Ten ways I use LinkedIn

Guy Kawasaki's blog post on "Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn" inspired me to share the ten ways how I use LinkedIn. (In its early years, I was at a time one of the most connected women in LinkedIn.com.)

At the same time, I hope this will give club members a quick snapshot as to how LinkedIn can be used in support of what Sacha Chua presented last Friday.

1. I use it to keep in touch with the people I met and get to know them more. Whenever I speak in events, I usually end up not seeing the people I meet that soon. This is true for international speaking engagements. I invite them to LinkedIn.com and at least maintain that connection.
   
2. Promote the DigitalFilipino.com Club through LinkedIn for Groups. When LinkedIn for Groups was first launched, I immediately had the DigitalFilipino.com Club registered and this allowed all club members to have the club logo, at their option, posted in their LinkedIn.com profile. At this time, we only link to individual club members' LinkedIn.com public profile in our members directory. This allows the club members to get to know their individual club members much better.
   
3. Get contacts and clients to recommend me. Although I don't actively seek for it anymore, it is great to have past clients or those who have benefited from DigitalFilipino free services recommend you.
   
4. Facilitate introductions for contacts. I have introduced several contacts to each other to build contacts especially when going to out of the country trips.
   
5. Find contacts. I also use the same facility to look for people I need to talk to for a variety of reasons.
   
6. Shamelessly self-promote. Post enough info about oneself in order to build contacts and possibly generate business.
   
7. Track old and out-of-touch contacts. Through my connections, I also found past contacts who I haven't been in touch with for a long time and connect with them.
   
8. Teach students, club members, and friends the value of professional networking. Whenever I get to teach, I discuss blogging for documentation and LinkedIn (as long as there's time) to keep in touch and seek referrals.
   
9. Get to know other people from the same company or finished in the same education institution. This is very helpful when you can't remember a person's full name (rather than nickname) and have a need to contact them. Clicking on a company name of a present contact will show all other contacts from the same company.
   
10. Turn away contact hoarders. I find it awkward whenever I receive invitations from people I haven't met and who put their email address in their name or ask for a recommendation when I haven't even met them. Without turning them down directly, having the option to remove connection quietly or archive their invitation or request is very helpful.

Ituloy AngSulong LinkedIn!