Sarah Santacroce PicMore and more, the top people in online industries are teaming up for collaborations. In the 70’s we would have been musicians at the Hyatt House on Sunset Blvd hanging out with Peter Frampton, David Bowie, Mick Jagger and the like.  Wait, that can still happen can’t it?

I was asked to participate in the 30 Day LinkedIn Challenge by Social Media expert Sarah Santacrote. She’s also contacted some of the industry’s other sharpest minds as well, many of whom we know personally. Sarah asked us for our best LinkedIn tip, to have a little contest perhaps.

It’s hard for anyone at this level to boil it down to one thing, but I travel a lot speaking and training on LinkedIn and I thought it would be helpful to many if I focused on the business traveler and how they can use LinkedIn to drive home some extra business when they travel. There’s even some extra fun it it!

30 day challengeSo, here is by contribution to the LinkedIn 30 Day Challenge project. I hope that you find it useful. Look me up on the road sometime!

Join in the 30 Day LinkedIn Challenge now and get 15 great tips like these in 30 days.

 

LinkedIn Benefits for Business Travelers
By Mike O’Neil, The LinkedIn Rockstar

Travelers can get extra benefits out of LinkedIn: the sky is the limit! It starts with building a sizeable LinkedIn network in cities you travel to most often. For me that’s San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Seattle.

This tip is really a set of them under one function – LinkedIn for business travelers.

Mini-tip #1 – build up your network in cities you travel to often. Search for those people that interest you and invite them to connect BEFORE you get there. A nicely built network makes mini-tip #2 much more effective.

Mini-tip #2 – when traveling, let people in the region know you will be there soon, what you are doing there and offer to meet up with any interested parties. You may want to narrow this down and only offer an invitation to select people or you can go wide in hopes that it will lead to more entirely new things.

Mini-tip #3 – when meeting with the locals, offer to meet for drinks after work if they can’t meet during the day. In some cities we throw a LinkedIn networking event so our contacts can meet one another too. We know they have something in common beyond knowing us because of the way we connect to people who share our interests.  If they share our interest, that means they share each others as well!

Basically, we meet at a fun local bar or hangout and have a drink together. This works so well, I typically extend most all of my trips by a day or two so I can stir up more even local business.

How to do it…

It all happens with a LinkedIn Message Send and it only works for Tier 1 connections* (hence the importance of network building). You may send one message to up to 50 people at a time so it’s really pretty easy.

* You might use LinkedIn Group message sends to reach those you are not connected to, but that’s a different tip and those messages can only be sent one at a time.

Now, what are you going to say? Well, here is an excerpt my recent visit to Detroit.

 

LINKEDIN MESSAGE SUBJECT LINE:

Join me next Tuesday for free learning, for a drink or both!

LINKEDIN MESSAGE BODY:

It’s great to be your LinkedIn connection. I’m Minneapolis-based now and if you need any help in the Twin Cities (or Denver) markets I’d be happy to lend a hand.

But I’m coming to your neck of the woods **Tuesday, May 21** for the Revenue North Business Growth event at the Sheraton Detroit Novi. I am speaking on LinkedIn business development at 8am sharp and the material is hot…Consider joining us at the lobby bar after the event to discuss what we all learned throughout the day!

I’ve set aside Monday, May 20 to schedule meetings with individuals and firms (partners, clients, vendors) that are looking to do strategic things with LinkedIn in 2013. Let me know right away if you might like to hook up as my schedule fills up fast.

Mike O’Neil
Founder, Integrated Alliances
Cell Phone #

That’s my message and for this specific audience. Find a message that works for you and is appropriate for the situation.

 

IN SUMMARY

Prepare for your next trip by inviting others in the region to connect. Announce your pending arrival at least a week or two out. Send messages about coming to town, about meeting up and go ahead and make friends with the locals.

Could it get any better? YES! I now stay with friends when I travel most of the time and this technique led to some of that.  How’s that for a LinkedIn ROI?

I’m Mike O’Neil, The LinkedIn Rockstar, and I’ve been trained tens of thousands in 500+ Integrated Alliances LinkedIn trainings since 2006, including 100+ other LinkedIn trainers/consultants.

Our live training now includes LinkedIn E-Learning. Check out http://RockLinkedIn.com for 20 free LinkedIn lessons that will help you with more strategies like these.

Better yet, visit the Integrated Alliances Web site for a wide range of LinkedIn-related training and services – http://IntegratedAlliances.com

Rock On!

Mike O’Neil
Look me upon LinkedIn!
http://linkedin.com/in/mikeoneil