LinkedIn is one of the most relevant social media tools for business and, in my personal opinion, one of the most fun!!

LinkedIn is like a working resume; you catalog your work history/specialties, get recommendations from coworkers, and connect with those you already do business with as well as prospects you’d like to meet. You can link your blog, twitter account, even read and recommend books. In short, this is Facebook for professionals (minus the pictures of you from high school you never thought you’d have to see again;-)

This article by Marketo (which I found on LinkedIn;-) addresses the 5 Reasons to Leverage LinkedIn To Increase Your B2B Prospects but I’ve listed a few highlights for getting started:

1. Profile – Make sure your profile is 100% complete, add a picture, list job experience and get recommendations from colleagues.
2. Participate – Like all social media, your page requires effort on your part. Actively participate by accepting invitations from those you know (see #4) recommending books, joining groups, etc.
3. Blog – If you write a blog, add it to your page.  If your connections write blogs, follow them.
4. Invitations – Be discretionary with your invitations. You should have actually had face to face interactions with the people you connect with, whether you’ve done business with them or not, you should be able to recommend them for a job with confidence.
5. Search – Companies, people, prospects and leverage the connections you have with those you desire. That’s really what it’s all about…

Are you LinkedIn?