LinkedIn Tutorial for the Challenger Group

1. 16 Ways to Build a Powerful
LinkedIn Presence
Presenter: Theresa Smith, Principal
August 7, 2012
www.pathwaypr.com

2. Welcome
• My name is Theresa Smith
• I am a Public Relations, Social Media and
Marketing Consultant
• I help companies tell their story to drive sales
and influence
• One of the most powerful ways to tell your
story now is through the power of social
media

3. LinkedIn Background
• Today there are 175 million users worldwide on LinkedIn
• Of the top three social networks –FB, Twitter and LinkedIn—
only LinkedIn concentrates on connecting business
professionals
• LinkedIn members did nearly 4.2 billion professionally-
oriented searches on the platform in 2011 and will surpass 5.3
billion in 2012
• Its corporate hiring solutions are used by 82 of the Fortune
100 companies
• More than 2 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages.
• How about you? How many of you have a LinkedIn presence?

4. Not Using LinkedIn to Full Potential
• According to LinkedIn’s co-founder Reid Hoffman,
many of its users are not using it to its full potential.
In a recent Wired Magazine profile Hoffman said:
• “They think it’s a place they keep their CV online and
maybe have some connections with people they
know professionally. They don’t think of it as a place
to get business intelligence, to research problems,
to establish an online presence where other people
in the network can find them. It’s as if we’re a
screwdriver in a world where people don’t quite
understand screws.”

5. The Basics: Building Your Profile
• Sign up and complete your LinkedIn profile. Don’t skimp on
information. Fill it all out. LinkedIn will let you know if it is
incomplete.
• Don’t neglect your headshot. Although it may not seem a big
deal to you, if your ultimate goal is to use LinkedIn to network
a profile with a LinkedIn photo is "seven times more likely to
be viewed” according to Nicole Williams, LinkedIn's
Connection Director. Make sure it’s a flattering head shot and
only includes you.
• Add your website, blog, your Twitter name. By the way,
Twitter is a subject for another day.

6. Connecting
• Search for and add your business connections. To speed the
process select “Add Connections” and LinkedIn can send out
invitations to those you correspond with through email or you
can enter the email addresses of your contacts.
• Have a strategy for building connections. One school of
thought is to only connect with people that you actually know
while another school of thought is to connect with everyone
who asks to connect.
• Make sure to take the time to introduce yourself to anyone
you don’t know well. Tell them how you know each other and
why you want to connect.

7. Connections

8. Recommendations are Crucial
• Make sure to add some
recommendations from
others once your profile is
complete.
Recommendations set you
apart from others and make
you appear more credible.
• Make sure you get at least
three recommendations.
Many jobs advertised on
LinkedIn require applicants
to have at least three
recommendations in order
to be reviewed.

9. Skills
• List your skills and
expertise. This is great
for SEO. Look though
your resume and
perhaps the skills
required for your dream
job –that you of course
possess—and list them
here.

10. Power Tips
• Customize your LinkedIn
URL. Go to “Profile” page
and then select “Edit”
next to “Public Profile.”
Select the URL you want.
• Activate your blog from
LinkedIn.
• Don’t forget to showcase
your favorite
presentations.
• Display and comment on
your reading list.

11. Deleting a Contact
• Once you are logged into
your profile select
“Contacts” and on the far
right you have two
options: “Add
Connections” and
“Remove Connections”.
Click “Remove
Connections” and then
check the box of the
contact you want to drop,
click OK and it is done.

12. Undercover Work
• Hide your status updates from
prying eyes. You can fly under
the radar by clicking
“Settings” underneath your
name on the right side of the
screen. Next select “Turn
on/off your activity
broadcasts” and uncheck the
box and don’t forget to “save
changes.” When you’re ready
for everyone to see your
updates again make sure to
reverse the process.

13. Going into Stealth Mode
• Start sleuthing by making yourself
anonymous. Go into stealth mode
by switching your profile to
anonymous.
• Simply go to Settings>Privacy
Controls>Select what others can
see when you’ve viewed their
profile.
• Select one of three options: your
name and headline; an
anonymous profile with some
characteristics including industry
and title or being totally
anonymous. Just remember
when you are done “researching”
to revert back to your name and
profile.

14. Publicize, Publicize, Publicize
• Have something to share with
your connections like news about
your company or something you
would like to promote to your
connections?
• Add it to the update box along
with a link.
• This is then automatically shared
to all your connections. In the
event a connection comments on
your post or likes it, your post is
then shared among their
connections.

15. Get Social. Join Groups.
• Join groups on LinkedIn.
By joining groups you
can meet others in your
field and potentially
add them as contacts
as well. Also see if your
alumni group is there as
well. LinkedIn lets you
join up to 50 groups.

16. Contact: Theresa Smith
Email: tls@PathwayPR.com
www.PathwayPR.com
(818) 704-8481
Twitter: @PathwayPR and @CollegeChat
LinkedIn: TheresaSmithPathway