Jan 12, 2016 Written by Guest
Where can you find 400 million business professionals at your fingertips? The answer is LinkedIn and they are adding two members per second. Over a quarter of those individuals are right here in the US. We know that LinkedIn is a great place to connect, but how do you stand out in a mass of professionals?
Start with a Professional Profile
You would never submit a proposal to a prospect on a blank piece of paper with only two vague lines, give a white business card with only your name, or deliver a resume with only your contact information and a single job title. So don't do this on LinkedIn.
You need to create a brand on LinkedIn, starting with a professional photo. LinkedIn says you're 14 times more likely to be viewed if you have a photo. Make sure the picture is LinkedIn worthy, not with you and your significant other at a party or with your family on vacation. This is not Facebook, but a business site where people want to connect with you and get to know about your professional experience.
You can now add a background photo to make your profile stick out, too. LinkedIn offers you some generic options, but if you have something that speaks to your brand, that's even better.
Work just as hard on your LinkedIn work experience profile as you would your resume. Unfortunately, LinkedIn doesn't have a built-in spell checker. Be as careful on LinkedIn as you would be with a paper resume.
Tell Your Story
Remember you're swimming with 400 million other fish in the sea, make sure you are unique. How do you do this? Tell your full brand story - what makes you different.
Start with a unique LinkedIn URL, mine is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracymooremktg. This is also very similar to my twitter handle and Skype address.
Create a heading that gives more detail about what you do and are passionate about. For example, I may say: I help small businesses develop and implement marketing strategies that support business growth | Marketer | Consultant | Speaker | Blogger. Another option is to use key words that your customers will use to find you online: Principal Marketing Consultant, Marketing Strategy, Social Media at Dallas Marketing Eye.
You can go beyond the resume on LinkedIn and add media rich links such as: post podcasts, YouTube videos, brochures and collateral. Think about what items tell the best story about you. Adding these items to your profile is easy to do and can lets your connections know more about you and your business.
Don't forget the language and volunteer opportunities section. Once again, this helps highlight what makes you unique. No one wants to connect with a robot and filling out this section just makes you more human. You can also give a shout out if you want to volunteer in specific types of organizations or with specific causes. You can even let your connections know you would like to join a board of directors.
Sometimes the best way to tell your story is to have someone else tell it. References are a great way to highlight your work product, personality and ability to deliver. Ask your references to be specific about your work and personality traits when writing a recommendation. These are sure to stand out rather than a cookie-cutter recommendation that could fit anyone on LinkedIn.
Post and Engage
Content marketing is one of the hottest areas of marketing right now and using it on LinkedIn can be highly effective. Studies have found that the two biggest reasons professionals access content on LinkedIn is to “keep up with industry news” and “discover new ideas within the industry,” at 78% and 73%, respectively. Providing quality industry news, tips and trends is a great way to establish yourself as a thought leader.
If you don't have any original content, consider sharing the latest industry news from Fast Company, Business Insider, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Inc. or an industry website. Sharing articles on LinkedIn is easy and you can add your own thoughts on the story in the comments section. These comments will appear above the story you are sharing.
Adding posts, photos, comments and upcoming event information is another way to keep your network up-to-date on what's going on in your professional world.
Don't forget to like, comment and share the stories of others in your network. When you post your articles your network will be more likely to share your posts if you have done so for them.
If you have joined groups, start a discussion or comment on a topic of another professional in your industry. Some groups are more active than others, but LinkedIn lets you join 50 groups so you should be able to find a few with active discussions.
If your profile is not yet maximized, you may need a few days or weeks to make changes. In doing so, consider turning the 'Notify your Network' to 'No', so your connections don't see every small change you make to your profile. If you get a new job, promotion or start a business that you want to share with your network, easily switch the toggle back to 'Yes' on your profile view.
Most importantly, be yourself. People like to hire and work with someone they know. In our technology driven world, one of the first places someone may get to know you is on LinkedIn.
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