LinkedIn is the largest professional social networking site. It is a fantastic resource for networking, connecting with potential partners, investors and clients, and sharing your expertise.
There is no reason not to be on LinkedIn. It's safe and it's professional.
Here are nine steps to help you setup your LinkedIn profile successfully and use LinkedIn to strengthen your network.
Step 1: The Profile Box
Complete all this information.
1. Name
2. Professional Headline - Use Keywords! This is searchable.
3. Location
4. Professional Photo
5. Current and Past Positions - Use Keywords! Be Specific! This is searchable.
6. Education Information - Great way to connect!
7. Website Listings (Include Website Name) and Twitter Handle
8. Personalized LinkedIn URL
9. Professional Contact Information
Step 2: Summary
Be specific, be likable, use keywords and establish credibility. Introduce yourself in first person and set yourself apart from the competition. This should not be the same as your website bio.
Step 3: Skills
Remember - these are searchable keywords that will help you establish expertise and credibility.
Step 4: Complete the rest of your profile as fits your needs.
Honors, Interests, Awards, Photos, Media, etc.
You can have a lot of fun with the "extras" that really set your profile apart.
Step 5: Make Connections:
Email contacts, Colleagues, Classmates, Networking connections, etc.
Step 6: Join Groups and Follow Companies to Make More Connections
Step 7: Post Regular Updates
Post during the work day and share relevant information that will speak to your target market and connections in a unique way that sets you apart from others.
Step 8: Stay Up to Date
Follow channels that interest you on Pulse and stay in tune with what your network is interested in.
Step 9: Be Engaged
Participate in groups, answer questions, respond to connections/messages
Joining groups is a great idea. And when you join look through the Discussions and comment or ask a question.
It is a thoughtful way to become known in the group and establish yourself.
I'll also suggest that you don't set your profile settings to anonymous.
It defeats the point of being on LinkedIn.
The idea is to connect with people and become known professionally.
Remember to put your website, twitter & FB in contact info fields.
Here's one thing that works so poorly on LinkedIn it should be avoided.
Hootsuite automated posting.
If you use it everyone can tell from the ow.ly url shortener you are forced to use you aren't actually participating on LinkedIn.
It screams to people you programmed your posts, you're not here and you may even have somebody posting for you.
Oh and you can't edit and personalize how your LinkedIn post appears from within Hootsuite.
Yeah, I agree with this. When I see a Hootsuite shortner, I don't bother asking the poster a question. I know that they aren't listening.
Thanks for the comments Joe and Michael.
I tend to disagree about using tools like Hootsuite. Scheduling content in advance doesn't mean that you aren't present. It simply means that you are organized.
Posting content doesn't replace engaging - it's just one part of the conversation. The beginning.
If you're going to schedule it and forget it, then that's not the right tactic. Scheduling it and then still being there to participate seems just a smart use of time.
Frances, scheduling makes sense for a group project. It helps everyone get on the same page.
But, it has been my experience that few if any of the avid users of automated postings are interested in genuine dialogue.
As you know, we have a method for distributing articles. It is not automated. It is organized.
I think most agencies use some sort of tool to help distribute content. We certainly do. However, that does not replace engagement. We are in there every day having conversations with our audience and our clients' audiences. It's a consistent process.
Frances -
Let me be clear about Hootsuite with LinkedIn.
The problem is on LinkedIn when using Hootsuite and for other social networks for the most part it works pretty well.
I have used most of the automated tools. Because Joe and I are solely concerned about distributing content in LinkedIn, we have developed our own method. It is actually faster, gives better results and is nicely integrated with our company updates than any automated tool I used.
There might be an 11tip:
Don't be a LinkedIn Lion.
http://partnersinexcellenceblog.com/any-idiot-can-be-a-linkedin-lion/