We’re rising in the work hierarchy, we’re breaking glass ceilings all over the world. We’re leaning in, we’re leaning out.
Some of us, anyway.
The reality is, as a gender, we’re still not as comfortable shouting our genius to the world as our male counterparts are. Ladies, we’re losing business because of this.
The Facts:
- LinkedIn has over 225 million registered members and 77 million of those make their home in the U.S.
- It takes at least 36 thousand 1st degree connections to crack the top 10 most connected on LinkedIn.
- Only 5 women are in the top 100, 2 are in the top 10, and 4 are in the top 20.
Speaking as a woman here, I know we are often not as comfortable at promoting ourselves, asking for testimonials/recommendations, as well as receiving praise. Believe me I know it can be difficult, this is why I loved LinkedIn. This platform makes it so much easier for us to step into our power, to claim our expert status, and promote our business genius with personal branding.
What the most connected woman on LinkedIn has that you can have too:
- A fully fleshed out profile with an attention grabbing headline noting exactly what and who she is. At a quick glance we know if we would want to hire her, sell to her, be her friend, and why
- Her summary is clean, easy to follow, highlighting relevant numbers for her field (e.g. 23K+ Twitter followers), relevant experience and where to find her
- There are visuals: photos and links to articles and websites that again highlight her expert status
- Specialties section is being used so we know exactly what she feels she is best at
- Experience sections are chock full and engagingly written in first person with enthusiasm – notice the titles – very specific – again we know her expertise
- Recommendations section is active – she has 25 which is not an unreachable number for the rest of us
- Her awards and honors section is full and again establishes herself as an expert in social media, recruiting and connecting, with links to appropriate articles to back it up
- As a speaker she lists her 2013 schedule – we can ALL list classes and conferences attended to pack in credibility in our own way
- Her endorsements are plentiful – endorse 5 people a day each time you are working in LinkedIn and you will be surprised how fast your own list grows
- Advice for Contact section is very clear – she wears multiple hats – which most of us do – and the well thought out, as well as personal, contact section shows anyone easily: how and where and why to get a hold of her
- She shows interest in volunteering and causes which helps us know she is a real person
- She is a member of multiple groups (37 or more) and while we don’t need to be as prolific even a handful of groups rounds out the profile picture of who you are and why you are here
You CAN be influential with a small number of connections, but the most influential of all have large networks and one of the easiest places to build yours is LinkedIn. Think of it as a virtual trade show or conference where you make real live connections.
Having a larger network enables you to show up in searches of people you might otherwise never have met! So claim your power, spruce up your profile, and let your genius shine! Then slowly build the network you deserve.
Here are some tips to get you started.
Don’t forget to connect with me, www.linkedin.com/in/karenyankovich.
So rock it ladies! What one action will you take today to shine your genius on LinkedIn?
Any questions you can find me here. I’m with you every step of the way!
Photo Credit: Dell’s Official Flickr Page
Hey Karen – very interesting post that really got me thinking. As a multi-passionate entrepreneur, I’ve turned down Linked-in invitations multiple times thinking it may not be my audience and that I might appear too “scattered” with my myriad interests. Do you think that could be a problem with setting up a Linked-in profile? Perhaps by the end of B-school I’ll have a better idea of how I want to position myself in this kind of format.
Lisa that is the NUMBER ONE question I’m asked, and my answer is it makes you more interesting, not scattered!
Great post! Thank you!
Thanks Val!
Great actionable advice – thanks for sharing!
My pleasure.
Great post Karen! I know Stacy because she’s from San Diego and has presented at a few conferences here. I love that she highlights her awards and publications. We should always put our best foot forward and highlight what we’ve accomplished for clients.
I’d love to connect with you on LinkedIn, please add me: http://linkedin.com/in/stephanielgarcia
Really? Very cool that you know Stacy. Connecting with you!
Stephanie you have your profile locked down, connect with me! www,linkedin.com/in/karenyankovich
Great tips. I am on linked-in but not utilizing it to its full potential. These are great steps to become more influential and I will have to consider becoming more active on Linked-In. My only issue is LI would be my 6th social media network and I don’t know if I can handle so many, I find social media all ready takes up so much of my time.
Krystal first and foremost, LinkedIn can be the front door to your online biz when people are searching for you. So even if you don’t actively post, it’s always a good idea to polish up your profile!
love the list, karen! i’ve added quite a few contacts to my linkedin account recently (thanks in large part to your tips), but i still have a long way to go. this has given me some creative ways to keep growing that number.
Great April! So fun to watch.
This was a great post and reminded me that I need to blow some dust off my linked in profile and update it. Thanks!
LOVE this post! Thank you for laying it out a step by step! Super helpful!
My pleasure Chel.
I know!! Karen I love how you keep reminding me I need to give this some time – like now!!! Gonna look at those tips 🙂
Love this:
So claim your power, spruce up your profile, and let your genius shine! Then slowly build the network you deserve.
Thx Karen!
OOH, it didn’t occur to me to add volunteering!
So many other helpful tips in here. I need to get on those recommendations.
Also, I currently have my twitter profile in my signature – gonna add LinkedIn now!
Thanks!!
Alrighty then! It look like I will be sprucing up my LinkedIn profile pronto! Invaluable info. Thank you, Karen!
Okay… I have bookmarked this post. I know I have to do more on linked-in…. you are inspiring me to do it…a virtual trade show… that did it… that and… YES AS WOMEN WE NEED TO DO THIS!!!!! Thanks Karen. Seriously.
You always have such valuable information that’s easy to implement!!!
Thank you, Karen!
Thanks Karen, I am on linked in – have over 500 contacts. Don’t use it properly though. I have never had a client from linked in. I started sending out thank-yous to people who want to connect with me and inviting them sot share what their challenges are and how I could help. Hasn’t worked yet.
So what do I do?
Ok, Ok, I get it: spruce up my LI profile and get to know the platform! I think I shy away from it because it somehow doesn’t seem as intuitive (to my brain) as Facebook. Guess it’s a matter of playing around and getting familiar…
I agree that we all need to be on Linkdin and it does have a much more professional feel to it than Facebook or Twitter for example. However, there is something about it that is slightly off-putting to me. I find it a bit hard to navigate around, and honestly it is just another social media site that I have to put time into. But..I am on there and becoming much more active with it, so good advice!
Great post! This is a good reminder to be readily accessible from many different areas, even if it may not be the primary media focus. I will definitely be going and making sure my linkedin profile is current and appealing! Thank you!
Karen, Great article and thanks for sharing. Much respect to women who help other women because together, “We ROCK!”.