LinkedIn is primarily a social network for professional and business relationships. Here you can find potential business partners or customers actively engaged in conversations about current issues they are facing.
I’ve already talked about why you should create a LinkedIn presence for your business. Here are the specific steps you need you to follow to create your LinkedIn profile for yourself and your business.
Join LinkedIn
If you haven’t already, you’ll need to create a LinkedIn profile for yourself. Go to LinkedIn.com to get started, complete the sign-up form, and click “Join LinkedIn”.
Enter Current Employment Info
Next, you’ll enter your current employment information. Click “Continue” when you are done.
Connect to Others
To find people you know who are already on LinkedIn, click on one of the email services and enter your login info. You’ll then be able to send your contacts an invitation to connect on LinkedIn.
Confirm Your Email Address
After you’ve completed connecting with others you know, you’ll need to check your email and confirm your email address with LinkedIn by clicking on the provided URL.
Login to LinkedIn
Once your email address has been confirmed, you can login to LinkedIn.
Choose Plan Level
LinkedIn has both Premium and Basic plans. If you’re business is not recruiting, then the Basic plan will work fine for you. Click on the “Choose Basic” button.
Complete Your Professional Profile
On the next page, you will see your professional profile. Take some time to enter your professional history so people will be able to know more about you. Be sure to add a photo as well as links to your website and Twitter feed.
Once you’re done here, you now have your own professional presence on LinkedIn.
Add Your Company
Since you own your own business, you’ll want to create a profile for your company. Click on “Companies” under the “More…” drop-down menu, then click the “Add a Company” link in the upper right.
Add Your Company Information
First, enter your company’s name and your email address at the company. Click the “Continue” button when ready.
Enter you company’s information including a description of your business. Use this area to provide some detail that helps differentiate your business from others. Click “Continue” to save your company detail.
You can add more information about your company including a logo, financial info, and additional locations. The most important detail is providing your basic company information.
You and your business now have a complete presence on LinkedIn. You can continue connecting with others in your professional network, and you’ll now be able to participate in the Groups and Answers sections I described in a prior posting.
For any business, having a complete presence on LinkedIn is a key component of an social media strategy. Once established, you’ll need to come up with a plan to figure out how to best use LinkedIn to help build your business.
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