LinkedIn is the most popular professional social networking site. But, for it to be effective, you need to “work” it.
Make LinkedIn Work for You
Of course, the first rule is to have a complete profile. Sandra Clark gave great tips in her WIC blog post, “I’ve Got a Great Profile: Now What? 10 Social Media Networking Tips for LinkedIn.”
Sandra reminded us that our profiles should contain:
- A professional headline with your keywords and talents
- A customized URL
- A labeled company website
- A compelling summary that uniquely positions you and includes keywords for your specialties
- Current position with your keywords and talents listed
- Past jobs listed with your keywords and talents
- Additional sections (e.g., associations, volunteer work, books, etc., that show what else you bring to the table), and
- A good number of recommendations.
Other tips:
Ask other WIC members to connect with you. You want to get at least 500 connections, each tagged so you know who they are and why they are in your network.
Endorse your fellow WIC members and write testimonials for them.
Post updates regularly. A good source is WIC material. You can say you’re looking forward to the meeting (or webinar or workshop), and share a few insights you learned after the fact. That’s a great way to “cement” the information and encourage others to attend future WIC events and to listen to recorded webinars.
While you’re at it, make sure to:
- Join the WIC LinkedIn group
- Join the WIC LinkedIn discussion group.
Note: To learn more about LinkedIn, register for the new WICademy eLearning series, “Social Media Implementation for Consultants.” The interactive online series is designed to provide the information you need to effectively use six major social media platforms—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, Pinterest and YouTube. Different subject-matter experts (all of whom are consultants) will cover each platform in hour-long interactive sessions (with homework). A week later, you will be able to ask the instructors questions in an online “office hour.” For more information, click here.
