BUILDING YOUR LINKED IN PROFILE

Utilize the power of Social Media to promote your business

Presenter: Narmin Dhanani Marketing Manager

AGENDAHopefully, the following will help you with an epic LinkedIn profile:

Changes to Your Profile

Utilizing Endorsements

How to Write a Post

Participating in Groups

CHANGES TO YOUR PROFILE

Your professional brand is the key to all new opportunities

YOUR PROFILE What does your profile do for you?

• Drives referrals• Gives you credibility• Attracts new business contacts

25 MILLION LinkedIn profiles are viewed every day. 3 in 4 agree LinkedIn allows them to build credibility. Nearly 2 in 3 agree LinkedIn allows them to connect and generate leads with potential new customers.

YOUR PROFILE 1. Update Your Profile &Background Photo

• Make it professional• Make sure it is not blurry• It’s a headshot - not a group photo• Smile - no one wants to connect with

a bad attitude• Use the LinkedIn mobile app and you

can snap a fresh picture to upload

Members with a profile photo receive 14X more profile views

Give your profile a bit more personality by adding a background photo. Make sure it is professional.

YOUR PROFILE 2. How Does Your Headline Read?

• Fills in automatically with your current title & company

• It is okay to keep it that way• Or change it to reflect something a

bit more interesting with KeyWords

Make sure your headline includes terms you want to be found for

YOUR PROFILE 3. Use your summary to talk about you!

• Use keywords you want to be found for or known for

• Tell us about your expertise, applications and mention any high-profile projects you have accomplished

LinkedIn profiles with summaries get 10x more profile views

YOUR PROFILE 4. Keep Your Experience Updated

• Make sure you fill in all of the necessary fields for your experience• company title, dates, & list your

expertise/skills• Even if your experience is not relevant

to what you do now - it is important to make your self more credible

• Highlight any accomplishments from each job

Did you know? You can upload case studies, photos, videos or presentations for each section on your profile! This give your profile a major visual advantage.

YOUR PROFILE

5. Customize Your URL

• Add your first and last name to the end of the URL to make it professional and easy to share

UTILIZING ENDORSEMENTS

Let your connections validate the strengths found on your profile

YOUR ENDORSEMENTS Receiving Endorsements• Scroll down to the Skills &

Endorsements section on your own profile to see endorsements you've received.

• You can add any skill to this section to make sure you are being endorsed for the right skills

• Accumulating a high number of endorsements for a skill adds credibility to your profile, and shows that your professional network recognizes you have that skill.

Skill endorsements are a great way to recognize your 1st-degree connections with one click. They are simple and effective way of building your professional brand and engaging your network.

YOUR ENDORSEMENTS Giving Endorsements• Endorsing others is a great way to

recognize your colleagues for the skills you’ve seen them demonstrate.

• It helps contribute to the strength of their profile, and increases the likelihood they’ll be discovered for opportunities related to the skills their connections know they possess.

• You may find that after endorsing a colleague from the past, it’s easier to reach out to them because you’ve recently been in touch.

Endorsing your colleagues also helps keep strong connections with the people in your network.

HOW TO WRITE A POST

87% of users trust LinkedIn as a source of info that affects decision making.

YOUR POST The Message

• Make sure your message is business related and offering your expertise on a given subject

• 3-4 sentences is the right amount of content to offer + a link.

• People should know why YOU shared the link and what they can expect to get out of it

YOUR POST Links for Engagement

• Images show up when you share links…make sure it is visually appealing and will grab the attention of the reader

• Links are automatically shortened…don’t ever put a long link anywhere (got to bitly.com)

• If you don’t know where to take them…at the very least link them to your microsite/landing page

Including a link with your post drives 200% more engagement.

YOUR POST Images are a MUST

• Grab the attention of your reader with a great picture

• Make sure the image is relevant to your content

Posting images results in a 98% higher comment rate.

Try Different Topics:

YOUR POST

Industry News Fun Facts

Trends Business Updates

YOUR POST Engage with Users

• Comment/like posts to show your interest in others and their content

• Make sure you respond to those that comment on your posts…in a timely manner

• Use the @ symbol if you want to tag someone in your post

Create a post and share it with the public, just your connectionsor add twitter.

PARTICIPATING IN GROUPS

Connect with other like-minded individuals that share the same interests and passions

JOIN GROUPS Join Groups that Interest You

• Go to the search box on the top of the page and type in an industry name or topic and then select Groups from the drop down menu

• Sort through the filters on the left side of the green to see “Open groups.” Closed groups require admin approval before you are admitted in.

• Click Join to enter the group and become a member

JOIN GROUPS Engage with Group Members

• Discussions are the lifeblood of LinkedIn groups, used as a way to relay resources and information between members

• The more discussions you start and participate in, the more likely you’ll be seen as an authority and the more credibility you’ll have when you reach out.

However, be careful not to share links to your site or start discussions just for the sake of starting a discussion. Many LinkedIn Groups are tightly

moderated, and any discussions or comments deemed to be irrelevant or intended solely to sell something will

be removed (and you could lose your membership privileges).

JOIN GROUPS Connect & Follow Up

The true power of LinkedIn is making valuable connections and building relationships, and that’s what you need to do to maximize the value of LinkedIn Groups. There are several key ways to meet new people in your industry (or in your target market) by engaging in the steps above:

• If someone engages with you in a discussion (either as a participant or as the original poster), feel free to connect with them with your personal profile, and explain you’d like to talk more about the subject.

• If someone responds to or “likes” your Promotion, again feel free to reach out as a connection.

• You can also find members of the group by searching in the “Members” tab of the Group. However, be aware that not all LinkedIn members welcome connection requests from people they haven’t already interacted with. It’s better if you have some tangible interaction first.

CONCLUDING TIP Start your day by visiting your LinkedIn.com

homepage and liking, commenting, and sharing updates that you think your network would find interesting. It only takes a minute, and your connections will soon see you as a

trusted source of great information!