Marketing Manager Seeking Position Part 8; Using LinkedIn as a networking and self promotional tool

I have watched as LinkedIn has added tools to help increase our connections and more and more ways for us to get and share knowledge. While LinkedIn was launched in 2003 I became a member in 2007 and started using LinkedIn regularly. There are multiple articles and webinars on how best to use LinkedIn to get a job, increase your visibility, as a new business tool, and many others. LinkedIn itself has a blog on how to "make the most" out of the site. I have done my part in reading and watching in order to keep on top of all the latest and greatest ways to find the perfect job by using the best keywords to increase my rankings, getting recommendations on every position held, and making new connections.I'm going to use Lindsey Pollaks LinkedIn blog article from October 18th, 2010 as a stepping stone to talk about how I am using LinkedIn as a way to market myself and promote my personal brand.Lindsey says the first of her 5 steps is to use the status updates as a brief conversation piece but be sure to stay professional. I update my status almost everyday including weekends. Right now my main goal is to find my dream job, so that is my main focus when posting updates. I post my blog when a new article is available to read, talk about the job search process, post interesting articles that relate to my current industry job search, or mention the new positions I have applied for. Not only do I post but I also comment on other connection status updates. When they have an interesting comment or a question I try to respond in a timely manner. This is just one more way of actually staying connected to your network.Her second step is to do "small goods" for other people by congratulating others on new jobs, promotions and participating in the question and answers section of the site. I regularly look over the Q&A section and respond to polls as they apply to my industry and experience. I have written questions on some of the groups I belong to, especially the Jobs groups. During a recent webinar I was told that recruiters are more and more using a Google search to find prospective candidates. He is recommending that not only do we as job hunters need to pay attention to our rankings under our name, but under our job title and location as well. This was a new concept to me and I sent out the question to my HR group contacts to learn more. It was interesting to learn that none of them were using Google this way but that they had heard the same thing. When answering questions, I have found that I can be helpful to new members and recent grads on how to use LinkedIn as well as discussing the frustrations of the job search.Step 3 can be slippery if you are not careful. Lindsey says to "look up everyone" as a way to connect with prospective employers. As a marketing manager I have been surprised by the number of professionals who are not registered on LinkedIn or who do not utilized it regularly. We are marketing and communications professionals after all and should be using the latest and most common forms of communication. It reminds me of a time when not all professionals used email preferring to stick with snail mail for personal communications. Snail mail still has an important roll in communication but that is a blog article for another day. While working at KPA I was leading new business research by searching for prospective clients using LinkedIn. I was able to narrow the search down to industry, location and find who the contact person for the company would be. I set up the agency with an account on LinkedIn and encouraged the other person doing new business to update and optimize his LinkedIn profile. I set about adding our current clients as connections for KPA as well as for myself. There were a couple times when I found close connections with a prospective client that got us meetings we may not have otherwise been able to get. During my job search I have looked up the professionals I will be interviewing with and the company to help prepare me for the meeting and provide me with questions to ask. One interview I went to I had noticed that only a very few of the team had been there more than a year and was able to ask about turn around. It's important to me to work for a company that values its team and has some sort of retention plan. One of the difficult things about researching and attempting connections is that you have to know the person or know someone who knows them and uses LinkedIn to refer you. I currently have 20 invitations out and some are to people I actually know well but they do not use LinkedIn the way I do. I have also been warned that you can appear stocker like if you are not careful. I make an attempt to connect with everyone I have interviewed with so I can keep in contact with them. Even if I wasn't right for the position I interviewed for, you never know when a different position may come up that fits better or is in another department. As Lindsey says, you never know who may be connection with whom.I always research a company before speaking to anyone about my skills and qualifications, unless the company was confidential. Step 4 "beef up your expertise on potential employers" is a no brainer and I find it ridiculous that professionals don't know what a company does before the interview or even applying. First, most job postings come with a description of the company and the position. I saw a posting just yesterday where my qualifications matched but it was for a company I would not be proud to work for. So, I didn't apply. I had an interview a few weeks ago with a telecommunications company here in Denver and because I had done research before my interview I was able to ask detailed questions. They happened to be blasted all over social media at the time and knowing that gave me a unique opportunity to discuss my experience with a similar situation. Now, I didn't get the position but I did think the interview went well. I'd like to talk more about why we are never told what the reason for not getting an offer after an interview that you think went very well some other time. When you do a company search you can see who is new, promoted and who used to work there and you used to know for how long. Again, because long term employment is one of my main goals for my next position, knowing how long people have worked at a company is important to me. LinkedIn had a stat of what the median term was and i could decide if it is somewhere I wanted to apply. They have removed this tool and I hate it! It is now up to me to figure out how long the median time of employment is. Etiquette is extremely important when using social media. "Remember your manners" is step 5 in Lindsey's blog and I know exactly why she puts it in. I have seen people bash others for typos and some misuse of the English language. One instance I remember is when one person was bashing another for a typo and had a typo themselves. I know spell check is vital and I also know that when I am in a hurry but want to leave a comment, I have sent misspelled words and incorrect numbers. I commented on a blog once about McDonalds and put $300 instead of $3.00. It continues to embarrass me as I can't figure out how to fix it. I think the main issue is people get comfortable saying rude or unnecessary things because they are basically faceless. What they don't understand is that we can see them. Yes, we know who you are! You never need to correct people on spelling or grammar, you never need to call them names or demean them in anyway, and you really never need to attack anyone for any reason. You don't like someone, don't connect with them, ignore them or if you are so inclined, report their behavior. On her recommendation to personalize invitations, that is very important. I have received requests that say nothing about where I know the person, how we are connected, or what the reason for the request is. My goal is to have quality connections that I can network with and communicate with. One of my biggest pet peeves right now is the group connection request and all you get are spam emails. I am not a part of LinkedIn so you can sell me your product. I joined real estate groups because for 6 years I was in residential real estate marketing. That does not mean I want to buy your house, or see your MLS listings. I want to connect with other professionals in the industry to keep up to date on trends and opportunities. I understand using LinkedIn to find new business, I've done it. But I researched who I was contacting first to be sure they were the right contact. As a marketing manager I know that throwing something at a wall and hoping it sticks is a terrible way to market and sell yourself. Spend a little more time targeting your market and leave me alone. Thank you. Okay, so those are 5 steps and you can find so many more on how to use LinkedIn to promote yourself. In my next blog article I will give a few additional tips I am using that help keep my profile ranking well. At least, this is what I believe is working.