LinkedIn offers professionals and entrepreneurs the opportunity to connect and network with colleagues and potential clients. When used properly, the professional social networking site can help users land new jobs and keep in touch with people who can make a difference in their career. When used improperly, a LinkedIn account is about as useful as a bicycle to a fish.
If you want to get the most out of LinkedIn, then you have to start with a profile that lets people find you and then, once you have them, keeps them interested. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of your LinkedIn account:
Be Professional
Really can’t stress this one hard enough. LinkedIn is where you show off your skills, talents, and desire for work to the world. It’s not where you voice your distrust of the government or how you feel about the latest American Idol. Keep your profile “strictly business” and you will stand out from the casual user crowd.
Show off your Skills
One of the more over-looked features of LinkedIn profiles is the skills section. Here you can list everything that you have the talent for doing - including writing, programming, design, etc. By listing all of the skills that you possess, you make it a lot easier for searchers to find you.
Put Keywords in your Profile
Your summary, experience, education, and any other section that LinkedIn lets you fill in yourself should be keyword optimized. This means that if your primary skill is web design, make sure that you mention it in as many places as possible (but don’t go overboard). The search function on LinkedIn hits all of these areas, so if your profile is better keyword optimized than your competitor, who do you think is going to get found (and hired) more often?
Use a Photo
People trust faces more than anonymous profiles. If you have a professional looking picture as your profile photo, it makes a much better first impression. If you don’t have a good mug shot already, then hit the yellow pages. Many smaller photography studios will gladly hook you up with a professional headshot for under $25.00, and it only takes a few minutes of your time.
Promote your Website
Your LinkedIn profile not only gives you a platform to promote yourself, it gives you a place to tout your website as well. Make sure you mention your business website and your blog in your profile wherever it is appropriate. If you can’t land the deal based on your LinkedIn profile alone, maybe your website will finish the job for you.
Be a Contributor
LinkedIn is more than just a place to dump your profile and resume. It’s also a place where people connect and discuss business. Join one of the thousands of LinkedIn groups that are related to your field and participate in the discussions. Hop on over to the Answers section and see if you can provide assistance to someone looking for advice. Don’t be a wall flower. The more your name shows up on LinkedIn, the more likely it is that someone looking to hire someone just like you will find you.
How are you using LinkedIn to get the most out of it? Are there any questions you have about the business social network? Let us know!
In general this is good advice. I would add that most owners even of small business don't have time to manage their LinkedIn account themselves (myself included) so have started to hire contractors to do it for them. LinkedIn Management is a growing area of interest that I discuss more on my site: www.linkedinmanagement.com
ReplyDeleteValid comment and I think this is applicable to all forms of social media. While there is a great deal of pressure to have a broad social media presence, business owners alike need to ensure that they have the time to manage their presence. If not, they open themselves up for more work than they bargained for or worse, backlash from clients who want a response and get the silent treatment.
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