JGP will be “Open for Business” Tuesdays, hosting “After Hours” on Fridays

Santa has something special for you in his sack of goodies, though it won’t be delivered until January 2013. Then, IBMadison.com will launch expanded Friday coverage with a second weekly ezine of original content. We’ll be moving some reader favorites into the Friday slot (like “After Hours,” additional “Bring It On” editorials, “Professional of the Week” profiles, etc.) and we’ll be introducing some new business content to Tuesdays, including “Open for Business” – concise how-to business blogs – which I’ll be writing.

We also are launching our IB Photo Gallery, where associations can submit up to 20 photos from their events. We’ll be featuring special showcases (at no cost to area businesses, nonprofits, or trade associations) to highlight special activities. We’re going to give you at least 20 reasons to bookmark IBMadison.com in 2013 and to sign up (if you haven’t already) for our two weekly business ezines.

Here’s a sample of “Open for Business” to preview what you’ll find when you open our Tuesday ezines in 2013. Meanwhile, happiest of holidays to you and yours!

5 reasons (and ways) to spruce up your LinkedIn profile

In 2012, 79% of HR professionals used LinkedIn as a screening tool. Gaining traction at the astonishing rate of 1 million-plus new users per week (CEO Jeff Weiner reports LinkedIn is adding one new user per second), it is recognized as the most powerful online business networking tool today. About half of all new accounts are created overseas, with China and Brazil the fastest-growing market, which makes LinkedIn a bridge to international business as well. It isn’t replacing face-to-face meetings – not yet, anyway – but executive management more and more is turning to the network to find candidates for specific expertise for project work or vendor relationships in the U.S. and abroad.

With potential client contracts (or a new job) in the balance, how much time should you invest maintaining a dynamic LinkedIn presence? And who is the most likely to gain more business – the person “linked in” to a few well-known and influential connections, or the one with hundreds of contacts?

Actually, profile content (how you present your talents, achievements, and work history to the public) is more important than the number of linkages you collect. Many people (me included) won’t “link” to people we’ve never met or likely would never refer or do business with – and nearly every day I get asked to link to a sales rep I’ve never met who has just taken a new job in an unrelated industry. (Nope.) LinkedIn isn’t about building baseball card collections, or downloading immediate access to someone else’s professional online Rolodex; it’s about creating a legitimate network. So, with that in mind, here are five reasons to spruce up your online appearance, and ways to double its impact. (Continued)

1. A potential client may find you before you find them, using LinkedIn as a screening tool by category. Your profile is a composite of your professional talents, experiences, awards, and interests. Use a professional, inviting photo (a smiling face, not a severe expression, family photo, or glamour shot) and be as concise and clear speaking as possible in your online language, while avoiding self-congratulatory comments. 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”).
2. You’ve gained recognition for expertise in your industry. Explain who presented the award or honor and why — make its relevance obvious to your audience. Rather than “Awards: XYZ Award for Excellence in 2005,” consider “XYZ, the trade association for developers, awarded our company its top award – The XYZ Award for Excellence – out of a field of 300 entries, for our redevelopment of an apartment building in a blighted TIF district in 2010.”
3. You have great testimonials for your work. Do you? Before you post a recommendation to your profile, review it judgmentally yourself. Does it read like “fluff” written by your golf buddy or girlfriend, or like an “endorsement”? In addition to personality accolades, turn to your network for industry-specific comments about performance. And hint: rather than asking for a lot of referrals, turn the table and write a referral for the people you’d like to write one for you; LinkedIn then automatically provides them with the opportunity to return the favor. Be genuine, non-effusive, and truthful in your comments, mirroring what you are seeking yourself.
4. Potential business contacts will pay the most attention to past experience and skills. Rather than list the obvious tasks of a job, focus on the results you obtained. “Answered phones” is a task; “provided professional reception and customer service for 200 clients” is a result. Which is most impressive and expressive – yet still truthful?
5. Strangers are turned off by hype, but intrigued by personal and professional information. Have an interesting hobby? Can you show a humanitarian side by mentioning the volunteer work you do? Passions, associations, honors, and experience set you apart from other job or vendor candidates. What you include – or omit – tells The Story of You. So get real, get personal, but avoid superlatives and exaggerations; not only your own, but over-the-top recommendations from family and friends, too.   

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