Websites like LinkedIn have quickly become the most popular, influential and arguably most useful to business users. LinkedIn is a social network, so if you have a profile it is a good idea to interact with other users. However, it is slightly different than other social media sites in that it’s mainly aimed at businesses looking to to connect with other businesses and professionals to connect with their colleagues.
To get the most out of your personal profile on LinkedIn follow our five top tips:
1. Specialize
A popular feature of LinkedIn is endorsement. You can view other people’s profiles and endorse their skills. Some popular users have hundreds of different endorsements. The purpose of these endorsements is to highlight the important skills of each user.
If a user has say 30 so-called important skills that they are all endorsed for, it kind of looks like these aren’t really that important. It is a good idea to pare down your skills and endorsements to 3-5 which you feel best represent what you have to offer.
2. Don’t Connect With People In Order To Grow Your Following
One of the main goals many users have with other social media networks is developing content that encourages people to essentially connect with the business. This in turn increases the reach and popularity of the business. With LinkedIn, connections and content are still the goal, only the type of desired connection is different.
You shouldn’t be aiming to connect for the sake of connecting. Instead, try to develop connections that will help your business meet its goals and objectives. Some good examples of this include connecting with suppliers, colleagues and even other businesses you work with.
3. Think Socially (What’s In It For Them?)
LinkedIn is really just online networking, and as with most forms of networking you are looking to build rapport and establish a connection. This is usually done by being interesting, which means creating content.
When creating content or developing your profile you should keep in mind that it is for the people looking at your profile and not you. With everything you write or create, try to keep in mind: WIIFT (What’s In It For Them?). If you can create something that your connections and profile viewers will be able to benefit from, they will be more willing to listen to you when you actually need to contact them.
4. Look At Your Profile
As we stated above, your content and profile should be oriented towards your viewers and connections. Look through your profile and posts to see that the information does reflect this purpose.
Try looking at the different sections of your profile and focus on how you can help your connections. This includes giving detailed descriptions on your roles and how you helped the company or customers. Above all else, make sure your profile contains the information that is relevant to the people you want to connect with. If it isn’t, you likely don’t need it.
5. Join Groups
Possibly the best way to get the most out of LinkedIn is to join groups. There are groups that cover nearly everything in the professional world. Try joining groups that are relevant to your profession and interests. There are usually some great conversations going on that you can really learn and benefit from. If you are an active member, you will become well known over time.
This is positive, as it makes other members more approachable and willing to listen to you, and engage with the content you share. Joining groups also gives you a great way to connect with people of varying experience. If you need the help of a specialist you can look through group members until you find an expert with the experience you need.
LinkedIn can be a useful platform for business users and if you are looking to learn more about how you can leverage it, connect with us today to see how we can help.
Published on 30th October 2013 by Jeanne DeWitt.
