I was recently asked to write an article on my book, “LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day” so I decided to sharesome of my top tips from it, chapter by chapter.
My Top Ten LinkedIn Tips
Chapter 1: “Get LinkedIn”
What is LinkedIn and should you be on it?
If you don’t have one yet, get a profile on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is not just for jobseekers. It is for business people, sales people, marketing people, professionals service people, B2B companies, B2C companies, non profits, students, entrepreneurs, stay-at-home moms, and busy executives. If you do any business at all, you want to create an account on LinkedIn.
Chapter 2: “Get Started on LinkedIn”
What are your goals and what are your strategies?
Take a few minutes right now to write down the reasons you’re using LinkedIn. Are you using LinkedIn to:
- attract new clients and customers
- create new referral partner relationships
- attract affiliates
- position yourself as a thought leader or subject matter expert
- share information about your product or service
- enhance your customer service relationships
- attract donor and sponsors for your charity
- position your Internet marketing business
- sell your book
- share information about an event or
- something else
What are your goals for being on LinkedIn that or not in the list above? Write them down. Now prioritize your goals. Although your priorities for using LinkedIn might shift, it’s always good to be clear on what they are right now.
Chapter 3. “Ready, Set, Profile!”
Do you know your keywords?
You can use the “Skills and Expertise” link on LinkedIn to find keywords that are specifically relevant to LinkedIn. Simply click on the “Skills ” link under the “More” tab and type in any skill that is relevant to your position, your education, your skill set, or your industry. As you begin to type, a drop-down menu should appear. Choose the skill closest to your keyword or search term. If the drop down doesn’t come up with the option you are looking for, choose a synonym for your skill set.
Once you select a skill from the drop-down list, LinkedIn will take you to a new page. By clicking the blue “Add Skill” button, you will add that skill to your profile. (So it can be endorsed later by your connections!)
The section of this page relevant to finding keywords is on the left side under “Related skills”. Are there any of those related skills you might want to add to your profile as keywords?
When the list of related skills is in alignment with your skill set (meaning you could indeed offer many or all the skills or services in your business) you might want to copy and paste the entire list into Word document. Delete the irrelevant skills and voila – you have a great keyword list to add to:
- your professional headline
- title fields
- interests
- summary section
and any other sections that are relevant in your LinkedIn profile.
Chapter 4: Using Your Company profile for Branding and Positioning
Do you have a Company Profile?
With the newest Company Profile release – you no longer have a reason not to have a Company profile! And if you have one, are you using it?
Did you know you could add video to your company profile? Once you add a product or service, you have the opportunity to add a YouTube link. This will show up as a video that plays when someone clicks on that skill or product. Consider the product demonstration, or a testimonial from a happy client or customer.
Chapter 5: “Creating and Managing a Network that Works.”
Grow your network to be more visible.
If you’re not having much luck on LinkedIn, it might be because your network is too small. In order to easily grow your network, without directly connecting too many people you don’t know, you might consider going to www.toplinked.com. The folks who pay to be a part of toplinked.com are willing to share their networks with you, because they want you to share your network with them.
By clicking on the “Top Supporters” link on the left-hand side of the Toplinked.com page, you will see a list of 50 to 60 individuals who should accept your invitation to connect. All of these individuals have very large networks. By connecting to just 10 to 15 of these individuals, you should be able to grow your network out past the 10 million mark. Which means you’ll be more visible on LinkedIn. It also means that you will be able to find and connect with more strategic members on LinkedIn. Which should increase your business.
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