Making the Most of LinkedIn

LinkedIn continues to grow and improve as a powerful professional networking tool.

A year ago, I joined LinkedIn to research networking communities for a project that I was working on with a client. At the time, MySpace.com seemed too juvenile and risque so I build a quick profile and began to explore the tool.

As a new member I found a few friends here and there that were connected and then within the next six months I began to receive more LinkedIn requests and I've slowly built my network to over 60 connections within a variety of industries. I was pleased to connect with fraternity brothers and college friends and even one of my good friends that interned with me at the White House during the Clinton administration.

LinkedIn is a powerful tool that if used correctly can expand your networking skills and also build a great online resume for the world to see. Here are a few tips that can help your LinkedIn profile get noticed and also promote your Google Rankings and website traffic as a result through Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

• Create a complete profile that lists all of the companies and positions you have held. LinkedIn aggregates your current and former companies to give you updates when your former colleagues or classmates have joined LinkedIn.


• Spell the names of the companies and schools correctly! It's a great thing to have your profile available for the world to see, but horrible when you have blatant errors. In my haste to create a profile I misspelled "White House" as "White Houe". This prevented LinkedIn from notifying me of fellow White House alums because of my error (not to mention embarrassed me a bit). Luckily, editing your profile is a cinch.


• When you build your profile use the "My Websites" section very wisely. This allows you to promote the organizations you identify in your profile. If you select "other" in the custom fields, you can create a custom title to promote your blog or website as well.


• Customize your LinkedIn URL, you have the ability to create a custom URL with your name to promote in your auto signature on Outlook or email. For example, www.linkedin.com/in/edwardcates. Add it to your auto signature and you provide the folks you email a non-intrusive way to learn about you and your credentials.


• Recommend others and ask them to recommend you in return. It builds credibility and allows for others to endorse your stellar talents.

Think of LinkedIn as a 24/7 agent operating on your behalf with an electronic resume. Be sure to set your profile settings to "Full View" and this will allow you to get first page Google Rankings and instant SEO!

There are a variety of privacy options for those that would like to use the tool under more discreet conditions. Be sure to go to your privacy settings to adjust these.

You are also able to view statistics of your network as it grows that includes Your Connections, and connections Two Degrees Away and also Three Degrees away from you. Essentially providing your connection's, connection's connections which can all be reached through a LinkedIn introduction to enhance connectivity. You can also view geographic location of your network and the industries you have strong connections in.

Former Apple Computer evangelist, author of "The Art of Start", master blogger, marketer and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki shared in his blog, "How to Change the World" the following statistics about LinkedIn:

• The average number of LinkedIn connections for people who work at Google is forty-seven.
  
• The average number for Harvard Business School grads is fifty-eight.
  
• People with more than twenty connections are thirty-four times more likely to be approached with a job opportunity than people with less than five.
  
• All 500 of the Fortune 500 are represented in LinkedIn. In fact, 499 of them are represented by director-level and above employees.

Ready to step your networking game up? If so, then check out LinkedIn.

by Edward Cates

www.linkedin.com/in/edwardcates

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