LinkedIn Success Stories – Ways to Earn LinkedIn Success
One can achieve LinkedIn success with LinkedIn groups or including many keywords in one's profile
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. It can be used to connect with those you already know or to broaden your professional outreach and meet others in profession. If you are in New Jersey, I will be giving a workshop on LinkedIn (beginners and experienced users both are welcome) at the Scotch Plains Public Library on April 19 at 7:30 pm.
When I speak with people about LinkedIn, some say they haven’t gotten much out of it. Others say, wow, it has really opened some new doors. How did the successful on LinkedIn achieve these gains? Read a few LinkedIn success stories that I’ve gathered for this post and organized by method of gaining this success.
Success by One Recommendation Leading to More
A graphic designer I know continually finds leads and gets asked to do work. She started with one top recommendation. She also joins high tech groups on LinkedIn in her geographical area – she says recruiters look in those groups.
What can we learn from her success? Keep up those skills, and write them up carefully in your LinkedIn profile. If you can do work for someone who will publicize your skills on LinkedIn, that will help you gain more clients and business.
Success by Rewriting Your Profile
A real estate professional found her recent job on LinkedIn – she says the key was rewriting her profile with the right skills. In her words: “He (another real estate professional) suggested that instead of focusing on the ‘I sell here, there and everywhere’ aspect that one focus on their skill sets. That got me thinking. I went in and re-did my profile to highlight the vast array of management experience that I have. Everything from budgeting to understanding a P&L to handling real estate commission issues. ” Three weeks later she was contacted via LinkedIn by her now employer, a California-based company that was looking to open a branch in New Jersey.
A small business owner told me that when he rewrote his profile, he got many more views than previously. One reason for this the more detailed your profile, the more keywords you may be including. Think keywords (the words people use to search LinkedIn) when you fill out your LinkedIn fields.
Success via Groups
Joining the right group for you can be a key to success on LinkedIn. One commentator on the LinkedIn Survey post wrote of the varied ways group members of a job hunting group helped each other: “The computer of one member was damaged beyond repair about 18 months ago. It was during a time when he was up for a job that required computer use. Another member of the group purchased a computer for him as a gift and had it sent to his home in Florida.” And that is just one example on that post she and others gave of the value of LinkedIn groups.
Get active in the groups. Don’t just join – ask an engaging question that will stimulate conversation. Answer questions that show off your expertise.
Success via Professional Groups
Groups: I’ve had a lot of success with certain groups, especially for WordPress. Here are three WordPress groups that I’ve found quite helpful:
And if WordPress is not your thing, what is? Search by profession or by your favorite skill to see what groups exist in those areas. Ask others in your profession that are using LinkedIn to recommend LinkedIn groups. If you are a blogger, a great group is Bloggers Helping Bloggers.
Success by Local LinkedIn Group
One of the complaints I’ve heard about LinkedIn groups is that they are too large, too amorphous, too many people post non-relevant content. You might want to try a more local group – if it’s a limited area, there will be fewer people in the group. Here are two New Jersey LinkedIn groups, for example:
New Jersey Networking Group
NJ Social Media
There are also groups in New Jersey for areas of New Jersey (Monmouth County, Princeton, Bergen County). On the Princeton group, for example, they talk about times to meet for coffee. Social media online works even better if you combine it with in person meetings.
Success with Status Updates
On this post a salesperson named Steven posted as his status: “I’m up for grabs, who wants me?” And Steven got his next job. Granted, he probably spent a fair amount of time networking with his contact before that posting. But don’t ignore the status update on LinkedIn. Angel suggests updating your status once per day with information that might be valuable to your contacts.
Results of LinkedIn Survey
Last month I set up a LinkedIn survey. Here are the results in charts:
- Yes, I’ve joined and participated in multiple groups and answered multiple questions (59%, 17 Votes)
- Yes, I joined at least one group, but I’ve never posted (17%, 5 Votes)
- No (10%, 3 Votes)
- Yes, I joined at least one group and asked at least one question (7%, 2 Votes)
- Yes, I joined at least one group and I’ve answered at least one question (7%, 2 Votes)
The majority (75%) who took the survey participate in groups. That’s good news, as it is one of the best ways to get results from LinkedIn.
- No (31%, 9 Votes)
- Yes, I’ve made business contacts via LinkedIn (24%, 7 Votes)
- Sort of – I’ve gotten leads but nothing worked out (24%, 7 Votes)
- Yes, I’ve received at least one new client with LinkedIn (17%, 5 Votes)
- Yes, I’ve gotten a job via LinkedIn (4%, 1 Votes)
31% said LinkedIn isn’t really helping. I hope something I wrote in this post can make LinkedIn a better experience for those users.
Your Turn, Please
Do you have a LinkedIn success story? Do you have any LinkedIn groups to suggest? Please share in the comments.
Hi Leora, These are great examples of success stories. I have been to Scotch Plains before but unfortunately not recently. I would love to hear your talk!
I have joined some LinkedIn Groups and have met some wonderful people through LinkedIn. I’m always amazed when I check my profile that people have been checking me out there.
I need to update my profile with keywords as you suggested.
Thanks for the great advice and good luck with your talk!
Carolyn | Wonder of Tech´s last [type] ..On Alert with Google Alerts!
Thanks, Carolyn. I love having knowledgeable people in the audience when I talk about social media (especially ones that I’ve met through social media) – it really shows people the value of establishing these connections.
I will probably be updating my profile in the days before I do the talk as well.
Appreciate the feedback on the post.
I have gotten two job offers via my participation in a linked in group. Both came right out of the blue.
One was for a position as an Executive Director for a nonprofit in another state. This person was the Chairman of the Board of Directors and had been watching my comments for a long time. She sent me a flat-out job offer. In fact, it would have been a perfect fit but I have no intention of moving to Atlanta. In fact, I have no intention of leaving Hawaii ever.
The other job offer was a part time job fielding phone calls for a big law firm in New York. They specifically wanted someone from the Hawaii or Guam time zone to filter out the good leads from the nuisance calls during the period that would be night in New York but afternoon and evening here in Hawaii. Once again, this was someone that I didn’t know but had been in several “groups” with and he knew that I had some legal experience. I wasn’t interested but it was nice to have the offer, just the same.
The key to having things happen for you in the LinkedIn community is to become part of the “community,” rather than just the grumpy old man who checks in once a month and seldom leaves a comment or gets involved in a discussion.
Kay in Hawaii
Kay, thank you so much for telling your tale and how you suggest others might succeed with LinkedIn as well. Sometimes people need help learning how to get involved – social might not come naturally, on or off line.
Hi Leora,
I participate regularly in probably 4-6 groups and I post regularly in a few more. I joined less than a year ago, got things figured out probably last fall or so.
Since then I’ve had an offer to co-teach a course for beginning bloggers which went very well, as well as asked to be interviewed on a PODcast which is coming up in April, besides making other contacts that could be beneficial in the future.
Of the main social media platforms, LI is definitely the most productive for me right now.
That’s great to hear, Cheryl, that LinkedIn is the most productive. You are a good role model for others.
Hi Leora,
I know we’ve “chatted” about this before online. I am a huge advocate of LinkedIn groups. It’s a wonderfully effective way of building a reputation online. As you said “ask an engaging question that will stimulate conversation. Answer questions that show off your expertise.” That strategy has worked so well for me as I have connected with several people on LinkedIn who have become clients of mine.
Thanks for the tip about the “WordPress Problem Solver” group. I wasn’t aware of that one. I just joined.
Sherryl Perry´s last [type] ..Are Your Website Visitors Sticking Around Or Bailing Out?
Sherryl, you are making me think about how I should follow my own tips! But sometimes it feels like I can only keep up with so much.
I think the WordPress Problem Solver one is fairly new.
I do not have a LinkedIn success story but this post has inspired me to give it more attention. I guess I haven’t had much luck to date with it and I know people aren’t as social on there as Facebook so if I redirect my attention to some of the smaller groups I think I would have much better results.
Thanks Leora for this success stories that have really help me see how beneficial LinkedIn can be and for this kick that I needed to give it another go.
Adrienne´s last [type] ..2012 Is The Year Of No Excuses
Adrienne,
Sounds like Kay (who I met through Bloggers Helping Bloggers, which is led/managed by Sherryl Perry) has found some LinkedIn groups that work for her. You might want to ask her for some suggestions.
Maybe think 1) what sorts of questions do I have and 2) which people do I want to meet? The groups I follow are quite active – I have a hard time keeping up. Meanwhile, most of my contacts (many of whom I know in real life) barely use LinkedIn.
Good stuff, Leora. My first time visiting your house here. LinkedIn is invaluable and I feel like the majority of folks on it don’t “get it” – I’ve met invaluable contacts and direct clients from connecting.
rule 101: send customized invites and reply to people with whom you connect – it shows personality and openness.
I need to get more active in groups though and this has made me think and eager to jump in.
Good week to you.
Jacob Yount´s last [type] ..Chinese Factory: Like a Big Machine
I have had a few success on Linkedin which have lead to forming many relationships! More recently, I connected with someone that provided a sponsorship to my meetup group and volunteered to be our speaker! Just the other day I was able to get someone very interested in our coworking community!
Zion, and of course, you made the connection with me last week! Thanks for writing in about some of your successes. I’ll keep you in mind the next time I’m giving a talk on LinkedIn.