If you are looking for 2011 LinkedIn Statistics for your business, here is the latest from LinkedIn. Be sure to share your thoughts on the stats.

Here are some reasons this stands out to me:

• LinkedIn proves to be a strong worldwide reach with a stronger presence outside the US.
• You can get to the decision maker! This is huge when you consider all the gatekeepers that sales reps deal with everyday.
• The market confidence of how people perceive you on LinkedIn is significant as well.  Telling me you should position your LinkedIn profile with care and consideration as it holds weight in your prospects opinion of you.

Be sure to take a look at this LinkedIn Lead Generation video we recently did, it is working so well for our clients we have coined it the “LinkedIn Lead Surge Formula” You can access this video on how to do highly filtered targeting of prospects by clicking here.

(you can click on the image or here to download
2011 LinkedIn Statistics report)

LinkedIn has enormous potential to increase both your personal reputation and that of your business. One great way is by smart us of the “Answers” feature.  LinkedIn allows users to both ask and answer questions of other users, as well as to become “experts”. If done effectively, both asking and answering questions can dramatically increase your authority and reputation.

Asking questions via LinkedIn can initiate discussions with your peers and may lead to gaining important contacts in your field or niche. People that you may never have met otherwise may answer your questions or become involved in the discussion of the answer. Many of these people will be members of your field or have connections to it. Some may become valuable contacts and resources in the future. The more contacts and resources that you have, the higher your reputation is likely to be.

In order to most effectively make contacts through asking questions, you must take care in crafting your questions. Many of the best questions are content-based. For example, “What are the best methods for using LinkedIn to find job opportunities?” The answers to this question will tend to be factual and on-topic.

It is also best to ask questions that have multiple possible answers. It makes it more likely that you will receive multiple answers from multiple responders, thus increasing the number of contacts. It is also more likely to lead to debate among responders, which increases familiarity and the likelihood of increased contact in the future.

If you want to increase your reputation, be put some forethought into the questions that you ask. While it has been said that there are no dumb questions, some questions are certainly smarter than others. If you regularly ask intriguing and thought-provoking questions, others are more likely to be interested in you and to hold you in high regard. On the other hand, if you ask questions that are likely to make people believe you know little of your field or are looking for others to do your homework for you, the opposite may occur.

Answering questions can improve your reputation or that of your company even more than asking them. Most who ask questions are in genuine need of assistance. Giving genuine answers to questions may lead to you being seen as a helpful and generous person. If you help others, they are more likely to return the favor in the future and are also likely to appreciate and respect you. Be careful, giving wrong or poor answers can actually cause more harm than no answer at all and may damage your reputation.

The type of answers which you give can impact how you or your business are perceived. If you give an answer that the user finds helpful, that person’s regard for you will almost certainly increase. If you give an answer on a discussion that many find either useful or thought-provoking, the same will occur on a greater scale. You would be surprised how much a discussion can benefit even those who are experts on a topic.

There are so many potential ideas that no one person can have them all. Make sure that your answers are well-thought out accurate. Also make sure that you use correct spelling and grammar.

Answering enough questions well can actually have you labeled an “expert.” LinkedIn rewards repeated high quality answers by allowing certain users to have a white and green star on their profile labeled “Expert.” This instantly allows those who view your profile to see that you are an expert on a topic. This will immediately grant you respect and approval. Others will be considerably more likely to seek out your help and services in the future if they consider you an expert.

LinkedIn is a valuable social and professional networking site that has already helped thousands of users to further their careers. However, as with everything in life, there are certain rules and guidelines which should be followed when using LinkedIn.

Do: Be honest and professional. Everything on your profile should be true and in no way misleading. Everything should make you appear to be a professional and desirable employee.

Don’t: Have any spelling or grammar mistakes on your profile. Few things are as big of a turnoff to an employer as to see that you were unwilling to take the time or the effort to ensure that your work is mistake-free.

Do: Include a picture with your profile. Although LinkedIn does not require users to use a picture, it is highly advisable to do so. A picture makes your profile more personable and genuine. Not having a picture can put doubt in the minds of potential employers.

Do: Wear professional attire in your picture. Also, place yourself in front of a neutral-colored, blank background. Make sure that you are in a professional pose.

Don’t: Include an old or fake picture. If you show up for an interview looking drastically different from your picture, a potential employer will be surprised, and possibly put-off or angry.

Do: Have an eye-catching and interesting headline. You headline is the first impression that you will make on potential contacts and employers. If you can catch their attention, they may want to find out more about you.

Don’t: Have a generic and/or overly long headline. Nobody will pay attention if they are bored or have seen the same line a thousand times before.

Do: Regularly update your What Are You Working On with new and different projects. This shows that you are a hard and diligent worker, who can handle a variety of tasks.

Don’t: Post What Are You Working On updates that may cause an employer to question your skills, dedication or work ethic. Saying that you are, “Doing things your own way,” will not inspire confidence.

Do: Include unique and specific job descriptions. For example, if you regularly traveled to a foreign country, say which country and what you did there. This will help distinguish you.

Don’t: Include false or misleading work experience. While it acceptable and expected that you will make yourself look as good as possible, do not carry this into the realm of falsehood.

Do: Personalize your web pages, URL’s, and web addresses. For example, instead of “My Webpage,” use “Jane Doe’s Salesmanship Webpage.” This will make you stand out from the thousands of other LinkedIn users.

Don’t: Include links to web pages, URL’s, and web addresses that contain content which may turn off potential employers. If your blog includes a post entitled, “The Top Ten Most Embarrassing Things I Did in College,” you should either not link to that blog, or remove that post.

Do: Make a good summary. Use the summary as an opportunity to make one final sell of yourself. Think of the summary as an opportunity to seal the deal. What would your closing argument in favor of hiring you be?

Don’t: Have an overly long summary. Potential employers and clients often look through hundreds or even thousands of profiles. If they see that your summary is too long, they may not even bother reading it. Even if they do start, and then become bored, they will stop and move on.

LinkedIn Etiquette, what do you practice?