Mashable has created a handy new visual guide to mastering the basics of LinkedIn – one of Web 2.0′s first (and most successful) social networking sites. Now while it has (far) fewer users than Facebook (then again, doesn’t everybody?) it still has a large niche audience (over 135 million and counting) with a robust, built-in advertising platform.

But whether you’re looking to drum up more business for your company, improve personal (or corporate) branding or land yourself a new job, there’s a lot more to LinkedIn than just uploading your resume.

Here’s your new training regime:

Let’s summarize:

STEP ONE: Complete your profile – referred to as “Conditioning” in Mashable’s inforgraphic (in keeping with their “bootcamp” theme), this is indeed the most basic (and most important) of getting foumd via LinkedIn. Your LinkedIn profile often shows up in the top 5 Google search results for your name, so make sure it’s complete!

STEP TWO: Connect – some users believe you should only connect on LinkedIn with people you already know in real life, but Mashable’s writers suggest connecting with as many people as possible and helping your contacts connect with each other, thus broadening your overall network and increasing opportunities for new business.

STEP THREE: Customize your URL and websites – your public LinkedIn profile has it’s own URL…which you can customize (in the “Edit Profile). Doing so is a very good idea, because it makes you easier to find both on LinkedIn and via search engines. You can also shorten or customize the URL of your blog or website as it appears on LinkedIn to encourage people who view your profile to click through to your site.

STEP FOUR: Improve your image – make your profile more interesting than potential competitors’ by adding video recommendations, stories about your successes (or misadventures), etc. to make yourself stand above the crowd.

STEP FIVE: Recommend others – recommendations can make a big difference on someone’s LinkedIn profile, especially when it comes to getting hired on to a new job or landing a new customer. Make sure you write lots of glowing reviews for deserving contacts and it will encourage people to do the same for you.

STEP SIX: Join Groups – groups put you in touch with others within your industry (or industries that you are interested in). They let you learn, keep up with current developments, broaden your network and can help establish you as an expert in your field. If you have enough to say, why not start your own group as well?

STEP SEVEN: Add your company profile – once you have polished your own profile it’s time to create something for your company. List your products and services, connect with employees, and more. Not only does it create one more venue to market your company (LinkedIn has a very robust advertising platform) it also provides greater visibility for the personal profiles of your employees…and yourself!

STEP EIGHT: Optimize – just like with a website, search for keywords you want to rank highly in, then carefully place them throughout your profile…in your headline, work experience, etc. Jut like in website SEO, remember that you need to make sure your profile reads well to humans, not search engines, first! Use those keywords carefully!

STEP NINE: Apps -  you can add apps to your profile to make it more interesting for viewers to look at – take a look and see what works best for you and your industry.

There you go – a quick summary of the “LinkedIn” bootcamp. Do you agree with the suggestions? Disagree? Have you already done any of this? Let us know in the comments!