I’ve been a LinkedIn member since September 18, 2007 and am just now loving LinkedIn for networking. When I first joined LinkedIn, I wasn’t very active. At that time, I viewed LinkedIn like many do – as a job board. I set up my profile, but never used it to network with others. Fast forward 6 years and a few weeks and now I launch LinkedIn multiple times each day to accept connections and update my status.
Until even the past few weeks, I was still mostly just building my connections and sharing content on my profile. I follow a few groups closely, and am intentional about making my profile visible in search results. However, I no longer see this as a way to get a new job but a way for others to contact me requesting services.
Then suddenly, I had quite a few requests at in person networking events to connect via LinkedIn. The people I was speaking with use it like I do, to be discovered for products and services that we offer. However, they each use it also as their platform of choice for extending networking relationships online. While not wanting to muddy their personal Facebook, haven’t yet joined Google+, nor having time to launch Twitter throughout the working day to continue engaging connections there, they prefer LinkedIn. This was a breath of fresh air for me. I found them on LinkedIn from my iPhone and immediately made use of InMessages that come with my paid account to connect with them. This didn’t leave me waiting to follow up with them, or vice versa, after the fact (which often I neglect doing).
I’ve also used LinkedIn to find a person that I met at a networking event. She grabbed my business card but didn’t have any to share with me. I had forgotten her name and didn’t get it written down in person. I knew the name of her organization and searched for all people that worked at that location. As a result, I have been requested to give a few presentations in the near future.
I have grown more fond of LinkedIn lately, and would love to connect with you there as well.
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