3. Collaborate

A number of services have sprung up to help enterprises collaborate through LinkedIn. Examples include and .

4. Generate

There's nothing like demonstrating your expertise to drum up new business, and two ways you can do that on LinkedIn are through recommendations and through LinkedIn Answers. Ask satisfied customers to write recommendations for your business, for instance, and you can use the site yourself to answer relevant questions. Prospective customers who search on Answers will then have a chance to be impressed by what you have to say.

As people increasingly separate their personal and professional identities, it seems likely that LinkedIn--currently the most prominent professionally oriented social network--will only grow in importance as a business networking tool. Make sure your company makes the most of that trend.