What is LinkedIn • Worlds largest professional network with over 120 million members and growing

• It is a database with an abundance of information

• Online resource for exchanging knowledge, ideas and opportunities

• It is designed specifically for the business community

• It is a resource for creating networks of people you may know and trust

Edit Your Profile

• Your profile is your personal brand. It’s your way to differentiate yourself and help others decide if you are a “person of interest” to them.

• Let people see who you are. Upload a profile picture.

• Use the profile builder and aim for 100% completeness.

• Be accurate. Make sure your profile and past is as detailed as your resume would be.

• Customize your public profile URL with your name. For example my public profile is http://www.linkedin.com/in/barrylgoldberg.

Sections of Your Profile• Name – First, last, and maiden names.

• Headline – Will default to current job title. You can change it to express your personal brand or how you want to be known (e.g. Outstanding Financial Professional).

• Summary – Information about your mission, accomplishments, and goals.

• Experience – Professional positions and experience; including jobs, volunteer positions, military, board of directors, non-profit, or pro sports.

• Education – School and educational information.

• Applications – You can add applications to your profile to display your work, get professional insights, or collaborate with others.

• Certifications – Certifications, licenses, or clearances your have attained.

• Recommendations – You can request professional recommendations and display them on your profile.

• Additional Information – Any other information you would like to highlight. This can include a link to your website, your Twitter name, associations, and awards.

• Personal Information – Optional information such as phone number, location, and birthday.

• Patents – Any patents you’ve applied for or received.

• Publications – Publications that have featured your work.

• Languages – Languages you understand or speak.

How Much Should I write?In order to be more findable in searches, it is suggested that you use the maximum number of characters in each place on your profile.

• Headline – 120 Characters

• Summary – 2,000 Characters (about 2/3 of a printed page)

• Specialties – 500 Characters (about 2 paragraphs)

• Position Description – 2,000 Characters

• Education, Activities, Societies – 500 Characters

• Custom Web site URL Tag (other) – 35 Characters

• Interests – 1,000 Characters

• Groups and Associations – 1,000 Characters

• Honors and Awards – 1,000 Characters

Personalize

• Add a headshot so that people can see who you are.

• Make sure it is professional and represents the professional, not personal, you.

• Remember this is NOT Facebook.

• Your photo can be no larger than 80x80 pixels.

• Personalize your company’s website. Instead of “Company Website” for example change it to “Independent Life Brokerage.”

• Add your interests – i.e. loves spending time with family, running, and cooking for others.

Headline and Summary• Headline

– Make sure your professional headline tells people what you do and is not just your title.

– Example – “Financial Advisor” or even better “Financial Advisor Specializing in Helping Families Efficiently Transfer Generational Wealth”.

• Summary

– Your summary is an expanded headline. It tells people exactly how you can help them.

– Tell people who you are, what you do and how you can help.

– Write it in the first person. “I am, I do…” It conveys authenticity.

– Be judicious in your wording and make it impactful.

– Use key words in your ‘Specialties’ portion. This helps in optimizing your profile on search engines.

10 Most Overused Buzzwords in the USA

Try to avoid “corpspeak” and overused terms and phrases. The graphic below shows the ten most overused buzzwords in the USA.

Be direct, assertive, and interesting. Make good use of the dictionary and thesaurus. Have others review it before you post it. Refresh it regularly.

Not Good Much Better

An innovative, dynamic, and results-oriented professional with a proven track record of being a team player in the fast-paced world of entrepreneurial problem-solving.

A tough-minded IT leader who gets the job done with zero loose ends. Especially effective in balancing multiple projects, competing agendas, and constantly shifting priorities.

Get Recommended

• People work with people they know and trust. The best way to find new clients is to be referred and endorsed.

• Online recommendations are a great way for others to validate who you are and the work you do.

• Go through your network and specifically ask others for recommendations.

• Make sure your recommendation request is genuine and personalized.

• If you want to be recommended, start recommending others.

• Take the time to be thoughtful in your recommendation of others.

Join or Start Groups

• Why bother with LinkedIn Groups?

– To locate people with shared interests and establish valuable new connections.

– By searching through the listing of LinkedIn Groups, you’ll be able to locate your industry and target audience. After that, you can sign up to join a particular group simply by clicking a link.

– Some groups allow instantaneous acceptance while others require the “admin” to reply and approve your request.

– Group discussions allow you to communicate with people all over the world. You can begin networking by participating in the discussions, starting a discussion, “liking”, commenting, etc.

– It doesn’t take long for the benefit of group participation starts to show up in the form of increased traffic to your profile page.

ILB’s LinkedIn Group

Be sure to join Independent Life Brokerage’s group on LinkedIn by searching for us by name in the top right hand corner & clicking on our name in the results page.

Keep Your Network Posted With Status Updates

• In the social media climate of 2012, keeping your network posted with status updates is (or should be) a routine procedure.

• When you click the link that says “Post an Update” directly underneath your name and title (or tagline), the blank update box appears and gives you the opportunity to share information about what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, why you’re doing it and where you’re doing it. There is also an option for you to “attach a link” if you wish viewers to be directed elsewhere.

• To keep the update relevant for others, try to make it informative, helpful and interesting. This will help you stay top of mind in your network and will distinguish you as a thought leader.

• Follow what others are sharing and add comments.

Adding Connections

• When you receive an invitation to connect from someone, look at his or her profile and send a note back and say thank you for reaching out.

• When you are connecting with someone, make it personal. Don’t just send blanket invitations like the template version “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”

• Keep templates of your thank you and invitations saved in a Word document. This way you can easily cut and paste it and then personalize.

• To add new connections you can:

– Click on the ‘People You May Know’ Section and invite others to connect.

– See Who You Already Know on LinkedIn by searching your email contacts.

– Colleagues and Alumni – If your profile is accurate LinkedIn will help you search using these criteria.

Adding Connections (Cont.)

• Remember that LinkedIn is a database so search for others using ‘Advanced People Search’.

• Search by company, keyword, location, industry, title and more.

• Use it to research potential referrals for an upcoming meeting.

Using LinkedIn Applications

• Useful for helping you promote content and your personal brand.

• Examples: – Upload presentations

using SlideShare.

– Share with others what you are reading with Amazon reading list.

• Applications are great for collaboration and personal branding.

Summary

LinkedIn is an excellent resource for connecting to trusted contacts and allows you to exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals.

Get Social With ILB

Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Connect with us on LinkedIn.

Come get social with Independent Life Brokerage and have access to up-to-date industry news, insights, and trends that will help to better your business.

http://learn.linkedin.com/what-is-linkedin/