This I've been having an increasing number of people asking me about using LinkedIn for business development recently.

One of the people I was speaking with was a journalist for the current edition of Marketing Age, the professional magazine for the Marketing Institute and you can find the full article here.

I also noticed that the most listened to of our FREE 'Biz Growth Live' Masterclass programme was the recent episode about LinkedIn which you can access here as a download, streaming audio or podcast.

I thought I would post my five suggested tips from the Marketing Age article to help you get started with LinkedIn which I hope you will find of assistance:

So you've decided you want to start to develop and nurture your network online with the professional social network LinkedIn, here are five steps to getting started:

1. Register To Join - The first step is to register at LinkedIn.com. While there is a paid for option, you can start with a free registration which provided you with a host of features.

2. Create Your Profile - LinkedIn.com provides you with the opportunity to add information about your career history, the professional associations you are a member of, details of your education and even upload a photograph. Take the time to create a comprehensive profile and ensure you include the 'key words' that people might be searching on when looking for someone with your experience.

3. Check Your Privacy Settings - Make sure that you review your privacy settings on LinkedIn.com. However, if you want to make sure that you are found online in the search engines, take the time to set up a public profile i.e. the profile people will see when they are searching for you online.

4. Build Your Network - Once you have established your profile you can then search and connect within LinkedIn for colleagues and contacts that you know. It's recommended that you customise the invitation you send to people inviting them to be part of your network so they understand your reasons for connecting.

5. Nurture Your Network - Just as you would in networking face to face, it's important to develop and nurture your network over time. You can write endorsements and testimonials for people you have worked with, join specific interest groups on LinkedIn and even ask questions and provide answers to areas within your field of expertise or interest.

Why not spend just 15 to 30 minutes each week connecting and developing your network online - you'll be surprised at the connections you will make.

Article by Krishna De and courtesy of Biz Growth News blog