I wrote one of my best evergreen articles on using LinkedIn eight months ago–when I shared 10 tips to use the networking site professionally.
Recollecting last night’s social media workshop led by Tyson Goodridge when more time was spent talking about Facebook and Twitter than LinkedIn, I think it’s worthwhile to expand upon the 10 tips and offer 12 ways how you should use LinkedIn today.
- If you have a LinkedIn profile, please keep it updated. If you want to know why, ask your friend to open his or her web browser and search your name. Chances are, unless you are omnipresent everywhere online or your name is very common like John Smith (not that I’ve ever met anyone with that name), your LinkedIn profile will appear in the top 5 search engine results. That’s why it should be updated.
- Fill your profile with colorful language, not drab resume-speak. There is a reason why the site is called LinkedIn, not ResumePlace. Verify the headline either is a mirror of your job title or a description of what you do. Change your headline as often as you’d like; mine currently states, Online media strategist and community manager for business and government, and Newburyport City Council candidate. Flesh out the summary and don’t be afraid it’s too long. Most summaries I see are too short. Which leads me to…
- Write in first person, not third. Unless you introduce yourself in third person at job interviews, cocktail hours, and networking mixers, keep your page about you in your words. Be transparent to who you are, not a third-person essay of what you’d like people to think you are.
- Upload the same photo you use elsewhere online. Ensure the picture is what you look like today, or within the past few months. Don’t use a picture that’s more than a year old. Again, think of the cocktail hour; unless you wear a mask to the event, show me who you are and what you look like.
- Join a group. Prove to me that you can connect to random people who share your beliefs. The more groups you join, the better. But don’t overdo it. You can also choose, when joining groups, whether they appear on your public page or not. If you look at my page, I am displaying a fraction of the groups in which I belong. Don’t display irrelevant groups to the rest of your profile.
- Ask and answer questions. Social media is about a dialogue; and the more questions you ask, the more frequently your connections will see the questions you ask in their streams. The more questions you answer, the more likely your answer will be marked “the best” and appear next to your name for future questions and answers. There are dozens of topics you can participate in, so go crazy. I was selected for having the best answers in selected questions on blogging, organizational development, and using LinkedIn.
A recent answer of mine on LinkedIn
- Don’t accept every connection request. This is a controversial topic, as some people prefer to use LinkedIn like a typical job recruiter and be connected to anyone and everyone; I am in the other camp. If we’ve met in person or communicated enough times online–if you’re someone I trust and respect and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to someone who asks for a referral, then I’ll connect with you. But if I don’t know who you are, I’ll archive your request, nicely reply no thanks, and ask you to connect with me elsewhere as a precursor. The caveat is if you’re seeking to hire me and indicate that in your introductory message, I’ll say yes.
- Don’t mirror your LinkedIn network with other social networks. Just because we’re friends on Facebook or mutually connected on Twitter doesn’t necessarily imply I will connect with you on LinkedIn. Point is, you can always decline. (Try not to click the “I Don’t Know” button which has negative consequences; just archive the request.)
- Recommend your connections. Whether someone is a friend, a colleague, a co-worker, a teacher or student, or any other connection to you, recommend the person. Some suggest you should recommend a new person every day, a strategy I sometimes commit for a few days and then forget to continue. You don’t have to work with someone to recommend him or her. I’ve recommended (and been recommended by) people whose blogs I respect, for instance. Just don’t add two sentences; make your recommendation prolific.
- Ask your connections to recommend you. Sometimes, people will recommend you if you recommend them first. Other times, they won’t. Either way, if you don’t ask, you’ll never know.
- Add applications to your profile. If you have a blog, there are applications to add recent posts. If you travel a lot and like to share where you go, or attend networking events, there are applications you may want to add to your profile. If like me, you have a Slideshare account for your presentations, link that.
Most importantly, be a person, not a robot. If you’re not connected to someone on LinkedIn and would like to be connected, don’t accept the default invitation text that would arrive in my inbox like this:
Dear Ari,
I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.
-John
Tell me why you want to connect with me, for your assumption may be different than mine. Again, think of the cocktail party. If you give the same business card to every person with the same line, “Call me,” then please send the default invitation. But if you give the business card to people and personalize the action, why not echo that on LinkedIn?
More people are visiting LinkedIn every day. Maybe these tips will enrich your online experience. If you get confused, add a comment below or send me a message on LinkedIn.
{ 37 comments }
Great article about LinkedIn! It is always interesting to see social media strategies for different tools.
Nice, timely article with a lot of great points. I think I’ve neglected to keep up with my Linkedin profile as Facebook, Twitter, etc. have taken the majority of my time these days. Definitely will revisit my profile and get it current.
Thanks Ari- great post. Reminds me to look over my Linkedin profile…
One of my favorite (and original) Linkedin profiles is Kat Jaibur’s
I love her summary- See her profile here…http://bit.ly/Vg6dm
.-= New from Tyson Goodridge: A “Savvy Auntie” joins the Advisory Board =-.
I love this post, especially the mentions of recent (accurate) picture and keeping your profile updated. LinkedIn is definitely not a network you want to “sleep” on or “automate” with a bunch of junk. Great stuff, as usual
.-= New from Maria Reyes-McDavis: Social Media for Social Good – Get Over Yourself =-.
Why would you automate any of your networks?
Sheldon thinks you have good tips, but he doesn’t agree with your point about writing in the 3rd person.
.-= New from Sheldon (Marketing Consultant, NZ): Toughen Up by Michael Hill – Book Review =-.
Why’s that?
Ari,
Great stuff. Do you know where I can read stuff about linking Facebook with Twitter with Linked In and Wordpress?
Also, I need a lesson on social bookmarking. Do you know where to read up on that?
It’s a fulltime job to keep up with all this.
See you in the stairwell,
Rory Vaden
.-= New from Rory Vaden: Dulles airport has stairs… =-.
If you click over to Kim Woodbridge’s blog, she’s added many tips in recent weeks about tweaking Facebook and linking it with other places.
If you want your recent Wordpress blog posts to appear in your LinkedIn profile, there’s a LI app for that. Or are you asking about embedding LI in WP?
As for social bookmarking, peruse through some stuff I’ve written via here.
Great stuff. One thing – I agree with Sheldon above. For SEO purposes, you would want to write your full name in the content of your description. LinkedIn as a site ranks very high in search engines so it would help there, but it also help within a LinkedIn search itself. I agree that it may read less friendly, but even I had someone else showing up above my uncommon name because they used my name as someone they worked with in their profile. In order to come up first in the search, I had to use my full name within my profile. This would be even more important for someone with a common name.
Your logic is sensical if one is searching for your name. But if one is searching for attributes–keywords–within your profile, your name is likely unknown to the searcher so it’s moot to be third person.
Good suggestions. With the plethora of social networking sites available it makes sense to differentiate how you use them and why.
.-= New from Fred H Schlegel: Design By Committee. =-.
Ari – thanks for this. I think Linkedin is an incredible tool for business – I have gotten many new leads from it – but I certainly don’t nurture it the way I should. This is a great reminder on how to make the most of your profile.
Thanks for a terrific article. Great information, especially for newbies. I learned a lot and look forward to learning more as I use LinkedIn even more now as a result of this article!
Stacy talks about herself in third-person narrative on her LinkedIn, too. But then again, she talks about herself in third-person in real life a lot anyway. She blames Elmo.
.-= New from Stacy Lukas: Introducing a new kind of journalism for a new era =-.
Twitter: waynejohn
July 20, 2009 at 12:44 PM
I’ve always shined LinkedIn. Not sure why. I have a profile and have rec’d one recommendation from a partner of mine, but it really hasn’t done it for me.
With all the other ones out there that I’ve worked, this is one that has always been left in the cold. Perhaps it’s time to get it going…
Wonderful post Ari, always a joy to read your stuff!
.-= New from Wayne: A Non-Intrusive Way To Integrate Twitter With Your Blog =-.
great advice, Linkedin is such a powerful tool that most people don’t understand the power of. I haven’t had a lot of time to utilize it recently, however it has massive networking capabilities with very powerful people.
Twitter: kikolani
July 21, 2009 at 4:47 PM
Definitely a nice post about LinkedIn. Simple, yet covers the major points that separate good LinkedIn profiles from dead ones. I’m just now focusing more heavily on mine, so these tips are very useful.
~ Kristi
.-= New from Kikolani: WordPress Thesis Theme Customization Part One: Options =-.
Ari
As a LinkedIn Networking Group manager- Thank you for a follow up list that gives great professional advice and also explains your reasoning. After setting up the basic profile- this is the check list to review.
Dear Ari,
Can you share more specific information on how my neighbors and current job seeker cohorts can share recommendations? I asked LinkedIn help- but they either didn’t understand the question- or didn’t really have an answer.
Thanks in advance for both your time and generosity to the rest of the LinkedIn world.
Sincerely,
Pegg Milroy
Hi Ari,
Thanks for the tips. They all make perfect sense. I thought I was technoligically proficient, until social-networking came upon us. Your advice helps us all understand and focus on how we can connect more effectively with our friends, clients and vendors.
Its a great medium and thanks for the tips on getting off on the right foot!
Regards,
Clay
Developing a social media strategy is something beginners in social media often don’t think about. I know I didn’t. I’m just developing one now. All of your points are good because they are part of the strategy that will ultimately lead to your social media desired outcomes, whether it is just online presence, or positioning yourself as an expert at something, or attendance at your events, or learning from your marketplace, or whatever. Thanks for a great article.
I thought there are some great points in your comments about using linked in. I know now that I need to re think some of my comments and descriptions on my profile page.
thansk for the help,
Blake Myers
This article is just terrific and I keep sending to clients to educate them about Best Use of Linked In. Thank you!
This is a great post. A few people I know use LinkedIn all the time for business connection. Most of my unemployed friends and ex coworkers from the auto industry use both LinkedIn and Plaxo to try and find employment. I set up a profile on those sites a few years ago when I was trying to network with other like-minded people. You’re right, some of these people were on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace… but I didn’t connect with them on all sites. Good information, very helpful. Thank you.
.-= From Tim @ Classic Car Insurance to you: Consider Hagerty Collector Car Insurance =-.
So I have to go change my profile photo on LinkedIn ha?
Just kidding – some very very good tips on a social networking tool that few use. I mentioned LinkedIn in my series on
Pillars of blogging success” post and was surprised that many were not even familiar with it. I also recommend updating the status under your name with a professional, worthy of reading, informational status say once a week or twice a month. I have mentioned the book contest I was running and recently the fan facebook page for my blog. I keep a professional look on LinkedIn as I do not consider it much of a playground if you will. Thank you again!
I have to print this post out so that I can check off each item as accomplished. As I am looking for real estate buyers and sellers, I’m a little off the target of LinkedIn. Still I like to collect recommendations there that I can use anywhere. I love the variety of the short recommendations that represent a broader picture of me than a long recommendation from a few people. Readers aren’t committed to reading long recommendations for a realtor.
Ari – Nice Article. I am an active user of LinkedIn. Mostly i am active in answering questions of other users. That also really helped me to improve good connections and making overall good profile over there. You’re right. “How many” connections are not important but “How good” connections are more important.
Quality will always trump quantity.
Great post! I absolutely hate canned invites on LinkedIn. That’s almost a guarantee not to get a connection with me.
Twitter: eagleeyeweb
October 24, 2010 at 10:41 AM
Great post. I have a few additional ones myself but I agree with all of these.
Charity Van Vleet recently wrote Building a Website- Simplified
This is a useful LinkedIn list, Ari. Thanks for the reminder to hop over there to update my profile. It’s about time. I also need to look at asking and answering questions. I haven’t done that yet. One thing I notice is that many of the sites for ‘professionals’ specifically recommend using the third person. I don’t know why that is. I hate doing it. It is much more natural to use the first person. It is all about building relationships, after all!
Home Life With Rika Susan recently wrote Home-Lift With Cheap Traffic Master Allure Sierra Tiles And Vinyl Floor Planks
Do you always do something that a third person recommends if you hate doing it?
Unless if you introduce yourself to strangers in third person, don’t describe yourself that way.
No, Ari! I don’t. But I have come across a few sites that demand it as part of their rules. They don’t accept your profile if you don’t comply. But it really sounds silly. I agree with you – nobody talks like that, why should we write in that voice? It is unnatural. Perhaps they think it sounds ‘grand’ and sophisticated. I don’t know where it comes from.
Home Life With Rika Susan recently wrote Home-Lift With Cheap Traffic Master Allure Sierra Tiles And Vinyl Floor Planks
Great post. I re-tweeted it. Very relevant from beginning to end. We frequently change and evolve in our lives and career paths, and not updating Linkedin, is to miss an opportunity to show case where we are at today. I agree with, but am annoyed with your take on a current photo. I’ve been using the same photo on everything for 4 years now. It’s a great photo, but it’s probably time to step into the here and now!
Christine Peterson recently wrote Calgary Area Condo Prices Still Going Down
Twitter: alkalizeme
February 27, 2011 at 12:36 AM
Hi:
I enjoyed your article and found it very informative. I’m new to LinkedIn and can’t seem to figure out if only my connections see my up-dates or if my “network” – my connections connections see them too?
I have a home business and would like to get the word out in my area – so if my network does not see my updates or profile, one of my connections which I did brief business with a few years ago, has several connections in my area. I would like to ask her connections to become my connection, but don’t want it to appear spammy. I also don’t want to bother my connection (who I barely know) to post an up-date for me for her connections to see. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Twitter: #!/ESMConcepts
April 1, 2011 at 12:17 AM
What is your take on the LinkedIn profile’s being given out or sold that was just in the news today?
I have not read the fine print from LinkedIn, but there should be some enforcement in place to stop and prevent this type of underhand marketing, Right?
It seems that the only ones that do not get punished are the spammers and their email/ info suppliers.
Just my rant…
Steve
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