1. New Mexico Broadband Program Internet Tools for Small Business
Module 12
LinkedIn

2. Internet Tools for Small Business Success Class Series
Terminology & Planning
Communication & Collaboration
Accounting & Finance
Intro to Online Marketing
E-Newsletters
Websites & Blogs
Search Engine Optimization
E-Commerce
Intro to Social Media Marketing
Facebook & Twitter
Social Media Administration
LinkedIn
This module is the twelfth and final in a series of classes that teach how to use Internet tools to increase the success of a small business.

3. Primary Business Components
Planning
Operations
Accounting & Finance
Sales & Marketing
Hiring
Accounting
& Finance
Operations
Planning
The twelve classes are structured around the five major components involved in running a small business.
These five major components are: Planning, Operations, Finance and Accounting, Sales and Marketing, and Hiring. Each of the 12 modules in this training series falls under one of these categories.
This module is the twelfth and final in the series. In this module, you will learn about LinkedIn and how you can use it to network with other professionals, find work, and post open jobs.
Management & Hiring
Marketing
& Sales

4. How This Class Works Discussion Demonstration Hands-on Exercise
This class is comprised of a combination of lectures and discussions, demonstrations, and hand-on exercises.

5. Class Framework Divided into Core Business Elements
Internet Tools for each Element
Terminology
Realm of tools
Choosing the right tool for your business
Getting Started

6. Class Goals Understand the categories of social media tools
and where LinkedIn fits into those categories
Learn the benefits of using LinkedIn
Understand the terms first-degree, second-
degree, and third-degree connections
Register for a LinkedIn account and set up profile
Here are the goals for today’s class.

7. Terminology Social Media
A suite of online services that facilitates two-way communication and content sharing
LinkedIn is considered a social media tool. As we have discussed in several of the previous modules, social media came of age in 2004 when Internet technology, referred to as Web 2.0, offered new advances that allowed interactive 2-way communication. Social Media is a suite of online (over the Internet) services that facilities 2-way communication and sharing of content.

8. Types of Social Media Blogs (Wordpress, Blogger)
Microblogging (Twitter)
Social Networks (Facebook, Myspace)
Social Media Sharing: video (YouTube); photo (Flickr, Picasa); audio (podcast alley)
Social Bookmarking (Digg.com, StumbleUpon.com)
Professional Networking (LinkedIn)
There are seven basic categories or types of social media. In previous classes, we looked at Wordpress, Facebook, and Twitter. In this class, we will look at the most popular social media tool for professional networking, LinkedIn.

9. What is it? Considered the web’s “professional social network”
Also used to post jobs and search for jobs
On average, 36.5 million people visit LinkedIn.com every month
25,000,000 users in USA
LinkedIn is a good tool to use when you want to network with other professionals in your industry or in supporting industries. The idea of LinkedIn is to network with other business professionals who can add to your reputation and marketing efforts. It’s also a great tool to use if you are looking for more work, or want to hire new employees or consultants.
With LinkedIn, you build a network of other professionals. Much like a professional networking event, “mixer,” or cocktail party, the idea is that your colleagues introduce you to their colleagues. In this way, you build your network of contacts. Through this system, it’s common to get a referral from someone who knows someone who is looking for just what you or your company has to sell. In much that same way, if you are looking for a talented, hard-working, and ethical new employee, receiving a “personal recommendation” from someone in your network on LinkedIn can be invaluable.

10. How it works Create a professional profile – this is similar to a
resume
Add a picture
Create a detailed biography
Add a link to your website, Facebook page, etc.
Have those who know you write recommendations
The process starts when you sign up for an account and then create your own professional profile. Think of it as a resume or a detailed biography about your talents and skills.

11. How it works Begin creating connections with people you know
Get introduced to second and third degree connections by the people you know
Get recommended
Find recommendations for filing open jobs
Then, you look for people you know that are already on LinkedIn and send them an invitation to connect with you. This happens inside LinkedIn, and LinkedIn s them a request to connect with you. Like a “friend” request on Facebook, your invitation must be accepted, much like Facebook sends a request to “friend” someone before you can see their information and add them to your network.
Once you are connected to people you know (a first level connection), you will be able to see the people they know and these are your “second level connections”. This is how the number of your digital network connections spread.

12. How it works http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzT3JVUGUzM
This short 2 minute video does a good job of explaining LinkedIn, first and second level connections, and why LinkedIn can be valuable to tool to use in your business.

13. Other features Send an invitation to a colleague
Ask for an introduction
Ask for a recommendation
Accept a recommendation
Send and receive messages
Join a group
Start a group
Establish yourself as an expert
If you have a colleague that isn’t currently connected on LinkedIn, you can send him or her an invitation to join. LinkedIn can also be used when you want to get an introduction to someone that one of your connections knows. For example, if you have been looking for a way to get introduced to a reporter for an important business magazine, you can ask one of your connections who knows that person to introduce you.
LinkedIn can be used to ask for and post professional recommendations and send and receive private messages. You can also join groups. Groups are started by LinkedIn members with common interests. Groups are created to discuss a certain profession or company, an are also created for former alumni, nonprofit organizations, etc.

14. Create an Account at www.linkedin.com
To begin using LinkedIn, you must set up a new account (register). It’s easy and it’s free.

15. Setting up your LinkedIn Profile
Go to and register for a new account
Login to your new account and follow the instructions on your handout for creating your profile

16. Review of Class Goals Understand the categories of social media tools
and where LinkedIn fits into those categories
Learn the benefits of using LinkedIn
Understand the terms first-degree, second
-degree, and third-degree connections
Register for a LinkedIn account and set up your
profile
To end, here are the class goals that we talked about at the beginning of today’s training. Did we meet them?
Hopefully you understand the purpose of LinkedIn and how you can use it to expand your professional network, find additional work, and hire employees that come with the recommendation of your colleagues and connections. You began your LinkedIn profile in class, and we hope you will continue to develop your profile and add connections to expand your network once class is over.
Thank you for coming to class and we hope you enjoyed the classes in the Internet Tools for Small Business Success series.

17. We appreciate the time you spent with us
We appreciate the time you spent with us. We hope to see you at the next training!
These materials were created collaboratively by the New Mexico Department of Information Technology, Fast Forward New Mexico, and the New Mexico State Library, under grants provided by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. These materials are not to be used for profit. Connecting you to a world of opportunities