Regular Marketing Activities

Once you've got your profile complete (100%) following the advice in LinkedIn you're ready to start using the platform for regular marketing activities which should include:

1. Join groups relevant to your business. This is a fast growing area so it is worth searching for new groups on a monthly basis. This is a key way to make best use of LinkedIn and there are probably already a lot of groups it would make sense for you to join.
2. Share an update. Whenever you publish a relevent new article, blog post or newsletter to your website, share it  with your connections.
3. Join in group discussions. Share information that is not relevant to all your connections with your groups by posting a discussion board message which can include links to videos, podcasts or event registration pages. Help other people in groups when they ask questions.
4. Follow companies. Click Companies in the main menu to search for any companies you would like to do business with and then click follow to start following them. This way you will be notified of profile changes, new hires, recent departures and promotions within the organization. This information can help you make that very well-timed and informed phone call that could win you the deal.
5. Use applications. When on your home page in LinkedIn scroll down looking at the right hand column there are all sorts of Applications you can add here, including "Reading List by Amazon" gives people an idea of what you're into, "Events" lets you browse events on offer by any groups you are a member of and now also lets you see events your connections are attending. There are applications to let you integrate with blogs, Twitter and others that let you share information (Google presentation, SlideShare Presentation). The number of applications is expanding quickly so it's worth checking on a monthly basis.