I thought I knew everything about LinkedIn. I’ve been using it for years. But after reading Neal Schaffer’s Maximizing LinkedIn for Sales and Social Media Marketing, I realized there is a lot more to learn, especially since there are more than 100 million members including executives from Fortune 500 companies on the site.

Laced with case studies, Schaffer’s new book is certainly worth the $21.95 retail price and then some.

For starters, I didn’t realize the importance of a 100% completed LinkedIn profile for search engine optimization reasons. One of the tips he wrote about was to make sure that all of your employees are on LinkedIn and that they use the same description about your company. He feels that the more data and key words added to your profile will help maximize your SEO when people are searching for you.

The search engine on LinkedIn is incredible. You can actually segment your market and if you are a premium user (paid-user), you can even send individualized notes through InMail to your target market. Schaffer says that if you do a search, make sure to go back every day and check to see how many new people have joined.

He tells the reader that it’s not so much about the first-degree connections; it’s the second-degree that are “most critical to your network.” The other interesting things that he says is that it’s imperative to get involved in groups and answers.

I remember when I opened my Rochester office, I opened a networking group on LinkedIn and every time I was in town, I would send out notices to my group members. As a result, we would have at least 10 people sitting around a table chatting and networking. Although it didn’t directly lead to business, it helped me establish myself in the Rochester market.

According to Schaffer, there are more than 17 million people in groups and more than 1.5 million join one every day. Get involved in as many groups as possible; he suggests you join 50 groups. He tells the reader to make sure to send messages to people in the group who you are not connected to to make contact.

Answers is also a great way to get exposure and become an expert in the industry. Make sure to check it every day and if there is a question in your category answer it.

He talks a little bit about the importance of LinkedIn Today and how you can get up-to-date information on LinkedIn’s features and on social media.
Schaffer recommends having at least one status update a day and finds it unnecessary to link LinkedIn with Twitter. He talks about ways to enhance business development.

One of the questions I always get when I am speaking about any topic on social media is how do I find time to use these different sites. He suggests with LinkedIn in particular to go on every day, check feeds, answer questions and send inMails. It should take approximately an hour or so.

Maximizing LinkedIn for Sales and Social Media Marketing is a must-have tool for anyone who needs to develop business using LinkedIn.

Related articles

• What To Do With LinkedIn Requests? by Kristie Galvani (hilarytopper.com)

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DISCLOSURE: GIVEN A SAMPLE
I have a material connection because I received a gift or sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item or gift after my review period. Individual links could be associated with affiliate marketing sites and through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

Did you know that 80% of the pumpkin supply in the U.S. is available in October?

No wonder we see pumpkins on every doorstep! But pumpkins are not just for carving; they taste delicious and can be used in a variety of recipes for fall.

Contrary to popular belief, Pumpkins are actually a fruit, not a vegetable – which makes this sweet ingredient perfect for use in dessert recipes like the individual cakes below. Serve these up in honor of National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day on October 21st for easy entertaining and hassle-free clean up. These bite-size, single-serve sweets are perfect for fall and family gatherings!

Individual Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecakes:

·         12 Cupcake liners
·         Nonstick cooking spray
·         2 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream cheese, at room temperature
·         1/2 cup Granulated sugar
·         1 1/2 Tbsp. All-purpose flour
·         1 tsp. Vanilla extract
·         Pinch of salt
·         2 large Eggs
·         1/2 cup Pure Pumpkin
·         2 Tbsp. Coffee-mate seasonal pumpkin spice flavor
·         2 tsp. Ground cinnamon

-PREHEAT oven to 300° F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with liners; coat liners with Nonnstick cooking spray.
-BEAT Cream cheese, sugar, flour, Vanilla extract and salt in large mixer bowl until smooth. Beat in Eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Transfer 1/2 cup batter to a medium mixer bowl.
-ADD Pumpkin and Coffee-mate; stir until blended.
-DIVIDE white Cream cheese batter evenly among prepared cups; top evenly with pumpkin batter. Swirl batters with butter knife.
-BAKE for 16 to 18 minutes or until just set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.

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DISCLOSURE: NO CONNECTION, UNPAID, MY OWN OPINIONS
I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein. However, individual links could be associated with affiliate marketing sites and through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

I will be married two months on October 12.  Since getting married, I have been asked the same questions over and over again.  When I came back to work after the wedding and honeymoon, everyone asked, “how was the wedding, how was the honeymoon?”  Once Labor Day came and the start of the “new work and school year” began the question shifted.  Now, whenever I meet people they ask “how is married life treating you.”

I think it is kind of a funny question to ask.  I thought to myself, do things really change? Being married, does it make me a different person?  I guess in a way it does.  You go from doing things on your own to doing things with someone who is now (and has been for awhile) number one in your life.  You can no longer worry about yourself but you now worry about someone else as well.  So yes, it does change, but in what way?

The first networking event I attended after getting married, someone asked me the question, “how is married life treating you” the answer to me was simple, “amazing”.  After marrying my prince charming, who I have known for 10 years, I find myself gushing over him and carrying on.  He does the laundry (which is great, since I hate doing it), puts food in the oven for dinner so its ready when I get home, pays some of the bills and surprises me with flowers almost once a week.  Coming home to flowers and candles on at the kitchen table just melts my heart and makes me think how lucky I am.

So if you see me at an event and want to ask me the question “how is married life treating you” I will simply say, “amazing.  It is everything I ever wished for.”

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DISCLOSURE: NO CONNECTION, UNPAID, NOT MY OWN
I have not received any compensation for posting this content. The views expressed in this guest blog do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC. Individual links could be associated with affiliate marketing sites and through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

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The other day, I was in Central Park riding bicycles with my family. We rode along the outside of the park up and down steep hills. There were times when I had to get off the bike and walk it up the hill. It was that steep!

We stopped at Strawberry Fields. It was John Lennon’s birthday and there were tons of people gathered on the lawn singing Lennon songs like “Give Peace a Chance.” We stayed there for a little while but since it was so crowded we decided to move on.

We rode a little more and then saw a street performer. We stopped to watch. While we were standing there, I noticed that there was a skywriter in the sky. The plane spelled out L A S T. I wondered if there was more. Then I saw C H A N C E.

I started to get spooked out a little. Here I was in NYC in the center of everything and was this someone trying to tell us something. What was the last chance for?

I heard other people talking about it. No one knew what it meant. Who would write this?

The next day, I was listening to 1010Wins and they mentioned that there was a skywriter who wrote the words – LAST CHANCE – in the sky and that it was an art project fully funded by the city.

Now why would the city do that?

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DISCLOSURE: NO CONNECTION, UNPAID, MY OWN OPINIONS
I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein. However, individual links could be associated with affiliate marketing sites and through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

The other day, I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into my office and saw a huge box on my desk.

I quickly opened it up as if it were a Christmas present and found two smaller boxes. Inside one was a decorative glass jar filled with mixed nuts. The second one was a round tin filled with Pecan Turtles. These two items were two of 10 items being sold through the Girl Scouts of Nassau County’s CFO (Creative Funding Opportunity) Program.

The CFO Program is available to tap into the business-gift giving market. It will help girls earn extra funds for their troop, their own activities and service projects. The Program helps girls learn goal setting, decision-making, money management and business ethics as they support their Girl Scout Leadership experience.

The CFO Program sets girls up with access to an online web store where customers can purchase products using their credit card and a girl’s ID number.

Products offered include: Colossal Cashews, Gourmet Blend (mixed nuts), Chocolate Tuttles, Jumbo Cashews, Deluxe Mixed Nuts, Merry Berry Mix, Giant Crunch Peanuts, Gourmet Caramel Corn with Nuts, Mil Chocolate Covered Almonds, Chocolate Tuttles and English Butter Toffee.

Prices range from $22.85 to 57.85.

These treats are a perfect gift to send to a client, business associate or friend to just say “Thank you” or to wish them a “Happy Holiday!”

Thank you Girl Scouts of Nassau County for making my day with these amazing items. I can’t stop eating the nuts. They are truly yummy and delicious. As for the Chocolate Pecan Turtles, they are made of caramel, pecans and milk chocolate. They just melt in your mouth. They are really good too!

TO PLACE AN ORDER
Go to www.ashdonfarmscfo.com and put in seller ID # 60-77382. By putting in the seller ID number, the money raised will go directly to the Girl Scouts of Nassau County.

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DISCLOSURE: EMPLOYEE/SHAREHOLDER/BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
I have a direct relationship with a brand, topic or product that is mentioned herein. Affiliation may be a client, vendor, business, friend or shareholder of HJMT. Individual links could be associated with affiliate marketing sites and through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.