It wasn’t so long ago that I would ask people if they were on LinkedIn and they would say, “Yes, but I don’t know why, I don’t get anything out of it.”  I used to agree with that statement, but I stopped recently and noticed that LinkedIn had quietly crept up to be the #1 social media site in my tool kit. In fact, according to my stats on Safari, it’s the #1 most visited site in my browser.  This lead me to pause and think, why am I visiting LinkedIn so often? Here’s how I’m using it.

1. To follow up from a face-to-face meeting.

   Most instances when I meet someone face-to-face and have a significant conversation I will come back to my office and look at their LinkedIn profile.  This cements into my mind what they do, and what their background is. It also tells me who we both know, what kind of circles do they run in? Lastly, I will add them to my connections on LinkedIn if I think there is a good chance that we can do business together in the future.

2. Research on prospects.

   Whenever I get referred to a new prospect I will look at their LinkedIn profile. I look for all the same thinks as I do with a new contact, background, career path, who do we both know. But I also look for, where they might be headed and what are the things that I think I can help them with. If their blog or slideshare presentations are showing on their profile I can get to know them a little better. I might check out there twitter stream if that’s there as well.

3. Finding new prospects.

   LinkedIn is my favorite alternative to cold calling. I use the advanced search features to search for people who are in my target market. I can specify geography, industry, job title, years of experience, company size, almost anything I might need to hone down my search.  It gives me back up to 100 prospects; some of whom I can get a warm referral to (we have contacts in common). Others I still have to approach cold, but look at the wealth of information I have available about them.

4. Find talent that I need right now.

   My business requires that I keep a broad array of talent “at the ready” for when a client has a specific need that I may not be able to fill.  LinkedIn gives me access to resources I couldn’t keep on the payroll, and, if I’m connected to them, has someone I can call to verify their skills.

5. Requests and In-Mails.

   I don’t make a lot of requests through LinkedIn, If I’m trying to reach someone through one of my contacts I’ll usually call my contact directly rather than using LinkedIn. But I do get a lot of event announcements, and requests from others. Many of these are useful.

6. Find employees, for me or my clients.

   LinkedIn is a terrific recruiting resource. Use the advanced search as I mentioned above and you can get a list of potentially qualified prospects. But more often I’m using their LinkedIn Direct Ads to target qualified people that I don’t know with an ad that is linked to an on-line job application.  It’s usually cheaper than the big job boards and produces targeted results.

7. Advertise for events.

   When I am hosting an educational event I will usually spend a few hundred dollars on LinkedIn Direct Ads to promote it. Again, it’s highly targeted, and you can easily track the results.

8. Create offers to attract prospects.

   I have also used the LinkedIn Direct Ads to attract prospects, usually through an intermediate offer. I will advertise for a free download of a white paper or e-book which will be of interest to my ideal prospect. I can then follow up with those who download it to see if they have a need for further help.

9. Keep me up to date on what’s happening in my business community.

   I use twitter for this much more frequently than LinkedIn, but I do belong to several LinkedIn groups that I will drop in on from time to time. There can be some excellent discussions there that keep me coming back.  This isn’t a prime mover, but I do visit and participate.

Wow, there are a lot of ways that I’m using LinkedIn and Safari’s stats don’t lie, I’m there all the time!  How are you using LinkedIn?  Is it moving up the ladder of your useful tools list?

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Brad Farris is a small business advisor with Anchor Advisors, Ltd. in Chicago, Il. Since 2001 Anchor Advisors has been helping creative professional firms to grow, by helping them clarify their purpose, get the most from their people, keep their eye on key performance measures, and implement consistent processes. Brad is also the author of The Business Owner’s Champion: 6 Practices to Build your Nerve and your Business.