Celebration of New Business Start-Ups

Events in 17 libraries throughout the UK were held on the 20^th September, celebrating Start-up Day, in collaboration with Santander, and once again proved to be a huge success.

More than 1,000 people attended across all locations, welcoming entrepreneurs for fully funded talks, workshops and advice sessions.  I was delighted to be invited to present a workshop on ‘How to Network on LinkedIn – Get Connected and Grow Your Business’, and here I have compiled my top tips from the day, so that you can continue your start-up journey.

1. LinkedIn Profile – get it complete and up to date!

Building connections starts with people seeing all that you have to offer and those with 100% complete profiles are 40 times more likely open to opportunities through LinkedIn.

2. You’re more experienced than you think!

Think broadly about all your experience, including summer jobs, internships, volunteer work, and any student organisations you were involved with.  You never know what might catch someone’s eye.

3. Ask for recommendations

A recommendation from a client or customer is a great way to show that you are the expert in your field and that you’ve done a great job.  I also recommend that you ask permission for these to be used in other areas of your marketing, such as website, brochures, email footers etc. – don’t just keep them on LinkedIn.

4. Use your inbox

Networking on LinkedIn doesn’t mean reaching out cold to strangers. Start building your LinkedIn network and connect to those people you know, like and trust, in the first instance.  The trick is to then see who they know so you can ask your trusted connection for an introduction, and guess what, they’ll be much more likely to help if you already know them.

5. Default Messages -V- Customised Messages

It’s an absolute must that you tailor your LinkedIn request, let’s look at why…

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

OR

“Hi XX, it was great to meet you at XX last week. It is good to see you on LinkedIn and thought we could stay in touch?”

What would you prefer to receive in your inbox?  I’d certainly prefer the message where they have certainly taken their time to be interested – try it for yourself!

6. Join in the crowd

LinkedIn Groups can help you form new connections, start with any alumni groups, find other organisations and any associations that you belong to, or groups who are relevant to your industry sector/expertise.

7. Follow-up

Take the relationship off LinkedIn – offer to meet for a coffee or schedule a “virtual coffee” – the only way for connections to get to know, like and trust you.

Summary

• Make sure your profile is 100% complete and updated, include your experience.
• Ask for recommendations, they are important to show off your great work!
• Connect to people you know, like and trust.
• Always customise your connection request or messages.
• Join in the crowd – look up those groups of interest.
• Follow-up!  Like any relationship it’s all about keeping in touch and following up.

If you’d like to chat about any LinkedIn training requirements, bespoke to your company either on a one to one or group basis, please contact me on 07752 539719 or 0161 826 7181 or email info@bizwizuk.co.uk.

By Ann Davies, Director