Here is a great holiday gift giving idea that costs nothing, doesn’t require any mall visits and will be greatly appreciated all year long; share a lead with someone on LinkedIn. Sharing on LinkedIn is easy and one size really DOES fit all!
To do this, you will essentially ‘shop’ in your LinkedIn newstream for leads, connections and intelligence that would be valuable to the person you want to gift. You then share that info, via the tools offered on LinkedIn. It is quite easy and certainly appreciated!
Hopefully, you are already a member of LinkedIn and have a decent profile set up there. Ideally, you have built a network of connections you know and respect and visit the site regularly to read their updates. You should also be posting your own updates, if not daily, at least once a week. If you are not already doing this, let’s set up a time after the holidays to get you up to speed.
Once this groundwork is laid, you are ready to start your ‘shopping’!
First, think about the recipient – what do they do? Who is their ideal client? What would a good lead look like? Say I want to find a ‘gift’ for Heather Higgins; a friend and client of mine that is an Interior Designer in NYC. I know that her area of expertise is high end apartments in the city and that she specializes in creating spaces that are both fabulous AND pet friendly.
A good lead might be someone mentioning that they are downsizing from the suburbs and moving to a new apartment in the city. Or, someone who is already in the city, talking about getting a new puppy.
For someone that sells musical instruments, you might pass along an update from a connection that posts about receiving a grant for his school’s music program. The idea is to make connections and introductions wherever possible. It not only strengthens your network but makes you a more valuable contributor and a key connector that others will appreciate and want to connect to!
Click here for a tutorial on how to share on LinkedIn.
And of course, you should be doing this on a regular basis, not just at the holidays – it is a great way to keep in touch with your links and to keep you connected with your networks.
Wishing you and yours a very Happy Holiday and a Healthy, Prosperous New Year!
Looking to optimize the time you spend on LinkedIn?
