Social Media has become an integral part of the internet.  Over one billion people use Facebook to engage with other people and connect with brands.  Twitter has connected users all over the world with their specific interests like discussing politics or following their favorite sports team.  LinkedIn is the social network to connect with co-workers and colleagues; its all business.

You should be using LinkedIn to increase your business network’s reach, exposing your brand and marketing yourself as an expert in your field.  When you do these three things successfully, vendors, customers and business partners will come to you.

Neilson Online called LinkedIn, “The world’s largest audience of affluent, influential professionals” with over 80 million users in more than 200 countries.  The user base for LinkedIn is highly educated and highly paid; the average household income of a LinkedIn user is about $108,000 per year.  What’s more, more than 20% of LinkedIn users are senior level executives and managers.

Create a Personal Profile

Like Facebook, users create a profile page that gives an overview of your work experience, areas of expertise and education.  LinkedIn connections can “recommend” you by writing a testimonial to be displayed on your page for all viewers to see.

Your history doesn’t need to read like a resume, but should include the titles you’ve held and the companies that you’ve started or worked for.

Connect with Others

The purpose of Social Media is to create connections.  LinkedIn allows users to search their email contacts for real world connections that already use LinkedIn.  When asking someone that you do not know to connect with you, look to see if you have a mutual contact and if not, send an invitation to connect.  Engaging with other users is the heart and soul of any social media network, so feel free to add connections liberally.

Take advantage of LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn allows users to connect with up to 50 groups to join conversations and interact directly with the leading experts in the desired field.  You can also create your own group and thereby creating your own community of followers.  This will allow you to make sure that your message is heard.  The key in LinkedIn Groups is to consistently create and distribute content.

Use LinkedIn Answers

LinkedIn works the same way as Yahoo! Answers or Quora in that you can ask questions to the general population of users, or you can contribute to the community by answering questions that others have asked.  LinkedIn Answers is a great place to brand yourself, increase exposure and establish yourself as an expert.

Social Networking has become as integral to the future of the internet as search.  The way that you brand yourself online will go a long ways towards your virtual reputation and leader in your industry.

Please feel free to add me as a connection on LinkedIn.