LinkedIn for Business – Making it Work For You

I was talking the other day to one of our new subscribers and she was not yet on LinkedIn.  It reminded me that not everyone is using it to its fullest potential.

• Make Your Headline Stand Out
  • Your headline is a big part of what people see when you come up on search results. Don’t just use a job title or credentials. Include your value proposition.
  • Use key words – what you put in your headline helps LinkedIn determine when to show your profile in search results
• Use the Summary to Your Advantage
  • Don’t waste this space to recap your resume.  Use it to connect with your target audience.  Talk directly to your audience, as if you were having a conversation with them.  Address the issues on which they are most concerned, answer questions you know they have, talk about what makes you unique.
• Set-Up Your Skills
  • While some think endorsements have little meaning, others count on them as a peak into how people view your strong points.  For this reason, you want to take control of them. Otherwise, you’ll end up with endorsements for things like using Microsoft Word.
  • Login to your profile to set-up your skills and select skills that are relevant. Include a wide range of skills so that people can endorse you even if they are not a client or colleague. Everyone won’t have personal experience with your professional skills, but they may know about your leadership, planning or speaking skills.
• Join relevant groups
  • LinkedIn has hundreds of groups.  Do a search to find ones that are relevant to your interests and to your reason for being on LinkedIn.
  • Participate in the groups by getting the emails (you can have them sent weekly) and then responding when a topic of interest is being discussed.  You’ll start to meet colleagues who can become rich resources of information for you and your business.

While you may not fill your private practice with clients from LinkedIn, LinkedIn does have a place in marketing your practice and building your business.  When you take advantage of the features and benefits, LinkedIn can bring you new ideas, new experiences, new colleagues and friends…and, new clients as well.