LINKED-IN – Who, What, Why, How?

What is Linked-In? Linked-In is a part of the vast social media available to us all, and is the preferred professional site. LinkedIn is about your personal BRANDING, as seen in a well-developed profile or it can be used as a business page; Where Facebook is about connecting and identity (connecting with family and friends and sharing ‘life’); and Twitter is about events (…and sharing ‘life’).

Who is on Linked-In? Over 288,000,000 members worldwide and that number grows DAILY!!  You can participate as an individual or as part of specific Groups.

Why should I use it? LinkedIn is the best way to connect with people and organizations who could potentially hire you. A recent survey indicated that over 75% of Linked-In users indicated it helped them learn about people & companies. This is useful before making contact with someone for an informational interview or in preparing for a job interview, since you want to know about the person interviewing you. It’s helpful for finding connection points on areas of common interest.  In a single word, it’s like your ROADMAP to efficient networking activity.

If I am not on Linked-IN, how do I become a member? Enter www.linkedin.com in your Internet browser and register as a new member. If you have already set up your basic “footprint” in LinkedIn, your TASK#1 is to make a simple decision… do you want to use LinkedIn…

• To PUSH your story out to the marketplace?… PUSH Strategies can help you harness the power of direct marketing. Or
• To PULL interested individuals and potential employers to you?… PULL Strategies will help you to optimize your SEO, using concentrated keywords to draw people to your Profile. Or
• For BOTH Push and Pull strategies to get the best of both worlds of personal marketing and branding activity. Draw people to your Profile with focused used of keywords, but keeping it narrative and interesting enough to make your story more ‘reader-friendly.’

TASK#1

Your FIRST task is to set-up your basic profile information… note that in our twelve step process, this comes after developing your (initial) Market-Ready resume and validating it by ‘coaching’ your References.

For your first pass at a Profile, go to the top navigation bar and select Profile/ edit profile… all editable elements will have a pen icon that lights up when you move your cursor over…

• Your Headline… THE Prime Real Estate that search engines look at first, and that follows you around everywhere you go in LinkedIn. Start by simply cutting and pasting from your resume’s contact information and Positioning Statement (including defining KEYWORDS)
• Your Qualification SUMMARY… the place search engines look second (are they in the right neighborhood?) Again, start by simply cutting and pasting from your resume text.
• Your Professional Experience… This is the ‘meat’ of your story and is easily centered on your KEYWORD strategies. Once again, start by simply cutting and pasting from your resume text.
• Your formal Education and Training… Again, start by simply cutting and pasting from your resume text.

AS A START, Yes, your LinkedIn Profile is a direct reflection of your resume!

DEVELOP YOUR DIGITAL BRAND by making the PUSH/PULL decision mentioned above and adding to your basic communication strategy appropriately.

Stay tuned to this blog for TASK#2