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Tips for Creating a Powerful LinkedIn Profile

Creating a Powerful LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn is the biggest social network for professionals. Statistics show that 2 people join LinkedIn every second. Many of them are looking to supercharge their career or business. Now, do you realize how many people you are up against?

Whether you’re networking, generating leads or job hunting, having an eye-catching professional profile on LinkedIn will increase the odds of potential clients, partners or employers getting in touch with you.

In this blog post, we have put together some tips that will help you amp up your profile. Use these tips to create a powerful LinkedIn profile that will get you noticed.

Have the right profile picture

Your profile photo is one of the most important parts of your profile. Why? It’s because people base their first impression on the photo they see on your profile.

Studies show that you’ll get 14 times more views than the competition if you have a great profile picture. Remember that LinkedIn caters to professionals, so choose a simple, professional shot. Reserve those selfies for Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Make your headline standout

At the top of your profile, you are given 120 characters to tell the world what exactly it is that you do. Rather than just putting your job title, you want to use that space to showcase your specialty and value proposition. This is especially beneficial if you’re looking for jobs.

Create a killer summary

Your LinkedIn summary should be impressive, engaging and interesting to your reader. This is where you sell yourself and showcase your accomplishments. This is your chance to show the world how good you are and that you deserve their attention.

Include keywords

Optimize your profile by incorporating keywords that people are using to find someone like you. Place them in various sections of your profile such as the job title, headline, summary and specialties. This will ensure that you’ll get found by your target audience and your profile will perform well in search engines.

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How LinkedIn Can Help Your Business

Since LinkedIn went public in 2011, the social media platform has grown to be the center for making connections, developing careers, and many other business related activities. With 2 million new users joining every second, and with 107 million users in the US alone, LinkedIn is continuing to skyrocket in the world of social media. Why should you your start making LinkedIn a priority for your business? It helps to attract new clients and accelerate market opportunities, while also allowing you to create and become a part of online communities and groups, helping your business to generate rewarding leads. LinkedIn has become a power tool for helping to strengthen millions of businesses around the world. Here are some tips on how to use LinkedIn to your business’ advantage:

Using Sponsored Updates:linkedin

Sponsored updates help raise awareness about your brand, build relationships, and drive leads. One of the greatest things about using sponsored updates is that it allows you distribute your content to the right audience, including those outside of your following. Sponsored Updates allow you to target your audience by geography, specific companies, industries, company size, job title, and more. You are also able to determine how effective your updates are with the help of the detailed analytics provided by LinkedIn. But, if not carefully planned, investing in sponsored updates could cost your business instead of benefiting it. To ensure that you’re getting the most out of this investment, make sure you are sponsoring posts that will be perceived as valuable to your target market. Focus your energy towards careful planning and great content, and this tool will help your business gain credibility and become more established in its particular industry.

Optimize Your Personal Profile:

When putting your business out there on LinkedIn, it’s important to make sure you are also building your personal profile. Having an equal focus on your personal profile and your business profile will help put a face to your business, help you gain credibility, and grow your relationships with your consumers. By optimizing your personal profile with related keywords and rich media content such as videos and presentations, this will help your business generate more leads. Make sure your personal profile is professional and not a “business logo”. Steer your focus towards grabbing the attention of your “perfect” audience. Also, remember to make sure your LinkedIn profile links back to your business website and blog.

Develop Relationships:

One of the greatest parts about social media for your business is being able to strengthen your relationships with your consumer. LinkedIn is especially great for this because it allows you to precisely choose who you want to connect with. Instead of worrying about the quantity of your connections, it’s important to focus on the quality of the relationships with your connections. Decide which of your contacts you’d like to know better and start reaching out to them periodically from your personal profile and business page. Share information, ask them questions and learn more about them. The bond with your customer is one of the most crucial aspects of growing your business. When you continuously reach out to your audience on LinkedIn and strengthen your bond over time, you’ll eventually become a go-to source if your customer needs help or has a question.

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Rookie Mistakes You Might Be Making on LinkedIn

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There is no doubt that LinkedIn is a valuable tool for people who are looking to network with fellow professionals, generate more leads or boost their reputation. LinkedIn can be an even more powerful social media tool than Twitter and Facebook, if used properly. Unfortunately, a lot of people are not taking advantage of its networking features.

It’s time to take a look at your LinkedIn profile to make sure that you are not making any of these LinkedIn blunders. These mistakes could be limiting your success before you even start.

You have no profile picture

This is one of the biggest mistakes we see on LinkedIn. Typically, people do not connect or even click profiles that do not have a profile photo. A missing photo can easily lead to missed connections.

Adding a photo to your LinkedIn profile can make a big difference. In fact, studies suggest that you’re profile is seven times more likely to be viewed if you have one.

Using the wrong photo

As the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. You want your profile photo to be professional and approachable.

While your LinkedIn photo doesn’t have to be a picture of you wearing a suit, it would be best to stay away from selfies of vacation photos.  When choosing your profile photo, go for pictures that convey professionalism or at least something that reflects the type of industry you belong in.

Not using LinkedIn groups

LinkedIn offers groups to help members connect with professionals within their areas of interests or industry. Occasionally, LinkedIn suggests group you may like. But you can also search for a specific group or browse the directory. These groups are a great way to connect with people who have the same interests as you, troubleshoot issues or share ideas.

Lacking a descriptive job title

If you are a job seeker, it is important to be as detailed as possible in this section. Instead of simply writing “Student at University of Colorado”, it would be better if you write “Advertising Major at University of Colorado”.

Keep in mind that a lot of people with similar qualifications and education are competing for the same job. Having a descriptive job title will give you an edge with a prospective employer.

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How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Presence

LinkedIn, being one of the oldest social media sites, still proves to be one of the most valuable and important among the social channels today. Regarded as the world’s largest professional networking site, LinkedIn aims to connect you to the business world and other professionals from all over the world.

Experts suggest that LinkedIn makes 20 times more revenue per person as compared with Facebook. While connecting people with other professionals is the ultimate goal of LinkedIn, users don’t communicate a lot on the platform. Rather, the value for users lies in searchability.

With that in mind, here are a few tips on how to optimize your LinkedIn profile and increase your chances of being found.

Make your Profile SEO Friendly

There are more than 1 billion searches on LinkedIn each year. While most users are searching for companies and individuals, keep in mind that they are also using keywords. Making your profile SEO and keyword friendly is beneficial since LinkedIn search results are sorted by relevance.

Since there’s no way to predict what someone is looking for, it would be best to use keywords that ranges from broad to very targeted. Remember, where you put these keywords matter.

Headlines Matter

When checking your profile, your headline is the first thing other users will see about you. Make it as specific as possible and make it catchy. Mind you, your headline will be your selling point. So, lure them with your headline and wow them with your expertise.

Profile Image

Your photo is important as it would give other members a good representation of you. It shows who you are and that you are real.

Since this is a professional networking site, it would be best to stay away from party shots or group shots. It doesn’t have to be a professional photo either. Just choose a photo that is clear and most importantly, depicts who you really are.

Showcase your Achievements

LinkedIn gives you the option to add documents, test scores, certifications, honors and award, some of your previous projects etc. This will add a lot of value to your profile.

If you are a writer, feel free to add a chapter of your book to your profile. If you are a graphic designer, adding your portfolio would be a great idea. If you are a public speaker, adding a video of your most recent speaking engagement might be advantageous. If you think these things will put you ahead of your competition, add it here.

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Using LinkedIn As A Marketing Tool

After learning the tricks to social media marketing tricks, it is time to put these concepts to work. If you are in need of business to business networking, then LinkedIn is the best place to start.

Of all the social networking platforms, LinkedIn is considered to be the most professional. Used by more than 135 million business professionals worldwide, this should be a part of your social media marketing strategy.

If you are like most people, you might be using LinkedIn as an online resume. Take advantage of this platform and use it as a marketing tool. Read on and incorporate these recommendations into your marketing campaign.

Status updates

This is one of the best ways in keeping your connections informed about what is happening to your business. Post status updates on a regular basis in order to appear active to the LinkedIn community. You can also use links and drive them to your site. Sharing contents that is related to your business may also be a good idea.

Blog posts

Every time you post a blog on your website, important details like the title, abstract and the link to your post will automatically be posted to your LinkedIn profile.

Events

If you are organizing an event or are speaking at an event, you are free to create a LinkedIn event in order to help you promote this event and generate interest.

Presentations

If you have posted a Powerpoint presentation in Google docs or SlideShare, you can also attach this presentation in your LinkedIn profile.

Twitter

If you are an active tweeter, you can always integrate your status updates with your tweets in order to keep your followers and connections informed.

Creative portfolio

Users with a creative portfolio are given the chance to post it to the Behance Network. Once you’re done, you can showcase your work in your LinkedIn profile.

Recommendations

You can easily request recommendations from your LinkedIn connections. A collection of recommendations that highlight your experience and expertise would significantly enhance your profile.

 

 

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Growing Your Business Network with Social Media

If your business or company is struggling to find new customers, you can count on social media to help
you build your business network. However, before you can sell, keep in mind that creating a trusted
relationship with your potential customers is of great importance.
In this article, we’ll give you a few tips on how to use social media to find prospects and leads for your
business and establish a relationship with them.
Converse with people on Twitter

Tweet chats are recommended for building a network as they are seen as one of the most effective lead
generation tools in social media. The best thing about this is that everyone starts out as a stranger.
Eventually, they begin to know each other and may develop a relationship that extends beyond the
regular chat.
Here, you may encounter people who ask you questions. Since your reply is only limited to 140
characters, you have to be as concise as possible. Also, let them know that you are open to accept a
direct message and would be interested to carry the conversation further through another platform or
by phone.

Join LinkedIn groups
LinkedIn provides its users an opportunity for connecting with people who fit their prospect profile.
Here, you can find a specific group you’re interested in.
In the header navigation, just hover on “Interests” and click on “Groups”. From here, you can use
specific keywords to search for groups that are relevant to your business or company. Feel free to check
out each group and join a group with members who might be interested in what you offer.
Please be reminded that this is not a selling place. Build a relationship by being helpful and offering
services to the other members.

Share insights from an event
If you have attended a conference or trade show, feel free to share the highlights of the said event with
people who weren’t able to attend. This will help you attract people who are interested in the same
niche.
Share your notes through social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. Also, don’t forget to include
the event’s official hashtag in your tweets. This will include them in the conversation. Most importantly,
this post will be visible to other users who are not following you. You have to pay attention to user who starts following you as they could be your new prospects. And when the time is right, reach out to them
and offer your services.

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Using Social Media in Job Search

Social media can be used in job seeking and marketing yourself to future employers. Unfortunately,
most students and graduates are unaware of it. One study revealed that less than 40% of the graduates
would consider marketing themselves to job recruiters online. Meaning, the remaining 60% are missing
out on the opportunity of using social media to help them land a job.

Facebook


There are a number of sites which are used for social networking and professional networking. While
your Facebook account may not help you capture the attention of your potential employer, you
shouldn’t ignore it for job-seeking opportunities.
Some employers use it in promoting their brand. Some also offers graduate programs, which allows
potential candidates to interact with the recruitment staff. This could help you pick up a few tips about
the recruitment process and emerge as a well-informed candidate.

Blogs


Blogs are another great way of improving your chances of getting hired. By writing your own blog, you
can showcase your writing skills, your enthusiasm towards your audience and your knowledge of a
particular area. Also, if you can establish yourself as an online authority, then you’ll surely be ahead of
other candidates. Your blog will provide potential employers an insight on how you work and your
passion for the industry.

LinkedIn


If you’re not yet on LinkedIn, then now might be the right time to create an account. Survey revealed
that 93% of online recruiters are using LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a business-oriented site with over 90 million users from different parts of the world. This
provides an opportunity to network professionals from different employment sectors. So, make sure
that your LinkedIn profile sells you effectively to online recruiters. Also, adding a photo in your profile is
a good idea. With a professional-looking photo displayed in your profile, people are 4 times more likely
to connect with you.
Though LinkedIn has fewer users, this site is acknowledged as the number one site in Europe for
business networking.

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Generating Leads through Social Media

If you are considering starting a lead generation campaign, social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+ may be the best place to start. However, please keep in mind that it takes knowledge and practice to pull leads from the conversations that occur on these platforms.

In this article, we’ll give you a few ways on how to use social media in generating leads for your business. Read on and learn how to incorporate these steps into your marketing campaign.

Share useful and informative content

If you have a blog, feel free to share your content to different social media platforms. Make sure that the contents you share are valuable and informative as this will help increase your chances of getting more leads. Also, consider writing contents that your audience will appreciate and may find interesting.

Engage with your audience

Engaging with your audiences on a regular basis will help you create a great impression among your potential leads. By interacting with your audience, you will build a lasting relationship that could eventually result to more leads and sales.

Don’t wait for leads, look for them

In some cases, people use social networking sites to search for products or services they need. This is especially true for B2B, where a business may require the services of other company. In search for the best candidate, they use their social media connections and ask around.

Feel free to check on groups and communities from time to time and use certain keywords to find anyone who might be interested in your products or services.

Advertise on social media

Social media could help you reach lots of potential leads. Take advantage of Facebook’s Promoted Post feature. Use this to advertise your posts and watch as it drives traffic to your site, which could lead to conversions.

Regular advertising may also be of helpful. If you have a special offer that is ongoing, feel free to advertise it through social media.

 

 

 

 

 

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How to Use Social Media in Launching a Product

social media goals

Social media gives you the opportunity to connect and engage with people with minimal effort and limited budget. If you are on the lookout for a creative means of launching your product, you might want to consider using social media.

In this article, we’ll give you a list of ways on how to use social media in launching a new product. Read on as we give you a few suggestions that will help you with your next launch.

Teaser campaign

Before the launch, try to think of creative ways that could hint your followers that something big and exciting is coming very soon. This will spark the interest of your audience.

Months before the launch, you can post random images that could be associated with your product. Also, feel free to use code names in all your updates in order to create a buzz within the online community.

Create a video

Social media provides business owners to easily connect with their target audience. Why not take advantage of this opportunity and create a video that is focused on the need you wish to address while providing a hint at the solution you wish to offer.

Create a founder’s list

Create a list of people who shows interest in your product and would want to learn more about your launch. Create a special page where you can direct these people to. On this page, consider placing an option where they can sign up for special updates.

You main goal is to gather a group of people who have shown interest on the teaser and video that you have posted. You can ask for the help of these people to spread the word about your product later on.

Behind the scenes

After creating a founder’s list, it is important to provide them something substantial that would keep them interested in your campaign. Creating a personalized video and giving them a peak of what’s happening behind the scenes will get them excited about the launch.

Encourage people to spread the word

Building a loyal fan base is one of the key advantages of social media. When the time is right, you can ask for the aid of these people and encourage them to spread the word.

The simplest and fastest way of doing this is by creating a clickable tweet. You can use ClicktoTweet to do this.

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