by Cherish Flieder

I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”

You may have been sent an e-mail with this exact request on more than one occasion by a friend or colleague. If you have dismissed this invitation as just another one of those time wasting, friend collecting sites, then you may be at a considerable disadvantage.

So, if it’s that important, what exactly is LinkedIn you ask . . . and that’s a great question!

LinkedIn, found online at http://www.linkedin.com, is by far the largest and most professional, business-oriented, social media, networking site on the World Wide Web. Although it has only been around since 2002, it has over 25 million participants worldwide and grows at the rate of over 130,000 members each week!

LinkedIn is easy to use and opens the doors of opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with key players of the human race, in a new and effective way. The basic concept of how it works beckons back to the theory of “six degrees of separation.” On LinkedIn it will only show you up to three degrees of separation, but that alone will connect you to millions of professionals once you start linking up with other users. Your network will consist of your connections (1st), your connections’ connections (2nd), and then the connections to which they are connected (3rd). This dynamic function will start to make more sense as you begin see it in action.

It’s a good idea to create and maintain a professional LinkedIn profile page if you want:

• a beneficial way to promote your art brand, products and/or services online
• to meet key players in your areas of expertise
• to discover new business or job opportunities
• to learn about a new industry in which you hope to expand
• to reconnect with colleagues, classmates and clients

5 Things I Love About LinkedIn

• LinkedIn helps me to “stay in touch” and “touch base” with people that are important to me. Often, we get so busy that we never follow up on important connections and we loose out in the long run. LinkedIn is a superior tool for keeping you cognizant of your important connections and gives you an easy way to contact with them when the time is right.

• LinkedIn gives you a visual reference of your network, helping you readily discover commonalities. You can find someone with a skill you desire. You can post jobs or even apply for them online. When you are looking to join or serve with a new company, you can use LinkedIn to conduct preparatory research. LinkedIn makes it easy to discover which connections you have working with that company or who is associated with it, even before you have your first interview.
• LinkedIn is a great way to learn about any industry. You can see what other people are up to, see how they are promoting themselves and view their notable accomplishments.
• LinkedIn manages my database of connections for me. I don’t have to go and look up an e-mail for anyone that is connected to me or even open up my e-mail composer to send out a message. It gives me an instant connection to their e-mail in-box from their profile page.
• LinkedIn makes it simple for each member to keep their own information current for the benefit of the community. This feature helps users quickly access updated job summaries, aspirations, interests, status, website links, and more.

One last thing about social media sites . . . there are so many of them out there. If you are using them for your business you will need to carefully select the ones that help you best maintain professional connections and ultimately keep your brand in front of your clients. Professionally, I use Plaxo, Facebook and Twitter, in addition to LinkedIn. MySpace can be good too, if you approach it with a professional touch. But, if you only choose one, I urge you to go with LinkedIn, as it will give you the most professional online presence and effective online networking available.

10 Tips to Making the Most of Your LinkedIn Profile

> > > > > Wait, there’s more! < < < < <

Get the rest of this article “Leveraging LinkedIn’s Networking Power for Art Licensors” including the “10 Tips to Making the Most of Your LinkedIn Profile” when you sign up for my e-zine.

These complementary LinkedIn profile tips and information on how to use them will dynamically shift the way you use LinkedIn. Get ready to turbo-charge your online networking activities and reach out to your industry!

Also, when you sign up for my “Something to Cherish Souvenirs E-zine” for occasional art and info updates, you can also gain exclusive access to the Cherish COLOR” Trends Toolbar for your Mac or PC. If you are inspired by colors, you will appreciate having this little tool in your back pocket as you use the internet, giving you access to color trend and color mixing information from all of the leading sites on color.

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About the Author: Cherish Flieder is a visionary illustrator, designer, art licensor, and marketer. She loves the adventure of discovery and freely teaches others what she has learned. Cherish is the founder of Cherished Solutions, llc and art licensing brands Something to Cherish® and Painting for Life™. She assists publishers, manufacturers and other niche businesses with art services and thoughtful marketing strategies. She and her team work on the development of custom designs and licensed illustrations for consumer goods, product collections, books (especially children’s books), packaging, print, web, and marketing. Of course if you want to know more, feel free to visit Cherish’s LinkedIn profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cherish.

In early 2004, the two most successful organizations serving the craft and hobby industry, the Hobby Industry Association (HIA) and the Association of Crafts & Creative Industries (ACCI), joined together to form the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA). Together as CHA, the new Association forms a single more dynamic and powerful force to drive the craft industry into the future.

CHA’s vision, simply stated, is to create a vibrant industry with an exciting image, an expanding customer base and successful members. The goal is to stimulate the sales growth of the craft and hobby industry worldwide by creating consumer demand, helping members succeed and leading the industry.

CHA is actively involved in national promotional events designed to increase customers’ knowledge and awareness of industry products with the branding campaign Crafts. Discover life’s little pleasures. CHA continues to inspire occasional crafters to craft more often through it’s consumer-motivated message. Craft stores from all over participate in CHA’s annual campaigns, National Craft Month in March and Celebrate the Season in September. The promotions are geared to generate excitement about crafting and to highlight the many emotional benefits it produces. In addition to the promotions, every year the Association holds two annual trade shows, the largest craft and hobby supply expositions in the world.

As public interest in crafts has increased over the years, CHA has conducted a number of research projects, including the yearly benchmark Nationwide Craft & Hobby Consumer Usage and Purchases Study that reports the most popular craft activities and total sales dollars. Other studies include The Academic Value of Hands-on Craft Projects in Elementary Schools, one of the first studies to investigate the impact of hands-on projects and academic learning, and The Impact of Hispanic Crafters on the US Craft Industry that focuses on the growing Hispanic market. The Association continues to research consumer buying habits, crafts and education, and other pertinent information to the crafts industry.

CHA has also launched a powerful multifaceted communications program that’s designed to generate consumer demand and drive retail traffic for craft and hobby supplies. The branding and public relations program generates millions of consumer impressions and stimulates sales. As a result, CHA has become a leading resource to the general consumer media on the subject of crafts and hobbies. The Association has also become an established presence on the Internet though its websites: the popular consumer website www.craftplace.org, the industry website www.craftandhobby.org, and the education website at www.teacherplace.org.