Business owners connecting on LinkedIn

[Rob and Lisi Wolf]

Hey all,

In addition to the time we spend building up the community of this site, it would be great to also connect with other business owners on LinkedIn.

For those of you that are on LinkedIn, please post a link to your profile on this thread. Here's mine: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robhwolf

For those of you that don't understand what LinkedIn is, check out my blog post on the topic: http://tinyurl.com/4m2vgd

Regards,
Rob

[Michele Puccini]

I am on Linkedin too. Here is my link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mpuccini I just started with it so my profile and such are not yet complete.

[Jen Scanlon]

Hi Rob! Great idea. I just joined LinkedIn and am somewhat obsessed, it is so cool! Have you had success hooking up with people who are 3 degrees away? Any words of wisdom to pass on about using LinkedIn?
Thanks! Here's my link:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jenscanlon

[Rob and Lisi Wolf]

Jen,

Yes, I've had some success making connections through LinkedIn. Most notably, my amazing baby dvd and CD are now at Pottery Barn Kids stores nationwide thanks to LinkedIn. The key is using the "advanced search" functionality. Figure out the companies or titles to people you'd like to reach, and search away. When you have a 2nd or 3rd degree connection, you can ask your mutual acquaintance to make the intro.

Also, build out your network by clicking on people you know and looking at their connections. Chances are, you'll know some of them too.

And finally, use LinkedIn for the SEO benefit it provides (it has a Google PageRank of 8. If you don't know what that means, we need to start teaching you about SEO!) Where you put in links on your profile that say "my website" "my blog", change the label to something rich in the keywords for which you'd like to rank. For example, mine doesn't say "My Website," it says Unique Baby Gifts - That Baby DVD and That Baby CD.

Hope that helps!
Rob

[Jen Scanlon]

Hey Rob, thanks for all of the info. I did what you said about changing my website and blog to specifically list the names of both. I know that i need to learn about SEO! There's just so much to do! Do you know anything about a company called Hubspot? I used their free SEO tool to see how my website stacked up (I knew it wouldn't!) and found it very helpful. Any suggestions for where to go for assistance with the SEO, realistically I am going to have to find help because I can't do it all.

Thanks! Jen

[Christie]

I'm LinkedIn too... http://www.linkedin.com/in/christiecrowder

[Selene M. Bowlby]

I'm also on LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/in/sbowlby - I think it's a great tool for connecting with other business owners. I especially like the QA features (though I know I can do a lot more to utilize it...)

[Mary]

I was never quite sure how to best use LinkedIn... thanks for the heads-up. I have just updated & added to my existing profile... which now includes both of my businesses. Their diversity was the biggest stumbling block... not knowing which to list and/or how to include both. I'm looking forward to spending much more time poking around & creating new connections. Very cool that you were able to get your DVD/CD into Pottery Barn Kids stores. How exactly (if you're willing to divulge) did you manage that?

My link is: http://www.linkedin.com/in/maryhemmingway

[Angela Moore]

I am on there as well. Please be sure to mention Hybrid Mom if you connect with me so I know who you are!

http://www.linkedin.com/in/angelamcmoore

[MicheleD]

I love LinkedIn! It's great for networking and sharing your expertise (through the Q&A area). My profile is at http://www.linkedin.com/in/micheledortch. I also started a working mother networking group on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/118950/21700C5D68E1