With more than 300 million registered members LinkedIn has to potential to be a powerful business development and marketing tool – provided you have a strategy for using it.

LinkedIn can be a “professional network” that has great potential for business-to-business focused companies. The majority of LinkedIn members are decision makers and company leaders. It’s great for prospecting, developing strategic alliances, networking and recruiting.

This feature is an introduction to our Solutions and Connections Workshop, scheduled from 2:45-5:30 p.m. onJune 18^th at the Pennsylvania State University’s Lehigh Valley campus in Center Valley. This informative event is offered by the Women and Minority Business Council.

This workshop is open to all businesses in the Lehigh Valley and you can register online at www.solutionsandconnections.eventbrite.com.

Here are five things we believe that will help you get the most out of LinkedIn and, more importantly, stand out from the crowd and establish meaningful long-term relationships.

Professional Gallery

Make a lasting impression on existing and potential LinkedIn connections with LinkedIn’s images-centric Professional Gallery feature. Display your best blog articles, webinars, videos, presentations, projects and more on your profile in the Summary, Job Experience or Education sections. Just click the “Add Media” icon and either upload a file or add a link to a web address where it is already saved. This is a great feature that allows you to get that extra edge over the competition. It’s OK (and encouraged) to be creative!

Personalized Invitations to Connect

Before you send out your next LinkedIn invitation to connect, take time to personalize the message instead of using the stock LinkedIn message that is automatically included. Why? When you personalize a message, you’re creating a more memorable connection between yourself and the professional you’re trying to add as a contact. A few seconds can make a huge impact.

Introductions

Why make a cold call when you can use your LinkedIn network to meet potential clients, referral partners and strategic alliances? LinkedIn’s Get Introduced feature allows you to send an introduction request to one of your current contacts that is connected with the person you want to meet. To ensure success, make sure you know that mutual connection well and clearly state sound reasons why you’d like your contact to put his reputation at stake to introduce you to one of their connections. No more rejections! But keep in mind that if you have a basic account you’re limited to five of these introductions.

Saved Searches

Let LinkedIn do the prospecting for you with the Saved Searches feature. Discover new people and companies to connect with by searching for specific criteria and then saving that search to your profile. You’ll get automated alerts whenever something new pops up in your saved search criteria. Great for saving time!

Contact Export

Own your LinkedIn connections with a simple but effective Contact Export feature. With the click of a button, you can export all your contacts to MS Excel (including all their details such as company, job title, email address etc.). When you have your contacts in Excel, you can do all the regular things such as sorting and filtering. From there you can easily add people to your CRM, create prospecting lists and more. A word of caution – use this feature responsibly.

This article was written by social media expert Monika Baraket, who will be the main presenter at the June 18th workshop.

NOTE: Would you like to learn more about LinkedIn and how it can boost your business? Plan to attend the Solutions and Connections Workshop on June 18^th. You can register here.