Today, LinkedIn is undoubtedly the quintessential tool for
networking in the professional world.
With the millions of members growing rapidly every day, it has become
imperative to have an account to establish a professional image in a desired
field. Furthermore, with an account
comes a variety of connections ranging from personal family and friends to boss
and co-workers to new employment opportunities and finally most important for
business advancement, new leads. With
that, it is most exciting that LinkedIn has launched a new, innovative program
called “LinkedIn Contacts,” which makes it easy for users to organize, build
and maintain all of their relationships with contacts in one place. LinkedIn Contacts truly has the potential for
businesses to engage with new leads, build a personalized relationship and
ultimately, develop into a lasting client.
Getting Started
The great aspect of LinkedIn Contacts is that it has the
ability to sync all contacts from Gmail, Yahoo, Microsoft Outlook and even an
iPhone Address Book. To begin, simply
log in to LinkedIn and selecting ‘Contacts’ under the ‘Network’ tab. Once you are redirected, click ‘Contacts’ and
begin synching selected email or iPhone accounts. Finally, contacts will then appear
seamlessly, all in one place.
LinkedIn Contacts can also be downloaded from the Apple App
Store to an iPhone. It should be noted
that ‘Contacts’ is a separate application from the LinkedIn application. Overall, the new program is entirely designed
for convenience.
image via Melonie Dodaro
Personalizing
Relationships
As a business, it can be challenging to manage contacts and
remember important information about them that help a relationship move
forward.
On the main page of LinkedIn Contacts, there are six
different filters available including:
- · Recent Conversations
- · Newly Added
- · Alphabetical
- · Company
- · Location
- · Lost Touch
This ability allows a business to easily decipher contacts
and find the exact person they wish to view, message or call.
In addition, LinkedIn Contacts gives a business the
capability to personalize a relationship with a contact privately, with the
information only visible to you. By
clicking on a contact’s profile under the new ‘Relationship’ tab, there are several
options that can enhance your memory and relationship of them, which include:
- · Note: A note can include anything about the new lead or client that specifically identifies them. It can also include a reminder to yourself that you need to set a meeting with them in the near future.
- · Reminder: A reminder is a more advanced ‘Note’ that will notify you directly in the allotted amount of time set. Reminders can even be regular, ongoing alerts that prompt you to have regular conversations in an attempt to build and grow a relationship.
- · How You Met: Certainly one of the most common issues for businesses that are constantly interacting with many contacts is recalling who a person is, where they’re from and how you met. The ‘How You Met’ tool allows you to record the exact time and place you met a new lead, and even who introduced you to them.
- · Tag: Tags allow you to give a specific title to the contact such as “New Leads” or “Possible Partnerships.” It will group together contacts you give the same tag to and create a new filter on your main ‘Contacts’ page.
LinkedIn Contacts gives businesses the ability to
personalize contacts that will help identify the specifics of a person and
build a memory of them that will overall enhance your relationship.
image via HubSpot
Always Staying
Connected
The success of a business is certainly correlated to a
continuous connection with employees, new leads and even established
clients. It is now more than ever easier
to always stay connected with LinkedIn Contacts.
The new program has implemented several notifications
including meeting dates and times, birthday reminders and an announcement when
a fellow contact is promoted to a new job opportunity. These notifications can have an impact on
your business by constantly staying in touch and gaining appreciation from
contacts. LinkedIn Contacts will even
notify you if you have “lost touch” with a certain contact and recommend you to
message them.
There is also an integration to ‘Contacts’ known as “Trip
It,” which will notify you when certain contacts are within location and
suggest meeting with them in the area.
Trip It can be downloaded by the ‘Add Contact’ page where you sync
contacts.
Finally, LinkedIn Contacts has a separate tab called “Your
Day,” which completely displays the events you have planned for the day. It is also where you have the opportunity to
say “Happy Birthday” or “Congratulations” to contacts.
The Impact It Could
Have On Your Business
With all the exciting opportunities LinkedIn Contacts
offers, it can be overwhelming to get started and begin utilizing all the
amazing features. However, I assure you
the program is designed for convenience, accessibility and the opportunity to
enhance relationships with contacts. As
a result, this program allows businesses to organize, manage and nurture
important relationships that truly lead to a profitable success. In addition, there are so many other contact
opportunities for businesses to discover that go beyond leads and clients
including:
- · Building relationships with key contacts from companies that could grow into a possible partnership
- · Connecting with other media contacts to cover more marketing mediums and gain coverage
- · Conversing with potential employers or recruiting new talent
I strongly suggest you to take advantage of LinkedIn
Contacts to manage your personal and professional marketing relationships. For more information, a tutorial is available
on their website.
By: Jessica Zell, Social Fox Media
For more information on how to take your social media marketing to the next level,
contact Social Fox Media today.
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