by Kurt VandeMotter and Paula Calise of Calise & Co.

LinkedIn is your digital rolodex. In this day and age, you need to use it to expand your business, no matter what industry you're in.

Welcome to LinkedIn, a treasure trove of business leads you may have never considered. With this free social network site, you can find new prospects to call on, know what companies are doing in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, or find out who works at that specific company. It's a simple way to start dialogue.

Get LinkedIn.

MySpace is the “bar” scene, Facebook is your personal life, and LinkedIn is your business connection. Millions of people join LinkedIn every week; the growth worldwide is simply amazing.

Use it as your digital rolodex. The site provides you with an online presence and allows you to simple see your network, promote yourself, share information with others quickly. Its reach is local, regional, and even international.

Some quick tips for building your online profile:

Headline: Be specific about your location and industry. Use these key words as a way to attract visitors and be sure to tell people what you do and what you are looking for.

Profile: Use your profile dynamically.  The profile is easy to change, so use it as your situation and networking goals change. Also, LinkedIn sends out automatic notices of actions you take on your profile, groups you join, and the activities you're participating in.  This gets your name in front of your network en-mass.

Real-time updates: These updates can be made as frequently as you wish, similar to Facebook and Twitter. Tell your network what you're doing, but keep it business-related.

Who do you surround yourself with in your network?

Summary: This is your three-minute elevator pitch: Who you are, what you do, what you are interested in. Use key words or acronyms that are specific to your industry and keep it interesting. This section is one of the most important sections, as this is how people you do not know will find you! Look at the power users -- those with over 500 connections – to modify this section.

Experience: Though this looks like it should be your online resume, do not cut and paste from your resume. Make it narrative and include key words so that when people are searching“Key Account Representative” or “Research Analysis,” for instance, you can be found easily. Be sure to include all the companies that you have worked for. You can post your resume in the Applications section of your Profile on LinkedIn, as again you are not limited to two pages.

Groups and associations: You can now belong to 50 groups, a great way to meet and find people you do not know. If you are in a group with someone that is not a direct connection, you can still communicate with them if you are in the same group.

For example, if we are looking for a Key Account Manager for Walmart, I would search Walmart in Bentonville Ark., and then look at the groups those people are in. Then I'd join those groups to then broadcast the position I'm seeking to fill. You can do the same this when looking for a job, or when trying to get introduced to a contact in a company that you have targeted to sell to.

Contact information: If you are in a job search or in sales, you probably want to be found. One of the biggest mistakes people make is they do not post an email address, and I would go a step further and post my phone number. Take the guessing out of it and make it easy for people to contact you quickly. (We do suggest that people put their physical mailing address on their business cards; on LinkedIn, that's less necessary.)

Stay tuned for Part 2, when we give tips for job seekers, business developers, and power networkers.

Content partner - Calise & Co.