I’d like to add you to my profes­sional network on LinkedIn.”

You may have been sent an e-​mail with this exact request on more than one occasion by a friend or colleague. If you have dismissed this invi­tation as just another one of those time wasting, friend collecting sites, then you may be at a consid­erable disad­vantage.

So, if it’s that important, what exactly is LinkedIn you ask … and that’s a great question!

LinkedIn, found online at http://www.linkedin.com, is by far the largest and most profes­sional, business-​oriented, social media, networking site on the World Wide Web. Although it has only been around since 2002, it has over 25 million partic­i­pants worldwide and grows at the rate of over 130,000 members each week!

LinkedIn is easy to use and opens the doors of oppor­tunity to develop mean­ingful rela­tion­ships with key players of the human race, in a new and effective way. The basic concept of how it works beckons back to the theory of “six degrees of sepa­ration.” On LinkedIn it will only show you up to three degrees of sepa­ration, but that alone will connect you to millions of profes­sionals once you start linking up with other users. Your network will consist of your connec­tions (1^st), your connec­tions’ connec­tions (2^nd), and then the connec­tions to which they are connected (3^rd). This dynamic function will start to make more sense as you begin see it in action.

It’s a good idea to create and maintain a profes­sional LinkedIn profile page if you want:

• a bene­ficial way to promote your art brand, products and/​or services online
• to meet key players in your areas of expertise
• to discover new business or job opportunities
• to learn about a new industry in which you hope to expand
• to reconnect with colleagues, class­mates and clients

5 Things I Love About LinkedIn

• LinkedIn helps me to “stay in touch” and “touch base” with people that are important to me. Often, we get so busy that we never follow up on important connec­tions and we loose out in the long run. LinkedIn is a superior tool for keeping you cognizant of your important connec­tions and gives you an easy way to contact with them when the time is right.

• LinkedIn gives you a visual reference of your network, helping you readily discover common­al­ities. You can find someone with a skill you desire. You can post jobs or even apply for them online. When you are looking to join or serve with a new company, you can use LinkedIn to conduct preparatory research. LinkedIn makes it easy to discover which connec­tions you have working with that company or who is asso­ciated with it, even before you have your first interview.
• LinkedIn is a great way to learn about any industry. You can see what other people are up to, see how they are promoting them­selves and view their notable accomplishments.
• LinkedIn manages my database of connec­tions for me. I don’t have to go and look up an e-​mail for anyone that is connected to me or even open up my e-​mail composer to send out a message. It gives me an instant connection to their e-​mail in-​box from their profile page.
• LinkedIn makes it simple for each member to keep their own infor­mation current for the benefit of the community. This feature helps users quickly access updated job summaries, aspi­ra­tions, interests, status, website links, and more.

One last thing about social media sites … there are so many of them out there. If you are using them for your business you will need to care­fully select the ones that help you best maintain profes­sional connec­tions and ulti­mately keep your brand in front of your clients. Professionally, I use Plaxo, Facebook and Twitter, in addition to LinkedIn. MySpace can be good too, if you approach it with a profes­sional touch. But, if you only choose one, I urge you to go with LinkedIn, as it will give you the most profes­sional online presence and effective online networking available.

10 Tips to Making the Most of Your LinkedIn Profile

> > > > > Wait, there’s more! < < < < <

Get the rest of this article “Leveraging LinkedIn’s Networking Power” including the “10 Tips to Making the Most of Your LinkedIn Profile” when you sign up for my e-​zine.

These comple­mentary LinkedIn profile tips and infor­mation on how to use them will dynam­i­cally shift the way you use LinkedIn. Get ready to turbo-​charge your online networking activ­ities and reach out to your industry!

You will also get links to LinkedIn groups for the areas of:

• Art Licensing (Licensees & Licensors)
• Publishing (for Authors & Children’s Book Illustrators)

Also, when you sign up for my “Something to Cherish Souvenirs E-​zine” for occa­sional art and info updates, you can also gain exclusive access to the Cherish COLOR” Trends Toolbar. If you are inspired by colors, you will appre­ciate having this little tool in your back pocket as you use the internet, giving you access to color trend and color mixing infor­mation from all of the leading sites on color.