Thanks so much to Mari Smith for interviewing me for a teleseminar for the International Social Media Club Association. Because lots of people out there want to know about LinkedIn, I offered to answer the questions that came up in the forum. Today I’m sharing them with you, too. Special thanks goes out to Lyn-Dee Eldridge for being so great to work with in setting up the teleseminar. Here’s a picture of me, Mari Smith and Artist Tara Reed at BlogWorld Expo 2009.
Q. Is slide share secure or is your presentation then in the public domain and available for other people to use?
A. You can adjust privacy settings as well download options. For the most protection, set downloads to no and add a copyright footer to every slide. Also include contact information in the description along with a reminder that the information is copyright protected. You can also edit your presentation to only show slides you’re comfortable sharing.
Q. Can you clarify re the RSS feed for Questions on Facebook. Are you subscribing to Questions on topics related to your field of expertise?
A. Do you mean RSS for questions on LinkedIn? If so, look for the RSS tab at the bottom of the column on the right hand side of the questions page, which is found in the answers section. To get there, select answers from the More . . . tab in the main nav bar.
Q. Where is the question area in linked in?
A. Look for the Answers tab on the top nav bar in the More. . . section. Click on Answers and look for the browse column on the right. Click on the categories you’re interested in.
Q. Where are these questions and Answers you are talking about?
A. Look for the Answers tab on the top nav bar in the More. . . section. Click on Answers and look for the browse column on the right. Click on the categories you’re interested in. Then you can drill down into more specifics. The Answers home page also lists questions.
Q. What is preferred for recommendations? Most on your most recent job or spread out across your jobs or something else?
A. Recommendations can come from work or personal connections. When you send a recommendation request, LinkedIn asks you to choose what you want to be recommended for. So, the recommendation appears in the job listing you select.
Q. How to I move my Recommendations up in my profile?
A. You can read this article: https://wiredprworks.com/2010/02/linkedin-profile-tips-order/ Or, just use the arrowed drag bar to rearrange the sections in your profile.
Q. What is a good strategy to ask people to join your professional network? This is if you don’t know them personally, but are members of the same group. At times, even if you indicate your members of the same group, members will indicate “I don’t know” which can get acct. restricted.
A. Note something you have in common with them, or tell them why you want to add them. Are they an expert in something you want to know more about? Let them know you’re interested in what they do. The more personalized your introduction, the better.
Q. Do you need a paid membership on Linkedin to be able to effectively network using this tool?
A. Not unless you’re a power user. Test it out for a month or two to see if you benefit from paying the extra fees. There is no free trial, that I know of.
Q. On Linked In- how important is it that you know your connections well?
A. Good question! Some people are okay with numbers, others want to be able to at least recognize a face and chat about a common interest. Relationships come in all degrees, but the better you know your connections the more you can help them out and connect them with others who can benefit from their knowledge or services.
Q. How often are you hearing about Facebook sites being hacked and what is best way to prevent it? What do think of Facebook ads and do you have any suggestions?
A. That’s a big concern, especially for corporate IT departments. Not sure how to prevent it – maybe someone else in the forum can answer that. Facebook ads are a low cost way to reach lots of folks. Check out the case studies at http://www.facebook.com/advertising/ My tip: test keywords to see which ones attract your audience.
Q. wondering how to use hash tag to twitter
A. Hi – are you asking how to post #fb [hashtag that posts updates from twitter to Facebook] or do you want to know how to update from Facebook to twitter? This page has more information: http://www.facebook.com/twitter/
Q. what is the most effective way to increase your presence on LinkedIn (not quantity of connections, but effectiveness of getting your message out)
A. Only one way? Getting your message out in three ways: keyword optimized profile, updating your profile regularly and finding people who are looking for the help you can give them.
Q. Sometimes there are LinkedIn profiles which require an email address in order to connect. How can we connect with this person if we don’t have their email?
A. You can click on add this person to my network and then select friend. Keep in mind that if they don’t know who you are they can click “I don’t know this person,” which isn’t good for you.
Have question about LinkedIn? Leave it in the comment box or send me an email to corywestmedia @gmail.com.
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