In conjunction with the Overgate Hospice at Elland near Halifax in West Yorkshire we are running one of our famous LinkedIn workshops at their premises in order to help raise funds and awareness for this important charity.

The Overgate Hospice Elland

Places are £40 each, at least £10 of which goes directly to the Hospice. Places are limited to 15 maximum.

Workshop Details

Setting up your LinkedIn profile is just the beginning of the story. Utilising LinkedIn as a powerful relationship management tool is the next stage but how do you go about it?

Forget trawling through directories or cold-calling bought in lists. LinkedIn offers all business professionals an opportunity to build relationships with prospective clients that have been ‘qualified’ and are receptive. This workshop, builds upon the initial stages of setting up your account and of the few connections you may have already gained and shows you how you can leverage the contacts you make on LinkedIn into your sales funnel.

Who is this Workshop For?

Business owners, with an existing LinkedIn account, who want to understand more about LinkedIn and how they can start to use it as a business tool in order to develop relationships with their fellow professionals and potential clients.

What will Attendees Learn?

During the 1/2 day workshop, attendees will:

• Review and optimise their profile.
• Learn how to search for connect with, appropriate people and companies.
• Discover the power of Groups.
• Learn the significance of using Events, answering and asking questions

Outline Content:

• Refining your profile
• Find connections
• Joining and contributing groups
• Connecting with people.
• Tools to help you

Attendees Should:

• Have an existing LinkedIn account.
• Have an active business website.
• Be comfortable using the Internet.
• Have their own Wi-Fi enabled laptop computer.
• Have a good quality head and shoulders digital photograph of themselves stored on their computers (to be used in your LinkedIn profile)

Bring Your Own Laptop

This is a practical, hands on workshop where attendees will work through setting up their LinkedIn account together. A pre-set up LinkedIn account is required. Bring your own Wi-Fi enabled laptop with its power-cable and a fully charged battery.

Cost

£40.00 per person (includes VAT) with at least £10 of your fee going directly to the Overgate Hospice Registration is from 12.00pm with the session starting at 12.30am and finishing at 04.00pm

Venue

The Overgate Hospice, 30 Hullenedge Road, Elland, West Yorkshire HX5 0QY View a location map by clicking here.

Let me explain..

Creative Connections

Loca is an arts and regeneration agency offered by Kirklees Council as part of its Creative Business Support Programme for artists and creative businesses within the Kirklees region which covers towns such as Huddersfield, Batley, Cleckheaton and of course Dewsbury to name just a few examples.

They run regular networking events under the moniker of ‘Creative Connections’ which feature a guest speaker. On this occasion I was asked to give an overview of Social Media and how artistic businesses could use it to their advantage.

I’ve posted more details about the mechanics of the actual event I spoke at here if you want to learn more.

Brief Encounters (Or Not So, Perhaps)

What made this networking event interesting to start off with was that it was held in a formally disused retail shop bang in the middle of Dewsbury town centre.

Encounters Shop Dewsbury

However it wasn’t any old shop.

For a start off it was previously a vacant shop (of which unfortunately Dewsbury has many) that the council has now taken over on a 2 year lease and has, in collaboration with an artistic collective called Encounters who go around occupying empty shops and then turning them into useable spaces for the local community, turned the shop into community resource.

Chalk Board Wall — Encounters Shop Dewsbury

The shop in Dewsbury I was presenting at was newly opened. Read more details about the shop with some pictures of it by following this link to the Encounters website.

An Introduction to Social Media

My presentation to a room of some 25 artists and creative business owners was an introduction to social media and how they could use it to market their creative businesses.

In my presentation I used my trusted little video “Social Media in Plain English” (below) which I’ve used several times and which always go down well by way of a simple explanation of how social media works for those that don’t know.

However, I needn’t have worried as just about everyone in the room was using social media in some form or other for their businesses and out of a lively open discussion at the end of my 20 minute slot, came some good uses of it.

Two examples of social media being used by people in the room were; Michael Lee Barrett a graphic artist, whom was already making good use of Twitter (@3m3lbi) and has built up a loyal following with his blog which showcases and discusses his work; his “Friday polaroid” feature is particularly popular he told me.

Adrian Burnham, an architectural and CAD designer, was just getting to grips with LinkedIn (http://uk.linkedin.com/in/adrianburnham ) and wanted some advice on how he could connect with people in his target market.

Other examples included a textile-rug artist who is using Flickr to showcase work and collaborate with his associates and a video artist who is using Vimeo to demonstrate his work.

(Sorry I don’t have the URLs for these people which is a shame I know!)

Tell Us Your Story

We’re you there at this event? Post a comment below and share with others your experiences of using social media and how you’ve used it to enhance, promote or add value to your creative business.

Photocredit: Rick Harrison of Forty Below Zero

Setting up your LinkedIn profile is just the beginning of the story. Utilising LinkedIn as a powerful relationship management tool is the next stage but how do you go about it?

Forget trawling through directories or cold-calling bought in lists. LinkedIn offers all business professionals an opportunity to build relationships with prospective clients that have been ‘qualified’ and are receptive. This workshop, builds upon the initial stages of setting up your account and of the few connections you may have already gained and shows you how you can leverage the contacts you make on LinkedIn into your sales funnel.

Who is this Workshop For?

Business owners, with an existing LinkedIn account, who want to understand more about LinkedIn and how they can start to use it as a business tool in order to develop relationships with their fellow professionals and potential clients.

What will Attendees Learn?

During the 1/2 day workshop, attendees will:

• Review and optimise their profile.
• Learn how to search for connect with, appropriate people and companies.
• Discover the power of Groups.
• Learn the significance of using Events, answering and asking questions

Outline Content:

• Refining your profile
• Find connections
• Joining and contributing groups
• Connecting with people.
• Tools to help you

Attendees Should:

• Have an existing LinkedIn account.
• Have an active business website.
• Be comfortable using the Internet.
• Have their own Wi-Fi enabled laptop computer.
• Have a good quality head and shoulders digital photograph of themselves stored on their computers (to be used in your LinkedIn profile)

Bring Your Own Laptop

This is a practical, hands on workshop where attendees will work through setting up their LinkedIn account together. A pre-set up LinkedIn account is required. Bring your own Wi-Fi enabled laptop with its power-cable and a fully charged battery.

Cost

£88.00 per person (includes VAT) Bradford GRID* Members, proNet Members and Fans of iNet’s Facebook Page may book places at the discounted rate of: £42.00 (incl VAT) each. Registration is from 09.00am with the session starting at 09.30am and finishing at 12.30pm

Venue

Bradford GRID South, Admin Block 1, Low Moor Business Park, Off Common Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD12 0NB Venue Tel No: 0790 8971219 Parking is plentiful and free, directly outside the venue. View a map and directions to the venue on Multimap

All businesses need to stay ahead of the game and this is never more true then when the Internet is concerned. The rising popularity of social media offers many marketing opportunities for small businesses with LinkedIn leading the pack as far as online professional networking goes.

Our “Getting Started with LinkedIn Workshop” is a practical introduction to LinkedIn for those that want to learn more about the service but are unsure as to where to start.

Who is this WorkShop For?

Business owners who want to understand what LinkedIn is and how they can start to use it as a business tool in order to develop relationships with their fellow professionals and potential clients.

What will Attendees Learn?

During the 1/2 day workshop, attendees will:

• Set up their LinkedIn account.
• Learn how to connect with people.
• Learn how to search for people and companies.
• Disover what Groups maybe used for.

Outline Content:

• What is LinkedIn?
• Learn what it can do for your business
• Setting up a full profile.
• Connecting with people .
• Tools to help you

Attendees Should:

• Have an active business website.
• Be comfortable using the Internet.
• Have their own Wi-Fi enabled laptop computer.
• Have a good quality head and shoulders digital photograph of themselves stored on their computers (to be used in your LinkedIn profile)

Bring Your Own Laptop

This is a practical, hands on workshop where attendees will work through setting up their LinkedIn account together. A pre-set up LinkedIn account is not required. Bring your own Wi-Fi enabled laptop with its power-cable and a fully charged battery. Attendees should also bring a digital photograph of themselves stored either on their laptop or on a USB memory stick.

Cost

£88.00 per person (includes VAT) Bradford GRID* Members, proNet Members and Fans of iNet’s Facebook Page may book places at the discounted rate of: £42.00 £15.00 (incl VAT) each.
Registration is from 12.00pm with the session starting at 12.30pm and finishing at 4.00pm

Venue

Bradford GRID, Park Lane Business Centre, Park Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD5 0LN

Venue Tel No: 01274 729 270

Parking is plentiful and free, directly outside the venue. View a map and directions to the venue on Multimap

LinkedIn — Social Networking Site for Professionals

I’ve been on LinkedIn, the social networking website for professionals and business folk; for about 3 years now, but it’s only recently in the last 12 months or so that I’ve begun to pay any attention to it and have started to put some real effort into it as a networking tool.

To be fair my efforts are paying off and I find at its base level, the site is a great tool at helping me to capitilise upon my off-line business networking activities. No doubt some of you LinkedInophiles [sic] out there (if such a phrase exists) will chastise me for not making the best of what many people tell me is;

“one of the best online networking sites you can use whilst keeping your clothes on!”

Oo-er!

But hey, give me a chance; there’s only a limited number of hours in the day!

Cold Calling! Ugh Urrr!

One of the great aspects of LinkedIn is that it’s relatively easy to search for potential clients and associates by company, genre, region, industry etc; get the full nine yards about their professional activities and then use that information to make an informed decision about “requesting a connection” with them. A successful “connection” then makes way for the beginnings of an online networking relationship which if either party is suitably motivated enough about, may lead to some business.

All fine and dandy!

Unwanted cold-callers

Recently though I’ve been subject to the advances of a few fellow LinkedIners whom I don’t know nor have never connected with, “cold calling” me on the telephone (I can find no other phrase to describe it) in an attempt to “sell” me their services.

One guy left a message on my voicemail which went something like this;

“Hello Jaimie [said with such a tone that would suggest we were lifelong friends], I’ve just sent you a connection request on LinkedIn and wondered if I could pop-in and see you next Wednesday afternoon to tell you about our services and show you how we may be able to help your company. [The guy was a management consultant]. The sort of services we offer include..[He then proceeded to list a few of his services]. Give me a call back on [Tel number] when you get a chance and we can meet up.”

Now some of you may be thinking there’s nothing wrong with this? After all, it sounds like all he is doing is being a pro-active networker!

I Don’t Think So!

However, to be honest this sort of approach makes me uncomfortable and leaves me a with a sour taste in my mouth.

Those of you that have worked or do work with me, know my feelings about cold callers. So this guy has committed a Cardinal Sin in making an attempt to “connect with me” by calling me up out of the blue and actively “pushing himself” on me without actually knowing anything about me or my business.

If he’d have been someone I’ve physically met, known in the past, or even spent some time networking with online; then I would have been more open minded and he would have at least have got a returned call. But “cold”? I don’t think so!

Secondly, online networking through sites line LinkedIn are not about this.

They’re not an opportunity to harvest names and people’s contact details in order to compile a cold calling list. If that’s your intention, then at least have the nouse not to name drop the site in the vein idea that because we co-exist on the same social networking site, it gives us a common bond of any standing and helps open a door for you.

It’s not big and it’s not clever. Don’t do it!

Experienced this yourself, or perhaps you practice this technique? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.