How to Boost Online Reputation with LinkedIn - Part 2

This week I am staying with the theme of online reputation, again focused on LinkedIn, actually this is the third post in a row on this subject, but as you will see there is a lot to cover.  If you are reading this post without having read the other two, I recommend scrolling down to read my two previous blog entries with great tips to help you.

Having a great online reputation is ultimately the key to generating business through LinkedIn.  Over 100 million people are now on LinkedIn, but how many are actually getting the results that they want from it. Everybody knows that it is important to be there, to have a profile, to be visible.  But unless you have that instant credibility in the first place then you will not secure that job, close that sale or generate the leads that you need your profile to deliver for you.  There are a number of ways to build credibility, some of which I talked about last week, but today I am going to focus on the more interactive elements within LinkedIn, which allow you to elevate your profile to new heights.

Tip 1 - Groups

You can join up to 50 groups on LinkedIn.  Yes, 50! After reading this, why not check how many you are actually in?  Groups are a fantastic way to raise your profile with the people who you want to gain visibility with.  Whether you are a job-seeker, a business owner, a recruiter, a manager or a sales person.  You can search the groups available by going to the top right-hand search box and adding keywords for Groups you would be interested in.  Think which groups your target market would be interested in, where are they networking?   

Groups are valuable for a number of reasons:

- They keep you up to date with industry knowledge

- You can find out answers from experts, and read relevant articles

- Position yourself as an expert in a group by being active in credible discussions

- Once in a group, the contacts are open to you, makes it easier to grow your connections

- You can start a group, and as group manager you can grow your network in your field

- You can post jobs for free in some groups, and access great candidates

- You are in control of how often you interact with the group, check your "Settings"

- You are more likely to be generate visibility with your target market or hiring managers

Some groups will allow you to join straight away, other groups have a screening process only allowing relevant people to join the group, so you may have to wait for approval.  This will open you up to a whole world of new connections, information and at least 50 places for you to become visible, active and boost your online reputation. 

Someone is more likely to accept your connection request if you are in the same group, because they will see you as being relevant to them and credible as you already have common ground, which is the start of any relationship.

Tip 2 - Questions & Answers

This is another totally under-utilised area of LinkedIn.  You can pose a question, answer questions and interact in polls within LinkedIn.  I was recently in the market to buy a new ATS (Applicant Tracking System), to handle all of our high-volume recruitment needs, as I wanted to update the current system we are using. I needed to find out from experienced corporate recruiters and agencies what the best options were out there, before engaging in any long sales process with multiple suppliers.  

I posed a question on LinkedIn within a group which I knew had many people that would have had experience in this, a group specifically for my industry.  I received feedback from many people about the best cloud-based solutions.  In addition to receiving responses to my question, I also was able to look through the Answers to similar questions that other people had posted. These were unbiased opinions, not sales people trying to pitch me their product.  I had a shortlist of 2 ATS/CRM systems within 1 hour of research, which told me a great deal more than spending hours on the internet wading through websites and pages of sale blurb, I could cut to the chase and I knew instantly what I wanted.

Imagine seeing a question posed by someone in LinkedIn, and you giving a credible and valid answer which helps them and helps everyone else in the group.  I mean answering without selling, helping someone else through your knowledge.  If you are in a group with 20,000 members, and you are regularly giving advice and help to the group through discussions and Answers in LinkedIn, your online reputation is going to fly high.

You can simply use the Search button in the top right-hand side of the LinkedIn page, and change the drop-down button from People to Answers.  This will allow you to keyword search Answers, so that you can find relevant information for your industry.  When you are in a Group, go to the Discussions tab and you will see all of the latest questions, blogs and posts.

Summary

Online reputation is all about Visibility and Credibility, and if you have both of these then it can only lead to Profitability.  I learnt about this very early on in the world's largest and most successful referral network BNI, and this VCP® process is even more relevant when you network online.  I hope you have found this series of blog entries useful and that your own online reputation is growing by the day.  Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, to benefit from access my 2400+ connections globally.