In this article we suggest a strategy using social business networking to expand your business, especially for an MLM business. We specifically discuss of the best online business networking sites: Linkedin. Linkedin is presently the most popular business and professional networking site. The advice in this discussion would also apply to other business networking sites.

Linkedin is a free business networking website used by many professionals to share information and for networking. A premium membership is available to expand your networking opportunities. There are now more than 47 million members in 200 countries that participate in Linkedin, including executives from all Fortune 500 Companies. The median household earnings of Linkedin members was $109,000 at the time of this writing.

The Linkedin profile has features for listing your experience and recommendations from employers, coworkers, clients, and other professional connections. The profile is used by employers and clients so they can easily locate the best available resources for filling employment and consultant requirements. Also, Linkedin has an important attribute for group discussion and sharing: LInkedin Groups. Linkedin Groups are established to facilitate discussion and information sharing in areas of common interest. The discussions are quite focused and helpful to very specialized business needs.

Facebook and Twitter are also great for social and business networking, but Linkedin is usually superior for finding MLM prospects, since it is generally populated by a different type of individual, including professionals and many entrepreneurs. These people can be ideal prospects for your MLM business. In order to most efficiently reach these prospects, what methods work best on LinkedIn?

First, it is crucial to establish a credible profile. Your professional experience and recommendations are important in order to be taken seriously in this community. Recommendations are very important to enhance and verify your profile content.

Next, Linkedin “Groups” are a effective feature of LinkedIn that can be leveraged for your business, mainly by elevating your own “value” as a networker, but also by linking you to thousands of prospects. The most successful Internet marketers are also the ones that contribute at the highest level to the Groups that they belong to. As you contribute more effectively, and provide helpful information to a Group, you will develop relationships, and eventually establish contacts for expanding your MLM enterprise.

LinkedIn Groups are monitored and controlled much more than those on Facebook. In order to join a Group, you must first submit an application to the Group owner, who will most likely check out your profile to validate your knowledge about the Group’s interest area. Group owners are also much more inclined to remove postings and even your membership to their Group if you abuse your membership. Direct reference to your business opportunity or MLM company, is considered self-promotion and will be the fastest way to be deleted from a Group

The usefulness of your sharing in a Group will determine your effectiveness in making connections and eventually turning these connections into leads for your enterprise. Although we focus, in particular, on MLM business leads, networking in Linkedin Groups will be of value regardless of your business type or model. Consultants, in particular, can also generate business leads from their group participation, resultilng in consulting engagements. Network marketing is a very natural match for members in Linkedin Groups, although paradoxically, network marketing should not be addressed directly in the group context.

Visit our website for additional information, free training and a test drive of an MLM lead generation system for social networking.