Gaining LinkedIn success is not as difficult as some may think. Utilizing the world’s largest database of professionals is key to marketing your manufacturing business and rising as a leader in the industry. Guest speaker, Wayne Breitbarth, is a LinkedIn trainer and shares his strategies and insights into the powerhouse of LinkedIn and how manufacturing leaders can effectively connect with other leaders, share their businesses, and expand their reach. Connect with us:www.MakingChips.com/contact Why manufacturing leaders need to pursue LinkedIn Success LinkedIn is the largest database of professionals and business leaders that is available. As business leaders, LinkedIn is a powerful tool that can be used to market businesses, find competent employees, and connect with other influential industry leaders. An exuberant amount of time isn’t needed to establish yourself and your business on LinkedIn. Wayne explains that it is all about strategizing the processes and systems available on the platform and focusing on what matters to you and your company. Understanding the essence of LinkedIn The essence of LinkedIn is not only found in the opportunities of such a large database but in the opportunity to form relationships. Relationships are the foundation of any successful business venture. Wayne describes what your relationship status may look like on LinkedIn depending on the size and purpose of your company. Sometimes more is truly more, and sometimes it’s not. If you are selling a book or trying to reach a wide audience with a new podcast release, then you may want to accept all those connections with people you may not know. If your business belongs in a more niche atmosphere, then your number of connections may be smaller - and that’s okay. It is important to understand, however, that the search engine algorithms that rule LinkedIn like to see a large connection base. Wayne suggests creating a social media atmosphere on LinkedIn that is saturated with the people of your industry, whether that be followers, customers, or other leading manufacturers. To learn more about how to create and maintain effective relationships, listen to the whole episode! Strategizing your LinkedIn process Succeeding with your LinkedIn profile can be achieved through strategizing the tools that LinkedIn offers. Keyword optimization is a large part of making yourself known and finding the people you need to help grow your business. Include specific terminology in your headline, stories, and description. Stay away from broad terms such as “strategy” in your skill-set and include specified terms such as “Podcast Host.” Show off your unique professionalism and offerings. Your skill-set can be utilized through endorsements and recommendations. Search engines love using your list of skills as keywords. Make sure they reflect what you want to be known for. Wayne explains that recommendations and endorsements are gifts to you. Use them in business proposals and when sharing your business with others. Posting can be a confusing tool, but Wayne explains that success in posting is all about velocity. Tagging relevant people in your post will expand its reach. Be careful to not “spam” others with overabundant tagging, but instead talk with the people you plan to tag and explain that it is a strategy to help promote and grow the business. Velocity is gained through initializing and promoting activity on your posts. Use hashtags and comment on a post that someone else tags you in to begin a conversation. LinkedIn algorithms look for how fast your post is being responded to and how much activity is being generated by your post. The more activity the better. Creating an all-star profile Beginning a profile or revamping a stagnant one isn’t hard! Begin by understanding your audience. Who are you writing and creating your profile for? Headlines should be short but descriptive. If you have five jobs, then list all of them in your headline and title. Create stories that a