There’s a lot that Viveka von Rosen could teach us all–like how to harness the power of LinkedIn, how to expand our personal and professional networks, and even how to scuba dive.

She is regarded today as the preeminent LinkedIn expert; the platform first piqued her interest in 2006 when she was first introduced to the business networking opportunities that the social media site offered. She already had a great appreciation of the value of face-to-face networking as a means to grow her own business, she astutely recognized the potential that the LinkedIn and other burgeoning social media platforms could offer businesses.

Educating Professionals on the Power of LinkedIn

Viveka von Rosen is CEO of Linked Into Business, a company that offers LinkedIn training and consulting programs for businesses and individuals. Through her seminars, workshops, and webinars, she has provided valuable training to over 100,000 professionals and has worked one-on-one with over 1,000 executives.

Viveka has a network of over 41 million people and 36,000 followers on LinkedIn and over 82,000 followers on Twitter. She hosts the largest LinkedIn chat on Twitter and is co-moderator of Social Media Marketing Consultants, the largest group on LinkedIn dedicated to the strategies of leveraging the platform for business.

Her interests aren’t limited to social media. She leads an active life in her Colorado home as an avid skier and hang-glider. Her passion for diving has led her to get her Professional Association of Diving Instructors certification.

Notable Accomplishments

• • Author of 3 successful books: LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour A Day, LinkedIn Security: Who’s Watching You, and LinkedIn: 101 Ways To Rock Your Personal Brand
• • Among last year’s Huffington Post’s Top 50 Female Entrepreneurs
• • Appeared 4 consecutive years on Forbes’ 20 Most Influential Women In Social Media
• • Appeared 4 consecutive years on Forbes’ 50 Most Influential People In Social Media
• • Appeared 4 consecutive years on TopRank’s Women Who Rock Social Media
• • Appeared 5 consecutive years on Evon Carmichael’s Top 100 Leadership Experts to Follow on Twitter
• • Big Money Web’s 200 Most Fearless Women Online

Viveka’s First Key to LinkedIn Success

In addition to having a good quality LinkedIn profile (visit http://linkedintobusiness.com/linkedintipstricks/ for more on that), Viveka suggests that it’s important to understand that LinkedIn is like any other communication tool you might use to communicate with people to grow your business. Don’t be afraid to reach out and make connections to engage and avoid the temptation to only use it to push your products and services.

Her best advice is simply to use it. Spending just a bit of time on LinkedIn each day can go a very long way.