Linkedin Is the Facebook for Actors

Linkedin Contacts and iPhone Contacts App Are Game Changers

I am a huge fan of Linkedin.  And I have reported here and elsewhere that it is the most critical social media channel for business owners, managers, and professionals.  I said that when they had 80,000,000 users, and again when they went public with 150,000,000 users (last year), and again when the hit 200,000,000 users, and who knows where they go from here.  They now have about 225,000,000 on board and with the news today about Contacts and Contacts iPhone App, the sky isn't the limit.  To infinity and beyond!

So what is the big deal about contacts.  We all have various kinds of address books, contact lists, etc., all over the place.  Well, this contact app goes a bit beyond any other.  Name, address, phone, company, email, website, picture.  All good.  Add resume, previous work history, notes, associations, summary of current company services, their connections, and so much more.

Do you think I'm hyperventilating over nothing.  Check out these articles from today.

Nine Out of Ten Execs Use LinkedIn

Roughly nine out of ten (88%) business executives use LinkedIn “often” or “very often,” according to a survey of 139 suits by DHR International, a corporate headhunting and management consultancy, as reported by BusinessNewsDaily. What’s more, 73% said that LinkedIn is their favorite social network, leaving Facebook and Twitter in the dust.

In terms of frequency of use, 65% of suits surveyed said they use social media daily, while 27% said they use it on a weekly basis (and no more frequently). On average they spend between 30 minutes and an hour per week on social media, with a quarter saying they use it for between one to two hours and one in five using it more than two hours a week.

PC World had this:  Why it's time to take LinkedIn seriously

From my nearly 700 LinkedIn connections, I tapped a slew of entrepreneurs with more than 500 connections each about how they use the platform. The consensus: Time using LinkedIn is well-spent. Here’s what they said. 

"I use LinkedIn as my online Rolodex to keep track of my contacts and reconnect with old colleagues. Using the advanced search functionality I can find people with specific experience in a particular geographic area. This has helped me find vendors, strategic alliances, as well as suggest candidates for job openings… I like the recent ability to customize my profile layout, embedding the slideshare widget under appropriate positions."
—Felena Hanson, founder of the San Diego co-working space HeraHub
"LinkedIn is essential to my business. We use the information to determine how to target our business development efforts which increases our efficiency and reduces interruptions to contacts we might have contacted who weren't the right role. Because of LinkedIn we reach out and make the right offer to the right contact most of the time. This increases our sales and, we think, our reputation with our business partners."
—David Eads, founder of the Atlanta-based strategy consultancy Mobile Strategy Partners

For actors, the benefits of Linkedin are so obvious.  Linkedin was always about hiring in a completely new way.  Being able to review a potential hire online, see photos, videos, resume's, testimonials from relevant parties, education and so much more without ever running an ad or setting up interviews. 

I can foresee a time when the cattle call will be a thing of the past.  There will only be auditions by invitation.  Linkedin can make that happen. 

Do you have a Linkedin account.  Is it set up and optimized to the max with every possible selling point included on the profile, and maybe even more on pages set up for various character types or skill sets that you want to expose.

For the purposes of this blog post, you should set up an account today.  Then you should set up the contact page and get the contact app.

Then subscribe to this blog.  Because on Friday I'm going to give you the secrets to optimizing your listing.  This is truly information you won't find elsewhere.   

Once you set up the account, send a personal request to connect with Mark Stolzenberg at www.linkedin.com/in/filmproducer1/

One last thought.  Look yourself up on Google.  Are you first on the page for your own name.   After you fill out the listing on Linkedin you will probably be first on the page in a few weeks.