Let's talk LinkedIn.
As far as social media goes, LinkedIn is the red-headed step child. Instagram is all glitz. Facebook is bread and butter (and your grandma), and Twitter is rapid fire fun. LinkedIn is business-oriented. It's not flashy (they're working on that: goo.gl/F4AyzL). For most people, their LinkedIn presence is on the back-burner.
My background in I.T. recruiting made me an early LinkedIn adopter. In my experience, your LinkedIn presence can be a key tool for your professional brand or business. I thought I'd share some easy tips and tricks you can do to make LinkedIn a valuable online tool.
LinkedIn groups give you access to endless connections. Join similar online communities in your industry or area. For example, I'm a member of Levo League, Charlotte Business Women and American Marketing Assoc. CLT Chapter. You can find the "Group" link by hovering over the "Interests" tab at the top of your home.
Engage: Joining Groups can help avoid an overloaded newsfeed by opting out of the "Daily Digests." It basically protects you from seeing every other members' activity for that day.
Share Content. Yup, LinkedIn has a newsfeed. If you didn't know, you've probably got some pending connections waiting for you. A balance of both original content and third party content is best. Share your recent blog posts or pictures of networking events. Fill in the time between with meaningful industry-related articles and news.
Get Introduced: LinkedIn has this great feature that lets you use the people you already know to make new connections. Once you find a professional you want to network with hover over the blue "Connect" button and click get introduced. Your mutual connections will pop-up and you can decide who you want to introduce yourself too.
LinkedInfluencers: Every industry and city has professionals who rise to the top. Find and connect with business men and women making an impact and gather a following on LinkedIn. The "Advanced" search option gives you many options to make searching for LinkedInfluencers pretty darn easy.
Get the Look: Stop right now and think about what your profile says about you. Your current job and your overall attractiveness to potential employers or clients. When I'm browsing profiles the first thing I read is an individuals summary. Treat it like a cover letter. Some people may never scroll down to your experience.
LinkedIn isn't a boring platform if you know how to work it. Make it work for you. To help, I've shown you I'm committed and would love to connect with you on LinkedIn:
