{"id":2495,"date":"2015-02-10T09:20:38","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T22:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/?p=2495"},"modified":"2015-02-10T09:20:38","modified_gmt":"2015-02-09T22:20:38","slug":"get-the-most-out-of-linkedin-to-support-your-online-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/2015\/02\/10\/get-the-most-out-of-linkedin-to-support-your-online-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Get the most out of LinkedIn to support your online business"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2496\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/2015\/02\/10\/get-the-most-out-of-linkedin-to-support-your-online-business\/linking-network\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Linking-network.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"500,334\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Linking-network\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Linking-network.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Linking-network.jpg\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2496\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Linking-network.jpg\" alt=\"Linking-network\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Linking-network.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Linking-network-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Linking-network-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Linking-network-449x300.jpg 449w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>If you think LinkedIn is only the domain of corporate climbers like sales reps and CEOs, think again!<\/p>\n<p>The world\u2019s most popular professional online network is useful for everyone in business, from online retailers and software developers to nannies and gardeners.<\/p>\n<p>Use it to connect with suppliers and potential business partners, develop new business and grow your own brand. You can even publish your own articles.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s free. So let\u2019s get cracking.<\/p>\n<h2>Set up your personal profile<\/h2>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t created a LinkedIn personal profile yet, your first step is to visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\" target=\"_blank\">www.linkedin.com<\/a> and make one. Grab a few materials to help you with this, like your CV and a decent photo, and follow the simple step-by-step instructions.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few tips:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use your <strong>headline<\/strong> to describe what you do. You can be creative if you work for yourself, so if you want to be \u201chead honcho\u201d then go ahead.<\/li>\n<li>Upload a smiley <strong>professional photo<\/strong>. You don\u2019t need to pay for a formal shot, but make sure the one you choose reflects you as a trustworthy professional, not a surfer girl or party boy (unless that\u2019s your brand!).<\/li>\n<li>Fill in <strong>as many fields you can<\/strong> on your profile. You don\u2019t need to list everything you\u2019ve ever done, but do be proud of your achievements! Include as much information as possible about your business as well to ensure people using LinkedIn to search for information can find you.<\/li>\n<li>Write about yourself in <strong>the first person<\/strong>, not the third (ie: use I, not \u201cClare\u201d) and don\u2019t be stuffy or officious-sounding. Write how you talk and let your personality shine through.<\/li>\n<li>Use the <strong>words and phrases you\u2019d like to be found for online<\/strong>, like your products and your store\u2019s name.<\/li>\n<li>Check your account privacy and settings to control the finer details of your LinkedIn account, like who sees what. Roll over your tiny photo, top right, and choose <strong>\u201cPrivacy and Settings\u201d<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Connect with other professionals on LinkedIn<\/h2>\n<p>Connections are the key to success on LinkedIn. When you\u2019re set up, invite other professionals you know to join your network.<\/p>\n<p>LinkedIn makes it easy to do so with an automated tool during the set up process. Once you\u2019ve done that, you can search for other suppliers and business partners to connect with using the search bar.<\/p>\n<h2>Ramp up your LinkedIn presence<\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s so much more you can do than just list your professional history on your profile page and build your connections.<\/p>\n<p>Try these next activities on a regular basis to help raise your profile.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Like, share and comment<\/strong> on interesting content that drops into your newsfeed from your connections and the companies and groups you follow.<\/li>\n<li>Ask connections you\u2019ve worked in the past, like employers, clients and suppliers, for a <strong>recommendation of your business skills<\/strong> to display on your profile. You can easily do this via a simple request form you\u2019ll find under <strong>\u201cPrivacy and Settings &gt; Profile &gt; Manage Recommendations\u201d<\/strong>. It\u2019s helpful to give out recommendations where you can, even if you\u2019re not asked first.<\/li>\n<li>Follow <strong>companies<\/strong> you\u2019re interested in and their LinkedIn posts will show up in your newsfeed. It\u2019s a great way to keep an eye on your competitors! Find companies to follow using the search bar at the top of your LinkedIn page.<\/li>\n<li>Join LinkedIn <strong>Groups<\/strong> to expose yourself to conversations in your niche. Look for existing groups that interest you and join them to contribute ideas, answer questions and post your own. Search for groups to join under \u201cInterests &gt; Groups\u201d and click the blue \u201cfind a group\u201d button.<\/li>\n<li>Find and follow influential LinkedIn users in the Pulse section of your profile. You\u2019ll find their posts under <strong>\u201cInterests &gt; Pulse\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Get into a routine of checking your LinkedIn account often and growing your connections. It could lead to new business, suppliers or referrals. Next up, I\u2019ll look at how to launch a LinkedIn Business page. Stay tuned!<\/p>\n<p>Next up, I\u2019ll look at how to launch a LinkedIn Business page. Stay tuned!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you think LinkedIn is only the domain of corporate climbers like sales reps and CEOs, think again! The world\u2019s most popular professional online network is useful for everyone in business, from online retailers and software developers to nannies and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/2015\/02\/10\/get-the-most-out-of-linkedin-to-support-your-online-business\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-show-all"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgk4DF-Ef","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}