I was doing some one to one training today and as usual I was preparing to go through the whole social media MOT when my ‘student’ cut to the chase and requested we went deeper into LinkedIn. With good reason his profile was out of date and didn’t reflect his current roles.
Profiles are the most important part of any LinkedIn account – it’s your ‘business card’ online but shouldn’t necessarily read like a CV. Getting over main points in a succinct way that flows and reads well is the key to a winning and engaging summary. Straplines should be eye-catching and reflect what potential clients and joint-venture partners can expect from you – MD of ABC Company – may describe what you do but it won’t stand out from the multitude of profiles on there. We worked a full 20 minutes on his strapline alone and by the time his profile was complete much of the two hour session was used up. That said he was very pleased with the end result. Remember it’s a crowded marketplace out there and anything you can use to stand out from that crowd can only be a good thing.
We also touched on group memberships and went through a cull of groups that had had no meaningful recent input (important that this is done – no point in being the only active member in a group!).
Articles are the most important change in LinkedIn since its inception and we worked out a strategy where he could use his own content to release them in a meaningful series that would showcase him in his industry.
Finally we went through the advanced search facility – which YOU ought to use to look for your target audience its highly versatile but one of LinkedIn’s best kept secrets!
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