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October 7, 2015

12+ Ways to Maximize Your LinkedIn Success

By Jessika Phillips
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Business today is based on relationships, working with those we know and trust. Social tools such as LinkedIn can give your audience that glimpse into who you are, what your business is about, and they can hear from others why they should do business with you. Here are a few tips on ways to keep your LinkedIn as impressive as possible. --

1. Check and update your account daily. For some people, LinkedIn is created and quickly forgotten about,but it’s important to keep it as up to date as possible. It’s a nice way to update your résumé with each new venture—while saving a few trees in the process.

2. Connect with others but think of Linkedin the same as an executive luncheon. Who would you invite? Build your network of co-workers, professional connections, and friends. Don't add people you do not know personally or professionally.  When you send an invitation to connect Make the message personal. Don’t just send the automated message that LinkedIn generates. Personalizing the message shows you genuinely care and are truly interested in connecting.

3. Fully complete your profile by adding featured works, awards, certificates,Slideshare etc. You can build on the add-ons as you go but definitely make sure the required items are fully filled out.  Don’t use your LinkedIn if you’re not fully committed. Your Linkedin page is really a sales pitch for yourself and a way to "humble-brag" to truly list off your skills. Professional potential leads and clients will often evaluate your profile to see what you're all about and compare you against the competition. How do you stack up? A page that is only partially complete shows you may not take time to complete tasks and/or pay attention to the details.

4. Have a professional picture. Selfies are completely off-limits for your LinkedIn portfolio. Make sure you have a business casual based outfit on, or at in a professional setting in your profile photo. Nothing says unprofessional like a selfie of someone with their bff on Linkedin as their profile picture.

5. Join groups around your skill-sets. Positive responses & recommendations are valuable. Participate in your groups’ discussions with meaningful responses. This further markets you as an expert in your field and shows you are an active, caring member of the group. Leaving feedback as a public recommendation on a connection’s page is thoughtful and rewarding. After all, if a job is well done, it deserves to be recognized so others are aware of the connection’s reputation. If you do this for others, they are likely to do the same for you when you provide your services.

6. Publish posts (like this one). You want to be an active member of LinkedIn, so publishing posts frequently will help you stand out in your niche and build a larger reach to connect with people you want to help.

7. Engage with others. A commonly used feature on LinkedIn is the “endorsement” feature and the /Ask/give recommendations, where you endorse friends on skills they say they have, and vice versa. In endorsing connections on their skills shows you value their talents and it'll allow your name to pop up in their notifications. Bonus-Chance are they are more likely to endorse you back.

8. Be visual. You don't have to just publish text posts. Use an image or a video link in your posts. The brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than the time it takes for the brain to decode text. Visual content makes up 93% of all human communication. Your content can generate up to 94% more views if you add compelling visual elements.

9. Be personal. Personalize your LinkedIn account more than you would a paper résumé. Share articles and blogs you've created and relate to. This makes you more relatable as a potential employee. Have a great headline. It’s important to update your headline with something eye catching, but also professional and authentic.

10.  Business Profile/Groups – By creating a business profile you are giving your potential clients an insight into your business. Your business profile highlights company info; you can share blog articles; you can post industry tips & tricks of the trade; you can give details about products and services; you can also see insights as to who viewed or interacted with your profile! You can also create a group where you can start conversations, facilitate discussion and get people talking about you, your industry, business or services. By using your business profile and group interactions strategically, you can turn you and your business into industry experts!

11. Don't publish "salesy" content non-stop. Linkedin is like a networking luncheon. If you're the guy trying to sell us every 5 minutes and be quick to the pitch...people will head to the other side of the room pretty darn quick.

12. Add in some "extras".  Linkedin has Applications, this is slightly more advanced but basically means plugins to your LinkedIn experience just like a app on your iPhone. You can browse through these and find the ones relevant to you.

LinkedIn is just the tool to help you reach that CEO, HR Manager, Purchasing Agent… that illusive connection! Think of LinkedIn as the open window next to that door shut by the office gatekeeper. I hope these quick tips are just the beginning to maximizing your LinkedIn profile and taking it to a whole new level for you and your business.

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Tags: Social Media Marketing, LinkedIn, Professional Networking

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