LinkedIn tips handout for SALIS 2009 presentation

1. Tips for maximizing your use of LinkedIn
Profile optimization
 It looks a lot like a resume – but LinkedIn users tend to use a more narrative
(vs. bulleted) format
o Be concise
o Remember no typos or grammatical errors
 Unlike a resume you can include additional information such as:
o Volunteer work
o Committee/Association work
o Articles or books you’ve written
o Speaking engagements
 Your job title may not necessarily be what you want to put in your headline.
You want something descriptive of who you are, and hopefully something
that will grab interest.
 Many folks only include current job! Very limiting – put all your history in
so you can be found by past co-workers, etc.
 Include a summary to add substance, and as a way to establish the tone of a
relationship.
o This is your chance to pitch yourself.
o Talk about yourself in the first person.
o How do you want to be perceived?
o What kinds of professional relationships do you want?
o What can you bring to those relationships?
o Pick 4 or 5 of your most important accomplishments – but make sure
those accomplishments are tailored to your current goals.
o Follow the format: who are you, what are your accomplishments,
what are your goals.
Julie Murphy “LinkedIn: Growing your network, building your brand”
5/7/2009 SALIS Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia 1

2.  Customize the three web links LinkedIn gives you.
o Use the title of your company and/or blog
o Include SALIS as one of your links!
 You want to be found – so that means optimizing the terms in your profile
for search engine crawlers. Google and Yahoo both index public profiles.
o Spell out and use abbreviations (PRC / Prevention Research Center) –
not just for jobs, job titles, but also professional jargon, software
applications, groups, school names, etc.
o Google Keyword Tool can help you find the right words for your
profile: http://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.
Other tools include wordtracker.com and goodkeywords.com
 Keyword analysis is available at live-keyword-analysis.com
o You have 500 characters to optimize the Specialties section
o Create a vanity URL
o Make as much of your profile public as possible
 Don’t make people have to join LinkedIn to find you!
 The default setting is a public profile sans photo
o What kinds of professional relationships do you want, and what can
you bring to them?
 Contact info: it’s OK to use your work email, but you may want to include
personal email as well in case something happens to your work account.
Email addresses are not visible to the public, only your connections.
 Use “status update” to tell your contacts what you are working on. Note 100
character limit.
 Use LinkedIn applications such as Slideshare to showcase your work, or
Amazon’s “Reading List”.
Julie Murphy “LinkedIn: Growing your network, building your brand”
5/7/2009 SALIS Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia 2

3. Recommendations
 Write recommendations – this gets your name on other people’s profiles and
is part of building your brand
o See: http://www.aside.in/blog/networking/2006/10/02/linkedin-
recommendation-examples/ for examples.
 Receive recommendations
o You can display or hide, but you can’t change content
o OK to ask for specific content to help build your brand. Like asking
your boss to include specific items in a recommendation letter.
o Good time to ask if when you’ve completed a project for someone –
your work will be fresh in their minds
o Try to have recommendations spread out – for other jobs not just the
current one
o Some guides say you should have no more than 3 recommendations
total on profile, others say have up to 9-12 throughout profile
o Obviously choose to show the ones that show the most weight
Connections:
 You can view:
o Your first degree connections
o Your second degree connections (those people connected to your first
degree connections)
 You cannot view:
o Your third degree connections – but if they come up in a search, you
can link to them.
o Fourth degree and folks who are not in your network at all (need to
know their email or pay for InMail credits)
 Remember strength is in your 2nd degree and “weak” connections – beyond
those you know really well
Julie Murphy “LinkedIn: Growing your network, building your brand”
5/7/2009 SALIS Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia 3

4.  Finding people:
o Browse your first degree connections – is there anyone you know and
want to invite?
o Check out the “people you may know” sidebar on the right hand side
o Check out the “profiles recently browsed” sidebar
o Do a “Search Companies” search and see how many people you know
that you already work with are using LinkedIn
o Use the Outlook toolbar to find out who among your existing contacts
is already in LinkedIn, and invite them. Can also upload contacts to
see who is already a member.
o If you have a Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, or AOL account you can
upload those webmail addresses as well.
o Search for current and past colleagues by name (Search People),
company (Search Company) or Groups/Schools/Associations (Search
Groups or use Advanced People Search)
 Use LinkedIn with Google Alerts – www.google.com/alerts -
o Great way to “follow” someone and find out what they are doing.
Shows that you cared to go the extra mile to learn more about them.
o Particularly useful in job search process.
Your LinkedIn Networking Philosophy
 Open or closed networker?
o Most people fall somewhere within the continuum
o You may choose for more quality connections vs. quantity
 Focusing on people you know pretty well
 People in your industry
 Local people
o But keep the importance of having diversity in mind
 You may want a broad network that can assist with your
professional goals over time
 To think about before connecting:
o Your overall LinkedIn goals and strategy
Julie Murphy “LinkedIn: Growing your network, building your brand”
5/7/2009 SALIS Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia 4

5. o What level and type of interaction needs to have happened for you to
feel comfortable connecting with that individual
o How long you’ve known that person
o Are you looking for “high value”, “quality”, or “diverse/general”
connections at the moment?
How to Build Your Brand
 Participate in Questions and Answers
o Questions are limited to 10 per month
 Before you ask a question, search Questions to make sure that it
has not been answered already
 Go to Answers and Browse to get a sense of what it looks like
 Write as specific a question as you can
o Open for 7 days for responses then archived and searchable
o Can share questions within others in network, or via Web 2.0 apps
like delicious and Digg, or link the question to your personal blog
o Pick “good” and “best” answers – enhances the answerers brand.
Raises your profile within the network.
o Answer as many questions as you like!
o Gain “expert points” the more times your answer gets chosen as
“best”. (Note, this feature is not available for discussion posts.)
o Meet more potential connections this way.
 Participate in Groups
o This may be a great strategy if you join the right groups and start to
get to know people. Your topic is likely to jive with the group
mission and you’ll be a bigger fish (in a smaller pond) rather than
being out in the general network of Questions and Answers
o Note that content on Group discussions is not searchable or archived
o Great way to interact with other SALIS members or recruit new
members (option to make group open or closed)
o Even if a group member is not in your network you can contact them.
 Great way to add to your connections!
Julie Murphy “LinkedIn: Growing your network, building your brand”
5/7/2009 SALIS Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia 5

6. Julie Murphy “LinkedIn: Growing your network, building your brand”
5/7/2009 SALIS Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia 6

7. Toolbars, Widgets, and other Applications
 LinkedIn Browser Toolbar
o Available for Firefox or Explorer
o Search bar allows one to search LinkedIn for the toolbar
o Bookmarks allows you to bookmark specific profiles
o Jobsinsider opens up a new pane in browser that shows you how you
are connected to the people in the organization that you are interested
in.
 LinkedIn Outlook Toolbar
o Icon next to each address allows you to add or invite that person to be
a connection from within Outlook
o Icon also lets you know if that person is in your network already or is
a member of LinkedIn
o Search bar allows you to search LinkedIn from within Outlook
 Slideshare
o Showcase your work!
 LinkedIn Polls
o Great for quick questions among your contacts
 Connect your Blog
o Via BlogLink or WordPress LinkedIn app
 Reading List by Amazon
o A way to “humanize” your profile
 My Travel
o Useful if you travel frequently – updates your contacts when you are
in their area so you can get together
Julie Murphy “LinkedIn: Growing your network, building your brand”
5/7/2009 SALIS Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia 7

8. Using LinkedIn for Job Searches
 Download the Internet Explorer or Firefox LinkedIn Toolbar and gain access
to the Jobsinsider feature
o This tool will tell you if any of your connections are related to the
institution/job in question
o If you have a 2nd or 3rd degree contact that is connected with the job,
ask one of your 1st degree contacts for an introduction to that person
 Remember to use Google Alerts (above) to get company and individual
information
 Search for recruiters in your field and connect with as many as possible.
 Make sure that your profile highlights measurable accomplishments
 Look at other profiles in your field for examples of how people brand
themselves
 Keep answering questions in Questions/Answers!
Maintenance
You’ve spent hours getting your profile and connections together – don’t risk
losing them! Backup your information as you acquire more connections and
update your profile.
 Your Profile:
o You can download a pdf of your profile by clicking on the pdf icon to
the right of your profile when you are in the profile section. This is
also a great way to print out an instant resume!
 Your Connections:
o At the very bottom of the Connections page, see the icon “Export
Connections”. You can export to an Outlook or Yahoo mail
compatible .csv file (as well as other options).
Keeping up to date
Now that you’ve created your presence, don’t abandon it! With a little time each
day or week, remind people of your presence by:
Julie Murphy “LinkedIn: Growing your network, building your brand”
5/7/2009 SALIS Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia 8

9. Using the status function to update your connections on your projects
 Using apps with changing content (Amazon’s reading list, travel, etc.)
 Scan through your Network and Group updates to see what the discussions
are and what’s going on with your connections
 Spend a small amount of time each day/week participating in group
discussions, asking and answering questions, or simply “pinging” a
connection to let them know you are thinking of them.
Julie Murphy “LinkedIn: Growing your network, building your brand”
5/7/2009 SALIS Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia 9