I know you. You ignore your LinkedIn profile.
“But I set it up, and I have connections there!”
When was the last time you looked at it? REALLY looked at it?
LinkedIn brings more traffic to my website when I pay even the minimum attention to it than any other Social Media site I hang out on.
Hands down.
For some reason, when LinkedIn started to become popular, it was thought to be an exclusive place to only connect with people you really know. I can’t imagine why that is! Yes, it’s personal. Your LinkedIn profile is about YOU, not necessarily about your biz. It’s about you and all of your Rockstar talents, a place to share all of your personal accomplishments. It’s business oriented though! Why are we connecting with crazy people on Facebook, but locking down our LinkedIn profiles? I don’t get it.
So, tip number one, make your profile fully visible to everyone. If you think you can convince me why you shouldn’t, go ahead and try in the comments below. 🙂
This is a biggie, so share this with your friends! CLICK TO TWEET
OK now that your profile is visible, it’s time to get rid of the shame.
It doesn’t take much, really.
- You need a businessy picture of yourself. No kids, no pets. A headshot of sorts.
- Double check your email and website addresses. Be sure they’re what you want to portray. Get rid of the me@hotmail.com.
- Make sure you connect Twitter if you use it. Currently, there is no direct Facebook integration.
- Plump it up! Talk about yourself like you’re talking to me.
That’s it! That should make you confident enough to start to share it.
Tip number two – take care of the basics and get rid of LinkedIn shame
Now, it’s time to start connecting. The more connections you have, the better LinkedIn will work for you. You’ll be searchable by everyone connected to you and THEIR connections, so the more connections, the better chance you have of coming up in a search.
Groups are a great way to increase connections. Join groups relevant to your industry or your interests, and be active in the groups. Ask questions, answer questions. Start your OWN group! You’ll see a pop in your number of connections pretty quickly.
Tip number three – join groups and be active in them to increase connections
LinkedIn is growing exponentially. You need a LinkedIn Makeover if:
- You want more Sales
- You own a business
- You’re looking for a job
- You’re looking to hire
- You run a bake sale
- You’re about to graduate college
- You’re busy, and want serious return on your time investment
- You like making money in your business
- You want more Sales (worth repeating)
If you’re not paying attention to your LinkedIn page, you’re losing business opportunities. It’s free to use, so use it wisely and leverage off of the exponential growth!
LinkedIn gives you a warm contact, for potential sales, jobs, or partnerships. When you meet someone that you want to stay connected to, sometimes it’s just plain creepy to send them a Facebook invite. LinkedIn, not so. It’s perfectly acceptable to request a LinkedIn connection to people you meet at trade shows, after sales calls, after connecting at your kids soccer game. AND, now you have a way to keep in touch that isn’t intrusive or pushy.
Here’s the hard part. We sometimes have a hard time showing off our Rockstar talents and abilities. LinkedIn is not the place for modesty, it’s the place to claim your expert status, loud and proud. If you need someone to help with that, I’m happy to be of service. Set up a free Business Boost call and we’ll jump start your profile together.
Tip number four – get someone to help you claim your expertise loud and proud
So you have homework!
- Make your profile visible.
- Tweak your profile
- Join a group
- Get some help
Tip number five, connect with ME! I love my LinkedIn connections. www.linkedin.com/in/karenyankovich/ (notice how clean and pretty my link is? What does your link look like?)
If you want a quick review with tips for YOUR LinkedIn profile, connect with me and comment below with a link to your profile. I’ll give you some feedback on my initial impressions for a quick boost to your profile.
I’m looking forward to our connection!
Great suggestions Karen!! When Googling my name LI comes up first or second so it’s definitely important, and my connections sure have proved valuable.
Same here Linda! So lets make that google entry worth a view, right?
Busted! My head hangs in shame over my LinkedIn activity. When I set up my account I filled out all of the suggested areas, made connections, joined groups… but I still don’t really know what to DO with it. Facebook is my comfort zone. I get Twitter. I love Pinterest, but I visit my LinkedIn account only when I get notifications of new connections. I read other people’s links and documents but how do I start contributing to the conversation? Is there a protocol of what sorts of content makes sense there? Maybe this could be your next blog post? I’m appreciative & aiming for shame-free.
You can post to LinkedIn the same way you post to Facebook, you can even “tag” someone. You can post links to your blogs. Groups are very active in LinkedIn, that’s a great way to join the conversation!
I’m not even on the first page! And I thought it’s a rather unique name! Bummer 🙂 But look, I’ve the nice link too: uk.linkedin.com/in/andreamiklos
I agree, linkedin is a great tool. I guess I’m just like many others and a bit afraid to personalise it too much, so it’s safe but boring… What do you think?
Andrea work on your keywords! For you, I would beef up your “headline” I don’t know what a Lean Project Manager is, but you would want to put something there that you think your ideal clients would be searching for.
Nice timing! I JUST got my linkedIn profile together. You are right, it should be more of a priority.
Awesome! You’ll be pleasantly surprised by your Google Analytic numbers when you start spending time there.
Hey Karen, I really appreciate this post, it’s so clear and well-written, and yes, I have total LinkedIn shame! LinkedIn is something I’ve totally avoided, and now you’ve got me wondering if I’ve been pushing away connections & business!
I wonder if you have any system or tips for how to balance the huge array of different social medias without feeling overwhelmed with it all? I’ve stuck with FB because it feels manageable, but expanding into other areas makes me nervous as I have so much to do already!
Any strategies that you use would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much!
Stacie I put it on my calendar. If you schedule (2) thirty minute blocks each week to devote to LinkedIn, you should be good. It’s important to spend time up front setting up a Rockstar profile, but then it’s not like FB where you need to post several times a day. You can join groups and be active in them, but again, once or twice per week. 🙂
Thanks, Karen,
30 minutes twice a week feels do-able. And scheduling it in is oh-so-wise.
This is totally helpful – thanks so much.
Ok, I’m going to schedule it in now…see you on LI 😉
Greetings Karin and thanks for this post. I just requested to connect with you on LinkedIn and would love any feedback you have for my profile. I of course need to take the advice that you have mentioned in your post as well. http://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildthompson
April I just saw this! Your profile is awesome. The only feedback I have is that I would add your travel video, or any other videos you have, to your LinkedIn profile as media! It would be a great way to strut your stuff.
I’m definitely guilty of neglecting my LinkedIn profile to focus more on Twitter/Facebook/etc.. But the information you’ve provided is going to help me “shake the shame”. Thank you! I’ve sent you a request to connect on LinkedIn.
Great! I’m looking forward to getting to know you.
I wanted to draft you a little bit of remark so as to
say thanks once again for your personal exceptional solutions you have provided on this page.
would you mind checking my linkedin profile. I am a real newbie there. Thank you for all your help that you give so often, I try to read as much of it as I can.
Question: why get rid of the “me@hotmail.com”??