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6 Easy Tips for Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn is an amazing networking tool. It provides a valuable opportunity to connect with decision makers, business leaders, and other professionals within your industry. That said, it is best to include LikedIn into your social media marketing mix.

An optimized LinkedIn profile will contribute to better networking opportunities and help you stand out from the competition.

Need help optimizing your LinkedIn profile? Here are 6 easy tips to get you started.

Create a banner photo that represents your brand

This is the background image at the top of your profile. It is usually the first thing people see when they visit your profile. Optimizing this section will help you stand out, attract ideal clients, and woo them into your funnel.

Your banner image should capture the full picture of who you are and what you can offer. Think of it as your company’s billboard. It’s the perfect place to showcase your work, products, or services in a creative way. For example, you can use a quote that describes the service you provide, a picture of your office space, or tools you use in your everyday work.

Don’t forget to include a clear call to action to encourage visitors to take the desired action.

Choose the right profile photo 

Your profile picture matters. It reminds people that there is a human being behind your online persona.

According to LinkedIn, profiles with professional head shots get 14 times more views and nine times more connection requests than those who don’t. So if you want to increase your acceptance and engagement rate, you need to invest in your profile picture.

It might seem obvious, but your profile picture should be up-to-date and professional-looking. However, professional doesn’t necessarily mean serious or intense. Smiling makes you look more approachable. So choose a profile photo that looks professional, authentic, and confident because that’s what you want to convey.

Do not use a selfie, your company logo, group photo, or a cropped picture.

Make your headline more than just a job title

A headline is the line underneath your name. It lets you communicate your entire professional brand in under 5 seconds and give prospects a reason to click on your profile.

Simply adding your current job title and company name isn’t going to work. You want your headline to be impressive and attention-grabbing. It should explain exactly who you are, what you do, and what you can bring to the table. Take time to create one solid statement that shows your awesomeness in 120 characters or less.

Turn your summary into a story

Profile visitors are hoping to get a glimpse into what makes you unique professionally.

While the headline allows just 120 characters, you’re given about 2,000 characters for the summary. Here’s your chance to share your story and blow people away with a 360-degree snapshot of who you are, what you have to offer, and what makes you awesome.

LinkedIn only shows the first three lines of your summary, so make it count. Start with a catchy hook that would encourage readers to click “see more”.

Tell a cohesive story, offering an overview of your skills, career highlights, unique value proposition, and your mission. Make sure you focus not only on what you do, but also on why it matters.

Be sure to incorporate keywords relevant keywords in your summary to improve your profile’s search visibility. Lastly, end your summary with a clear and concise call to action.

Highlight your experiences

Your work experiences are a big part of who you are today, and you should include them on your LinkedIn profile.

List down all the relevant jobs you deem relevant to where you want your career to go. Include a short overview of what the job entails. Use action words to show what you did, the impact you’ve made, as well as what you’ve accomplished in each position.

Get endorsed

One great way to have your skills validated by others is to get endorsements from other LinkedIn users. These seemingly simple endorsements can help make you and your profile stand out from the millions of users on the platform.

You are free to add up to 50 skills on your profile. Sure, having lots of skills can be quite impressive. However, there is no point in adding 25 skills that do nothing to help you stand out.

Be strategic with your endorsed skills and only list down skills you want to be known for. Then, have people in your network endorse you for these skills. Endorse fellow professionals and they are more likely to return the favor.

6 Easy Tips for Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile

Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile for Your Nutrition PracticeOptimizing Your LinkedIn Profile for Your Family Medicine Practice\

Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile for Your Yoga Practice

 

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6 Reasons Why Doctors Should Use LinkedIn

6 Reasons Why Doctors Should Use LinkedIn

UPDATED BLOG POST – You’ve heard LinkedIn is important but is it really? The short answer is yes.

LinkedIn is a social networking site that allows professionals and business people, regardless of their industry, to connect. With more than 600 million users in over 200 countries, it is the world’s largest professional network on the internet. Despite its popularity, many people ignore this platform simply because they do not understand how powerful it can be for exposing and growing their business.

Do you have a LinkedIn account? Here are 6 reasons to create one or dust off your long-forgotten one.

Opportunity to network

We’ve all heard the phrase “It’s not what you know, but who you know”. LinkedIn was built with that proposition in mind.

If you’re looking to build a strong network, LinkedIn is the best place to start. It is great for building strong networks with other healthcare professionals. It has a decent search feature that can help you find people in your industry. There are also numerous healthcare groups on LinkedIn that you can join. Use your LinkedIn connections to build a community. It is up to you to decide how much time and energy you want to put into this process.

When you’re an active LinkedIn user, your opportunities to interact with other healthcare professionals are virtually limitless. Professionals who are using the platform are open to networking, connections, and possibly, professional referrals. If you reach out to them in a genuine, non-spammy way, they’d be more than happy to have you in their network.

Demonstrate your knowledge and expertise

LinkedIn is essentially a digital translation of your CV. It is a great place for keeping all your career information. In fact, there is an entire section available devoted to recognitions and awards you’ve won. This could be an excellent way to tell your audience that you’re good at what you do.

Many people have a Linkedin account. The problem is that their profile is incomplete. Remember, your profile is the first professional impression people will have of you. Completing your profile with your experience, skills, and credentials will increase your credibility. Think of it as your online CV. Go ahead and show off your skills, academic accomplishments, and professional successes.

Content sharing

Unlike other social media platforms, where the focus of sharing is generally personal content, LinkedIn is a suitable platform for professional content.

The open publishing format of LinkedIn provides users an opportunity to both teach and learn. Here, you can share content that reflects your line of work and presents your thoughts and ideas to a wider audience. You can share blogs that have the potential to create a buzz around your name, participate in discussions and express your thoughts or views on certain topics.

Publishing high-quality content regularly creates trust with your connections and positions you as an expert in your field. If your post is featured on LinkedIn Pulse, your reach is exponentially increased.

If you’re not getting enough engagement on your posts, you may want to check out our blog on how to make your LinkedIn posts stand out.

Tap into industry news

In today’s competitive job market, it is important to stay up-to-date with industry news and trends in order to thrive. With new regulations and technologies affecting the healthcare industry, there are lots of industry news to stay on top of. LinkedIn makes it easier for you to stay relevant in today’s evolving healthcare landscape.

Joining industry-specific groups allow you to connect and interact with industry peers. From here, you can get the latest news, post, and announcements.

Be found online

Whether you like it or not, people are going to look you up on Google. And it’simportant that your patients, students, and other industry professionals find you online.

The good news is that Linkedin profiles have high authority with Google. That means, if you have a LinkedIn account, it will appear toward the top of the search results page.

LinkedIn is a great tool for managing and controlling your professional digital reputation since you’ll have direct control over how your online identity is presented. Plus, it will be easier for future patients to find you. Your profile will not only appear when they search your name but also when searching for your specialty.

Further your personal branding

Your brand is what people say about you. Try Googling yourself to see what comes up. These are the first impressions people will have of you.

In today’s digital world, first impressions are formed online, and Linkedin is the best place for people to “meet” you. Your profile is a showcase of your skills, experience, and achievements. It is a great way to present your professional experience, tell your story, and the goals you want to achieve. Make sure your profile is 100% complete. Don’t forget to update your profile photo.

Remember, you will never get a second chance to make a first impression, so make sure that you do it right. Make one that will differentiate you from the competition and reflect who you are.

6 Reasons Why Family Medicine Doctors Should Use LinkedIn 6 Reasons Why Mental Health Practitioners Should Use LinkedIn

6 Reasons Why Healthcare Providers Should Use LinkedIn

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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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Tips for Proper Social Media Etiquette in the New Year

BIMS_1.5As 2015 draws to a close, many of you are probably preparing for the biggest party of the year. Whether it’s a family event, work party or a purely social gathering, there’s a social media embarrassment waiting to happen.

A careless Facebook post or tweet can alienate your loved ones and damage your social and professional image. Start the year right by paying close attention to your social media profiles and activities.

Take a good look at these tips for proper social media etiquette.

Take your complaint offline

We understand that you’re frustrated about a company’s customer service or the long lines, but you don’t have to post it on social media for everyone else to see. Rather than slamming them on Facebook or Twitter, it is better to contact them privately and settle the issue offline.

Avoid over-sharing

It’s okay to share how awesome your dinner was or what your cat is up to occasionally, but sharing every single bit of activity you did all day is the fastest way to lose your friends and followers. You are free to share a few times a day, but be sure to space your posts.

Use caution in posting and tagging photos

You may look good on a particular picture, but if a friend’s hair looks like a rooster and your sister’s skirt is twisted, then you shouldn’t post it. No matter how good looking you are at that picture; please think about the others before posting and tagging them. You probably don’t like it when someone tags you in candid or unflattering photos, so why would you do that to them? If you really want to post the picture, then crop it. Your friends will thank you for it.

Be respectful

Avoid engaging in aggressive debates online and sending out potentially offensive tweets. Remember, there’s another person on the receiving end. If you wouldn’t speak to the person that way face to face, then you shouldn’t do it online.

 

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Social Media Trends That Are Bad For Your Brand

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Social media marketing can be comparable to traditional media marketing. The only difference is that it is a lot faster. Trends waxes and wanes in hyper speed, going from cool to super lame in a matter of days or weeks. As a result, it is becoming more and more difficult to stay relevant.

Here’s a list of social media trends that can hurt your brand. Read on to find out which trend you should finally put to rest.

Facebook exclusive

Facebook may be one of the most popular social media channels today, but focusing your marketing efforts on Facebook is certainly not a good idea. Why? It’s because it has the most competition and advertising can be more expensive.

Focusing on one platform is like advertising on TV alone, and not using radio, print, billboards and any other channels to reach your audience.

Live blogging

During the SuperBowl event last year, a lot of people were active online, chatting and posting about the event as it happens. Some businesses took the opportunity to engage with their audience by posting something about the said event. If the brand is about sports, then this is justifiable. But if not, then there’s no sense talking about the SuperBowl.

Try focusing in topics that would be of interest to your target audience. They’re expecting you to provide them with content about specific topics, not some general world news.

Half-baked story

Social media is a great place to keep up with breaking news. We strongly advise that you check your facts first before sharing stories on your blog or business page. Do your research and make sure that the news is from a reliable source.

Sharing half-baked stories will affect your brand in a negative way. The last thing you want is for people to see you as an unreliable source.

Ignoring LinkedIn

If you’re not on LinkedIn, then you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities to get more branding for your business. LinkedIn is the best social media platform for business owners and executives to be in. Here, you can expand your network and meet people in the same industry.

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4 Things We All Need to Stop Doing on Social Media

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The growth of social media continues to expand. Facebook has over 1 billion users; while Twitter and Instagram has over 280 million and 200 million active users respectively.

Many of us flock to these popular social media sites to give and receive the latest scoop on pretty much everything. We all love to post different events in our lives to let everyone know what is going on, but some people gets overboard when it comes to using social media.

Whether you’re using social media for professional or personal use, here are 4 things you should stop doing.

Oversharing

You probably have a friend who updates their status every 15 minutes or so. It can get irritating sometimes, especially since your news feeds is full of their postings. We hate to break it to you, but no one wants to be that clued in about your life.

Using more hashtags than words

Hashtags are great for giving your campaigns their own special theme, finding and jumping into conversations and categorizing your posts, but piling on the hashtags just looks desperate. Please keep your hashtag usage in check.

Automated messages

It may seem like a good idea to send a thank you message to users who follow you, but I’m willing to bet that some people consider it as spam.

While there are some people who say that sending automated messages has helped grow their follower count, it may come off as detached, lazy and out of touch for some. Remember, genuineness wins when it comes to earning the trust of your target audience.

Adding people to groups without their permission

Groups are a great place to talk to people with the same interests as yours. Just because you created a group for golfers, doesn’t give you the right to add your golfer friends to the group without their permission. If you think some of your friends would be interested to be a part of the group, consider sending them a message and tell them what it’s all about.

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How to Improve the Visibility of Your LinkedIn Profile

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In today’s corporate world, you’re not somebody until you can be found in LinkedIn. As more and more professionals and business owners create an account on this site, getting noticed requires a deep well of connections and some site-specific SEO magic.

If you have already created a profile on LinkedIn, you might want to revisit it and refresh your presence. Here are some tips to improve your visibility and get the most out of the world’s largest professional networking site.

Fill out your profile completely

When other users land on your page, they’ll see a box that displays your profile highlights. If you are a business owner or a professional, you wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to build a relationship with potential clients, customers and partners. This is your chance to make a great impression. So, make sure that the information in your profile box is complete, up-to-date and optimized.

Include relevant search keywords

If you want people to find you, you need to apply effective SEO techniques. This is especially important on the “Headline” field. Instead of just describing your current position, it would be best if you could optimize your job title slightly and include relevant keywords.

Expand your network

LinkedIn is the perfect platform for connecting with colleagues. So go ahead and connect with people, especially those who share your professional interests and qualifications. It’s also a good idea to connect with your past clients, managers, co-workers and other colleagues. You can further improve your LinkedIn search presence by doing this step.

Be an active participant

Like major search engines, LinkedIn rewards users who actively engage with others. Joining and participating in groups is beneficial as it not only helps in expanding your network, it also improves your profile’s SEO.

LinkedIn allows users to join up to 50 groups, but if you do, you’ll have a difficult time keeping up with all the conversations. Focus on 3 to 5 groups and make it a point to participate in group discussions. Otherwise, you’ll be missing out on opportunities to build influence.

 

 

 

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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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How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Event

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Business owners know that holding events are one of the best ways to get customer through the door. If your goal is to get as many people interested in your event, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can be an excellent way to spread the word to your customer base, followers, family members and friends.

This week, we’ll give you 4 easy ways to use social media to create a buzz-worthy event and increase the number of attendees.

Engage

Social media is an ideal channel for initiating conversations. But before anything else, you want to identify your target audience and the types of people you’re trying to reach.

Post your event on Facebook and encourage engagement. With over 1 billion users worldwide, it is an ideal place to interact with potential attendees and speakers.

Promote early. The earlier you promote the event, the greater your chances are for success.

Hashtag properly

This is an important element of your event marketing strategy. When creating a hashtag, be sure to keep it short, unique and relevant. Don’t forget to do your research so as to make sure that it hasn’t been used previously.

The hashtag is a great way for attendees to follow conversations about your event, engage with speakers and each other. So, be sure to use it every time you post something about the event.

Create buzz

Create buzz by highlighting your greatest assets, your guests of honor. Considering that these people are admired in their industry, they already have loyal fans. This makes it a lot easier for you to get people to attend the event. You can also mention them in your tweets, in the hopes that their followers would see it too.

Be sure to incorporate the official hashtag and call to action at the end, urging people to register or buy tickets.

Updates

Set up a blog and post short updates to give attendees an idea about what to expect. Include photos and videos in your blog post to build traffic and engage your audience.

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