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“Brilliant!” they said – LinkedIn™, Networking & Events

October 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Often we attend networking events with the limited purpose of being available to meet others and re-connect with those we know.  Maybe we make a connection, maybe not.  Networking need not be left to chance, it can be more purposeful than this.  The following strategy optimizes your networking ROR… What’s that you say?  ROR is the return on relationships, a term coined by Kathleen Pringle, a career coach and strategist.  I suggest you consider the following pay-it-forward approach prior to attending the next networking event.

Browse your Rolodex, collection of contacts or your LinkedIn™ contacts.  Identify two people you think would benefit from meeting each other and make arrangements to make the pay-it-forward introduction at an upcoming event.  That’s pretty simple.

3 Simple Steps to Uber-Networking with Uber-ROR using LinkedIn™

  1. Identify a LinkedIn event that you’ll attend soon that would be of general professional interest.
  2. Browse the list provided by LinkedIn™ of attendees and the “Interested.”  Identify those you’d like to re-connect with at the event.
  3. Consider who they’d like to meet from your network.  Forward the LinkedIn™ profiles of each professional to the other person stating that you’d like to facilitate an introduction at the event.

Why wait for event registrants?  Browse your own network and consider an introduction you can make and begin setting it up using the event to make the introduction. I expect you’re seeing the paying-it-forward strategy working here and how it can enhance the ROR with those you are connecting and the value of the event.  Turbo-charge the pay-it-forward philosophy and ask those you will be introducing to follow the same strategy.

Have a need to meet someone yourself?

LinkedIn™ can really accelerate and optimize this process.  Let me explain how. After identifying the desired attendee to meet, use LinkedIn™ to determine who in your network is connected to the desired professional.  Pick up the phone and make a call suggesting that the event would provide a chance to make the connection since the desired contact is already interested or attending the event.

Simply stated in summary come to the event with the purpose of making introductions and watch ROR blossom.  It’s pay-it-forward, the mindset of all great networkers.  Simply showing up at events is only better than not attending.

Filed Under: Events, Networking - Making Connections Tagged With: , , ,

Event Promotion Using Social Networks – LinkedIn™

October 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

You have an event that you wish to promote using word of mouth and social networks.  When the event appeals to professionals and those in business there is no better way to target your promotion efforts than to use LinkedIn™ Events.

There are four ways that events are commonly discovered.  Many professionals discover events on their LinkedIn™ home page where the activity of their connections is reported under “Status” and Events updates.  It’s recommended that you check your LinkedIn™ home page briefly twice a day.  Others will note the event in a LinkedIn™ profile that details a member’s activity.  Some may discover an Event which is promoted in a LinkedIn™ group they belong to in a “Discussion” shared in their group.  Finally an event can be found using the LinkedIn™ Event feature in the Applications folder in the left hand menu.  One can search for events by location, timeframe, type and keyword.

Having found the event, you can “share” or “recommend” the event with your connections.  Within the event description at the bottom are links to “share” or “recommend” the event.  You can “share” the event link with your LinkedIn™ connections via a LinkedIn™ message to alert them of the event.  Invite your network connections to meet you there.  It’s networking face-to-face where trust and relationships are enriched.  If you really want to promote the event, ask your connections to model your sharing efforts inviting them to also “share” the event and its link.  To “recommend” the event you simply select the “recommend” link.  You might expect a pop-up window, but none appears.  What happens is your recommendation of the event appears on the home page of all our connections under the Events updates.  It’s that simple creating word of mouth promotion.  Invite others to recommend the event as well.  You can “recommend” the event once a day if you wish.

Consider sharing this post with anyone you know who is responsible for promoting events in organizations who is seeking new ways to promote their events effectively.   Another post will follow soon taking event promotion for networking to the uber level.

Filed Under: Events, Things LinkedIn Tagged With: , ,