With over 100 million members and counting, LinkedIn is one of the fastest growing, and least understood, social networks around.
If you think that LinkedIn is just a site for posting your resume and keeping track of old co-workers, you’re missing out on some major opportunities. Unlike other social networks, LinkedIn is all business, all the time. For affiliates working out of their homes, LinkedIn is a great place to make business connections, show off their work, and build a good reputation in the industry.
Networking
LinkedIn’s number one use is good old fashioned professional networking. This isn’t the place for posting pictures from last Friday night, it’s a place for posting up relevant information about your business and your professional skill set. One of the best places to get start making those connections on LinkedIn is by joining or creating groups.
Professional groups share everything from job postings to interesting articles and blog posts. Creating an active and meaningful presence in one, or more, of these groups can really enhance your reputation in the industry.
Affiliates might be surprised to find that there are dozens of iGaming and casino related groups on LinkedIn including:
Those are just a few of the groups affiliates can use to network with other gaming professionals on LinkedIn. Almost any industry niche you can think of has its own group and if there isn’t one for your corner of the market, you can start one up.
You Are An Expert
Starting up a LinkedIn group is a great way of establishing your reputation as an expert in your field, but it’s not the only way.
LinkedIn makes publishing articles and blog posts to your network incredibly easy through a host of apps like Google Presentations and that can be a real boost for affiliates. Writing a short blog post on a subject like SEO or web design is a great way of letting your peers know exactly what you’re capable of doing. And because so many affiliates also run IT, marketing and content businesses, publishing on LinkedIn is also a good way to drum up new business.
Recommendations
Affiliate marketing, especially casino and sports books, is a business that relies heavily on personal relationships and trust. Unfortunately, getting the full story on potential business partners, new affiliate managers and freelancers isn’t always easy. But with LinkedIn, finding that information is a lot easier thanks to an easy to use Recommendation feature.
LinkedIn members can invite former colleagues and business partners to write and post personal recommendations on their profile. Of course no one is going to post less than stellar recommendations, but a potential freelancer with a pile of real recommendations on his or her profile is probably someone you can be comfortable working with.
Collaboration
While LinkedIn is not the social network to link up with ex-lovers, it is a great place for meeting up with current clients and business partners. The basic, free, LinkedIn account includes access to a number of apps like Box.net and Huddle that make conducing online meetings, file sharing and working collaboratively very easy.
Signup for Huddle here.
Finally
LinkedIn is established as the premiere social network for professionals and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Affiliates can gain a lot of traction in the industry by establishing themselves a positive presence on this site.
Recommended Reading: Guide to Marketing on LinkedIn