What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a social network of more than 20 million professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.
When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments, pretty much like an online resume, but with important social networking elements baked into it.
Here are some personal branding and marketing tips to get the most out of your LinkedIn profile:
Add a picture
You can add your picture and display it at the top of your profile. A picture helps create a personal connection and conveys the message that you take networking seriously.
You can use the same picture you use in other social networking sites, so that those who frequent them may identify you more easily (brand recognition).
Create a personalized URL
When you join LinkedIn, your profile will be assigned a random URL such as:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/2/496/aa7
Not very marketable.
You have the option, however, to create a personalized URL such as:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname/
If you want an even better URL, you can always register yourname.com for less than $10/year and forward it to your LinkedIn profile page for the ultimate in URL branding.
Promote your profile with LinkedIn buttons
Like other social networking sites, LinkedIn offers a wide array of icons and buttons that you can use to promote your LinkedIn profile on your site or blog.
You can chose among many different styles, and link them to your profile.
Create a LinkedIn email signature file
A LinkedIn email signature file displays your contact information including a link to your LinkedIn profile, in a variety of layout styles. The only caveat is that LinkedIn signatures are designed using HTML, and therefore will work with Outlook but not with Gmail or Hotmail.
If you don’t like any of the default styles, you can always use an HTML editor and create your own signature file, or create one directly in Outlook (you can use one of the LinkedIn buttons discussed before to make the link to your profile stand out).
If you use Gmail or other email provider that doesn’t accept HTML, you can always create a text-based signature file, and include a link to your LinkedIn profile by writing your URL preceded by http://.
Always include a Summary
LinkedIn lets you write a few paragraphs about yourself as part of your profile. You must take advantage of this since the Summary almost always gets read. This is your chance to include your elevator pitch or any other carefully crafted statement where you put your best foot forward.
Make your summary objective, but not boring. Avoid sounding self serving and corporate: if the summary of your qualifications sounds like it came out of an automatic mission statement generator delete everything and start again.
I suggest that you read the profile summaries of several members first, to help you decide how you would like your profile to read.
Participate in Questions & Answers
LinkedIn has a Q&A section where you can pose questions and answer other people’s inquiries. By actively using this feature you can share your expertise with other members and enhance your reputation in your field.
When answering questions, pretend you’re commenting on a blog or an online forum. The idea is to help others and add something meaningful to the conversation, not to openly advertise your products and services. If you are too aggressive you will turn people off. If you honestly try to help, people will naturally come to you.
Fill up the Specialties section carefully
Some LinkedIn users search for people by keyword. For example, if somebody does a LinkedIn search for “Online PR” and the term Online PR is listed among your specialties, your profile has a better chance to pop up for that query. Make sure to include all your areas of expertise in the Specialties field.
What other tips do you use to promote yourself in LinkedIn?
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16 responses so far ↓
1 Adam // May 9, 2008 at 3:12 pm
the first thing i figured out in the business world for success was to NOT do exactly as my peers were doing
the best you can hope for is medicrity.
i agree, be in linked in, but i also think it makes you stand out even MORE to develop a blog and personal page showcasing your extraordinary skills and personality
perhaps give us a few examples of why you think it is more powerful to spend our limited time promoting our niche network presence versus building our own personal space on the web…
i just dont see the value in promoting my presence in walled gardens to the extreme as adding them to email signatures
“If you want an even better URL, you can always register yourname.com for less than $10/year and forward it to your LinkedIn profile page for the ultimate in URL branding.”
Why not create a blog instead? or your own theme? standing out is WAY more powerful.
i think this is a good advice for people who want to be a part of the herd (which there are plenty) but ultimately creating your own space and niche is even better.
sure, be in those places too, and build a network. ultimately, however your own page should be first priority
2 Mario Sanchez // May 9, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Hi Adam:
I knew I was going to get heat for the paragraph suggesting to forward your domain to your LinkedIn profile.
As any frequent reader of this blog may be aware, I frequently advocate building our own web presence with a personal page and a blog (I’ve written about that here and here and in other posts).
This tip was more directed to those who don’t have web experience, and it represents the bare minimum of what people need to do to promote themselves online.
That said, I don’t think being in LinkedIn can substitute for building your own online presence, but rather that it is just one more tool in your branding arsenal.
3 Adam // May 9, 2008 at 5:13 pm
agreed, that IS a good idea for someone who may not be intrepid enough for their own domain
sorry for being harsh
4 Dan Schawbel // May 9, 2008 at 8:55 pm
This is excellent advice. I would also add the fact that people need to use it more and that LinkedIn needs to figure out how to build more community.
Keeping in touch with people is important for brand recognition and memorability.
5 Luke Harvey-Palmer // May 10, 2008 at 12:51 am
Always great to see tips to get the best out of these social networking tools. Being consistently persistent is very important - lately I have searched for over 25 people, and found them on LinkedIn…but with only 1 connection (and they registered 2 ears ago!). LinkedIn (like all SN sites) is a great tool..if you use it!
6 Barbara Safani // May 10, 2008 at 8:26 am
Great tips and I especially like your comments regarding the elevator pitch. Being authentic and “connectable” is key.
7 Adam Singer // May 13, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Mario - I subscribed a co-worker’s iGoogle page to SSB today…def think she will benefit from the content here.
8 The Rise of Personal Branding | The Future Buzz // Jul 18, 2008 at 7:49 am
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11 Dean Holmes // Jan 7, 2009 at 1:32 am
For all the people with Outlook, here is a real simple solution to get the LinkedIn Badge on your email signature:
1. After you login to LinkedIn, look to your left bar and click “Edit My Profile” link
2. Just under the 2nd Blue box, look for “Promote your profile with customized buttons” and click “customized buttons”
3. Drag and Drop any of the Button Images (Badges) you like to your desktop - this should save a copy and easy to find
4. In Outlook (I am using Outlook 2007) go to “tools” and then “options” from the menu bar
5. From the dialogue box, select the tab “Mail Format”
6. Toward the bottom, select the button “Signatures”
7. Select your Signature (or create a new one)
8. Place your mouse wherever you want the LinkedIn button (Badge) to appear in the edit window below
9. Look for the icon just above the window you are in for “picture” and click on that
10. Go to your desktop where you saved the LinkedIn button (Badge) and select that
11. You should see the LinkedIn button (Badge) in your signature window now
12. Select the LinkedIn button (Badge) and click the icon just to the right of the “Picture” icon called “insert hyperlink”
13. In this window look on the left and select the “Existing File or Webpage” icon
14. Go back to your page you copied the LinkedIn button from, your LinkedIn Profile, and select on the left the “View My Profile”
15. In the URL Address Bar of your browser, highlight and copy this url
16. Go back to Outlook and past this url in the window and white box labeled as: “Address”
17. Save the Signature and hit ok until you are back in the main Outlook window
18. Test your email signature before using by sending yourself an email and click the LinkedIn button (Badge) AFTER the email arrives to see if your profile is accurate
NOTE: If you test only with an email that you start as “New Message” in Outlook, you will need to hold the control key down and select the LinkedIn button (Badge)
Good Luck.
Best,
Dean Holmes
CSO at Selling At The TOP
12 Ali raza // Jan 15, 2009 at 6:28 am
best helpful me to promote my profile on my blog
13 Dave // Jan 25, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Some of you who are posting here would be a lot more believable if you were professional enough to use proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Not using it only makes you look stupid and less credible.
14 Be on LinkedIn Reason #1 - Your Silent Salesman « NetWorks! Boise // Feb 22, 2009 at 11:02 am
[…] It can be as simple as “Please visit my profile at www.imthegreatest.linkedin.com” (smile). Or, if you use Outlook, you can even have one of those cute little LinkedIn icons appear in your signature line instead of the entire site address. It might work with other emails but if you have gmail, I can tell you that it does not. For instructions on creating this icon and other ideas, please click on this link for “Personal Branding Tips For LinkedIn“. […]
15 Xurxo Vidal // Mar 24, 2009 at 9:12 am
Sound advice for all those using (or not using) LinkedIn. These tips will definitely go a long way to helping you grow your business and network.
LinkedIn should not be treated passively or as a simple contact manager - it’s a powerful networking tool that can drive business directly to you.
The one activity on LinkedIn that has given me the best results is participating in the Q & A section where you can showcase your expertise in front of a very large audience. This has brought my profile to the attention of potential clients who decided to reach out and are now working with my company.
So while this post is almost a year old, the tips and strategies are still very valid today.
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[…] - Personal Branding Tips for LinkedIn via Shoestringbranding […]
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