Internet Detective - 3 Steps to Finding Contact Information FREE!
By Jessica L. Benjamin - Recruitment Advertising - Boston
Is there anything more frustrating than finding a great lead online and not being able to contact them directly? Out of date or incorrect emails and phone numbers don’t have to slow you down.
Here are my three best tips to find anyone on the Internet, FOR FREE.
1. Of course most people can be found on LinkedIn, but why waste InMails or wait for introductions? If you join the same group as the person has joined, you may be able to message them directly, but there are so many more free ways to use LinkedIn. Add the Chrome Browser Extension called Lippl. Lippl will show the full name of those elusive “3rd + Everyone Else” category. Or, type the partial name and title into Google or your favorite search engine. Most likely, their full name will be in Google’s cache. The name and employer is really all we need to find more contact details for free elsewhere.
2. Next, set up an account on Data.com Connect. You can buy contacts, but how boring is that? Add in a few people you know and you’ll get free points to use. I’ve amassed 700+ points just by making minor corrections to the database. I cash them in and enter a person’s name and choose the relevant company. There Data.com Connect provides links to Google and LinkedIn so you can make sure you have the right person and update their title to what they have on LinkedIn (free points). If the contact is correct, click on the link for their phone number and email. If the information is incorrect, it’s easy to report and get your points back.
3. Finally, you can find almost anyone’s email address and phone number for free on Google. It works best when you search for an email address. People post them unthinkingly when they sign up for a 5K or post something for sale and they stay online for you to find. First, just search on their name. Eventually you should be able to find an email. You may have to be patient and go through 20 pages, but if it’s important, it’s worth it. If the email is no longer live, take the name before the @ sign and Google that. Many people use the same format for all of their personal email addresses and this is a quick way to find their new one.
There are many sites where you can pay to get this information, but with a little ingenuity you can game the system and get the contact information that you want for free.
While this advice will help recruiters find both clients and candidates, jobseekers can use these tips to locate recruiters.
If this was helpful, please share it. For more tips like these, follow me on @JLBHireCalling and my Recruitment Advertising Technology blog.
About the company...
At Social Hire, we don't just do social.
What the Social Hire gang loves is making a difference for our clients, and we don't want to waste your, or our resources on campaigns that aren't right for your organisation, if it doesn't get your organisation the difference you need - we take a different approach. When your business utilises social media management, Social Hire get your brand the exposure it needs and offer your business the lift it needs to improve.
Is it important to you to increase the digital footprint of your business by utilising digital marketing, but can't work out how to begin?With the professional understanding of our marketing managers working in your business, you can begin to see interaction, brand loyalty and enquiries get better without having to take your team out to spend time on in-depth marketing strategies, or spend money on a internal marketing manager with a view to get results that may not deliver!
We create and implement original social media marketing plans that help our customers accomplish their organisational objectives and build up their online footprint.
We're a company that helps our customers further their social media presence by providing social media marketing on a monthly basis.
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