Reaching New Networking Heights, one step at a time
Often as business owners, there is not enough time or patience when it comes to online networking, where you are just too busy being busy. Networking sites allow users to create a public profile, interact and engage with other professionals. Join groups, post blogs, and share information. A way to create business opportunities and get new clients from what is simply a phenomenal sales and networking tool.
LinkedIn is one of those networking sites where you can access thousands of free articles, blogs and posts. If you put aside 1 hour a week for the next 4 weeks you would be able to completely revamp your LinkedIn presence and start to see an increase in visits to your profile, an increase in the number of people attracted to your profile and a significant increase in the number of times you show up in search results. In 2015, a staggering 6.7 billion searches took place in LinkedIn’s search bar, you can just imagine what that number looks like now. If you are not being found on LinkedIn, then you can be assured that your competitors are.
Make sure it’s your profile they are looking at on LinkedIn and not your competitors!
Step 1: Get your name right
Make sure that the name you use on LinkedIn is actually the name people know you for in business, and matches the name they would search for you on LinkedIn. That way there can be no confusion especially if you don’t have a unique name.
Step 2: Profile Complete
The initial goal of any LinkedIn Personal profile is 100% completion, any number less than 100% affects your credibility and this also impacts upon your power to attract new connections. Make sure that each and every section of your profile is complete from your education to your work history, your skills, summary and headline.
Step 3: Headline
Your LinkedIn Professional Headline when written well can drive massive opportunities your way, whether that be job offers or new clients. The professional headline of your profile is the one short description, as with all web-based content, your LinkedIn Professional Headline is keyword searchable. Pick one main keyword or phrase that you want to be found for. Choose your keywords wisely and you could rocket up the search rankings instantly and appear on the first page of LinkedIn searches.
Step 4: The right look
Imagine, you checking out a business connection you are asked to introduce to one of your best clients. The first thing you see, is a photo of a scruffy looking man, in a string vest in his garden! This was a person looking to be connected with your number one multinational corporate client, and yet he chose that photograph to appear on his business profile. You only get one chance to make an impression on LinkedIn.
Step 5: Experience is key
The section covering your previous positions and jobs is important because it allows LinkedIn to suggest potential connections for you based on where you have worked before. Make sure you complete this but don’t write a novel under each heading, just a few lines.
Step 6: Add what is important (saving the best part for last)
LinkedIn allows you to add Skills to your profile which you can then be endorsed for, the trick with skills is to keep it to the skills that you actually want to be endorsed for, if you want to be credible and get known for being great in a particular area then restrict your skills list to 25 or 30 core skills that you would be happy for someone to endorse you for. Add videos, links and documents to your LinkedIn Profile. This will really bring your profile to life and give people the opportunity to explore your professional profile in more detail. If you have written and published books, articles etc, add these to your profile. In addition to exposure, publishing papers or articles raises your credibility so you will be positioning yourself as an expert in your field.
Should you connect with people you don’t know? YES, accept every connection request. If you really want to generate new business from LinkedIn you do need to be connected to a high number of people on LinkedIn, even if you don’t know the person directly, their LinkedIn network could lead you to a massive contract or could offer up a dream 2nd or 3rd connection that you would never have been able to see before. Personally, I have one exception, I draw the line at anyone with the job title BDO or similar, as I know two minutes later I will be asked for a sales meeting, this could come in handy though if you are busy considering changing software systems within your business.
We hope you enjoyed this post, let us know your thoughts in the comments; or please feel free to reach out for any further advice.
