Turbo Charge Your LinkedIn: Hint: It’s not about you!
The number one thing you can do to turbo-charge your LinkedIn profile? Hint:It’s not about you! First in a series of LinkedIn optimization tips…
Remember the days when LinkedIn was a sleepy, little-used, depository of your resume credentials? Every day I see people still using LinkedIn that way – if using it at all. If you are one of those, you may be surprised to learn of the powerhouse of a business development tool it has become. And the reason why this tip is turbo boost-level worthy, is precisely because so few people are doing it.
Clearly LinkedIn is the go-to professional social media tool for SERIOUS business interactions. One of the reason why it is so powerful is because of the high percentage of decision makers who use it. More than 50% of the LinkedIn network is said to be either upper management or decision-makers. The average CEO has 930 connections putting them within a third degree of you!
This is first in a series of LinkedIn tips…(Connect with me on LI to receive notification of the rest of the series.)
How does your profile stack up? Does it still read like a resume, or does it pull in your target market like a magnet because by reading it they see how you can solve their challenges or have the solution they are seeking, or perhaps can solve a problem they didn’t even know they had?
Paradigm Shift away from resume type thinking…
So the number one principle to turbo charging your profile is to jettison the resume concept completely from your thinking. It is not about you! It is about what you can do for the reader.
Let that sink in for a moment. Who is your target market and why should they care about reading any further and connecting with you? How many seconds do you have to make a first impression once you get that coveted first glance? In person it is seven seconds… online it is MILLISECONDS.
If you do not have an approachable looking professional head shot you are dead in water. Get one! If you would like more detail about some research on LinkedIn profile photos , check out Yesware’s compilation of research on the subject.
Next focus on a cover image that conveys who you serve, what you provide, and what makes you different. Social Media Examiner has these tips on creating a cover image that provide you with credibility, trust and branding.
But how can you help ME?
So your photo and cover are starter line basic and critical, but neither of those will make any difference if you have not appealed to that basic trait all humans have. Like it or not, our first question is “How can you help ME?” What do you do that I need? What do you do that will make my life more wonderful? What do you do that will solve my problem? Always, always, always start with a “client-facing” profile.
For the keys to the kingdom, (you can thank me later), here is a link to the step-by-step process by Best Selling LinkedIn Author and Trainer, and my mentor, John Nemo:
(I’ve taken this training and I would be happy to discuss with you how his methods could benefit you in building connections, leads and business. It’s my specialty.)
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Future topics in the series of Turbo Charge Your LinkedIn will include these subjects:
Search Optimization
If you do a search for your keyword within LinkedIn, are you showing up on page one – or buried back on page 7 where no one ever goes? You have a magnificent opportunity to showcase yourself and position yourself as a leader and resource. Are you using LinkedIn to it’s fullest to be found?
Connections
Are you building your network deep and wide? We all know how to do that at business meetings and lunches and conventions – but do you know how to build your network in your target market as a discipline on LinkedIN?
Groups
Look at the groups you belong to on LinkedIn. Are they your niche groups of people just like you, doing the same work as you? Or are you interacting in groups with people your business serves, building your credibility by helping solve their problems and challenges?
Publish
The publication platform of LinkedIn has become one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. Do you know how to use it to build credibility and build connections with the right people?
(Connect with me on LI to receive notification of the rest of the series.)