Online networking
There are several online networking sites suitable for professionals including Plaxo, Xing and LinkedIn. LinkedIn is by far the most used amongst the interim management community and has well over 100 million users across in excess of 200 countries.
The following are some tips to help you get the most out of LinkedIn:
Create a great profile
Use the summary section to let people know what you are really all about. They will probably decide to read on based on this section so make it informative and passionate. What you can do (ideally results you can achieve), who you do it for (your target audiences) and why you are so good at it (your skills, knowledge and experience). Keep your profile up to date and with fresh content. This will automatically be notified to all your connections and keep you front of mind.
Testimonials
Get testimonials from as many relevant people as you can. Don’t just get them to write what a ‘nice’ person you are, but get them also to think about what you helped them achieve. Write testimonials for others who have done a great job for you.
Connect
Start by all means with your current contacts. Most of them will already be on Linkedin. The real beauty of sites like these is the exponential growth in the number of people you can reach through your contacts or your contacts’ contacts. It’s called ‘degrees of separation’. Don’t just connect with as many as possible but target those you would really like to connect with. Search by company name or a person's name that you are targeting and then you’ll see a potential route for getting a warm introduction to them.
Join groups and get involved in discussions
Find relevant groups. There are countless groups on LinkedIn that are of particular relevance to interim managers (see networking organisations). Ideally get involved in discussion groups where your target markets ‘meet’ and get involved in answering or posing questions that are of interest to them. Following these discussions is a great way of identifying the key issues that concern them.
Useful resources
If you would like to find out more about online networking, there are plenty of helpful materials and blogs available on the internet.
“I’m on LinkedIn, now what!” - blog by Jason Alba