Three steps to getting more from LinkedIn

1. Look for prospects through your connections’ contacts
Take ten minutes to research the professionals that your connections are familiar with through LinkedIn. Remember that you are looking for individuals who fit your target market.

When you find someone you think could be a potential prospect, send a friendly private message to your mutual connection. Inform this person that you are interested in speaking with his or her contact and ask if he or she would mind arranging an introduction.

If you want this effort to produce results, Jeanjean says, be bold: send one introduction request per business day.

2. Post content
Use five minutes of your time to add links to your blog or attach well-researched documents such a white paper or a case study.

And keep an eye out for LinkedIn’s new publishing platform feature. This tool, which is currently being rolled out in phases, will allow you to republish blog posts in their entirety directly on the LinkedIn site. This feature makes your content more visible, and connections will not have to choose to follow your link.

Posting your content on LinkedIn will increase your profile’s visibility on that site and in leading search engines, Jeanjean adds.

To find out whether you’ve received access to this tool, check your “share an update” box. If there’s an option for editing, you can publish directly on the site.

On the days when you don’t have a new blog post, simply add a line or two about an article you have read or an activity you enjoyed recently.

3. Watch for connections’ updates
Spend five minutes looking at the profiles of five contacts to see if they have updated their profiles. Has anyone joined a new company or received a promotion? Have any connections posted status updates on whether they’re hiring or changing an element of their business?

Says Jeanjean: “It’s about gathering business intelligence that will allow you to have a good conversation with your existing clients.”

Make note of any interesting updates you can bring up in a future phone conversation or review meeting. Also, be interactive on the site by “liking” or commenting on a post.

If these contacts are clients, this information could signify a reason to explore the possibility of providing a new service. For example, if a client has posted an update saying he is leaving his current firm to start his own company, you can congratulate him and offer your assistance in providing financial planning for a small business.