Love social media? If you haven’t already, consider using LinkedIn! It is considered the best platform for obtaining employment and other professional opportunities.
Currently LinkedIn (LI) has 259 million members, with 154 million visiting the site monthly. The average age is 37, and the average income is $61K. If you want to engage with other professionals, you need to join LI.
The first step is setting up your profile. Here are some tips:
1. Add a picture. Creating a LI profile and then not adding a picture tells the world you don’t know what you are doing on social media. This is worse than not having a profile at all! So go find a nice, conservative picture of yourself. Not a selfie, and not cut out of a couples picture (the extra hand on your shoulder is a dead giveaway)! If you can afford it, get a professional head shot.
2. Fill out the headline. You can put your credentials here..yawn. Or, you can make it attention grabbing and fun! What is it that you do in one sentence? What will grab people? For example, mine says “Helping people overcome obstacles to improve their relationships since 2008.”
3. Fill out the summary section. Who is your intended audience? What are the demographics, interests and patterns of the top 3 people you’d like to meet? Address THOSE people in your summary statement. Discuss your licensure, education, experience, etc. Talk about what your unique value is. And, lastly, engage! Give people a “call to action,” i.e. “visit my blog.”*
4. Start connecting. Remember your strategy in #3? Search for people that meet your criteria. But be careful- unless they have “LION” in their profile, they are not an open networker and you’ll need to ask for an introduction prior to connecting with them. So start with the people you know, and grow from there.
5. A word about LION. LION stands for “Linked In Open Networker.” Basically, it means that this person will connect with anyone. This is an alternate strategy for using LI, for those who believe it is better to have many connections, even if you don’t know them, than fewer connections. One benefit to LION is that due to your increased reach, you are more likely to turn up in searches. However, one detriment to LION is that because you have so many connections, you are unlikely to remain engaged with them, as looking at your newsfeed is overwhelming. It’s a personal decision as to which strategy you choose.
6. Engage! Join some groups, and start participating in the discussions. In addition, start looking at your newsfeed and comment or “like” other connections’ posts. Also, post things of your own! Remember your target audience and post items that would be of interest to them. Just keep in mind that the spirit of social networking is giving information and engagement, not selling things or asking for jobs.
7. A word about groups. Don’t overwhelm yourself; only join as many groups as you can participate in. You may want to visit a few to see the nature of their posts, some groups do a better job than others in filtering spam. Which brings me to my next point. Be sure to read the rules of the group and follow them. Often groups will have appropriate tabs for promotions or jobs, so be sure use those if you are wanting to promote your services or ask for a job. Do not blast blog posts on every group you have joined, do not go off topic, and always be kind and polite.
8. Be sure to fill in the rest of your profile, including publications or projects. Post videos! Post blog entries! Show others who you are and what you can do, and you will attract the right opportunities.
Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,
Dr. Barb LoFrisco
*Lauren Davenport, April 25 2014, personal communication
