4.6 LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a good way to market yourself and now your business. To be successful in promoting a brand on LinkedIn, you need to be able to write well and see from the perspective of other professionals.

Why LinkedIn Matters

There are some reasons why LinkedIn is a valuable social media tool.

1. It is your resume online
2. Search of your name puts LinkedIn on the First page of Google results
3. Builds credibility
4. Excellent messaging and networking tool
5. Great publishing tool for getting information to industry professionals

The first step of building your LinkedIn presence is to manage your profile. Make sure you have the following elements in your profile

• Title
• A headshot photo that has been professionally taken (not you sipping drinks in your backyard)
• Summary of your professional biography
• Education
• Experience
• Volunteering
• Contact Info
• Get a customized LinkedIn URL to add to your resume and website

Note LinkedIn was more centred on individuals rather than business entities. Now, businesses are joining the conversation. Businesses should be an advocate for their industry by sharing knowledge, insights or perspectives.

LinkedIn No-Nos:

• Don’t be boring or too self-specific
• Do not sell
• Do not use any of the automatically created text messages (on any platform) – write a custom message instead when reaching out to new connections
• Do not post content on multiple platforms at the same time – stagger it!

  “Keep it professional and specific for a business audience.”

  -Narges Nirumvala

As stated previously, each social media platform needs to be treated differently. LinkedIn is the most professional of the lot. Act as you would if you were interacting with people in an office. If you write original business content on LinkedIn, share it on Facebook or Twitter a week or so later.

See Nargea Nirwuvala’s LinkedIn profile^[1] for inspiration.