Social media is the new marketing phenomenon – how LinkedIn can help your marketing efforts.

Chances are someone has already invited you to join them on “LinkedIn.com.” This may include friends, colleagues, salespeople and maybe even some people you barely know.

What should you do? You already have plenty to do – do you really need to add something else to your plate? Since we have researched LinkedIn and used it effectively, we can give you some tips.

Generally yes, you should go ahead and join LinkedIn. However, to make it productive you’ll need to consider a few things:

1.) The first step is to define your objectives. Why do this? Do you want to get or share ideas with colleagues? Do you want to position yourself as a thought leader in a given area? Are you looking for new social opportunities? Are you looking to find new opportunities through networking? Or are you simply looking for an easy, non-obtrusive way to stay in touch with people you know?

2.) Your Profile. Don’t do what most people do, i.e., simply sign up for your free account and then forget it. Plan on investing an hour to get to know the LinkedIn arena and fill out your profile. You don’t need to list everything you’ve ever done when you are getting started, but the more relevant you look to your desired target audience and objectives, the better.

3.) Strictly business. Remember that LinkedIn is business oriented. Most Internet-savvy people put their social lives on Facebook, their business lives on LinkedIn. While there are exceptions, getting too casual on LinkedIn is not a good idea.

4.) You can reach nearly anyone. LinkedIn has a reputation for being a place for salespeople, recruiters and people looking for jobs. However, you would be making a mistake if you assumed that everyone on LinkedIn falls into those categories.

You can use LinkedIn to connect with many hard-to-reach VIPs including the press, government officials and executives at leading companies.

For example, Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn’s Founder and CEO, is also one of the Internet’s leading financiers and entrepreneurs. In March, 2009, Hoffman stated on the Charlie Rose Show that he won’t “take a meeting with a prospective entrepreneur if they don’t come referred. It’s actually one of the ways I use my own personal LinkedIn profile.”

Most of what LinkedIn offers is free, but they do offer several premium accounts that will increase its utility. Once you know your way around LinkedIn you can explore these options if appropriate. LinkedIn’s most important feature is “groups.” LinkedIn offers thousands of groups that you can join, based upon your interests and background. Some are open – anyone can join – and others require approval from the group’s creator. Some of the groups I have personally joined include the American Medical Association, Association of Medical Media and the AIGA (The professional Association for Design).

You can get updates weekly (or daily if you prefer), and some groups are better than others. The good news is that you can easily opt out of the ones that waste your time. Participate in the groups you join. Contribute useful comments, forward links, share content or ideas, answer or ask questions. Over time, people will begin to notice you and reach out to you with things that will directly benefit you. Beware, however, that overt self-promotion is a faux pas.

While LinkedIn advises its users to link solely with people they know, the dividing line can become fuzzy. You really need to use discretion, because if too many people say they don’t know you, LinkedIn will suspend your account.

You may find these new groups helpful:

At this stage, your best path to learning is experiential. You’ll have to get online and sign up to really understand it. So go get an account, fill out your profile, and make sure you do a search for groups that might be relevant to your interests. If you need help setting up online profiles for social networking sites, or if you think that you could incorporate social networking into your marketing plan, but need some advice, call us at 561 596.9071 or contact us via email.

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1. Social Media & Healthcare Marketing
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3. Healthcare Marketing, How to Bring in New Patients