2. What is LinkedIn
• Worlds largest professional network with over 120 million members and growing
• It is a database with an abundance of information
• Online resource for exchanging knowledge, ideas and opportunities
• It is designed specifically for the business community
• It is a resource for creating networks of people you may know and trust

3. Edit Your Profile
• Your profile is your personal brand. It’s your way to differentiate yourself and help
others decide if you are a “person of interest” to them.
• Let people see who you are. Upload a profile picture.
• Use the profile builder and aim for 100% completeness.
• Be accurate. Make sure your profile and past is as detailed as your resume would be.
• Customize your public profile URL with your name. For example my public profile is
http://www.linkedin.com/in/barrylgoldberg.

4. Sections of Your Profile
• Name – First, last, and maiden names. • Certifications – Certifications, licenses, or
• Headline – Will default to current job title. clearances your have attained.
You can change it to express your personal • Recommendations – You can request
brand or how you want to be known (e.g. professional recommendations and
Outstanding Financial Professional). display them on your profile.
• Summary – Information about your • Additional Information – Any other
mission, accomplishments, and goals. information you would like to highlight.
• Experience – Professional positions and This can include a link to your website,
experience; including jobs, volunteer your Twitter name, associations, and
positions, military, board of directors, awards.
non-profit, or pro sports. • Personal Information – Optional
• Education – School and educational information such as phone number,
information. location, and birthday.
• Applications – You can add applications to • Patents – Any patents you’ve applied for
your profile to display your work, get or received.
professional insights, or collaborate with • Publications – Publications that have
others. featured your work.
• Languages – Languages you understand or
speak.

5. How Much Should I write?
In order to be more findable in searches, it is suggested that you use the maximum
number of characters in each place on your profile.
• Headline – 120 Characters
• Summary – 2,000 Characters (about 2/3 of a printed page)
• Specialties – 500 Characters (about 2 paragraphs)
• Position Description – 2,000 Characters
• Education, Activities, Societies – 500 Characters
• Custom Web site URL Tag (other) – 35 Characters
• Interests – 1,000 Characters
• Groups and Associations – 1,000 Characters
• Honors and Awards – 1,000 Characters

6. Personalize
• Add a headshot so that people can
see who you are.
• Make sure it is professional and
represents the professional, not
personal, you.
• Remember this is NOT Facebook.
• Your photo can be no larger than
80x80 pixels.
• Personalize your company’s website.
Instead of “Company Website” for
example change it to “Independent
Life Brokerage.”
• Add your interests – i.e. loves
spending time with family, running,
and cooking for others.

7. Headline and Summary
• Headline
– Make sure your professional headline tells
people what you do and is not just your
title.
– Example – “Financial Advisor” or even
better “Financial Advisor Specializing in
Helping Families Efficiently Transfer
Generational Wealth”.
• Summary
– Your summary is an expanded headline. It
tells people exactly how you can help
them.
– Tell people who you are, what you do and
how you can help.
– Write it in the first person. “I am, I do…” It
conveys authenticity.
– Be judicious in your wording and make it
impactful.
– Use key words in your ‘Specialties’ portion.
This helps in optimizing your profile on
search engines.

8. 10 Most Overused Buzzwords
in the USA
Try to avoid “corpspeak” and overused terms and phrases. The graphic below shows the
ten most overused buzzwords in the USA.
Be direct, assertive, and interesting. Make good use of the dictionary and thesaurus.
Have others review it before you post it. Refresh it regularly.
Not Good Much Better
An innovative, dynamic, and results-oriented A tough-minded IT leader who gets the job
professional with a proven track record of done with zero loose ends. Especially
being a team player in the fast-paced world of effective in balancing multiple projects,
entrepreneurial problem-solving. competing agendas, and constantly shifting
priorities.

9. Get Recommended
• People work with people they know and
trust. The best way to find new clients is
to be referred and endorsed.
• Online recommendations are a great way
for others to validate who you are and the
work you do.
• Go through your network and specifically
ask others for recommendations.
• Make sure your recommendation request
is genuine and personalized.
• If you want to be recommended, start
recommending others.
• Take the time to be thoughtful in your
recommendation of others.

10. Join or Start Groups
• Why bother with LinkedIn Groups?
– To locate people with shared interests and
establish valuable new connections.
– By searching through the listing of LinkedIn
Groups, you’ll be able to locate your
industry and target audience. After
that, you can sign up to join a particular
group simply by clicking a link.
– Some groups allow instantaneous
acceptance while others require the
“admin” to reply and approve your
request.
– Group discussions allow you to
communicate with people all over the
world. You can begin networking by
participating in the discussions, starting a
discussion, “liking”, commenting, etc.
– It doesn’t take long for the benefit of
group participation starts to show up in
the form of increased traffic to your profile
page.

11. ILB’s LinkedIn Group
Be sure to join Independent Life Brokerage’s group on LinkedIn by searching
for us by name in the top right hand corner & clicking on our name in the
results page.

12. Keep Your Network Posted With
Status Updates
• In the social media climate of 2012, keeping
your network posted with status updates is (or
should be) a routine procedure.
• When you click the link that says “Post an
Update” directly underneath your name and
title (or tagline), the blank update box appears
and gives you the opportunity to share
information about what you’re doing, how
you’re doing it, why you’re doing it and where
you’re doing it. There is also an option for you to
“attach a link” if you wish viewers to be directed
elsewhere.
• To keep the update relevant for others, try to
make it informative, helpful and interesting. This
will help you stay top of mind in your network
and will distinguish you as a thought leader.
• Follow what others are sharing and add
comments.

13. Adding Connections
• When you receive an invitation to connect from
someone, look at his or her profile and send a
note back and say thank you for reaching out.
• When you are connecting with someone, make
it personal. Don’t just send blanket invitations
like the template version “I’d like to add you to
my professional network on LinkedIn.”
• Keep templates of your thank you and
invitations saved in a Word document. This way
you can easily cut and paste it and then
personalize.
• To add new connections you can:
– Click on the ‘People You May Know’ Section and
invite others to connect.
– See Who You Already Know on LinkedIn by
searching your email contacts.
– Colleagues and Alumni – If your profile is accurate
LinkedIn will help you search using these criteria.

14. Adding Connections (Cont.)
• Remember that LinkedIn
is a database so search
for others using
‘Advanced People
Search’.
• Search by
company, keyword, locati
on, industry, title and
more.
• Use it to research
potential referrals for an
upcoming meeting.

15. Using LinkedIn Applications
• Useful for helping you
promote content and
your personal brand.
• Examples:
– Upload presentations
using SlideShare.
– Share with others what
you are reading with
Amazon reading list.
• Applications are great
for collaboration and
personal branding.

16. Summary
LinkedIn is an excellent resource for connecting to trusted contacts and allows you to
exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals.

17. Get Social With ILB
Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
Connect with us on LinkedIn.
Come get social with Independent Life Brokerage and have access to up-to-date
industry news, insights, and trends that will help to better your business.

18. http://learn.linkedin.com/what-is-linkedin/