10 Minutes a Day . . . LinkedIn

How many times has a client or workshop participant said “I’d love to do ______ , but I simply have no time!” Believe me – I am the queen of having no time, but let’s admit it, even the busiest among us somehow manage to squeeze in Candy Crush, Words With Friends or whatever your cell phone distraction may be. Let’s brainstorm on things we can do with our cellphones to build our businesses – and not just our top scores! – and maybe we can substitute one cell phone obsession with another. With your phone you can:

• Go to your profile page (or click “Me” on the LinkedIn app) and edit your headline, which is found directly under your name. Whenever you like/comment on something or come up in LinkedIn search or connections, the 3 things someone sees are your photo, name and headline, so make your headline count! Brainstorm about what 120 characters with inspire people to click and learn more about you – or spend your 10 minutes today looking at other headlines to see what captures your attention.
• In just 10 minutes you can read through your news feed, read an interesting article or two, and participate in the conversation with a like, comment or share. Remember, on of your goals on LinkedIn – as with all marketing techniques – is to stay in people’s minds, and on LinkedIn, that means to stay on people’s news feeds and be a part of the conversation.
• Click on “My Network” in the LinkedIn app (or “Connections” on the desktop version) and check out which connections have something to celebrate – whether a new job or other change in life. Remember, LinkedIn is all about connections, so use your 10 minutes to spread congratulations and good cheer around.
• In “My Network”, you will also see pending invitations and “People you may know”. In the spirit of making connections, don’t simply rush ahead and click on the buttons, but rather, take the opportunity to write a personal note  when making or accepting an invitation.
• Click on “Connections” to view the people you have already made a connection with. If you are like many LinkedIn users, you have plenty of connections you know nothing about, so a great 10 minute activity is to go down your list alphabetically – this may take years if done one per day! – and learn more about your network. You’ll be amazed how many potential clients/colleagues are already in your connections, and reading through their profiles will compel you on to the ultimate step –  connecting with them in “real” life and doing business together.

Here are just 5 things to get you started – all requiring less than 10 minutes a day – which is less time than you probably spend killing time with your cell phone already. Turn that cell phone addiction into a business goldmine and start linking to more business . . . on LinkedIn!