with the other 22 people who attended. You tell me.

Other fishing can be done at country clubs, yacht clubs and other elite social groups. The Detroit Yacht Club (www.dyc.com), for example, has networking events that are open to non-members as well as members of the club. So does the Skyline Club (www.theskylineclub.com) in Southfield, Michigan.

Next post: Networking Etiquette

Several years ago I went on a quest to reprioritize my networking goals. Michael Wickett, (www.michaelwickettinternational.com) internationally known speaker, trainer and consultant, offered this advice: “If you want big fish, fish where big fish swim”. I laughed, saying, “Clients pay you $500 an hour for that?” But think about that statement for a moment. It’s very powerful advice.

To get started, I had to identify who my target clients are and where I was going to find them.  The key to finding those people, for me, was to get away from what I call “entry level” networking, groups that attract the “worker bee’s”, not the decision makers and CEO’s of the company.  In addition, these events attract many people in the same industry, selling the same services to the same clients.

Networking organizations such as BNI (Business Network Int’l, www.bni.com) and LBN (Local Business Network, www.locbusnet.com), among others, that allow one person per category per group, excel at the entry level.  Unfortunately, the majority of the group members are made up of employees of small to mid-size businesses. You may get an occasional referral to a big fish but there are easier ways to meet the CEO’s.

Next post: Where to Find Big Fish

When should you send out a press release? A press release is appropriate when you have a noteworthy event to announce. It could be a seminar, party, conference, or other gathering.  It could be to introduce a new product or product line. It could be to inform customers and prospects that you’ve changed your location or are opening a new branch office. It could be to “brag” about staff promotions or taking on a new partner.

How do you construct a press release? First, keep in mind that editors will quickly browse the announcement so you need to grab their attention. They will disregard any press release that makes over-the-top promotional claims – “the best ever”, “nothing else like it”, “chance of a lifetime”. You get the idea.  You need to think like a reporter, following a journalistic style accepted by each and every editor you will encounter in the hopes to get published.

Each press release should be printed on company letterhead or use the company logo at the top of the page. Your company name, location, web address and telephone number should be printed clearly at the top of the page, along with the date, much like sending a traditional letter. The words “PRESS RELEASE” should be spelled out in all CAPS and centered in bold.  If you know the name of the contact person that is receiving the press release, it should appear underneath, accompanied by all contact numbers for them.

If the missive is for IMMEDIATE RELEASE, that should appear on the left margin directly above the headline, again in all caps. If the notice is to be held for any length of time, indicate the release date.

The headline should summarize the story, and should be designed to catch the attention of the editor. In ten words – or less – you need to make your release stand out among the many others that will be on that editor’s desk.  The headline should make the editor excited to read it.

The entire document should be no more than 500 words for digital (online) media or no more than 250 words on one-page and double-spaced for print (newspaper).  A great press release tells the story in only four paragraphs and each paragraph should be less than thirty words. It should be written in the third person (they), not the first person (I).

What makes up each of the paragraphs? The opening paragraph is critical. It contains a summary of the basic facts, the who, what, why, when, where and how of the story. It also should contain the “hook”, the thing that gets the audience wanting to find out more.

The second and third paragraphs are the body of the press release. Using an industry strategy called the “inverted pyramid”, the body of the document should be written with the most important information and quotes first. This technique is favored so that editors can cut the story to fit the space constraints, and will cut from the end without losing critical information. Paragraph two is a slightly broader explanation of the reason for the notification. Paragraph three is where you place the quote from the CEO or insert testimonials.

The closing paragraph is the repeat of the critical contact information, including your name and contact information. It can also include a brief summary of your company’s services or products.

Where do your send it? If it is for your local area, call the paper and ask for the name of the editor of the section you are targeting.

If you are sending it as a national release and you don’t know the newspaper or magazine editor’s name, just put the section name in which you want it to appear.

It’s always best to know the specific editor’s name. If the name comes from a list that is more than a month old, chances are that the name is no longer correct. If you don’t have time to check the names, sending it in care of the “Editor, Business Section” is safer than naming someone who is no longer in that position.

Another option is to use a media distribution service. For a fee, they’ll use their data base to send your press release to the appropriate publications.  For a referral to a PR specialist, contact me at Biznet at smaurer@exchange.biznetis.net

For a sample press release, see below.

Biznet Internet Solutions

28339 Beck Road, Ste F-9
Wixom, MI  48393
www.biznetis.net
phone: (248) 560-9000
smaurer@exchange.biznetis.net

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sandra Maurer
Office: (248) 560-9000

Ignite Your Business at Biznet Morning Marketing Mash-Up

Wixom, MI August 5, 2009 – Biznet Internet Solutions is launching its M3 (Morning Marketing Mash-Up) series of roundtable discussions at its Wixom headquarters, 28339 Beck Road, Suite F-9 on Tuesday, August 18. 2009 at 9 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. to let business owners and professionals share ideas on how to promote their businesses in these challenging economic times.

Kevin Krason, President of Biznet, is hosting these monthly marketing meetings to provide a networking forum as well as educational outlet for anyone interested in promoting their business. “The secret to success,” he said, “is to continuously change gears and you must either adapt to change or fail.”

The first M3 discussion will be “What Are You Doing to Ignite Your Business? Those attending the meeting should come prepared to share their best marketing practices and are guaranteed to come away with new ideas as well.  A continental breakfast will be served. Space is limited. R.S.V.P at http://tinyurl.com/njvxg4

Biznet Internet Solutions is a pioneer in website development and optimization, creating sites for both the PC and mobile devices.  They specialize and educate their clients in how to use social media and e-marketing to their best advantage