Social Business Success

Are you on LinkedIn or do you use LinkedIn?  I can’t tell you how often I hear people ask that question to others.  Or people will say “you really need to be on LinkedIn”.  If you aren’t “using LinkedIn”, in all probability you haven’t been informed what the program can do to enhance your career.  Once you understand why you should be using LinkedIn, you then need to be trained on how to use the program.

It amazes me how many people say “you need to be on LinkedIn” that they assume that you know how to use the program.  Take the time to explain what LinkedIn is and how it can be used.  The next step is finding a class to take so you can take advantage of the program.  When people say “You should be on LinkedIn” it is similar to people saying “You should be networking”.  What I mean by that is once a person says you should network or be on LinkedIn, they assume that you know what to do and understand how to get to the final result.

Photo is from an article found on Tekk Buz.z

When I talk with a person that is not on LinkedIn I determine how that person can benefit from being an active user of the program.  I take the time to fully explain what LinkedIn is and how the program can help that person attain their professional goal(s).

I’m amazed how many people today either don’t have an account on LinkedIn or have a profile and are just collecting contacts every now and then.  LinkedIn is a tool for virtual networking to take place and for you to inform your network what you are doing.  The precepts of in person networking also hold true for virtual networking.  That’s a simple explanation; however there is a lot of work to get to that point.

I had the same experience as many people have.  A friend of mine told me I should use LinkedIn.  My friend didn’t explain how to use LinkedIn or the benefits I would be able to reap from using the program.  My friend just told me that I should be on LinkedIn.  So for the first three years I was on LinkedIn, all I did was collect connections every now and then.  I didn’t know how to use it until I attended a class.

There is a lot that goes into developing the LinkedIn profile.  It is difficult to accomplish your objectives on LinkedIn with a poorly written profile.  The more I read about the program and all its different sections and how they should be written, the more an individual should take a class on how to use the program.

The point of writing the profile is to make yourself attractive to other people so they will view your profile.  Whether you’re marketing yourself as a business owner, business professional or a job seeker, one of your goals should be to get people to view your profile.  You want people to know who are and what you can offer them.  Take your time to write each section of the profile.  Believe it or not, your LinkedIn profile is one of the best ways to market yourself.

One question that most people are afraid to answer because they don’t know how to answer it properly is “What do you do?”  This is a very popular question that is asked at any kind of gathering such as a networking event or a family celebration.

Here in the United States, we seem to want to know what a person does for a living.  It’s important that we answer that question properly in order make a good impression.  The same is true with writing the headline in our LinkedIn profile.

When hiring managers are searching to fill a position or find a person to connect with to do business, people will search by key words.

To help you write your LinkedIn headline, one way to start is think of how you would answer the question what do you do?  Research the different job titles in your field.  Put yourself in the hiring manger’s shoes if you needed to find a person that does what you do.  What are all of the different positions called that do what you do?  Read job descriptions for positions to which you apply.  Might there be some words in that job description you would be able to use in your headline?

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