What do you do with a LinkedIn account? The key is not to neglect it. Here's some practical guidance for using a basic LinkedIn account as a personal PR tool that will help to open doors for you professionally.
By Jane Wong, Australia. May 2011, updated March 2013.
1. I’ve got a LinkedIn
account, now what?
Making a basic account work for you
Jane Wong, Consultant Social Media Planner
2. A friend invited you to join, and you did
But then you weren’t sure what to do with it
Of the 4million Australians on LinkedIn this is common
So it’s time to get cracking
3. A basic LinkedIn account is free
LinkedIn has revolutionised how the world connects professionally
For some it’s a way to post their credentials without actively being
seen to be job hunting
4. LinkedIn has over 200million members globally
Use it to raise your professional profile locally and internationally
Generate career and business opportunities by being involved
Learn, share and broaden your horizons
5. Anonymous accounts are pointless
It’s like hiding at the back of the crowd, no one will see your potential
6. Treating it as an online job noticeboard won’t get you noticed
But participating regularly and making community contributions will
7. Your profile is the new ‘first impression’
It’s normal to be googled before meeting someone professionally for the first time
So your LinkedIn profile may be what they see first
8. Create a great persona
The best profiles are rich with relevant information
They’re like a candid conversation about yourself
They’re not just a list of prior employers
9. Have an avatar
Unless you work with Disney don’t make it a cartoon
A photo of you, head and shoulders only, keep the background simple
A personal brandmark will maintain continuity between social accounts
10. Consider yourself as a product
Make your strengths stand out
State your career goals
Use tools like Behance’s Creative Portfolio Display app
11. Use SEO to help you get discovered
If you were looking for someone like yourself, what search terms
would you include? Use them in your profile
Make you public profile available to everyone for search purposes
12. It’s not necessarily your resume
You can upload a formal resume separately for contacts to download
So think of what would make your profile stand out from the crowd
13. Build your network
Import your email contacts and look at LinkedIn’s suggestions of others you may know
Find the people you were educated with and who share alumnis
Look at company pages for former colleagues and suppliers
Connect with the people you meet at events
14. The people with the most friends don’t always win
True value will come from adding people to your network that you’ve met
or have an online relationship with
A reference from someone you respect is recommended but choose wisely,
less is actually more – gravitas rather than peer popularity
15. Wallflowers don’t get invited to dance
Being social is the key to being discovered
Active participation will draw others to you
16. Matchmaking can help you and your contacts
Introduce people within your network to others who may benefit from
the professional connection
17. Everyone has an opinion
Contribute by commenting on your network’s updates
Join groups where you can contribute to discussions
Participate in polls and share business knowledge
So answer questions
And ask questions
18. Consider yourself as a brand
LinkedIn is a personal PR tool – use it in a dignified way
Don’t over share personal details, think before posting
Act like Barack Obama not tabloid celebrities
19. Build your own village
You can create your own professional groups
Ask people to join and keep the conversation lively
Open your group so that it can appear in search results
20. A little bit of application goes a long way
You can stay top of mind within your network with regular updates
Add up to 6 LinkedIn profile apps to share what’s happening in your career
21. Rub shoulders
Invite others to join you at events that you’re attending via LinkedIn
When you meet new people, use LinkedIn as a secure point of contact
for them to follow up with you afterwards
22. Overlap your social platforms
Use Facebook Search to find existing LinkedIn profiles that may be useful
Link your professional blogs and websites
Link your professional - but not personal - Twitter account to your updates stream
Download a Twitter list of your LinkedIn network
23. You’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar
Lies, spamming and hijacking threads are not acceptable
Avoid banalities, expletives and controversial posts that may reflect negatively
on your career, clients or employer
Be polite, thank others for their positive reinforcement or contribution
24. You got mail
Regularly check your inbox for updates and invitations
It is acceptable to exchange inmail before accepting an invitation
You do not have to accept every invitation that you receive
25. Who’s looking at you?
On the home page follow the link to see who’s viewed your profile
Adjust your setting to allow others to see if you’ve visited their profiles
You may find a new career lead
26. It doesn’t hurt to look around
Check out the jobs advertised
You may find interesting leads for yourself and others, so share them
Introduce yourself to others who may share professional synergy
27. Lazy web
You can effectively seek out potential job candidates on LinkedIn
But avoid asking non connections to find you those people
28. A central line of contact
Save a few trees and make LinkedIn your digital business card
Add your email address and phone number to your profile for your contacts
With LinkedIn mobile apps you can instantly connect networks via bluetooth
plus store all connection details in your smartphone contacts
29. Get discovered beyond the LinkedIn website
For ease of discovery your Linkedin public profile URL can be made into a vanity URL
For example mine is www.linkedin.com/in/wongnumber
If you leave a comment at a news site or a professional blog, enter your LinkedIn
public profile URL in the ‘your website’ section
Add your URL to your professional Twitter profile
Share your profile URL to any of your other social networks
Make it part of your ‘about me’ if you have a blog relevant to your profession
Add it to an about.me splash page or similar
Add it to your email signature
30. Learn to be social
Schedule some regular time to visit LinkedIn and to participate
Read LinkedIn’s Today section which aggregates the most shared news updates
Check out who’s new, there may always be someone you know
Use desktop or web apps such as Hootsuite to concurrently view your network’s
updates from LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or many other social networks
31. Sitting on your hands achieves nothing
Enjoy LinkedIn for bringing you opportunity, friendship and knowledge
It is the new way to assist you with your career and business
You needn’t be aggressive to reap the rewards, just active