Getting into Linkedin

Vishal Badiani, Sheridan College, Milton, ON, CYBF volunteer

Sales don’t come directly from social media but rather the relationships you build through social media lead to sales. Linkedin is great for gaining insider connections, searching business opportunities and sharing advice with your network.

Firstly, determine your goals. What type of individuals, groups or companies would you like to interact with? Everything that you do within the network must be linked back to this goal. Here are three ways to increase your network within Linkedin:

1. Recommendations – Positive comments about you from other individuals in your network. On your profile, build this area by actively seeking recommendations from people who have used your products or services.
2. Answers – Ask professionals for advice or answer questions for others. This allows you to learn about your audience while also actively networking and contributing answers to new clients.
3. Applications – An excellent way to add depth to your profile. You can post polls, share a reading list and more to allow for great interaction within your network. Scroll to the bottom of your profile page and you will see a section called Applications.

Remember to include a profile picture and to maintain a professional dialogue on Linkedin.

Editor’s note: Join CYBF’s Linkedin group Entrepeer Hub to ask and answer business questions, and to connect with entrepreneurs and professionals in the CYBF network.

About: Vishal Badiani teaches entrepreneurship and ecommerce at Sheridan College in Ontario. Author of Social Media Remix, an ebook on increasing your business using social media, Vishal also started his own real estate business and founded Events on Hand, a mobile application for the event industry.