Are You Making the Most of LinkedIn?
Source: AICPA CPA Insider
The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article by Jennifer Wilson.
Most CPA professionals I know are now on LinkedIn. But being “on” the platform doesn't magically generate new opportunities for you or your firm. Consider these four “cash-free” strategies you can employ to put LinkedIn to work for you.
1. Use the platform daily
- Schedule 15 to 30 minutes every weekday to work the platform.
- Go to your home page on LinkedIn each day. Read any messages you have, accept any invitations you receive and read the latest “feed” of information.
2. Build your brand
- While you're on your home page, type and share a status update in the box in the upper left-hand corner to tell all of your connections what you're up to and include information about important professional events, news or activities in which you think your network would find value.
- Add your company profile.
- Add and promote some events.
3. Broaden your sphere of influence
- Join a few groups and get to know the groups' members.
- “Vampire” off of your connections. Go out to each of your connections' profiles and click on their connections to see who they are connected to. Remember, seeing and leveraging the connections of your connections is one of the most important benefits of LinkedIn!
4. Research your prospects, clients and referral sources
- Leverage the platform to get smarter. Search by company to learn about prospect organizations and find the names of key decision makers.
- Follow specific clients, competitors, referral sources and vendors.
- Read profiles of others, especially of prospects and referral sources.
For the complete article, read “Using LinkedIn to Develop Business.”
From AICPA CPA Insider, September 26, 2011,