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As of January, LinkedIn reports more than 200 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. Quantcast reports that LinkedIn has 21.4 million unique monthly U.S. visitors and 47.6 million globally. Gaining members at the rate of more than 1 million per week, LinkedIn may indeed be the most powerful business online networking tool today. It isn’t replacing face-to-face meetings or professional placement recruiters – not yet, anyway – but 79% of HR professionals in 2012 said they used it for recruitment and screening. They also turned to LinkedIn for requests from executive management to find specific expertise for project work or vendor relationships.
How does a Greater Madison businessperson operate in that kind of global market, and how much time should you spend creating an online LinkedIn presence? What is “success” on LinkedIn – a selective Rolodex of well-known and influential connections, or one with hundreds of contacts?
Actually, your profile content (how you present your strengths and work history to the public) is more important than the number of linkages you click together. Listing interests may lead you to others who share your hobbies; listing associations can set you apart from other job or vendor candidates, for example, and show your humanitarian side. So with that in mind, here are hints to help spruce up an online appearance and double its impact. (Continued)
- Your profile is a composite of professional talents, experiences, awards, interests, and recommendations. Your photo should reflect professionalism (a smiling face, not a family group photo or glamour shot), and your online language should be equally professional. Use the headline section to list your expertise, not your job (e.g., mine says “Business magazine publisher; business strategist and communications expert” rather than “In Business magazine publisher”). Avoid self-congratulatory comments; let your experience and achievements convince your audience of your expertise.
- If you list an award or honor, explain who presented the award and its relevance. Rather than “Awards: XYZ Award for Excellence in 2005,” consider “XYZ, the trade association for magazine publishers, awarded our business its top award – “The XYZ Award for Excellence” – out of a field of 540 U.S. and international entries for feature writing, citing our advocacy for the small business community.”
- If you solicit recommendations from friends and/or colleagues … make it a strategic ask. What kind of position, project, or client do you hope to influence? If you want to work in a particular industry, solicit industry-specific comments from your network. However, know that asking for a slew of fluffy endorsements raises eyebrows sometimes about why you need them. Turn it around; write a referral for a few key people you’d like to write one for you – people who do hold you in high regard. LinkedIn then automatically provides them with the opportunity to return the favor. Be genuine, non-effusive, and truthful in your comments about them and they usually will respond in kind. If you want them to write about your expertise as a speaker, suggest it. The more specific your endorsements are, the more influential they become.
- Think about how to phrase past experience and skills. Forget including the obvious tasks of a job – what results did you get? A task is “answered phones.” A result is “provided professional reception and customer service.” Not only is that more truthful, it’s also more impressive and to the point.
- Keep it real. LinkedIn is a business tool, not a social networking platform. It isn’t about collecting the most names; in fact, many businesspeople (myself included) will not accept lineage invitations from people we don’t know. The more inclusive you can be in your profile, the more likely people are to sense why they should connect with you, let alone hire you as an employee or vendor.
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