The great debate amongst business friends of mine is about whether it is better to have a Linkedin network comprised of people that you actually know, or it’s better to have as many connections as possible. I don’t believe we’ll solve that debate today, as it’s a topic that people are pretty passionate about.
With the help of the tagging feature in Linkedin, you can benefit from employing both methodologies jointly. By being able to tag, or label your connections you have the ability to segment them into specific groups; one of which could be your ‘real connections’.
Tagging can be useful beyond segregating those you are personally acquainted with from those who you have not yet met or personally spoken to. It can turn your Linkedin account into a simple CRM system. Consider the following examples of potentially useful tags:
People I have spoken to: If you take the time to connect with and reach out to new people through Linkedin, it can be useful to track who you have spoken to. That way, you can build on the next interaction and deepen the relationship with this connection by referencing your prior communication, and not having to wonder if you had already spoken or risk offending a connection by not remembering your earlier conversation.
Ideal Prospects:
Business development and sales are most effective when you target ideal prospects and make them a priority. Identifying them can help you maximize your time and efforts in knowing which connections you want to spend time getting to know and cultivating relationships with.
Media:
Getting more publicity and visibility is part of your overall strategy – if its not, I probably don’t need to tell you it should be. Journalists, bloggers and folks who are active on social media, are also on Linkedin. This is another great way to not only build a list of media contacts, but to build relationships with them. That way when you have a story to pitch, you’ll have a warm network to offer first dibs on covering it. [tip – date before you propose…… build a relationship before you start to pitch them stories ]
Thought Leaders/Influencers:
You are probably already following some of your industry thought leaders and influencers. I use a tagged list of these connections to remind myself whose activity I want to check up on, so that I don’t miss any of their pearls of wisdom. I also use it when I need an interview subject, speaker, quote or tips for an article or event I am creating.
Interesting Profiles: For business or for fun, profiles that stand out can serve a few purposes; they can be examples of good LinkedIn profiles that grab your attention that you want to bookmark for future reference, or profiles of people you might like to get to know when your time permits.
Are you using tagging for another purpose? Let us know in the comments below
Here is how to get started tagging your Linkedin connections:
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