Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile for Exposure and Engagement: 11 Tips

LinkedIn, as one of the oldest social networks in the space, is still one of the most important and valuable. Once regarded as a resume holder, LinkedIn has emerged as a robust network aiming to connect you with the business world.

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking site, with over 200 million members in 200 different countries. The fastest growing countries are Turkey, Colombia and Indonesia. The most populated industries present on LinkedIn are Information & Technology (4M), Financial Services (2M), Higher Education (1.95M), Computer Software (1.65M) and Telecommunications (1.59M).

LinkedIn is so powerful for B2B leads and opportunities that you should take it very seriously. The first and foremost thing you should do is complete your profile. According to a recent study, just about half of all profiles are sitting incomplete on LinkedIn. I hope you aren’t one of them. Whether you have a complete or incomplete profile, these 11 tips will help you optimize your profile for maximum exposure and set you up for some serious LinkedIn engagement. Remember, there are 200 million members and you want to stick out. Simply completing your profile will increase your chances of being found.

1. Make Your Profile SEO and Keyword Friendly

There are over a billion searches a year on LinkedIn. While it’s true that many of these people search for individuals and companies, they are also searching keywords. These LinkedIn search results are sorted by “relevance.” Relevance is LinkedIn’s very own algorithm. Your 1st degree connections will show up first (something to remember when deciding whether or not you should accept that connection). Of the 1st degree results, those with a completed profile will show up first. The next category is 2nd degree, then 3rd degree connection. These results are followed by people you are connected to in groups (another reason you should be involved in groups), and finally by “everyone” else.

The keywords you use should range from broad to very targeted. As you never know what someone is looking for, use as many keywords that relate to you and your business as possible. You can put these in a variety of different places. According to blogging4jobs.com, where you put these keywords matters. Keywords in your name, headline, company name, job title, and skills rank highest. With that said, make sure you are populating these areas with the terms you want to be found for. LinkedIn allows you to have 50 skills. Use them all.

Another place to populate your keywords is in your job experience section. This can be past and current. Putting “Marketing Manager at so and so,” is not enough. Go as into depth as you would in your resume, and fill it with your experience. LinkedIn is your place to brag. No one will judge you for it. Or at least I won’t.

2. Headlines Matter

Your headline is the first thing someone will see about you. Make it catchy. “Social Media Manager” is not enough. There are thousands of us out there. What differentiates you? What makes you special? What do you want to be known for?

My headline has been a selling point for me. By using more specific terms, and a variety of them, I show up more often and I appeal to a variety of different searches. My headline is Social Media Engager/ Influencer Marketer/ Community Manager/ Brand Cheerleader/ Content Curator—all things I can do to help grow your business.

Make your headline as catchy as possible. Lure prospectives in with your headline and wow them with your expertise.

You can also add your email in your headline so that people can contact you directly without having to go through LinkedIn. Oftentimes, you must know someone’s email in order to contact them. This is a way to go around obstacles such as these and open yourself up for as many inquiries as possible.

3. Show Yourself

One thing I dislike more than anything is a profile without a face. Your face is important. It shows who you are and that you are real. Beyond coming up in the search more often, you are also going to give members that trust factor that is often missing from social networks. This picture is important. It should give other members a good representation of you. I’d stay away from group shots, party shots, and shots that you cut others out of. It doesn’t have to be a professional photo, but it should be clear and, most importantly, a depiction of you.

Now, you might be saying, “I take horrible pictures.” I say, bollocks! You are who you are and people love authenticity.

4. Add Endorsements

Endorsements are one of LinkedIn’s newest features. Many call it LinkedIn’s version of the Facebook like. While it might not be that important for the search feature, it does add credibility to your profile. People will endorse you for skills that you set. If you get endorsed, click on the option to add it to your profile.

It is also nice to endorse others as a thank you. Remember, social media is a two way stream. It’s not all about you. The more you engage with others, the more they will engage with you.

5. Add Recommendations

Recommendations are mini testimonials that people give you who have worked with you. You can request them via LinkedIn. It’s another way to build credibility to you and your work. Remember to return the favor when someone gives you a recommendation.

6. Make Your Profile Robust With Information

LinkedIn allows you to add a lot of different documents to your profile. You can attach images, videos, slideshare presentations, and documents to your summary. This is a good feature to embrace if you want to show your experience with real life examples. If you are a public speaker, you can add a video of your sizzle reel. If you are a graphic designer, you can add your portfolio. If you are a writer, perhaps a chapter of your book might be something of value. Consider presenting whatever you can give out to prove your experience is a good thing.

7. Showcase Your Achievements

LinkedIn gives you the option to add your projects, languages, publications, honors & awards, test scores, courses, patents, certifications, and volunteering & causes to your profile. In many cases, this will add a lot of value to your profile. If you have taken a business course that will put you ahead of your competition, add it here. If you are currently unemployed, the volunteering section might be of value to you because it shows that, while you may be out of work, you are still doing something. Like I said before, it is okay to brag on LinkedIn. Show us what you are made of!

8. Link Your Company Page To Your Current Work Information

By linking your company page to your current work information, you are given the opportunity to cross promote yourself with your business and vice versa. Of course, this means you will have to have an updated company page or, at the very least, a company page on LinkedIn. I’ll get into that in a different blog post, as it is very important.

9. Update Regularly

Now that you have a kick-ass profile, show it off. By updating regularly, you are increasing your engagement with the LinkedIn community. But even more importantly, you are going to show up on news feeds regularly, which keeps you relevant and noticed. Update your status with news articles, company updates, blog posts, and updates about you. The key to a good social media engagement strategy is to be consistent and to consistently show up on news feeds. This will do it.

10. Accept & Add Contacts

The more contacts you have, the more likely you are to show up in the search results. Add people by searching for different keywords. If they read this article, they will probably have a good profile and will show up on the top of the search results. These are the types of connections you want to have. You can also import your address book and connect with people you already know. Don’t forget to make a personalized note with your contact request. It’s a nice touch, believe me.

11. Start Conversations

Social media engagement begins with conversations. Start them in groups, in your updates and on your company pages. Conversations are a crucial part of your success.

Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile for Exposure and Engagement: 11 Tips

Facebook Home Hits Half-Million Downloads

Is Facebook Home a hit? The reception for this Android software has been decidedly mixed, but there is at least one statistic the social network can tout: As of this weekend, Home has been downloaded more than 500,000 times.

That’s not a bad showing for an app that launched just over a week ago, on April 12, in the Google Play store. It also doesn’t count sales of the HTC First, the first phone to come with Facebook Home pre-loaded.

It isn’t the best showing possible — for comparison, 500,000 new Android devices are registered every 12 hours. Home is only supported on four Android devices so far; then again, many of those half-million downloads may come from users who didn’t realize they couldn’t install it on their Android device.

Facebook has more than a billion active users, and Android has roughly half a billion active accounts. In other words, these downloads represent just 0.001% of the potential user base.

More troubling for Facebook is the user feedback in the Play Store. The app has an average rating of 2.2 stars out of 5. Some 11,480 people have left a review; the majority, 5,960, have rated it one star.

Many users mentioned that the app, which sits atop the Android software itself and shows posts from your friends in your lock screen and home screen, was a drain on their battery. Other reviews complained that it hid other Android apps too deeply within its system and offered no support for widgets.

Google Play does not count the number of users who uninstall an app. Facebook, hesitant to introduce such a big change to Android users without giving them an easy way to walk it back, allows you to use Home in a special trial mode before you fully install it.

Facebook Phone Event

Facebook Home Hits Half-Million Downloads

Should Your Doctor Friend You on Facebook?

You may want to be Facebook friends with your doctor, so you can ping him or her a quick question or maybe an image of a bug bite for an online diagnosis. But the question being asked by the medical community is, should your doctor be Facebook friends with you?

The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Federation of State Medical Boards issued a policy statement in the Annals of Internal Medicine addressing best practices for physicians in the digital environment.

As more doctors are using social media in both their personal and professional lives — and more patients want information in a digital minute — there hasn’t been formal guidelines for how this online relationship should proceed, until now.

“Digital communications and social media use continue to increase in popularity among the public and the medical profession,” wrote Phyllis Guze, MD, FACP, chair, Board of Regents, ACP. “This policy paper provides needed guidance on best practices to inform standards for the professional conduct of physicians online.”

According to those recommendations, the use of online media can bring about educational benefits both to patients and their doctors. But they acknowledge possible ethical challenges as well. They also suggest that doctors maintain separate personal and professional identities online — consisting of perhaps a personal Facebook account as well as a professional page for communication or sharing health info.

 

SEE ALSO: Wristband Keeps Track of How Well Doctors Wash Their Hands

So are more doctors turning to the Internet and social media as a way to communicate with their patients? Dr. Ted Eytan, Director of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health in Washington tells Mashable all 17,000 of Kaiser Permanente’s physicians are accessible to their patients via their mobile devices. That doesn’t mean they’re all friending and tweeting each other, though. He says instead of thinking about how doctors and patients can get social, they focus on how they can best communicate, using social media as a tool. That way, “you can meet people’s needs, securely and quickly.”

Eytan says it’s about talking and listening — communicating. At KP there are 1.1 million emails sent to physicians every month, and 580,000 new emails sent to patients every month from physicians.

“Once patients can get the information they need about their care in a quick and accessible way,” he says. “Social media is a way to build trust by delivering useful information and creating good will between patients and physicians.”

 

SEE ALSO: For Health Answers, People Consult the Internet Over Doctors [STUDY]

Will patients who are used to immediate information start turning away from doctors who aren’t available online? Dr. Eytan thinks so. “I think the answer is understandable if you ask the opposite – ‘do patients hope to have doctors that communicate poorly?’”

That’s precisely why the guidelines for best practices issued by the ACP are so important, at a time when more doctors are spending more time online.

Other recommendations from the ACP include:

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  Physicians should not use text messaging for medical interactions even with an established patient except with extreme caution and consent by the patient.

  
  


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  E-mail or other electronic communications should only be used by physicians within an established patient-physician relationship and with patient consent.

  
  


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  Establishing a professional profile so that it “appears” first during a search, instead of a physician ranking site, can provide some measure of control that the information read by patients prior to the initial encounter or thereafter is accurate.

  
  


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  Many trainees may inadvertently harm their future careers by not responsibly posting material or actively policing their online content. Educational programs stressing a pro-active approach to digital image (online reputation) are good forums to introduce these potential repercussions.

  
  

Dr. Eytan couldn’t agree more. “A really simple test I use is, ‘Am I comfortable with the tweet I just wrote being on the front page of The Washington Post? What would 9.2 million members of think of it?’”

 

 

Should Your Doctor Friend You on Facebook?

Social Media a Bust for Small Businesses

Many small businesses worry their customers will leave them behind if they don’t interact with them on social media, but some just can’t find their place. They join because of peer pressure even though they don’t understand what they’re trying to get out of a social-media campaign. Facebook was most cited as the hardest-to-maintain social platform.

Most small businesses feel like they are wasting their time on social media, according to a new survey.

About 61% of small businesses don’t see any return on investment on their social-media activities, according to a survey released Tuesday from Manta, a social network for small businesses. Yet, almost 50% say they’ve increased their time spent on social media, and only 7% have decreased their time.

What businesses are trying to get from social media: 36% said their goal was to acquire and engage new customers, 19% said to gain leads and referrals, and 17% said to boost awareness. Facebook was most cited as the hardest-to-maintain social-media platform, the survey said.

In an age when a company such as Netflix is so heavily integrated into social media that it plans to make disclosures to investors on Facebook and Twitter, and a tech giant such as Enterasys Systems makes headlines by hiring based on tweets rather than resumes, many small businesses worry their customers will leave them behind if they don’t interact with them on social media. Plus, it’s been a smash hit for some. Of the businesses that saw a return on investment in social-media activities, 30% measure that amount as above $2,000.

Terry Benton, owner of Terry’s Fabric Cottage in Sulphur, La., was surprised to hear that her quilting store wasn’t in the minority of businesses disappointed in the way their social-media campaigns have panned out. She says she created accounts for her business on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter a little over a year ago, spending about five hours a week updating the platforms.

She built it, but no one came. She’s backed off in the past three months after scoring only 60 “Likes” on her Facebook page at its peak, she says. “I love reading things on the Internet, so I thought the social-media stuff would be great for me, but it really has not turned out well at all.”

Pam Springer, CEO of Manta, says small businesses get returns from social media — they just don’t know what they are when they see them, and she says it’s “good news” that companies are spending more time on social media. If they’re really getting no returns, she says, it’s probably because they don’t know how to launch a successful social-media campaign, and they give up too fast if the campaign falls flat. Businesses, she recommends, should use online resources like forums, and, yes, social media, to connect with each other for advice. According to the survey, only 36% of businesses do this.

“They have a high propensity to become maybe not as patient as they should be,” Springer says. The attitude becomes “I don’t want to deal with it. I don’t have enough time. It’s intimidating to me.”

Many small business, though, just don’t have a place in social media, says Stephanie Schwab, CEO of Crackerjack Marketing. They join because of peer pressure and media pressure even though they don’t understand what they’re trying to get out of a social-media campaign. Some make the mistake of prioritizing social-media activities over marketing techniques already proved to work, such as having a Web site.

“Just thinking that Facebook alone will send droves of customers to your doorstep is a mistake,” she says.

Regina Hartt, owner of Hartt’s Pool Plastering in Turlock, Calif., says social media hasn’t helped her business because there are too many disreputable companies in the construction business, and no amount of “Likes” on Facebook is going to sway a customer to spend $5,000 to $40,000 on a pool job. Hartt created a Facebook page for her business over a year ago, but she says out of the 200 to 300 jobs she does a year only three or four come from people who have found the business online.

“They want someone who’s going to do a good job, and seeing someone’s comment on a Facebook page isn’t going to be enough,” says Hartt, who gets most of her customers through referrals.

Social Media a Bust for Small Businesses

Social media marketing should be silent in wake of national tragedy

Monday afternoon, like many people who handle the social media for their companies, I was just about to make a Facebook post – in my case asking people to vote in our latest poll.

Before I could hit “send,” though, I noticed a little breaking news box at the top of my news feed. Bombs had gone off at the Boston Marathon finish line, and people had died.

Like most everyone, I was dumbstruck. I canceled my post and instead reposted the breaking news story. Others would want to know.

Posting stories and questions is part of my everyday routine, and it has become almost automatic for me to make my posts at certain points during the day. It’s my job.

I had to stop myself and say, “No, people don’t need to see that now,” and leave my Facebook page empty for the rest of the day. It seemed strange.

That’s also what Tracey Werner, president of Blabbermouth Communications in Easton, did.

After posting the initial story, she chose “radio silence” for her and her clients’ social media sites out of respect to those killed and hurt in the blast – and to the sense of mourning being felt by the entire community.

Social media in the wake of a national tragedy is difficult.

“When an event like this – such a gruesome event – happens, it has everyone’s attention,” Werner said.

She said any company that continues to put out marketing material on social media sites in the wake of such a tragedy is risking serious backlash.

“People are very critical of brands and companies that continue to promote themselves after something like this,” she said.

A problem often occurs when companies use software that automatically posts pre-scheduled promotions on social media sites. If someone isn’t paying attention at his or her computer, inappropriate posts may continue to go out after a high-profile tragedy occurs.

But what if you have a company that is closely associated with or connected to the tragedy at hand?

In the wake of the explosions, Brian Haines, owner of Aardvark Sports Shop, a running-shoe store in Bethlehem, was unsure of what to do.

“It’s been a little bit of a struggle for me,” he said.

On one hand, he didn’t want his customers to think he was using the tragedy to boost sales, but on the other he knew many running fans were looking to his store for some sort of reaction to the tragedy that touched them all so closely.

“We didn’t take action until we got feedback from our fellow running industry retailers,” Haines said.

In the end, he decided to join with the Independent Running Retailers Association – the national trade organization for his industry – in promoting “Runners for Boston,” which was raising funds and holding events around the country to honor the victims.

The store also is hosting two runs from its store in the Shoppes at Main Street Commons at the corner of Main and Broad Streets in Bethlehem. One is 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 22, followed by a second at 6 p.m. April 24 at 6 p.m. Both are being held to honor the victims.

Werner said the decision on how to handle social media and marketing after a tragedy depends on many things.

She noted that the blast in Texas on Wednesday night that killed at least five people and injured more than 150 didn’t have the same impact.

While it was equally tragic, because it appeared to be a terrible accident versus an act of terrorism, it didn’t strike the same fear into people’s hearts.

“We expect tragedies to happen. Terrorism sets us back a little more,” she said.

Proximity also was an issue.

“If such a blast had occurred in Pennsylvania, yes everything would have shut down. It would be all that anyone would want to talk about,” Werner said.

She said, for example, if social media had been more prevalent at the time of the 9/11 attacks, “radio silence” on social media would have been the proper protocol for weeks.

“Really, no one could talk about anything else for a very long time after that,” she recalled.

To know when it’s OK to start tweeting again, she said to look to see what others are doing. If you go on Twitter or Facebook and see that the conversations seem to have returned to normal, you can “stick your toe in” and see if your message is welcome – but prepare to respond quickly if the feedback is negative.

Social media marketing should be silent in wake of national tragedy

6 Ways Social Media Can Help You Find a Job

Farmville will not get you a job! I repeat: Farmville will not get you a job!

This may sound like an obvious statement, but I feel obligated to say it after my recent encounter with an out-of-work administrative assistant. During one of my NJ Unemployed programs, I was chatting with a woman about her career options. When I suggested she check out a specific online networking group, her response was, “I only Farmville.” Confused, I asked her to repeat herself. “The only thing I do online,” she said, “is play Farmville on Facebook.” I quickly informed her that while gaming apps on Facebook are fun, they won’t lead to job offers.

Don’t make the same mistake. If used properly, social media can help you in your job hunt. Here’s how:

1. Create Social Media Profiles

First things first. You must set up accounts on the various social media platforms. From Twitter to Facebook and LinkedIn, make sure you have a presence on all of the major sites. This exposure will put you a click away from millions of new contacts.

2. Networking

It is just as important to network online as it is to network in person. Tell everyone in your online communities that you are looking for a job. You’ll be surprised by how many people will ask for your resume or know someone for you to contact. If you don’t put it out there, no one can help you.

3. Brand Yourself

Everyone needs a brand online. Find what makes you special and capitalize on it. When someone visits your social media profiles, it should be distinctly “you.” Create a short, professional bio that lists your skills and use it on all of your social profiles. Also, use the same professional headshot (no photos with your family or out golfing) as your avatar, a.k.a. profile picture. In addition, it can be helpful to create a personal or business logo to display as your Twitter background and Facebook cover photo. Keeping this consistency solidifies your brand and will make it easy for potential employers to find you.

4. Display Your Expertise

Don’t assume that everyone on your friend list or Twitter feed knows what you do. Make it known that you are an expert in your respective field by using your “About Me” section to shed light on your work history. It is also helpful to share articles relevant to your industry and retweet posts from companies you want to work for. Let your expertise shine!

5. Join the Conversation

So many companies and organizations have online parties to discuss employment tips and hiring practices. Participate in these events. Join groups on LinkedIn and chime in on the discussions. Do a search for “jobs” on Twitter, and you will see a number of different parties that you can participate in. Many individual Facebook pages also have threads or ongoing conversations.

6. Research/Learn

This is an opportunity for you to continue learning without the expense of tuition. Read tweets, Facebook timelines, LinkedIn posts (groups, companies, individuals), to stay on top of developments in your industry. Just because you are out of work, doesn’t mean your knowledge and skills should suffer. You can even use this time to learn more about the companies you desire to work for.

6 Ways Social Media Can Help You Find a Job

Social Media Marketing Boosts Small Businesses: Manta

Small business owners are also in need of business-focused platforms to help them connect with prospects and peers.

More than half of small business owners say it was a successful first quarter for their business, despite the federal government’s budget crisis in the first quarter, according to a Manta survey of more than 1,200 small business owners in the United States. Part of this may be due to the increasing number of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) getting the hang of social media marketing. Small business owners are taking an “independent and resourceful” approach to learning more about social media, the report indicated. Whereas only 18 percent of SMBs ask for social media help from third-party experts, twice as many (36 percent) turn to online resources. Their hard work appears to be paying off, as nearly 40 percent of small business owners are reporting a return on their investment, with 30 percent realizing returns greater than $2,000. “As a highly pragmatic and time-constrained group, small business owners are strategically adopting platforms that show real results for their business,” Manta CEO Pamela Springer said in a statement. “However, social media is not a stationary phenomenon. As SMBs shift from the experimental stage to a results-focused phase, their social media usage will evolve to maximize the value.”

However, small businesses are also encountering obstacles along the way, with 18 percent of SMBs reporting Facebook is the most difficult platform to maintain, followed by LinkedIn and Twitter. Small business owners are also in need of business-focused platforms to help them connect with prospects and peers. The report revealed 36 percent of SMBs indicate the primary goal of using social media is to acquire and engage with new customers.

Overall, with the potential to generate a compelling return on investment (ROI), social media involvement is trending upward in the small-business community. Nearly 50 percent of SMBs have increased time spent on social media compared to a year ago. In addition, more than one in three small business owners said they dedicate between one and three hours each week managing their social media channels, while 10 percent spend more than 10 hours. While more small businesses (nearly 26 percent) are investing in social media, online advertising and marketing, higher levels of optimism and business growth have not translated into an increase in employment, as only about 5 percent of small business owners said they plan to hire new staff this spring. This finding correlates with the results of a study by PNC, which earlier this month found American SMBs plan to delay hiring new employees or seek new loans amid cautious optimism about the economy. Three out of four (75 percent) small businesses said they expect their staffing to remain unchanged for the next six months, and nearly one out of three said they will choose to do more work with fewer employees. Social media can also act as a double-edged sword, according to an online survey from the authors of “Crucial Conversations,” a book exploring influential speech habits. The study found social media sites are fostering an increasingly hostile user base. Nearly eight in 10 (78 percent) of the 2,698 respondents reporting rising incivility online.

 

Social Media Marketing Boosts Small Businesses: Manta