How Leon Quinn Gets The Most Out Of LinkedIn

Posted by: Krishna De | Posted on: November 3rd, 2008 | 6 Comments | Posted in: Ireland, Marketing online, More clients, Networking online, Recommended resources, Social media

In my recent article about ‘Five Steps To Build Your Network On LinkedIn’, I invited guest blog posts if you have great tips to share about how you are using LinkedIn to attract more business.

One of the people I heard from as a result of the article was Leon Quinn who I met when hosting a social media workshop for Leitrim County Enterprise Board.

Leon is a webdesign and multimedia consultant and here are his tips for getting the most out of LinkedIn.

“I’ve been a LinkedIn user since December 4th 2007 following the advice of Johnny Beirne, the then Innovation Officer in Leitrim County Enterprise Board who is also a firm advocate of using LinkedIn as a business networking tool.

Initially I passed it off as just another time consuming Social Networking site á la Facebook or MySpace and didn’t intend bothering with it too much. Perhaps one of the reasons I stuck with it was because I was involved with a local IT Network also run by Leitrim Enterprise which later evolved into a full Network for all Leitrim Businesses the members of which all have a profile and even a group on LinkedIn.

This business network meets once a month to discuss business strategies and to network with each other but naturally it’s hard to remember people’s names, faces and skills after the events so with all of them on LinkedIn it’s a simple matter of checking out their profiles, contacting them directly or seeing the kinds of people they are in turn connected to who could not make it to the Leitrim events but might still be worth connecting with.

The greatest benefit I derive from LinkedIn is from using it as a highly visible online CV which has everything a conventional CV would have including:

• Your personal and contact details
• Your lovely photo
• Your academic qualifications
• Your work history
• References/recommendations
• Links to your Business sites
• Your Interests & Hobbies.

I always direct potential clients or employers to both my ‘LinkedIn CV’ and my own site so they can get a feel for who I am, what I do and who gave me votes of confidence.

Some of the other LinkedIn tools I use are ‘Question & Answers’ if I want to find a quick tech solution from other experts on LinkedIn or even answer one myself.

LinkedIn Groups are also useful in that you can connect with like minded and skilled contacts, get involved in group discussions and subscribe to group updates and news straight to your inbox.

Lastly, people often ask me what LinkedIn actually is and why should they bother and I’ve developed a simple explanation all my own which may or may not be accurate but here it is anyway:

LinkedIn is a simple, quick and free Virtual Networking tool that allows users to meet potential clients or services providers without having to leave the office!

For the Web 2.0 generation you could also think of it as Bebo or MySpace for Businesses.

Leon is owner of Reverb Studios Multimedia and Web Design in Leitrim and also runs an IT and Tech Blog and a FREE PC Support Blog. His LinkedIn profile is at linkedin.com/in/reverbstudios.”

Thank you Leon for sharing your tips on using LinkedIn for business.

And if you’ve some great tips for how you have used LinkedIn for your career of professional success, do post your comments here – or a I’ve mentioned previously, I’d really welcome a guest blog post about the tips you recommend in terms of making the most of LinkedIn for business development and career success.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

In you want to learn more about how to get the most out of LinkedIn, why not join me at the forthcoming ‘LinkedIn For Business Masterclass‘ taking place in Dublin as part of the Dublin City Enterprise Week on the 21 November 2008.

And if you are ready to learn and apply social media into your marketing and communications plan and are based in the Leitrim area, why not join me at the ‘Social Media Marketing Masterclass’ taking place on the 20 November 2008 in Carrick on Shannon.

Both events only cost €30 and when you take into account people who have attended my previous workshop on social media marketing implementing just one of the hundreds of ideas I share was able to generate leads worth thousands in less than 7 days after the work shop, I’d say that’s value for money!