Last week's comments about social media prompted me to think more about LinkedIn. I've been using the site for several years, and I think it can be a highly effective networking tool. But before you add me to your network, I should point out that while sites like Facebook and Twitter encourage connection with strangers for the sake of building a virtual community, LinkedIn frowns upon it.
Why? It's a more business-oriented community and it thrives on referrals and connections. How can you refer someone you've never worked with or even talked to? In keeping with this philosophy, I try to limit my connections to those I've actually interacted with. Some of these people are fellow writers or bloggers I've conversed with online, but a lot of them are former coworkers or clients.
In my opinion, LinkedIn is great for freelancers who've left the 8-5 grind but want to stay connected with their former colleagues. After all, these colleagues can be excellent sources of referrals. Here are the five features I find most useful for freelance writers and other creative professionals.
- Collecting recommendations. Recommendations from clients, colleagues, students, and others help boost your online cred. You can ask for recommendations, but in my opinion, the best way to get recommendations is to give them. Offer a heartfelt recommendation to a former intern, student, or colleague, and they'll often return the favor. Then you'll have stellar testimonials to use other places, too (with the person's permission, of course). This is one of the features that differentiates LinkedIn from many other sites.
- Answering questions. LinkedIn's question and answer section lets users ask and answer questions. Not the most targeted way to find information (if you're looking for specific expertise, you might try a niche association, forum, or listserv), but it's a more public way to establish authority by answering questions about your area of expertise, which could lead to new clients. I generally look under Marketing > Writing and Editing.
- Searching the companies directory. Michelle Rafter has a fabulous post about the LinkedIn's companies directory and how writers can use this features to find interview sources or hunt down editorial contacts. Trust me - it's a very handy tool.
- Using status updates. You can sync up your Twitter feed with LinkedIn , but I'd advise against it, because Twitter is a more informal medium. Instead, I save LinkedIn status updates for more business-oriented announcements. For instance, "getting ready to send the next Urban Museletter . Have you signed up yet? http://tiny.cc/ldeli." Or "looking for experts on XXX for a last-minute assignment. Know any good sources?" Even if someone doesn't take the desired action, these short, newsy updates reinforce the idea that you're a busy professional.
- Reconnecting with long-lost colleagues. Whatever your job title, the ability to reconnect with former classmates or colleagues is invaluable. You don't need to know their email address or their married name, because LinkedIn will show you other people from the same company or suggest contacts based on who you know and what's in your profile.
Of course, all of these features work best when you have a well-developed profile. Fill in as much information as you, add a photo, and start connecting with people to get the most out of LinkedIn.
How do you use LinkedIn ? Are there any other features that are useful for freelance writers?
Flickr photo courtesy of 99zeros