A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM FOR PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING

Melissa McGinnisMarketing Chameleon

mcginnis.m.melissa@gmail.comMarch 2014

TRADITIONAL NETWORKING

• Finding an event that fits your target market

• Risk meeting the same people

• Make 3-5 new connections

• Spend 3-4 hours at event

• Follow-up

• Maintain relationship

• Maintain top-of-mind awareness

BENEFITS OF LINKEDIN FOR NETWORKING

• Advanced Search Options for Connections

• Open for Exponential Networking

• Visual Resume to Build Credibility

• Maintain Contact and Awareness via News Feed

• Form Professional Relationships with Less Time Spent

• Increase Your Personal SEO

LINKEDIN FACTS

• Users Average 15 Years in Industry

• Average User Age is 41 Years Old

• 47% of Users are “Decision Makers”

• Average User Income is $109,000

PROFILE SETTING ADJUSTMENTS

• Must Adjust Settings before making multiple changes to your profile

• Don’t annoy your connections on their Activity Feed with your updates

• Adjust Broadcast Activity

• Activity Feed Visibility

• Anonymity Settings

• Decide on who can see your connections?

ADJUSTING BROADCAST ACTIVITY

Make everyone aware of

your updates

and comments because it

allows people to interact with you

even if they are not 1st

level connections

.

REASONS FOR ANONYMITY

• You may want to remain anonymous if you are “stalking” - or gathering information on a prospect

• You may NOT want to be anonymous if you are hoping to connect - show your sincerity with connecting by taking time to get to know them

DO YOU WANT OTHERS TO SEE YOUR CONNECTIONS?

• Do you have anything to lose by having your competitors connect with your clients or prospects by looking through your connections?

• Do your connections provide any competitive advantage for you?

• Networking Advantage? Find professionals reaching out to your target market and browse through their connections.

Add all Email

Addresses so people can find

you

YOUR PROFILE

• Serves as YOUR Professional Marketing Piece

• Keywords are Important! They make you searchable!

• What does your profile communicate about you?

• Online is just as important as in-person!

#1: A PROFESSIONAL PICTURE

• A visual representation of you as a professional

• Everyone will look at your picture first

• Your picture may be the deciding factor on whether someone will connect with you

• There is a greater chance that people will ONLY look at your picture and not your written content

• Your picture is the only way someone will recognize you at a networking event, if given the chance

If you have a photo, you have a

68%better chance of

someone engaging with you

Photographed by:Mike Shea

Photographywww.mikeshea-photo.com

WHAT NOT TO DO …

• Don’t post a picture where your face does not fill the frame - don’t look like a tiny speck

• Don’t post a picture with your family

• This is your site, people want to know who YOU are

• This is a Professional site, not Facebook

• Don’t include hobbies, unless it is your job

NAME AND HEADLINE

• Your Name

• Make it visible to everyone; may want to include alternate names or misspellings

• Your Headline

• Make it about your career, NOT your current job title

• Your job title is temporary. YOU are lasting.

• Don’t Limit Yourself: Make yourself available for ALL opportunities!

DEVELOPING YOUR HEADLINE• KEYWORDS!

• If you did not have your current job, how would you explain who you are as a professional?

• What are your professional goals?

• Write out your personal elevator speech. What keywords can you identify?

• If you want to include your job title, put it last.

• Don’t use industry jargon or job titles that no one will understand.

• Focus on who you are. and what you offer.

THE SUMMARY

• Use Searchable KEYWORDS!

• Brag about yourself

• Identify problem, solution, and outcome stories

• Give numbers if possible

• Build a general professional picture

• How do you want to position yourself?

JOB HISTORY SECTION

• KEYWORDS!

• Job title - Can be more than what title the company gave you - Identify what you accomplished

• Summary - what you accomplished, challenges overcome, what you offer, collaborators and competitors

• Additional Info - Use keywords - Think like your client - services, title, competitors, conferences (ex. accountant, bookkeeper, accounting, bookkeeping)

PROJECTS AND SPECIAL SECTIONS

• KEYWORDS!

• Include clients and collaborators

• Include websites, if possible

• Include Publications, interests, volunteer

PERSONALIZEYOUR PUBLIC PROFILE LINK

• KEYWORDS!

• Use Name, Company, or Area of Specialization

• Increases chance you will come up in a web search

• It’s a public URL - only one person can have it and it may be taken

ADD WEBSITES

• Go to “Edit Contact Info”

• Add websites under “other” so you can title your website with either a call to action or the name of your company

• Add blogs, articles, portfolio items, or other important pages

ADDING MEDIA

• Summary, Experience, or Education Sections

• Upload a file or link - “The Proof is in the Pudding!”

• Include on your profile or make an update:

• Slideshows

• Videos (Short 2 min. videos - www.two-head.com)

• Presentations

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Make a written recommendation for people you have worked with as

• Business Partners

• Colleagues

• Service Provider

• Students

• Make recommendations based off of only what you experienced

• Don’t request large blanket recommendations - make them individualized

ENDORSEMENTS

• List of skills that you can endorse others for

• add to their list of skills

• add your endorsement to their existing skills

MANAGE YOUR ENDORSEMENTS

• When others endorse you, you can adjust who sees them

• You may not want the endorsement because:

• It’s not a skill you have

• You would rather not be associated with the endorser

WAYS TO ADD CONNECTIONS

• Email

• People You May Know

• Who’s Viewed Your Profile

• Groups

• Connections-Connections

• Advanced Search

• Company Pages

• Introductions

PEOPLE YOU MAY KNOW

• Connect with 2nd level connections

• Similar people, professions, industries, and/or connections

• Benefit: Does not require that you state how you know them

ADVANCED SEARCH STRATEGY

• Titles

• Company

• Industry

• Groups

• Keywords

BOOLEAN SEARCH• + keeps words together

• OR when either will do

• AND when you are clarifying an audience or industry niche

• NOT to ignore and audience

GOOGLE SEARCH

Type in your Google browser:

site:linkedin.com/in”group””location”

site:linkedin.com”business professionals association” “Gainesville”

CONNECTING ON LINKEDIN

• Invitations

• click on “Connect” button on their profile

• You can be connected via “groups” or other category

• Invite them showing that you have a reason for connecting with them and show your interest in them

CONNECTING ON LINKEDIN

• Look at your Connections-Connections

• Find someone in a position who is a competitor or someone that you could benefit from

• Search their connections to find people you could connect with

• Use the Introduction tool if necessary

RECORD INFO ON CONNECTIONS

• Under “Network”

• Make new connections via email

• Organizes connections and conduct searches

• Keep up with birthdays and job changes

MAKE NOTES FOR YOUR CONTACTS

GROUPS

• “Groups” is the easiest ways to communicate and engage with people who are not 1st degree connections

• Types of Groups

• Open groups - content is visible to everyone

• Closed groups - company, industry, and alumni groups - the content and membership is protected in some way - can serve as a forum

• Request to Join

TIPS FOR GROUPS

• Go to the “more” tab to learn more about the group

• Your target market?

• Informational?

• In your area?

• Search Members to Connect With

WHO’S VIEWED MY PROFILE

• If someone has viewed your profile, reach out to them!

• Free account - see the last 5 people who have viewed your account

• You can gather information on who you are attracting

• Are you attracting the wrong people?

• Do you need to change some keywords on your profile?

CONCLUSION

• Get your Personal Profile READY!

• Build Your Connections

• Reach Out and Stay Connected

• Engage and Post