Tag Archive: LinkedInExpert

A Three-Step Process to LinkedIn Communication Success

Categories:

LinkedIn Strategies, Uncategorized

April 16, 2012

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April 16, 2012


Get Organized and Be More Effective on LinkedIn

Checklist, Calendar and Schedule

 

Successful communications on LinkedIn can come down to this three-part process.

            • Create a LinkedIn Checklist
            • Create a Communications Calendar
            • Schedule Your Communications

LinkedIn Expert Advice:

Create a LinkedIn Checklist of Daily Updates and Posts

The first thing you are going to want to do is create a checklist for your daily communications.  You can use any number of tools that come with your computer, or make your own checklist.

A simple, easy and popular checklist tool you might use for your PC is RTM (Remember The Milk) http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ This is one of the most popular checklists around because it is intuitive and easy to use.

A simple and easy tool for a Mac is 2Do: http://itunes.apple.com/app/2do-tasks-done-in-style/id303656546?mt=8  I like 2Do because it easily integrates with your calendar (Saving you a few steps)

Both applications have smartphone apps that will also sync with your calendars.

Things you might put in your checklist are:

  • Posting daily status update about a client
  • Posting daily status update about your industry
  • Posting daily status update about your product or service
  • Posting daily status update about an upcoming event
  • Contribution to a group discussion (Group A, B and C)
  • Posting a question in your group
  • Posting a question in a group you are a member of
  • Answering a question with an old blog post
  • Asking a question to spark engagement
  • Responding to mentions in status updates
  • Posting a Company page status update – general
  • Posting a Company page status update – specific
  • Sending a private message to a specific “tagged” group of connections

(Of course there are many other functions you can add to your checklist in regards to your LinkedIn presence, but this post is focused on communications.)

Why create a checklist?  It ensures that you get all your tasks done, and frees your brain to be more creative, and less focused on “Did I remember to do???”  Also writing, and then checking off your tasks gives you a sense of accomplishment.  Also, if makes it easier to delegate work, and maybe even go on a vacation if you have a checklist of tasks that need to be done (in this case updates and posts that need to be written) ready to hand over to someone.

Put Your Checklist on a Calendar!

The second thing you want to do is calendar your checklist so it actually gets done.  As mentioned above, at least these two tools can automatically schedule your calendar.  You might need to go in and add details (like which client you are highlighting, what group you are posting to and what “tagged” connections you are sending a message to.)  For some people, writing “Update congrats to HBC” will work, other people might want to even write the post and then calendar it.

If you are able to delegate some of your social media posting, then more detail is usually better.

Lisa Buyer recently wrote a great article on why you should create a social media calendar as well as sharing some useful templates and links: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2136988/How-to-Create-a-Social-Media-Editorial-Calendar (Your required reading for Tuesday’s #LinkedInChat)

She lists the benefits of having a calendar as:

  • Accountability: Put it in writing where everyone can see it, touch it and live it.
  • Commitment: Stamp a date on it, chances are, you will get it done.
  • Accomplishment: Checking it off the list feels so good and ties back to accountability.
  • Planning: Big picture first, start at the year, month, week and day.
  • Creativity: Mapping out the topics first will help free up space for creativity and inspiration.  (So true!!!)
  • Trends: Tie in the topics with keyword research and boost the SEO strategy.
  • Measurement: Watching the results in growth and also what is popular in content via tools such as Google Analytics will give you valuable information for future editorial ideas.

I know it might take a bit more time to calendar your updates, but the pay off can be immense.  Whenever I follow my own advice, all my numbers go up – including my bank account.  A few more minutes, strategic thinking and organization really can get you some exponentially positive results.


 Schedule Your Posts for a Later Date

Once you have created your checklist and scheduled it on a calendar, then use a scheduler to post updates! (Right now you can only schedule your status updates to LinkedIn, but I’m sure eventually some of these tools will allow for posting into groups, answers and messages as well.)  Why schedule?  So it gets done!  Have you ever realized ten minutes before a presentation that you forgot to let people know you were even giving one?  Or is it just me?

A few scheduling tools I like are Hootsuite and BufferApp.  Now you have probably heard about, and might already be using Hootsuite.  It’s a good tool and I recommend it.  Especially the paid version.  But a relatively new tool to the scheduling arena is BufferApp.  I like it because it as an easy plugin I can use right from my browser (and Twitter) and it allows you to very easily schedule multiple updates to LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook a week at a time – from one page.  None of this cutting and pasting and backing and forthing!

I like this tool so much in fact that I have invited BufferApp co-founder Leonhard Widrich (I know – he totally sounds like a Harry Potter character, right?) to tell us more about Buffer App on our #LinkedInChat Tuesday April 17th at 5 PM PST!

Leo describes Buffer App:  “Buffer is a smarter way to share your Social Media updates. All you have to do is add new Tweets, Facebook posts or LinkedIn updates to your queue and they will be automatically posted for you at a better time, well spaced out over the day (or weeks). You can add new updates to your Buffer from any website through browser extensions, mobile phone or iPad.

Since we are going to be picking Leo’s brain, you might want to know more about him!

Leo Widrich is the Co-Founder of Buffer, a smarter way to share Tweets, Facebook posts and LinkedIn updates. He loves to connect with the Buffer community day and night. He also blogs more Social Media and Productivity tips at http://blog.bufferapp.com. Say hi on Twitter at @LeoWid, Leo is a very nice guy.

LinkedInChat by LinkedIn Expert Viveka von Rosen

Questions we’ll be asking Leo on the #LinkedInChat:

Q1.  How can Buffer help you with a better LinkedIn/ Social Media presence?

Q2.  Is there an issue with too much automation on Social Media?

Q3.  What are the results from Buffer regarding clicks, Klout score and engagement in general?

Q4.  Which other tools can be used together with Buffer?

Q5.  What other questions do you have for Leo?

The #LinkedInChat is held every Tuesday night at 5 PM PST, 8 PM EST.  I like using http://tweetchat.com/room/linkedinchat  (You have to be on Twitter in order to join the chat).  So if you want to know more about BufferApp, this article or LinkedIn in general, please come and participate!  If you want me to add your questions to the chat, just post them in “Comments” below.  Here is our Group on Linkedin http://t.co/cpIEI6y6 so you can continue the conversation!

For a Transcript and Stats about tonight’s chat please check out Hashtracking after the LinkedInChat at:  http://beta.hashtracking.com/ht-pro-rpt/cjeffers-linkedinchat-2012-04-17/

Here’s the list of resources we talked about in tonight’s chat:

BufferApp Links

Viv_-_headshot_with_flowers_normal Tonight we had @LeoWid from BufferApp on the #LinkedInChat. Here are some resources from that chat!
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5 Ways to Use LinkedIn for Conferences

Categories:

#LinkedInChat, LinkedIn and Conference

January 24, 2012

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January 24, 2012


Double the ROI of your Conference or Tradeshow

LinkedIn:  Pre and Post Conference

Double the ROI of your Conferences

LinkedIn is an excellent tool for both preparing for conferences and as follow-up after a conference.  Let’s talk about some of the ways you can use LinkedIn to have more success, more sales, and more engagement before, during and after your conference and tradeshow travels!

1.  If at all possible, see if you can get an attendee list for your conference.  This is easier to do if you are a presenter.  As an attendee, you might have to pay for this list – or it might not be available at all.  However, if the conference is also posted as an event in a meetup, Facebook or LinkedIn Event, you will be able to see the other people who have marked themselves as interested or attending.  Its worth doing a quick even search in Facebook, LinkedIn and Meetup.com to see if your conference is listed there.

If you can get a list of conference attendees,  it would be a great idea to look them up on LinkedIn and see if you are connected.  You might want to use the advanced search in order to do this. The reason for that is you can check specifically by location and not spend a lot of time looking for people who might have the same name – but not be the same person –  as the attendee you were looking for.

2.  Once you have found an attendee that you want to connect with, send them an invitation. If you aren’t comfortable sending them an invitation, see if they are a member of the group and send a message through that group. If you have a paid account you can also send them an Inmail. But what a great thing to do! Set up a meeting before you ever meet.

3.  If you don’t have an attendee list, you can always set up meetings for LinkedIn members in the city that you’re traveling to! There’s no better way to make connections than to meet face-to-face. For more information about how to use LinkedIn when you travel go to http://linkedintobusiness.com/10-ways-to-use-linkedin-when-you-travel/.

4. As you begin to meet people make sure you gather their business cards. When you get back to your hotel room in the evening, invite them to connect with you on LinkedIn.  Do it as soon as possible.  While they still remember who you are.   Once you’ve added them as a connection,  make sure you tag their profile. For more information on how to tag a connection go to http://linkedintobusiness.com/tagging-your-way-into-toma-with-linkedin/.

Tagging will allow you to more easily communicate and follow up with your connections.  Tag your connections:

  • By the industry they work in
  • By the company they work for
  • By the name of the conference
  • By their area of expertise
  • Or all of the above….

…you can ===–in one fell swoop  - reminding them who you are  and what you do. Or even better, space use one of Bob Burg’s great referral techniques. Ask them what they do and who is their best client is so you can keep them as a referral partner.

It’s great to learn things at conferences and trade shows, but it’s even better to make connections whom you can do business with later on! That will vastly increased the ROI of the conference.

5.   Use the CardMunch App if you have an iPhone or iPad (BB and Android app coming soon)  LinkedIn recently bought CardMunch and it is one of my favorite new tools. It allows you to take a snapshot of the business card and upload that information directly into your database. You can then invite those people to connect with you on LinkedIn or just add them to whatever CRM system you are using.

The power of conferences is in the follow-up –  so use these tools to follow up with the people that you meet!

 

Tonight’s #LinkedInChat is going to be all about how to use LinkedIn at conferences and trade shows here are the questions will be asking:

  1. Do you attend conferences or tradeshows?
  2. How do you prepare for conferences and trade shows?
  3. What kind of research do you put into finding out who will attend or be speaking at the conference or tradeshow you’re attending?
  4. Do you use LinkedIn when preparing for a conference?
  5. How do you use LinkedIn when you are preparing for a conference?
  6. How are you at following up after the conference?
  7. Do you follow up after a conference or trade show?
  8. How do you follow up after a trade show or conference?
  9. Do you use CardMunch.com?

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How to Personalize your Public Profile URL

Categories:

LinkedIn Tips, Profile Development

January 20, 2012

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January 20, 2012


Personalize your Public Profile URL

LinkedIn Expert on Google

 

Its amazing to me that there are people out there who still haven’t personalized their LinkedIn Public Profile URL!  Not only is a personalized URL easier to remember, but it looks much better in an email signature and on a business card (Or if you are a job seeker – on a resume!)

Nothing says, “I’m a LinkedIn neophyte” like a public profile that reads:  http://linkedin.com/pub/firstname-lastname9890734-akjshfiho.  So – make sure your public profile reflects your name, your business, or your area of expertise:  www.linkedin.com/in/yourname.

Example:  www.linkedin.com/in/linkedinexpert

These URLs are unique, so it’s possible that your name might be taken.  Here are some other options you might consider

  • Use a middle initial
  • Use the suffix: “onLinkedIn”
  • Use your business name (If someone NOT in your company is using your business name illegitimately, contact cs@LinkedIn.com)
  • IndustryExpert
  • ProductExpert
  • ServiceExpert
To edit your public profile click on edit next to the URL or go to settings/profile/edit your public profile

 When putting your new URL into your email signature, resume or business card – don’t forget the middle “in”:  linkedin.com/in/ or the URL won’t work.

So what is a Public Profile anyway?

Your public profile is what anyone with access to the internet can see.  Anyone.  Did I mention anyone?  That means if you make your whole LinkedIn profile visible, then anyone of 1.7 billion people can use that information however they want to!

You Public Profile - What People See

LinkedIn itself has just over 135 million users.  A smaller pool of people who can abuse your profile.  And only a fraction of those folks can even see it.  So I am a fan of adding as much relevant information as you can to your LinkedIn “private” profile. (The profile you create within LinkedIn).  One has to jump through a few hoops to even create a LinkedIn account and of course anyone who abuses their LinkedIn account can get it shut down pretty quickly (see previous article on what happened to me!)  Optimize your personal profile, but limit your public profile.

Some of the things I don’t add to my public profile:

What you can control on your public profile

  • Current Positions and details
  • Past Positions and details
  • Education and details
  • Specialties
  • Interests
  • Groups
  • Personal information in my Summary (which I do make visible)
If people want to see this info all they have to do is sign into LinkedIn and if they don’t have a profile, create one.  Needless to say a roaming spam spider is not going to do that.  And I have no problem un-connecting from and reporting people to LinkedIn who abuse our connection!

 

You can always choose to hide your profile from everyone, but then you lose the great Google juice it can bring that might get you found and get you business.

Hiding your public profile completely

It will take you about three minutes – go do it now!

 

 

 

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LinkedIn: Comply or Get Spanked!

Categories:

End User Agreement, EUA, What NOT to do on LinkedIn

January 6, 2012

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January 6, 2012


What NOT to do on LinkedIn…

Recently my LinkedIn account was suspended – again.  I had already written a whole series on “What NOT to do on LinkedIn” so I thought I was being compliant  - but apparently not.  So here are a few more things I recently discovered NOT to do on LinkedIn!

1.  Don’t put anything other than your name in the name field.  Put only your first name in the first name field and your last name in the last name field.  A few years ago someone mentioned that for better social SEO you should put your keywords or search terms in the last name field.  I immediately made my last name “von Rosen: LinkedIn Expert” and enjoyed a few great days of Google visibility.  Alas, what I didn’t do was read the End User Agreement that states:

“Do NOT Publish inaccurate information in the designated fields on the profile form (e.g., do not include a link or an email address in the name field). Please also protect sensitive personal information such as your email address, phone number, street address, or other information that is confidential in nature”

Also, you probably don’t want your last name to read something other than your last name for LinkedIn connection find-ability.  If someone is searching for you by name, LinkedIn will have a hard time finding you if your last name looks like this:  Smith, PhD. John A. (johnsmith@gmail.com) LION 941-555-1555

2.  You don’t want to create more than one account.  I have had two accounts for several years.  My real (paid) account that I used for business and a free account I used strictly for training purposes.  Even though I informed LinkedIn about the two accounts and why I was using two accounts, they suspended both and made me choose.  At least they gave me a choice.

I often have people in class ask if they can create two accounts because they have two distinctly different businesses.  The definitive answer is NO, because even through LinkedIn relies on other people turning you in, eventually someone will and you will be forced to choose between accounts – which also means you will lose whatever recommendations and connections you received.  As of this writing LinkedIn does not allow you to merge existing accounts:

LinkedIn may restrict, suspend or terminate the account of any User who abuses or misuses the Services. Misuse of the Services includes … creating multiple or false profiles;

 3.  Don’t do any free marketing for LinkedIn and whatever you do, don’t call yourself a LinkedIn trainer or expert!  Even though I make it very clear in my profile that:  ★★I AM IN NO WAY ASSOCIATED WITH LINKEDIN CORPORATE★★

LinkedIn most recently suspended my account for: “Using the Services commercially without LinkedIn’s authorization, infringing any intellectual property rights…”

They told me:

It is acceptable to state that you train or have expertise in social networking sites in general, but we ask that you do not use the word “LinkedIn” in any of your position titles as this implies affiliation with the company. It is also acceptable to use the word “LinkedIn” in any of your position descriptions, so long as it is also not implying that you are directly affiliated with or endorsed by LinkedIn in anyway.

Which kind of messes with my keyword find-ability, but… what’s a girl to do?

Maybe I can just refer to myself as a LinkEDExpert (according to my dad, this is what I do for a living.)  I like it – emphasis on “Ed”ucation!

4.  One rule I will be breaking is “Don’t invite people you do not know to join your network.”  I figure that since LinkedIn’s Recruiter membership (for 10K+ a year) allows you to connect with anyone you want to, then I can very strategically connect to the few people I don’t know.

I get why LinkedIn has this rule.  It started out as an “Old Boy’s Network” and wants to stay that way.  A strategic circle of trust.  Ideally LinkedIn could keep spammers from infiltrating it as badly as they have infiltrated Twitter.  Of course if you’ve been on LinkedIn lately you’ll know its not working.

Spammers are everywhere. Some things to look out for:

  • Pictures of their family instead of themselves (breaking the rule “Do not upload a profile image that is not your likeness or a head-shot photo.”)
  • They all seem to go to Harvard or Stamford
  • They all are C Level Execs
  • Their profile is exactly the same (except for the name) as the previous 10 people who invited you
  • Their profile is barely filled out
  • They don’t personalize their invitations

If you are going to invite someone you don’t know to connect with you on LinkedIn:

  • Spend a few minutes looking at his or her profile.
  • Personalize your invitation telling them why you want to connect.
  • Reach out to them in an inMail or through a group asking first if you can send an invitation.
  • Don’t use your invitation to ask them for their business.

 

Here’s some more Do’s and Don’t’s from LinkedIn:

  1. A.        Do undertake the following:
    1. Comply with all applicable laws, including, without limitation, privacy laws, intellectual property laws, export control laws, tax laws, and regulatory requirements;
    2. Provide accurate information to us and update it as necessary;
    3. Review and comply with our Privacy Policy;
    4. Review and comply with notices sent by LinkedIn concerning the Services; and
    5. Use the Services in a professional manner.
  2. B.        Don’t undertake the following:
    1. Act dishonestly or unprofessionally by engaging in unprofessional behavior by posting inappropriate, inaccurate, or objectionable content to LinkedIn;
    2. Publish inaccurate information in the designated fields on the profile form (e.g., do not include a link or an email address in the name field). Please also protect sensitive personal information such as your email address, phone number, street address, or other information that is confidential in nature;
    3. Create a user profile for anyone other than a natural person;
    4. Harass, abuse or harm another person, including sending unwelcomed communications to others using LinkedIn;
    5. Invite people you do not know to join your network;
    6. Upload a profile image that is not your likeness or a head-shot photo;
    7. Use or attempt to use another’s account without authorization from the Company, or create a false identity on LinkedIn;
    8. Upload, post, email, InMail, transmit or otherwise make available or initiate any content that:
      1. Falsely states, impersonates or otherwise misrepresents your identity, including but not limited to the use of a pseudonym, or misrepresenting your current or previous positions and qualifications, or your affiliations with a person or entity, past or present;
      2. Is unlawful, libelous, abusive, obscene, discriminatory or otherwise objectionable;
      3. Adds to a content field content that is not intended for such field (i.e. submitting a telephone number in the “title” or any other field, or including telephone numbers, email addresses, street addresses or any personally identifiable information for which there is not a field provided by LinkedIn);
      4. Includes information that you do not have the right to disclose or make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as insider information, or proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);
      5. Infringes upon patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights or other proprietary rights;
      6. Includes any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation. This prohibition includes but is not limited to (a) using LinkedIn invitations to send messages to people who don’t know you or who are unlikely to recognize you as a known contact; (b) using LinkedIn to connect to people who don’t know you and then sending unsolicited promotional messages to those direct connections without their permission; and (c) sending messages to distribution lists, newsgroup aliases, or group aliases;
      7. Contains software viruses, worms, or any other computer code, files or programs that interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment of LinkedIn or any User of LinkedIn;
      8. Forges headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any communication transmitted through the Services; and/or
    9. Participate, directly or indirectly, in the setting up or development of a network that seeks to implement practices that are similar to sales by network or the recruitment of independent home salespeople to the purposes of creating a pyramid scheme or other similar practices.
    10. Duplicate, license, sublicense, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, display, sell, rebrand, or otherwise transfer information found on LinkedIn (excluding content posted by you) except as permitted in this Agreement, LinkedIn’s developer terms and policies, or as expressly authorized by LinkedIn;
    11. Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, decipher or otherwise attempt to derive the source code for any underlying intellectual property used to provide the Services, or any part thereof
    12. Utilize or copy information, content or any data you view on and/or obtain from LinkedIn to provide any service that is competitive, in LinkedIn’s sole discretion, with LinkedIn;
    13. Imply or state, directly or indirectly, that you are affiliated with or endorsed by LinkedIn unless you have entered into a written agreement with LinkedIn (this includes, but is not limited to, representing yourself as an accredited LinkedIn trainer if you have not been certified by LinkedIn as such);
    14. Adapt, modify or create derivative works based on LinkedIn or technology underlying the Services, or other Users’ content, in whole or part, except as permitted under LinkedIn’s developer program;
    15. Rent, lease, loan, trade, sell/re-sell access to LinkedIn or any information therein, or the equivalent, in whole or part;
    16. Sell, sponsor, or otherwise monetize a LinkedIn Group or any other service or functionality of LinkedIn, without the express written permission of LinkedIn.
    17. Deep-link to the Site for any purpose, (i.e. including a link to a LinkedIn web page other than LinkedIn’s home page) unless expressly authorized in writing by LinkedIn or for the purpose of promoting your profile or a Group on LinkedIn as set forth in the Brand Guidelines;
    18. Remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices contained in or on LinkedIn, including those of both LinkedIn and any of its licensors;
    19. Remove, cover or otherwise obscure any form of advertisement included on LinkedIn;
    20. Collect, use, copy, or transfer any information, including, but not limited to, personally identifiable information obtained from LinkedIn except as expressly permitted in this Agreement or as the owner of such information may expressly permit;
    21. Share information of non-Users without their express consent;
    22. Infringe or use LinkedIn’s brand, logos and/or trademarks, including, without limitation, using the word “LinkedIn” in any business name, email, or URL or including LinkedIn’s trademarks and logos except as provided in the Brand Guidelines or as expressly permitted by LinkedIn;
    23. Use manual or automated software, devices, scripts robots, other means or processes to access, “scrape,” “crawl” or “spider” any web pages or other services contained in the site;
    24. Use bots or other automated methods to access LinkedIn, add or download contacts, send or redirect messages, or perform other activities through LinkedIn, unless explicitly permitted by LinkedIn;
    25. Access, via automated or manual means or processes, LinkedIn for purposes of monitoring LinkedIn’s availability, performance or functionality for any competitive purpose;
    26. Engage in “framing,” “mirroring,” or otherwise simulating the appearance or function of LinkedIn’s website;
    27. Attempt to or actually access LinkedIn by any means other than through the interfaces provided by LinkedIn such as its mobile application or by navigating to http://www.linkedin.com using a web browser. This prohibition includes accessing or attempting to access LinkedIn using any third-party service, including software-as-a-service platforms that aggregate access to multiple services, including LinkedIn;
    28. Attempt to or actually override any security component included in or underlying LinkedIn;
    29. Engage in any action that directly or indirectly interferes with the proper working of or places an unreasonable load on LinkedIn’s infrastructure, including, but not limited to, sending unsolicited communications to other Users or LinkedIn personnel, attempting to gain unauthorized access to LinkedIn, or transmitting or activating computer viruses through or on LinkedIn;

 

 

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LinkedIn for Jobseekers: Part Two

Categories:

#LinkedInChat, LinkedIn for JobSeekers

September 20, 2011

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September 20, 2011


LinkedIn for Jobseekers:  Part Two

Looking for a job? Use LinkedIn!

 

My good friend and compatriot Caitlin Fisher of Hellerman Baretz recently asked me to write a blog article for them on Social Media for the Job Seeker.  Since that is in perfect alignment with this 3 week LinkedIn for Job-seekers #LinkedInChat series we are doing, I though I would share my answers here as well.

And scroll to the bottom for the questions we will ask on tonight’s #LinkedInChat moderated by @SteveCassady. (I’d be there but I’m on my way to Mexico – woohoo)

 

Why should PR (and other) job hunters participate in Twitter and LinkedIn?

Twitter:  Let’s address Twitter first – It has been, far and away, the best PR tool I have ever used.  I would say 90% of my interviews, requests for articles, etc. have come through Twitter.  It is a veritable hotbed of SME’s and Thought Leaders for PR professionals.  That being said, a PR Job Hunter has an almost unlimited ability to:

  • Monitor and learn from PR Professionals (Use Twilert, Tweetdeck, etc.)
  • Create mentor / mentee relationships with PR Mavens
  • Monitor PR jobs listings:

Some PR Job Listing Twitter accounts are:

 

LinkedIn is a phenomenal place for PR Job Seekers to:

Once you find a professional you want to connect with, you can ask them to join your network.  In your invitation you might say something like “I am beginning my career in (Industry) and in my LinkedIn search found your profile.  You look like quite an influencer in the industry and I would like to connect if you are open to it.”

If you are nervous reaching out with a connection request, ask to be  “introduced” to the professional, or simply join a group that they are a member of and send them a message through the group.

 How should young people be using these platforms for job hunting?

All social media is about making connections and building relationships.  And so is job searching!  We all know that it’s who you know that usually get you the job.  Use social media to:

  • Connect to Influencers
  • Find Mentors
  • Connect in company employees who might give you the “real” scoop on who to connect to and how a company really hires.
  • Research a company or company employees for insider information that at might help you get a job.  (You find the person interviewing you on LinkedIn, see she has just read “Saving the World at Work” and you read it immediately.  You can casually slip a reference into the interview.  Or you see in their interest they play water polo, and so do you… common ground.)
  • Search for job listings
  • Connect directly with the individuals posting the jobs
  • Follow Company Executives (all of the Executives of the Fortune 500 have a presence on LinkedIn)

If someone is just getting active on one of the platforms, what should he or she be doing to supplement their traditional job search?

 Twitter:  Start by lurking.  Twitter is best for this since you can get essentially unlimited access to an Influencer’s tweetstream – or as I like to say – “Tweet Stream of Consciousness”.  If you see a tweet you like, just retweet it! This is literally the first step in getting noticed by the people who can help you get a job.

Once you have “lurked” or monitored their stream for awhile, when you feel comfortable, reach out to them with a question or comment.  That is literally the first step in building relationships with these people.

 The more you interact with them, the more they will get to know, like and trust you.  They might even bring up your name when a job position comes up in their company (or they might hire you directly).  In other words, they might become your evangelist!

And of course, use  www.twitter.com/search to look for jobs being posted and follow those job posters (see above)

LinkedIn:  Make sure your profile is 100% complete (In case you need some help, here are some tips: http://linkedintobusiness.com/linkedin-tips-tricks/)

Use advanced search to find the influencers in an Industry or Company you want to work for.  Reach out to them with a connection request or introduction (as above.)  The worst they can do is ignore your request.

NEVER send a request to someone saying “Will you hire me?”  Let them know you admire them, build up to asking them for an informational interview abut the company or the industry.

Facebook:  Facebook Pages are a great source of “Insider” information about a company because they tend to be less conservative than a website.  And of course they are interactive.  You can always post a question on a page’s wall about a job they might have posted, or ask what the company culture is like.  Be helpful.  Share useful information.

Share your expertise:  Once you are comfortable on a platform , start sharing your own knowledge and expertise – set yourself up as a thought leader.  Join discussions on LinkedIn groups, participate in comments on Facebook and join a few Tweetchats in your industry.  Get out there!

Do you have any success stories you can share about job hunters you’ve worked with who have found success using social media?

Several!

  • I’d say at least 90% of my work comes directly or indirectly through LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and referrals.
  • I have a client who followed my advice about growing his network on LinkedIn and as a direct result was offered a job by a new member of his network in a matter of weeks.  http://linkedintobusiness.com/2011/02/sometimes-it-pays-to-listen-to-the-teacher/
  • By keywording your LinkedIn profile you are more easily found by Recruiters.  One of my job seeking clients was contacted by an HR professional days after “optimizing” her profile.  The professional commented on how good her LinkedIn profile looked and that she showed up first in the person’s search.  http://linkedintobusiness.com/2010/10/b2b-best-practices-on-linkedin-part-two-optimizing-your-account/
  • Several of my entrepreneurial clients have been contacted for work through LinkedIn after optimizing their profiles, growing their networks and sharing their knowledge in answers and groups.
  • My Job Seeking clients are thrilled to discover how easy it is to find Influencers and Jobs on Twitter.  One of my clients (just this week) got in contact with one of her favorite authors.  She emailed me to tell me they have a call set up for next week.
  • I have hired almost all my staff, contractors and vendors through LinkedIn or Twitter.

Once someone has found a job, how do you maintain the connections you’ve created?

  • Stay active.  You don’t have to devote more than a few hours a week.
  • Reply to your @Mentions and DMs on Twitter.  Post a few updates. (10 minutes a day)
  • Like and comment on your Facebook wall every day (10 minutes)
  • Interact in your LinkedIn groups, past an update, answer a question a few times a week (1/2 hour)
  • And most importantly, any time you can, take your URL relationship IRL (In Real Life) through a phone call of F2F meeting.
  • Keep your profiles up to date when you change jobs or get a job (10 minutes – one time)

Questions for tonight’s #LinkedInChat

(Continued….)

Q5:  How important is it for a job seeker to answer or ask questions?  And why?

Q6:  Whom should a job seeker connect with on LinkedIn?

Q7:  Should a job seeker have a paid account?

Q8:  What is your final word of advice for job seekers?

 

Bonus questions from above if we have the time:

Q9: Why should job hunters participate in Twitter and LinkedIn?

Q10: How should young people be using these platforms for job hunting?

Q11: If new to LinkedIn, what should he or she be doing to supplement their traditional job search?

Q12: Once someone has found a job, how do you maintain the connections you’ve created?

 

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More of Your LinkedIn Questions Answered: Groups, Engagement and Job Seeking

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#LinkedInChat

August 16, 2011

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August 16, 2011


Your Questions Answered…

Every Tuesday night we do a #LinkedInChat on twitter to answer those driving questions you have that have not been answered.  Since some of you can’t make the chat, I decided to ask my Twitter following throughout the week what they wanted to know.  Each and every one of the questions and suggestions below could demand a full hour of LinkedInChat (and maybe we’ll do just that.) In the meantime, here are the questions for Tuesday’s LinkedInChat – brought to us from our great followers on Twitter!

For those of you who like to prepare for your chats with helpful answers and valuable website links  – here are the questions:

Questions:

  1.  @GetGravitas (Jay Lebo) suggests: “What are best practices for starting/running your own LI group.”
  2.  He also asks: “How about the truth about LinkedIn groups? (Is there really any value there?)”
  3.  Also:  “What are some good lead generation best practices for LI?”
  4.  @AreMorch (Are Morch ) Would like more “Tips on Lead generation/conversion.”
  5.  @prforsmallbiz asks:  “What is the best way contacting people without having to use InMail?
  6.  @MarcyK33 (Marcy Kremer) would like to know “more about status updates for company pages. Some have them, most don’t. Can’t find any info on them.”
  7.  @fundraisinisfun (Ephraim Gopin ) would like to know the “best way to find a job via LinkedIn”

 

Answers:

Groups:

I have covered (although not extensively – so please feel free to jump in!) how to use groups effectively on LinkedIn in a few blog posts and videos:

Using groups for more and better relationships:  http://linkedintobusiness.com/2011/04/using-groups-for-better-relationships-and-more-business/

Groups:  Your Rolodex on Steroids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXt2Ehlig7M

1.  There are a few groups I find useful (LinkChat, LinkedStrategies) and some groups I join merely for their size and ability t make my network bigger and me more visible (LinkedHR, Jobs and Toplinked).

2.  Groups are a great way to connect with warm leads.   If a member is interacting in a group that happens to focus on what you do for a living, especially if they are asking questions you can answer, then you have a wonderful opportunity to engage with someone who could very well become your next client or customer!

3.  This is even more powerful when you own the group because you can send these folks an announcement every week!  (Just don’t make it a sales message!)  Some great examples of how to do this well are LinkedStrategies (with Randy Schrumm and Nathan Keivman) and LinkedSignal (with Greig Wells)

4.  If you create your own group: Describe it well in the title and description!  Use your keywords and pop in a USP (unique selling proposition) What do they get for joining your group?  What is the WIIFM?

5.  Make sure to create group rules. (No spam or selling and whatever else your DO’s and DON’Ts are for the members of your group.)

LinkChat Group Rules

6.  Use and Manage Message Templates

  • Create, manage and automatically send custom messages to people interested in this group.
  • Create template
Request-to-join Message 
Create and automatically send a custom message to people who request to join this group.
  • Welcome Message Template:  Create a custom welcome message to people when you approve them for membership in this group.
  • Create template
Decline Message 
Create and automatically send a custom message to people when you decline their requests to join this group.
  • Create template
Decline-and-Block Message 
Create and automatically send a custom message to people when you decline their requests to join this group and block any future requests.

7.  MONITOR MONITOR MONITOR!  Don’t let the spammers get control.  You have control of your group.  Make sure to monitor it daily and get rid of those spammers.  Or let your group do it for you in the group settings section.  If you lock down what people can post to your group, you might get better content and keep and engage the members you do have more effectively.

 

 

Lead Generation on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is still a social media site – meaning you still have to engage with valuable information!  Some simple steps to find and engage others:

  1.  Use LinkedIn’s many tools to see who you can reconnect with -  Its always easier to sell to existing clients.  As my friend Adrienne Zoble of Zoble and Associates asks:  Does everyone you know know everything you do?  Use LinkedIn to find those folks and update them.
  2.  Send out engaging updates –but no more than once a day.  With the onset of Signal, updates are now searchable.  So share your knowledge with your tribe (and make sure your updates are visible to everyone.)
  3.  Tag your connections and send them a useful piece of information in a message (and your contact info at the bottom.)  This is not a sales pitch that will just be ignored.  Send them valuable content so they WANT to open the letter!
  4.  ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE!

Connecting on LinkedIn:

Last week’s LinkedIn chat was all about engagement and connecting (without InMails)– read more about it here:

Job Seeking with LinkedIn:

This one deserves its own blog post and LinkedInChat – and so will waive any responses until then.  Maybe we can get Greig Wells with www.BeFoundJobs.com to be our special guest?

Miscellaneous Answers:

Company Status Updates:

A company itself cannot do an update on LinkedIn – however, what you might be seeing is when a company feeds its own blog into the company page.  Like so:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, please join our LinkedInChat.  Every Tuesday night at 5 PM PST, 8 PM EST – for your LinkedIn Questions Answered!

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Looking for Mr. GoodLink

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Uncategorized

August 9, 2011

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August 9, 2011


Searching on LinkedIn

Looking for Mr. GoodLink on Tonight’s LinkedInChat

One of the biggest complaint’s I hear from people about LinkedIn is that they can’t actually find who they are looking for. Well we are here to help!  You don’t want to waste your time bumping in the vast noisy space of LinkedIn – meeting the wrong people – making the wrong connections.  You need the right tools and techniques to find Mr. or Mrs. GoodLink – the right person at the right time for your needs: (Client, Vendor, Partner, Employee, Reference, Employer, etc)

 

LinkedIn Search Interview:

First of all, listen to this short interview I did yesterday with Michele Price – @ProsperityGal on Twitter.   She was voicing her own frustrations with LinkedIn and its search tools.  Hopefully I answered all her questions and there eight be some useful advice in there for you to!  We covered:

  • Advanced Search
  • Searching through Companies
  • Searching through Groups (and “Reverse Engineering”)
  • Different ways of connecting:  Invitations, Introductions, Messages
Link to interview here:  http://bit.ly/mUrthF

 

LinkedInChat Questions:

And then join our LinkedInChat to answer – and learn from the questions below:

  • Q1)  Do you ever have problems finding the right contact on LinkedIn?
  • Q2)  Do you ever have problems connecting to that person when you find them.
  • Q3)  What are some of the barriers – that you have discovered – to a good search result?
  • Q4)  What are some ways you have found to circumvent these barriers?
  • Q5)  What do you think good connection etiquette entails?
  • Q6)  Once you are connected to someone – how many is too many messages to them?
  • Q7)  What do you consider spam?
  • Q8)  Do you have any final best connection practices to impart?

 

More resources:

Hour long interview with Michele:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/womeninbusinessradio-blog/id418094084

Do I need a paid account? http://linkedintobusiness.com/2011/04/to-pay-or-not-to-pay-that-is-the-question

Connecting on LinkedIn:  http://linkedintobusiness.com/2010/08/what-are-best-practices-for-connecting-on-linkedin/

LinkedIn LinkChat Group:  http://linkd.in/LinkedInChatGroup

More on LinkedInChat:

When: Every Tuesday night at 5pm PST, 6 MST, 7 CST and 8 EST

Where:  Twitter.com, Tweetchat.com, Tweetdeck.com (Choose your preferred Twitter chat service)

Hashtag: #LinkedInChat

Topic: All things LinkedIn – what you like, what you hate, useful strategies, favorite apps

Join our LinkedInChat group on LinkedIn:  http://linkd.in/LinkedInChatGroup

 

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10 Ways to Use LinkedIn When You Travel

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LinkedIn Tips

July 25, 2011

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July 25, 2011


URL to IRL

 

I love social networking – but the truth is, most of my business comes when I meet someone face to face  (F2F) or they see me speak.   As I prep for a 4 city speaking tour, I thought I’d record for you some of the things I do in order to really connect with my network.

How to turn your URL LinkedIn experience into a IRL (in real life) F2F meeting:

Using Postal Code Field in your Advanced Search

Advanced Search – Postal Code Field

  1. Use the location search to find people you know (but might have forgotten you knew) in the cities you are traveling to – and take them out to dinner.
  2. Use the location search to find SME’s you want to know in the cities you are traveling to – see if you can buy them a drink.
  3. Use the location search to find vendors who can help you in the city you are traveling to for better service, and sometimes better pricing.
  4. Use the location search to find potential clients you know in the cities you are traveling to – and see if you can get that f2f meeting since “you made a special trip to their city.”

Groups, Answers and Company Search

  1. Check out location specific groups on LinkedIn and see if you can connect with some locals that way.
  2. If you have any questions regarding lodging, travel or vendors for an event in the city you are traveling to – use LinkedIn Answers to ask the locals.
  3. Use LinkedIn company search to see if you can get some insider information or contacts at a local company – especially if they might become a client or employer.

LinkedIn Apps you can use for Travel

Trip It - The Forgotten App

  1. Use the “My Travel” app (TripIt) – to let people in your network know where you are going to be so they can contact YOU for a meeting.
  2. If they won’t or don’t respond to you on LinkedIn, send them an @message on Twitter using the Tweets application.
  3. Use LinkedIn signal to start a conversation with a local.

Did I leave something out?  Please let me know below.

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Where in the World – Are You?

Categories:

LinkedIn Tips

July 19, 2011

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July 19, 2011


LinkedIn Location

 

Have you checked out your “Experience” section on LinkedIn lately?

They have a new field for “Location” and its completely user-generated.  So while I recommend you put the locations you work: “Fort Collins, Front Range, Greater Denver Area” you can also put “In computers everywhere!”

I think for those of you who have Brick and Mortar businesses or work with a strong local audience, this section might help with your find-ability.  Since LinkedIn only allows you to pop in one zip code in the Headline section, this will allow those of you who have a greater travel circumference to reach more people.

It will also be useful for people who work for companies that might be based in Boston, but you work locally.  You can certainly let people know that as well.

So time to get back to you profile and update your locations!  Its as easy as 1…2…3…

1.  Edit profile

2.  Scroll down to experience and click on edit

3. Add locations

There’s your tip of the day!

Let me know what happens for you.

 

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LinkedInChat and the Social Media Facebook Chat: YOU be the LinkedInExpert

Categories:

LinkedIn Expert, Social Media, Social Media Examiner, Social Media Speaker, Social Media Strategies, Social Media Strategists

July 4, 2011

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July 4, 2011


Social Media Examiner Chat:

On Friday July 1st, Andrea Vahl of the Social Media Examiner asked me to do a stint as their “LinkedIn Expert” on their now famous Facebook Chat.  (If you have not yet attended one of these – I highly recommend them!  They take place every Friday at 1 PM EST.)

Since not all my Twitter and LinkedIn friends are on Facebook, I thought I would bring the questions and answers to you!  And then – because I realized there are so many other LinkedIn Experts out there – I decided to bring the questions to the  #LinkedInChat so that YOU all could answer.

So on Tuesday July 5th , Tuesday July 12th and Tuesday July 19th – I will be posting the same questions for YOU to answer that  I answered on www.facebook.com/SMExaminer on Friday.  And for those reading this blog who don’t do Tweetchats and just want a transcript – I have the questions and answers posted below.

Tweetchat:

We hold out tweetchat every Tuesday night at 5 PM PST / 8 PM EST.  I usually hang out at www.tweetchat.com/linkedinchat – but you can use whichever tweetchat tool you most enjoy!

Here are the questions for Tuesday nights (So you can do the homework and be well prepared!)

Questions for Tuesday July 5th:

Q1:  How do I to build connections with people I don’t know on LI without coming off as some kind of creep?

Q2. Do 
you know of any surveys that include information on LinkedIn use by 
nonprofits

Q2.b. Can you point me to any nonprofits who are using LinkedIn
 creatively?

Q3.  How do you recommend marketing your brand or service without seeming like spam?

Q4: How to utilize/build engagement with a LI profile?

Q4.b  Is there any way I can build interaction with my target market?

Q5:  How can LinkedIn be used for Non-Profits that need to recruit donors/sponsors and gain funding?

Questions for Tuesday July 12th:

Q6: How can you link your tweets to post directly in your group or company page, so all your members can see them?

Q7.  What are some ways businesses can use linked ads to target for B2B?

Q8.  I cannot seem to get my head wrapped around how to use LI to promote our business to a geographically targeted market.

Q8b:  Is it worth it to upgrade from free to fee?

Questions for Tuesday July 19th:

Q8c: What are the real benefits?

Q9.  How do you get through the noise to make LinkedIn more valuable

Q10.  My company is very ROI oriented.  What do you recommend in terms of metrics and analytics?

Q11.  What are some of the best new applications integrating social media with other tools?

Q12. Would you share of few links or reference lists for “making the most of LinkedIn”?

Q13.  How often do recommending posting/ updating content on your linked in page?

Q14.  What are the most important not to be missed sections that MUST be used in your personal LI page and also for a company page.

 

Social Media Examiner Questions and Answers:

Q1:  I am into Social Media Marketing and want to know how to build connections with likeminded people as well as SM experts on LinkedIn. But I am obviously unknown to them. So how can I build connections on LinkedIn without coming off as some kind of creep??

Great question – I know LinkedIn says you should only connect to people you know, but I have found most folks will either accept or ignore (but not report you as a spammer) if you personalize your invitation and tell them why you want to connect.  You can always wrote something like this:

Dear (Name)

I see from your profile that you… Can I connect to you as a thought leader in that field?  If you feel you have received this invitation in error or simply don’t want to connect, please just ignore this message.

The best way to connect to them is through a group – or sometimes people have their email addresses in their profiles.  Never choose “I don’t know” a person. (LinkedIn will ding you for it).  If you do reach out to someone as a colleague, classmate, etc – just make sure you acknowledge that you know you are not..

Q2.  It appears that most nonprofits engaged in social media efforts take
 advantage of Facebook and Twitter way more than they do LinkedIn. Do 
you know of any surveys that include information on LinkedIn use by 
nonprofits (how that compares to FB and TW and/or how they are using it in its own right)? Can you point me to any nonprofits who are using LinkedIn
 creatively?

Excellent question – and I’m afraid I don’t really have a great answer for you since that is not my focus market.

Q3.  How do you recommend marketing your brand or service without seeming like spam?

  • Keyword your personal and business profile so people can find you – then its inbound and not annoying
  • Make sure you update with useful info – and keyword brand your posts – same as above
  • Join groups where your ideal clients hang out – again just sharing useful info so they respond to you.
  • Post and Answer questions in your industry – but don’t create a salesy and obvious question just so you can answer it yourself
  • Re-purpose marketing content using some apps (Box.net, Slideshare, Google Docs)
  • Carefully reach out to ideal clients – but just to get the phone call – NOT to pitch your product
  • Create a company template so everything is saying the same thing about your company in their profiles – that should get you started J
  • More here: http://linkedintobusiness.com/2010/10/b2b-best-practices-for-getting-found-on-linkedin/

Q4: How to utilize build engagement with Linkedin profile? Is there any way I can build interaction with my target market?

  1. Use the advanced search to find ideal client
  2. See if you share a group – if not you might join one that they’re a member of
  3. Initiate communication with them through the group (something in common)
  4. Ask them for a phone call once you’ve had a little interaction
  5. Ask them to connect

Q5:  How can LinkedIn be used for Non-profits that need to recruit donors/sponsors and gain funding?

Again – this is not my area of expertise – But I think engaging within shared groups might be your best bet.  Once you are connected to some ideal donors you can “tag” those connections and send them valuable and useful information they will find useful – NOT a sales call.  More here: http://linkedintobusiness.com/2011/01/tagging-your-way-into-toma-with-linkedin/

Q6:  How can you link your tweets to post directly in your group or company page, so all your members can see them? Right now they only post to your profile.

I really DON’T recommend that at all!  It’s annoying enough in a personal profile.  If you own the group you can post feeds – so you could create a feed with your tweetstream and import it that way.  But again I REALLY DON’T RECOMMEND IT.  Twitter and LinkedIn are a completely different culture.

You might try some tools like ObjectiveMarketer – it might work.  Not sure.

Q7.  What are some ways businesses can use linked ads to target for B2B?

  • Before you invest in LinkedInAds (and “Google” for free trial – there are a bunch of $100 certificates floating around) First use the new targeted (and free) banner ads in Company profiles – lets you create and target specific audiences with your company profile
  • Also – connect with @MilesAustin on Twitter – he knows a lot about this
  • Finally – use the LinkedIn option to create and test different ads. really, what works for Facebook Ads or PPT will work with LinkedIn – just be very very clear on your target audience.
  • Word of warning:   The only people I’ve heard that find LinkedIn Ads really work ore the folks who invest A LOT in them.

Q8:  I’m new to LinkedIn and just can not seem to get my head wrapped around how to use this to promote our business to a geographically targeted market.

Q8. A: Is it worth it to upgrade from free to fee? What are the real benefits?

Great question – I didn’t use to think so – but my mind has changed a bit since LinkedIn is further limiting our ability to connect.  At the very least the paid accounts will save you time – best case – gets you in touch with a client / partner / employee that results in more business!  More here:  http://linkedintobusiness.com/2011/04/to-pay-or-not-to-pay-that-is-the-question…/

Q9: How do you get through the noise to make LinkedIn more valuable? It seems the groups etc. are just getting muddled.

Yes – I agree with you.

  • I have really restricted what comes into my email box on settings – and I really only “listen” to a few groups anymore.
  • I also use the advanced search whenever possible to weed out some noise – with signal, answers, etc
  • You can disconnect from the worst offenders

I REALLY wish LinkedIn would restrict the ability to post ALL tweets.  Sigh

Q10.  My company is very ROI oriented.  What do you recommend in terms of metrics and analytics?

  • Great questions – there’s not much ROI on LinkedIn itself – although LinekdIn does have impression analytics in company pages and with the basic paid account there are some account impression analytics on the home page. 

  • Also Kout and even EmpireAvenue give some analytics – but really you might have to go with a paid service like Objective Marketer (Use code OMLIBPROMO for one month free trial)

Q11.  What are some of the best new applications integrating social media with other tools?

  • The LinkedIn Share button is nifty. They also have an “Apply with LinkedIn” button for job seekers.
  • A fab tool I recommend is Objectivemarketer.com
  • For more on LinkedIn tools you can visitwww.linkedinlabs.com

Q12. Would you share of few links or reference lists for “making the most of LinkedIn”?

Q13.  How often do recommending posting/ updating content on your linked in page?

  • I recommend once a day TOPS – hate it when people just blast their tweetstream into LinkedIn.
  • I play a lot within LinkedIn.com/signal – see what people are doing there and emulate what you think is successful

Q14.  What are the most important not to be missed sections that MUST be used in your personal LI page and also for a company page.

Here’s a post on Best Practices on LinkedIn (including Profile) http://linkedintobusiness.com/linkedin-tips-tricks/

‎1. Treat your LinkedIn profile like a website:

Make sure it is formatted, clean, and free of spelling and grammatical errors. I strongly suggest creating your LinkedIn profile first in a word document – not only so you can “catch” errors, but also so you can get a better idea of what your profile will look like on the LinkedIn website. In some sections of LinkedIn you can also pull in bullets and special characters. Alas – still no bolding or italics other than what LinkedIn itself formats. Another bonus, if you’ve already created your profile in a Word document, sections of it can easily be copied into other social media platforms to keep your branding unified.

2. Know your keywords:

Like any website, LinkedIn’s internal search engines weigh your keywords heavily in its searches. Make sure you place your most important search or keywords strategically throughout your profile. Some places you might want to consider are your

  • Professional Headline
  • Title Fields
  • Specialties
  • Interests
  • Recommendations
  • Education (Activities and Societies)

3. Keep your name clean:

Put only your first name in the first name field and your last name in the last name field. If someone is searching for you by name, LinkedIn will have a hard time finding you if your last name looks like this: Smith, PhD. John A. (johnsmith@gmail.com) LION 941-555-1555

4. Keep your photo professional:

I recommend a close up and a smile. A full body shot of you and your family, you and your car, you and that fish you caught last week is unclear and unprofessional. I have seen some artists use artistic renderings of themselves – which is clever if your image is still clear. LinkedIn doesn’t like logos.

5. Don’t ignore the “post an update” function:

LinkedIn’s update function is much more robust than it used to be (taking some tips from Facebook and Twitter). People can now “like” and “comment” on your updates – which helps to build relationships within LinkedIn. And with the introduction of LinkedIn Signal, the update section can now be a functional part of your SME (Subject Matter Expertise) and content strategy. Make sure you take a little time each day to “like” and “comment” on the updates of network as well. (*Found on the home page.)

6. Personalize your public profile URL:

Make sure your public profile reflects your name, your business, or your area of expertise: http://linkedin.com/in/linkedinexpert
Nothing says, “I’m a LinkedIn neophyte” like a public profile that reads: http://linkedin.com/pub/firstname-lastname9890734-akjshfiho
7. Personalize your websites:

When you edit your website, the drop down menu gives you the option of “other”. When you click on that, a new field opens up that allows you to type in your business name, website name, call to action, or description of your website. So instead of “Company Website” or “Personal Website” this section can read “Social Media for Women” or “Click here: IP Legal Advice”

8. Juice up your “Experience” section:

“Experience” is not your resume. Make sure the jobs you choose to list support each other. Make sure you put all your keywords in the title section.

9. Utilize the “Experience” description area:

Use the 1000 characters in the description section to tell people why they should hire you or your company or buy your product. Tell a “save the day” story. Put in a testimonial. “Experience” is a great place to list “wins”, different companies you have helped, seminars or workshops you have presented, a mini-shot of your personal website. Use this section as the foundation for your Company Profile

10. List your “additional education”:

Make sure you list your certifications and licenses as well as traditional education. LinkedIn has now added new sections where you can list areas of expertise, publications, patents licenses and certifications.

11. Get Recommendations:

LinkedIn tells you your profile is complete at 3. I recommend at least ten recommendations. And when you are asking for recommendations, give a bulleted list of what you might want them to say so that your recommendation is more than: “She’s nice”. If you are comfortable doing so, you might write a recommendation that the recommender can use or base their recommendation from. You might want to add some of the better recommendations to your website. Ask for recommendations form thought leaders in your field, old employees, and well-known clients.

 

 

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