Tips on Creating the Perfect LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn is the most popular social media network for professionals. Unlike

Facebook, Twitter and other sites that are used for personal purposes, it's

strictly for business. For this reason, signing up for a LinkedIn account and

filling out profile information is a little bit different from other social networks.

What to Include

First of all, your profile should be complete. Fill out even the details that you

don't believe are important. People will be searching for your profile using all

kinds of information. For example, old schoolmates will find you by your

education information. Another reason is that a half-completed profile looks

lazy. It looks like you don't care enough to take the thirty minutes to finish it.

Be sure to include:

Work experience – Present and past positions in all fields.

Education – The schools you've attended and degrees obtained.

Areas of specialization – These will set you apart from similar profiles.

Your websites – List all of them that you want people to know about.

Interests and hobbies – These may not be important but they can offer

another connection point between you and others on LinkedIn.

Awards – Don't be afraid to brag.

Location – This one is important because lots of people search by

geographic location.

Writing Your Profile

Writing your LinkedIn profile may feel like doing your resume, but it's not.

You're creating content as well as laying down the facts. Like content for any

blog or website, make it readable and interesting. Write it in a professional,

AND personable manner in order to make it something that you'd enjoy

reading yourself rather than just a laundry list of achievements. Be sure to

also use your keywords that are relevant to your niche or business sector.

Using your keywords in your tag line and through out your profile is

extremely important...this is a major factor that LinkedIn uses to

determine how relevant your profile is when people are searching

online.

Your Profile Picture

Just like all social media profiles, your LinkedIn profile needs a good picture. It

should be a photograph of you. The site doesn't allow logos or funny pictures

(and remember, this isn't Facebook, so don't get wacky with it). One of the

main purposes of your photo is to show that you're a real person.

Your picture should be friendly but not too casual. Make sure that the sizing is

right. It shouldn't be a full body picture where your face is about one pixel. On

the other hand, your face shouldn't fill the entire frame.

Keyword Optimization

LinkedIn profiles appear in search engine results so you should keyword

optimize. Wherever possible, use targeted keywords that people might use

when looking for someone like you. Be careful not to stuff it with the same

keywords over and over or else it will look like you're trying to game the site.

Use your keywords naturally and tastefully.

Again...be sure to use your keywords in your tagline as well as

through out you entire profile...but DO NOT keyword stuff your profile

or it will look spammy to LinkedIn.

Your Unique URL

When you first sign up for LinkedIn, it will assign you a generic URL. You can

change it with just a few clicks and keystrokes. Go to 'Edit My Profile' and

'Public Profile.' Click where it says 'edit' and you can enter your own vanity

URL.

If possible, use your name. If not, choose something that uses your name and

is easy to remember. That's the main point of the vanity URL – it gives people

something easy to remember. LinkedIn lets you change it at any time, but pick

something good and stick with it. Whenever you change your URL, you'll lose

people who have you bookmarked as well as breaking any links you’ve created

elsewhere to your personal profile.

The Real You

There are lots of profiles that are fake or just plain boring. You want yours to

stand out and the best way to do this is to infuse your own personality. Keep

it professional, but don't be afraid to share some personal information as well.

That's what makes your profile unique and it will invite others to connect with

you.

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Easy Ways to Build Your LinkedIn Network

Building connections is essential for making LinkedIn work for you. It's not

just about what you know but who you know. Your connections are the people

you know directly. They're the ones who either you've invited into your

network or who have invited you. Either way, they don’t become an official

connection until the invitations are accepted. Your overall network includes

your 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree connections.

How to Get in Touch

There are three ways to get in touch with people:

Invitations – You can invite anyone whose email address you know.

Introductions – These can be sent through a direct connection of yours to

anyone in your network. The connection receives the request for an

introduction and they can choose to forward it or not.

InMail – This is LinkedIn's internal email system and you have to pay for

your InMails. Premium memberships come with a set number per month.

However, you can use them to contact anyone with a LinkedIn profile.

When you contact anyone through LinkedIn, it's essential that you make it as

personal as possible. The site provides a canned message but it sounds terse

and impersonal. It's much better to take a few minutes and create your own

message. In your message, remind the person who you are. Even if you're

sure they remember you, give them a point of reference. Mention the project

you worked on together or whatever way you have a connection with them.

Personalize your invitation as much as possible when sending your invites.

Searching for Connections

There are several ways you can search for connections. One is to simply

upload your email address book and let LinkedIn send out requests

automatically. This is convenient and saves lots of time, but it's much better to

send out personalized messages. You'll have a much better chance of them

accepting your request. You also get penalized if someone clicks on the box

that says they don't know you.

Another way to find people you know is by looking at people in your network.

Look at who your connections know and see if there's anyone who might know

you.

There are some people on LinkedIn who are LIONs – 'LinkedIn Open

Networkers.' LIONs connect to anyone who sends them an invitation. They'll

usually have the phrase 'LION' in their profile so you can find them by

searching. Connecting to LIONs is a good way to grow your network but try to

find people who you actually have something in common with. There's no

point in growing your network for the sheer numbers.

Let Them Come to You

If you're active on LinkedIn, people will find you. Make sure that your privacy

settings allow them to. Participate in groups, update with fresh content often,

use LinkedIn Answers and become an overall hyperactive user. Groups are

especially good for growing your network because you have a chance to

communicate directly with so many like-minded people. If you do this, people

will find you and your network will grow naturally.

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The LinkedIn Search Function – Tips on Finding Exactly Who

You Need to Find

People search is one of the most important features of LinkedIn. You can use

it to find new connections, search for jobs, get clients, or recruit employees.

The search function puts this booming social media site's more than 135

million users right at your fingertips. Here's how you can make the best of this

function to find exactly who you need.

Advanced Search

LinkedIn offers an 'Advanced Search' option. You'll find the link right next to

the regular search bar. You should always use advanced search because it lets

you set the exact parameters you need. You don't just have to enter a generic

keyword or phrase and get a jumble of mixed results.

For example, if you're searching for people who work for a certain company

now, just searching the company's name will turn up anyone who mentions

the company anywhere in their profile. They could be a past employee or

someone who uses the company's product. Advanced search lets you find only

those who work for the company currently.

Boolean Terms

The search function lets you use Boolean terms to refine your search. These

include:

AND – To include two or more terms and only those profiles that have them

OR – For searches where there are multiple keywords used for the same thing

NOT – To exclude profiles that contain a certain word

Parenthesis – For an exact phrase rather than just words

Sorting Results

When you get your search results, there are a number of ways to sort them.

By default the site sorts everything by relevance. You can choose to sort

results by relationship, recommendations, connections, or any combination of

the above. This helps you filter your results so that you only find those that

you want.

When looking at the results, there are also two different viewing options, one

of which gives you more information at a glance. They also show you 'In

Common,' which are connections or groups that you share with the person.

Other Search Features

LinkedIn's search function lets you save searches so that you can refer back to

them later. With a basic account you can save up to three searches. If you

upgrade your membership, each level gives you more searches to use.

You can also choose to get reminders by email whenever a new profile

matches your search. When someone signs up and their profile contains what

you're looking for, you'll be notified. It will also let you know when someone

changes their profile to match your needs.

The search function isn't just for finding people. You can also use it to look for

companies, groups, answers, and jobs. All of these offer the same options for

advanced searches.

How to Get the Best Results

The best way to get relevant, useful results quickly is to know exactly what

you want beforehand. Picture your ideal prospect, employee, employer or

client. Get an idea of what information from their profile will tell you that

they're the one you're looking for. If you can refine your search with the

perfect search terms, you’ll save yourself a lot of time.

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The Power of LinkedIn Groups for Networking

LinkedIn Groups offer a great opportunity for networking with professionals in

your industry and potential customers, clients or sales leads. They also get

you good exposure for your business. You can use Groups to brand yourself as

a friendly, helpful expert in your niche.

LinkedIn lets you join up to fifty groups but you should only join a handful. You

need to actively participate and it's impossible to devote this kind of time to

more than a few. A good strategy for getting started is to sign up for every

relevant group you can find and then quit the ones where there's little activity.

Find groups where your target market is hanging out and to which you feel you

can contribute.

Comment

What do you do once you're signed up? The easiest way to get involved is to

read and comment. Just like forums or blogs, try to offer value to other

members of the group by sharing your expertise. Be yourself and focus on

being helpful. Read what other members are saying and respond naturally

with your own ideas.

Spread the News

The Groups interface allows you to easily share links to relevant information

online. Whenever you find a news article, blog post or website that you think

other group members would enjoy, share it and other group members can

comment on it. This is a good way to start a discussion. Every group is

different and they all like different kinds of content so pay attention to how

they respond to your shares.

Announce Events

Some groups let you make announcements to the group about upcoming

events you're hosting. If you've got a webinar or offline event coming up, post

about it and let everyone know. Make sure that it's relevant and valuable to

the group or else it will look spammy. Shameless self-promotion doesn't go

over well on LinkedIn.

Start Discussions

One of the purposes of LinkedIn groups is for members to share their ideas. If

you've got an idea that you feel might get some conversation going, start a

discussion. You can also ask questions to get other members' opinions. Spend

some time in your groups and get a feel for what kinds of topics the members

like.

Conduct Polls

LinkedIn has a feature that lets you conduct polls. Other members can vote

and like with one click. They can also add comments. This is a good way to

participate and get yourself known as an active group member. It's also a good

way to learn more about your market or colleagues.

Group Etiquette

There are a few rules of etiquette to follow on LinkedIn groups. Of course,

don't spam a group. It shouldn't need to be said, but lots of people do it. They

employ blatant tactics to get backlinks and what it usually gets is a penalty.

As mentioned before, self-promotion doesn't fly. You need to remember why

people use LinkedIn. They're here to network, hang out, learn, and share

ideas with like-minded professionals. They're not here to buy or check out

promotional offers.

Don't fight with anyone. If a conversation becomes heated, take it out of the

group comment thread and take it to your private email. Arguing with people

on LinkedIn doesn't brand you as a helpful, agreeable, and friendly

professional. In general, avoid being negative.

Be Proactive

One final tip – be proactive with LinkedIn groups. Don't wait for the daily or

weekly newsletter to come into your email inbox. Get into a routine of visiting

your groups daily to at least read and, if possible, join in the discussion or offer

up some thought-provoking ideas. If you're active and you consistently

provide value, you'll be named a 'top influencer,' and you'll be featured along

with others in LinkedIn's weekly newsletter.

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How to Set Up Your Own LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn Groups are gatherings of professionals and like-minded people

based around a common industry or interest. They give you an opportunity to

interact, network and find leads. You can use them to find people who are

influential on the site so that you can follow them and grow your network.

LinkedIn allows you not only to join but to create groups of your own. This is

a great way to use the site to its fullest advantage.

Why You Need Your Own Group

Starting your own group is a great way to create a tribe around your product,

site or idea. It's a subtle way of advertising what you have to offer. Starting a

group brands you as an expert and leader in your field, and also gains you

more exposure for your profile.

If you create a group that's based around your target market, it gives you an

opportunity to interact with them and get to know them better. This in turn

makes it that much easier to create and market products that you know they

want. You can find out first hand exactly what your prospects and customers

like.

Before you start your own group, join a few groups that are similar to what

you want to do and see what they're like. Participate in the conversations as

much as possible. This gives you a feel for what they like. It also gives you a

great starting point for your own group. If you're known in a few groups

already when you start your own, you can announce it in the group and pull

some of its members to yours.

Growing Your Group Membership

There are lots of ways to get members in your group. Start by asking your

contacts to join. If they're interested in your business, there's a good chance

they'll be interested in your group. It's nice to start with a foundation of people

that you already know.

You can also make an announcement on similar groups. Since self-promotion

is looked down upon on LinkedIn, it's good to lay the groundwork by joining

groups and participating in them first (as mentioned above). You should also

make sure that your new group offers something of value to the other

members. Emphasize the benefits and specific reasons they'd want to join.

You can grow your group membership faster by offering incentives for group

members to recruit others. You can also offer special deals on your products or

services for LinkedIn group members only. Treat them like your email list

subscribers and offer them exclusive discounts.

Tips for Encouraging Interaction

A major incentive for people to join your group is not only that it offers them

value but that it's active. You can stimulate discussion by asking questions,

conducting polls, presenting arguments, seeking opinions, sharing news items

– anything you think your group will be interested in. Set up a news feed so

that relevant content is posted automatically.

Introduce new content yourself or appoint several group members to act as

moderators. Get them to share links, start discussions and manage the group.

This is a great way to make your members more active and it also takes some

of the work out of your hands.

Listen to Your Group

The success of your group ultimately depends on how well you know your

members and what they like. Remember that your group, although it may be

about your company's products or services, actually isn't about you at all. It's

about them and how your services benefit them. Ask for feedback and input

and listen to what they have to say.

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LinkedIn Recommendations – Why You Need Them and How to

Get Them

LinkedIn Recommendations are testimonials from other users that attest to

your professional abilities. They tell others that you're a person worth knowing.

On LinkedIn, reputation means everything and recommendations contribute

in a big way. Everyone on LinkedIn is looking for quality employees, employers,

freelancers, and clients, and recommendations are how you set yourself apart

from the crowd.

Why You Need Recommendations

Nowadays, Recommendations have become a 'scratch my back, I'll scratch

yours' situation. Many people feel that they've become virtually meaningless.

Even though this is so, you still need to have them because a profile with none

looks strange.

To give you an idea of how important they are, some major employers say

they wouldn't consider any applicant with less than 10 recommendations. It's

become part of the process of filtering out potential employees. They feel that

these are the equivalent of references and if you won't bother to get them,

you're not serious about your job search.

On LinkedIn, self-promotion is looked down upon. Recommendations give you

a chance to let a third party tell everybody how valuable you are instead of

doing it for yourself. This is the principle of 'social proof' – if enough people

swear by you, you must do an excellent job. However, this only goes for

credible recommendations and there are fake ones everywhere.

Your recommendations differentiate you from others and help to brand you.

Some people get jobs solely on the strength of what their connections say

about them.

How to Get Recommendations

If you wait around for people to write you a recommendation out of the

goodness of their hearts, you'll be waiting a while. You really have to go out

and ask, and there's nothing wrong with this. It's fairly common practice.

Only ask for recommendations from people you really know and have actually

worked with. Otherwise, you're spamming people. If possible, seek

recommendations from people that are movers, shakers and 'top influencers.'

Look for people that are especially active on LinkedIn where your

recommendation will really mean something. Avoid people who give

recommendations to all of their connections because these won't hold as

much water.

The Personal Touch

When you ask for a recommendation, it's best to do it by phone and not by

email. Make it as real and personal as possible. If phone isn't an option email

is fine, but make it a personalized message. Never send out a template.

The best time to ask for a recommendation is right after you've completed

work for someone. This is when your abilities are fresh in their mind and their

testimonial will reflect that. You can also ask for one after you've done them a

favor or after you've recommended them.

Your recommendation should be short and concise. It should focus on results

and value added. Try to avoid ones that say nothing but your most general

characteristics. They should mention specific things you did for them and how

you helped them.

Real Recommendations Are Worth a Whole Lot More

Like all social media sites, your LinkedIn profile has to be 'real.' With all the

fake profiles out there, it's important that yours has an authentic touch. Your

recommendations are the same. Think about this when choosing people to ask.

Since it's common for LinkedIn users to have a long list of fairly generic

recommendations, if yours is full of recommendations that are real and

detailed, they'll be much more impressive.

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How to Create an Effective LinkedIn Company Page

In 2011, LinkedIn introduced company pages. There are now literally millions

of businesses using them. They use company pages to find new employees,

spread company news, form strategic alliances and brand their businesses.

Small businesses can benefit from creating company pages just like large

companies.

Why Company Pages Are Important

Your LinkedIn company page lends your business credibility. It allows you to

establish an image, brand that image, and effectively manage your online

reputation. Like a regular profile, you can get recommendations and new

connections.

Company page features let you show off your products or services. They offer

a built-in job board that lets you post job opportunities for potential new hires.

You also get your own analytics to see who is viewing your page. In addition,

company pages appear in search engine results so you get another

opportunity for people to find out about you.

What to Put on Your Company Page

Your company overview presents information about your business to other

LinkedIn users. It should be written so that it focuses on the benefits you offer

and the ways that you serve them. Write your content with the visitor to your

page in mind.

You can showcase your products and services, but what's even more

important is to give visitors an idea of your company culture. Add some

personality to your profile and use it to broadcast your brand message. This is

what sets you apart from other similar companies.

LinkedIn allows you to easily embed pictures, videos, links, banners and other

rich media content. This content makes your page more visually appealing to

people who visit. It also makes it more interactive. When visitors have

something to do on your page, they're more likely to stay there and listen to

your message.

Promoting Your Company Page

It takes only about thirty minutes to create your company page and it's a free

service. Once it's set up, announce on your profile that you've created it. You

should also announce it everywhere else where you have a presence online

such as your website, your blog, and other social media sites.

One way to get quick traffic to your company page is to use LinkedIn Ads. This

is an advertising network that lets you target specific demographics among

LinkedIn users. You can choose certain profile information and LinkedIn will

place your ads on profiles that match.

You can also boost activity on your company page by offering incentives. Offer

a freebie or discount to every nth person who joins. Give your connections a

small gift for recommending your page to others.

Content for Your Company Page

Like everything online, the best way to keep people coming back to your

company profile is to keep fresh content coming. You can do this by creating

your own or setting up feeds that automatically pull relevant content from

news sources, blogs and other LinkedIn profiles. If you update content

regularly and offer value to your fans and customers, you'll keep them coming

back to your company page regularly to see what's new.

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LinkedIn Answers – Establish Your Expertise and Grow Your

Network

Question and answer sites are great for marketing and building traffic. They

allow you to show your expertise and get exposure for your business. LinkedIn

Answers is LinkedIn's own version of a question and answer site. When you

answer a question there, not only can new people see your profile on Answers,

it also updates your network and appears on your profile.

The Basics of LinkedIn Answers

The main benefit of using LinkedIn Answers is that it builds your expertise.

Every time the person who asked the question chooses your answer as the

best, you get positive feedback. This gives you expertise points. If you get

enough of these, you appear in a list of experts in your niche.

The key is to choose questions that are relevant to what you do. A great

strategy is to choose a topic you recently blogged about. Include a link in your

answer to your blog post. This is an excellent way to drive traffic to your site

and further establish your expertise.

It's easy to answer questions about things that you know, but what about

topics you don't know well? If you don't mind doing a little research, find good

authority sites in your niche to use as references and answer away. This gives

you a learning experience about topics in your niche as well as getting your

profile out there for people to see.

You can ask questions too. This is good for exposure and interacting with other

people on the site. Don't ask questions just for the sake of asking – make sure

they're real. Otherwise they look like spam and LinkedIn users don't like that.

When asking a question, make sure you choose the category and subcategory

carefully because this is how people will find it.

Finding Questions to Answer

On LinkedIn Answers, you can do a keyword search to look for relevant

answers. Do a search on something you've been involved in lately. For

example, if you've just signed up to Pinterest, look for questions about the site.

You've gained some experience there and your answers can help others who

haven't.

You can also sign up for notifications. You get notified whenever someone in

your network asks a question, or whenever a question using certain keywords

has been asked. You can subscribe to LinkedIn Answers through an RSS feed

and have them sent directly to your Yahoo, Google or Microsoft Outlook

account.

Keep It Natural

Before you go crazy answering every question you possibly can in your niche,

here's a word of warning – practice moderation. It's good to find questions to

answer regularly, but don't answer every single one in your specialty area.

Familiarity breeds contempt and you want it to look natural. Plan to answer a

question or two on a regular basis and focus on being helpful.

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Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn with Paid Memberships

It's free to create a basic LinkedIn account, but for a little bit of money, you

can upgrade. The site offers premium memberships with many features that

are only available when you pay. Depending on what you're using the site for,

these features can make life with LinkedIn much easier and more effective.

What You Get with a Paid Membership

With a basic membership you can only send messages to people you know. If

you want to contact someone outside of your connections, you have to pay to

use InMail. This is LinkedIn's built-in email platform. Each level of paid

membership gives you a set amount of InMails per month and it's a bargain

compared to buying each one separately.

Profile Organizer is a premium feature that lets you save and manage profiles.

You can organize them into folders, add details and notes of your own, and

track the changes they make. This feature is especially useful for recruiters

who need to keep an eye on possible employees.

Basic membership gives you a set limit of how many profiles you can view.

Paid memberships lift the limit so that you can really take advantage of the

site's Advanced Search function.

You can also find out more about who is looking at your profile. Basic

membership lets you do this but the information you get is limited. When you

upgrade, you can see more of their profile information. You also get access to

stats that tell you how many searches you're appearing in and for what

keywords.

How to Upgrade

LinkedIn gives you several upgrading options and it can be a little bit

confusing. There are four different types of membership accounts. Each has

three levels that offer progressively more features (more searches per month,

more InMails, etc.).

There are membership accounts for:

Businesses – Business, Business Plus, and Executive.

Recruiters – Talent Basic, Talent Finder, and Talent Pro

Job seekers – Job Seeker Basic, Job Seeker, and Job Seeker Plus

Sales professionals – Sales Basic, Sales Navigator, and Sales Executive.

Each has its own added features custom-tailored to the account type. For

example, membership accounts for recruiters allow them to search for

applicants with specific profile information. Likewise, job seekers can use

advanced filters to refine their job searches. The plans for job seekers offer a

guaranteed response for your InMails. This means that if you don't get a

response, it won't count as an InMail used.

An upgraded LinkedIn membership may sound nice, but don't upgrade unless

you feel that you really need it. If you're new to the site or you haven't used it

much, use the free profile and explore. See all that it has to offer. Wait until

you're actively using it and feel that you need more before you upgrade. If you

use LinkedIn first, you'll have a better idea of exactly what you need from the

membership features.

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14 Popular LinkedIn Plugins and Apps

Apps and plugins enhance the LinkedIn experience for your connections and

allow you to do more with your profile. Most of these are free and easy to get,

so pick a handful and add them to your profile. Here are 14 of the most

popular – and these are only the tip of the iceberg!

Share on LinkedIn – This is a button for your website just like the Facebook

'Like' button. When a visitor clicks it, they automatically share your site's link

with their connections.

Recommend with LinkedIn – Recommend is the same basic idea as the

share button. Visitors click on your link and recommend it to everyone in their

network.

LinkedIn Login Plugin – When this plugin is installed on your site, your

visitors can log in to their LinkedIn account directly.

Amazon Reading List – This popular app lets you see what your connections

are reading and this gives you insight into their interests. When you sign up,

you can add the books you've read or would like to read.

Blog Link – Blog Link automatically pulls blogs from your blog network and

puts them on your profile. It turns your profile into a kind of blog feed, which

means automatic content creation.

LinkedIn Events – If you have lots of events to promote, LinkedIn Events

automates sharing them with your connections.

SlideShare – This is an app that shows slideshow presentations on your

profile. You can show your products and services to everybody who stops by

just by creating a brief series of PowerPoints.

Huddle on LinkedIn – Huddle gives you a collaborative workspace using

LinkedIn where you can work with others. This is great for company pages.

Apply with LinkedIn – Since so many people use the site for job searching,

Apply with LinkedIn lets people apply directly through the site, making it much

easier for both of you.

Google Presentations – Like SlideShare, Google Presentations showcases

projects you've recently done. Presentations is synchronized with other

Google products like Google Docs and PowerPoint. You only have to upload the

file and it's shared.

LinkedIn Members Profile Plugin – This is another plugin that you put on

your blog. It shows LinkedIn members that are connected with you through

the site, turning your blog into an extension of the social media site.

Company Insider Plugin – This plugin shows your employees to people who

visit your company page. It updates automatically with new hires or people

who have moved or changed their job status.

Ehance Creative Photo Display – This app offers a host of options for

creating a customized portfolio to show off your work alongside your work

history.

You can find LinkedIn apps by looking under Edit Profile. Under your Profile

Highlight box, click on the link that says Add Sections. You can then scroll

down and browse all the apps that are available. You can also access some

LinkedIn plugins at the site's developers' page -

http://developer.linkedin.com/