We are excited to announce the new Factoring Investor Group on LinkedIn dedicated to providing information on the Factoring Industry. Whether you are a business looking for financing alternatives, a broker receiving commissions, or an investor seeking solid returns this group is here to help.
The group is moderated meaning that members need to join and discussions must be approved. This helps reduce the spam and keeps the focus on invoice financing.
We invite you to click here to join this factoring networking group today. If you are new to social media networking then we have you covered with…
7 Tips for Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn For Factoring Professionals
1. Use a Profile Picture
Sorry but you don’t get to be the mystery man (or woman) with the grey profile. It just doesn’t work for building trust in business. Add a photo – no matter how much you don’t want to.
2. Add Current Contact Information
Let people know how to get in touch by phone and email. Be sure to include a link to your factoring website and business blog. This is very valuable in providing credibility and building traffic (and it helps your website rankings).
3. Complete Your Background
Complete your profile with work experience, education, awards, and interests. While this looks a bit like a resume it doesn’t have to be quite so stuffy. It’s OK to show some personality while still keeping it professional.
4. Start Making Connections
Take some time to connect with people you know in business. Once logged in you can send them a connection request through email or you can search by name. (Helpful Tip: If you send me a request to connect please be sure you have spent the time to take care of 1-3 first.)
5. Join Groups
Of course I think you should join our new group but there are lots of others out there. Here are several related to the Factoring Business that you might want to consider:
- Commercial Finance Association
- Factoring Professionals Worldwide
- Factoring Brokers
- FactorNet Lead Referral and Networking Group
- International Factoring Association
- Factoring Investor (our new group)
Look to see if your local Chamber of Commerce has their own group. Also search groups for local business networking opportunities using your city as the main search word. If you don’t find any for your area then think about starting your own group.
6. Create a Business Page
Once you create a personal profile take the extra step of creating a business page on Linked In. Just like Facebook and Google+, it is worth taking the time to complete both types of profiles.
7. Get Social and Interact
Share useful articles and comment on discussions to start building relationships. Just be sure to keep it professional. While cute kitten videos might work on Facebook it does not fly on LinkedIn. If someone takes the time to endorse you for a skill then be sure to return the favor (provided you can personally vouch for their expertise).
Still not convinced LinkedIn is right for you? Right now it is the most effective business to business social media platform with over 225 million members in over 200 countries.
We have personally seen over a 30% increase in website visitors in the past 12 months that can be directly attributed to LinkedIn.
So what are you waiting for? It is easy to setup and even better, it’s free. Consider this your personal invitation to connect with Factoring Investor on LinkedIn!
I just received a valid question on this article and thought I’d share in case someone else was wondering the same thing….
Question: Why should I as a broker join a group with all my competition? I need to get in front of ceo’s in the industires I assist (manufacturing, trucking, suppliers, labor agencies, servies, and fracking). Anyone got tips on those groups?
My Answer:
For me networking with other professionals in my field often sparks new ideas or a different twist on an old skill. I definitely agree it doesn’t take the place of networking with your prospects!
My suggestion is to do an advanced search within the groups category on LinkedIn using each one of the main business types mentioned. For example, I did a search for trucking and 326 results came up! (I can send a screen shot sample if you like. Just send me an email.) By joining those groups you can interact with potential clients. I like to post useful information or some research stats to start a discussion. You could go a step further and do an advanced search for people that have trucking in their profile and make connections. If you start doing quite a bit of this it can help to upgrade to a premium membership within LinkedIn but it can be done on the standard membership too. Then you repeat for the other industries like fracking, manufacturing, labor agencies, etc.