By Amelia Clark So, by this point you know LinkedIn is a great tool for professional networking.   However, you may not know exactly how to unlock that potential.  LinkedIn provides a variety of tools to extend your networking capacity, including the LinkedIn tool bar for Outlook.

This nifty application allows you to build your network from frequent connections, manage LinkedIn connections from Outlook, and stay connected to your network through mini-profiles for everyone who emails you and a great LinkedIn dashboard in Outlook.  One of my favorite elements is the Grab button, which automatically populates new contact information directly from emails.  There is also an INFO button, which will give you profile information for people you receive emails from.  You can send LinkedIn invitations in one click directly from Outlook.

Simply put, all this functionality means you can easily cross-reference your email contacts with your LinkedIn connections.  The dashboard allows you to set contact reminders, and will show you status updates for the people you email most often.

Installing the toolbar is simple.  At the bottom of your LinkedIn home page, there is a little link labeled Tools.  Follow the link, and you will find a useful set of LinkedIn tools, including the Outlook toolbar.  Simply download and follow the simple instructions.  They recommend closing all other programs before installing.

This site has extremely detailed instructions to walk you through the entire process:  http://www.ehow.com/how_2030923_install-use-linkedin.html