I realized during the last KaffeeKlatsch call we did that there was a rather odd trend when it came to social media preferences (well, not really odd, but interesting).
While it’s fairly common to find Twitter users who are totally confused about Facebook and Facebook users who just don’t get what all the buzz about Twitter is, the one thing that they seem to agree upon is that they both don’t like LinkedIn.
Well, don’t like might be too strong of an assumption. It’s more of a “don’t get.”
And when you don’t get something, it can slowly breed dislike and mistrust. And soon enough, one of the big three of social media (with over 75 million members) is viewed as a frightening, intimidating creature that makes Facebook and Twitter fraternizing much less blasphemous.
Well, I’m writing this post today to address why LinkedIn seems so alien compared to other social media networks (and how it really isn’t all that scary to use, just different).
LinkedIn is a professional networking site. The reason why it feels scary to some (especially if you the arts and crafts type) is that the site is very much business mentality oriented. And at first glance, that can be a major turn off. It can feel cold sometimes. Where are all the pictures of your friends having that beer? Or a place to tweet about how you stopped by the Petrified Wood Gas Station? 
LinkedIn is certainly not the lax environment of FB or the chatty upbeat chirps of Twitter. But it doesn’t mean that it’s not useful to business owners and entrepreneurs that don’t quite like the business suit feel of LinkedIn.
The driving force behind LinkedIn, like any other good social media site, is really all about reaching out and connecting with other people. Particularly for the purpose of building an asset list of contacts (craftsmen, professionals, and experts outside of your own field).
For example, you might not want to add your financial planner as one of your FB friends, but connecting with her on LinkedIn is perfectly acceptable. If someone needed a financial planner, you could forward her information easily by linking her public profile with a private note of recommendation.
Maybe you’re looking for someone to supply materials for your arts and crafts business, but don’t know where to start. But maybe you happen to see that a friend of yours, through her LinkedIn profile, is connected to the owner of a fabric shop downtown. You leave your friend a message or maybe contact the shop owner yourself, but you never would have known that resource was available if you weren’t able to see all the people that your friend was connected to in the first place.
And you don’t always have to be business-y on LinkedIn. The majority of profiles are, but as a creative small business owner, you can be completely your unique wacky self, and most likely, you’ll stand out more than the rest of the people in your field. Just because you’re filling out the equivalent of a resume on LinkedIn doesn’t mean you have to make it sound dry and boring. If you come off as approachable in a social networking site that generally gives off the impression that it’s all work and no play, others will gravitate towards you and want to connect with you.
LinkedIn has a lot of potential as a resource for small businesses, and I’ve only touched the very tip of a rather large iceberg. I can’t even begin to cover all that can be done and all that I’m learning from using LinkedIn. But I did want to say that it’s not scary. Maybe foreign, especially to our readers who are used to the laid back, more social aspect of social networking sites. But it’s definitely not scary. Just different.
If you have an account, I ask you to dust it off today and try to either complete your profile (because people don’t) or make it more entertaining. Like you would do your own website copy, because let’s face it, you are writing marketing material when you’re filling out your LinkedIn profile. Make it stand out. If you’ve never signed up for LinkedIn, I suggest you give it a try. Have an open mind to it.
And when you’re done, at the very least when someone Googles your name, a LinkedIn profile will show up for you (most likely faster than your site optimization). And then people can go “Hey! It’s the weird tech chick that’s on Cottage Copy! Ooh, lets pry more into her life.” 
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