LinkedIn and Google+ with Jake Calabrese

So this LinkedIn and Google+ post is long overdue, I know. I’m excited to say that I got to work with my good friend Jake Calabrese (@jcalabrese) on it when I saw him a few weeks ago in Denver. Jake has been doing some interesting branding work as well with the launch of his new site www.vimstreet.com. He also had some great information to share, including this, which makes me feel better about this delayed post: “Above all – you should not be stressed about social media.  If you are, you need to slow down or back off.  You should be learning, sharing, helping, contributing at a pace that is comfortable.  You CAN’T read every tweet or linked blog – it’s not possible.  Read a few, share some things, move on to other items.” -J.C.

Here are some of the other things Jake had to say:

Linked In:
“I have personally made a significant amount of sales directly on Linked In, so I believe it is an important part of business.  There are other benefits as well.

It does make sense to have a Linked In page – no matter what your plans.  Linked In at this point is overwhelming with the amount of things you can add to your profile.  Add a picture (yes – one of you).  Many people will not connect with you without one.  Start with just adding a few key items and build from there.  You do not need to fill everything out on day 1 or 2.  Just get started.  People will find you based on your profile and key words in it – so consider that as you build your profile out.

One huge value of Linked In, is it is ranked high in search results.  Another benefit is that with all of the other places you can add a profile… the simplest approach on other sites (to save yourself time), is just to say “see Linked In” and include a link to your Linked In profile.  This allows you to keep the more detailed profile information in one place.  You can certainly add some information to other sites, but you can just add a summary.  If you want to setup a Meetup profile, you can just add some of the basics and for more details, refer them to linked in.  This of course saves you a lot of time from updating multiple sites. ” -J.C.

Some other good ideas he had in regards to LinkedIn was to set up a separate email for LinkedIn because you do get a lot of emails if you join groups and start adding people. You need to determine what you are going to use it for too – most people say LinkedIn should be for close connections, but really if you’re trying to build your network why keep it to close connections? If you want to use it for branding and business you want as many people to see your updates as possible. That being said, only give recommendations to people you know. As far as endorsements go, give them out and you will receive them. Finally, try to join some group discussions or start some. This does take time but it is also a good way to get your name out there that’s easier than trying to drive people to your blog. If they like what you have to say, they’ll probably come check it out.

Here are Jake’s thoughts on Google+:

Google+
“Google+ is continuing to gain in use.  It is not Facebook, but I’m not sure why they would want to be Facebook?  Google+ has a platform that tends to be more open simple to see what is happening.  They also have Communities (different than Google Groups – which I do not recommend).  There are a number of agile G+ communities out there already.  I recommend, if you are interested to setup a simple profile and join a few communities.  Try them out based on your goals and see if they are a fit.  Remember, you can start with a simple description of yourself and a link to your Linked In page!” -J.C.

The one thing I like about Google+ is my ability to organize my contacts into “circles” depending on how I know them. It is nice to see those feeds separately where on Twitter or LinkedIn they are all in the same feed. For example, I keep my Agile connections separate from my UX connections. The other good thing is that you can send emails to those circles if they follow you back. Just another way to get your content out there if they don’t regularly check Google+.
Above all, as Jake says, have fun with it. You’ll notice I haven’t talked about Facebook. That is because in my generation Facebook is not a business tool, I am purely social on it. My friends don’t care about my Agile adventures or my blog so I just ignore that. Maybe it will change in the future but for now I have my hands full with the social networks I’ve already discussed.

As a final tip, take a look at your referrals on your blog’s analytics and statistics and see where the most people are finding it from and continue posting there. Again, this is not an overnight thing, it takes time to build a personal brand and even more time to maintain it.