LinkedIn has become the ultimate business social network. As it is so new though, many businesses are unsure how to use it properly in order to build their company presence. The following four steps can be undertaken with ease in order to garner exposure and a stellar reputation throughout LinkedIn and the entire business community. 1) Utilize LinkedIn Ads. Like Facebook Ads these are highly targeted based on the information that people submit to LinkedIn when they sign-up for an account. You can even create ads specifically targeted to certain groups to heighten your focus. As this is a strictly business network, members will be more inclined to entertain business proposals than they would be on Facebook. 2) Get involved in group discussions. There are many groups on LinkedIn on a variety of narrowly focused topics. There are new discussions being put forth constantly, and it’s easy to find ways to get involved. The best way is to look for people who are asking questions about a field you specialize in and answer them. This will show your expertise in your field and that you are willing to help others. 3) Get your entire team involved in building their profiles in a cohesive manner. If you choose not to it will look odd if three people at your company are “Director of Marketing” while another is “VP of Marketing”. This can be done very quickly and easily if you ask everyone at your company to take ten minutes one day and update their profiles in a uniform manner. An extra step is to include pictures of all the staff, which helps to humanize the company even further. 4) Create connections outside of LinkedIn and then invite them to join your network. LinkedIn can be seen as a more personal space, and many people will be unwilling to add you to their network unless they know you personally. With LinkedIn Connect becoming synonymous on many sites though, it’s easy to bridge the gap between sites with more open discussion and LinkedIn. Sites like bx.businessweek.com are great places where people can share content and grow their connections before bringing them in to their LinkedIn network.