How to Become a Subject Matter Expert on LinkedIn

In 2007, I wrote a post about the top 10 ways to quickly become a subject matter expert using LinkedIn. I entered a contest and I won a free trip to BlogWorld! Written in 2007, this is one of my most popular posts by far, [thanks for the inspiration and for sponsoring the contest, Scott Allen!] I’m updating it with ten more ways. Add yours and let’s keep the list growing. If you’d like to invite me to connect on LinkedIn, here’s my LinkedIn profile.

Top 20 Ways to Quickly Becoming a Recognized Subject Matter Expert on LinkedIn by Barbara Rozgonyi

1. Grow your connections in the categories you want to reach; review every invitation before you accept to see if there’s a fit with your profile.

2. After you accept an invitation, reply with a quick personal message that includes a few bullet points about what you do, an opportunity to ask questions about your industry and additional ways to connect with you online such as your blog, ezine or forum.

3. Present your profile to match the audience you want to target with benefits or accomplishments that highlight your expertise to draw them in.

4. In the websites section of your profile, add a link to a page that lists your news, social media bio, articles or publications.

5. Ask survey questions via a poll on your profile to collect information for a report or survey you’ll publish as a white paper based on your LinkedIn community’s experience.

6. Vote in other polls and comment with specific information based on your expertise.

7. Match your industries to your network, unless you’re a consultant to a specific industry who will benefit from being visible to your peers as well as your consulting base.

8. Talk about your LinkedIn networking experiences on your blog and in your marketing communications and make your LinkedIn site [www.linkedin.com/in/yourname] as prominent as your home page URL in all communications

9. Get recommended as an expert resource by asking those who value your insights to write a reference that promotes you [and them!].

10. Redirect interest to your own personal community, such a blog or forum, where people can learn, contribute and continue the dialogue with a link to or mention of the community in your public profile and track traffic to measure results.

11. If you see a fit, set up a time to talk to explore ways to work together.

12. Check into your profile page at least once a week to see what’s new in your community.

13. Explore groups and join one at a time. Begin by introducing yourself, what you do, why you’re there, and what you can share.

14. Think of LinkedIn as a research tool and include searching on LinkedIn as an action step.

15. Invite your contacts from Facebook, twitter and other networks to join your LinkedIn network.

16. Once a week, contact someone in your network you’d like to know better with a question or a comment.

17. Look for people to invite based on hashtags you follow.

18. Optimize your profile with keywords that relate to your area of subject matter expertise.

19. Host a LinkedIn meet up – virtual or real – in your town or at a conference.

20. Become the welcoming ambassador for your area of expertise by regularly searching for and greeting newcomers.

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