1. 1
LinkedIn —
Best Practices for Building A Profile
That Builds Your Professional Brand.
©2012 Intero Advisory

2. 2
LinkedIn –Best Practices for Building A Profile That Builds
Your Professional Brand.
TheLinkedInProfileBuilderisatooltogetyougoingwhetherthatmeanscreatinganaccountorbecomingamoreadvanced
memberanduser.JotnotesorwriteitallinthistemplateratherthanjustfillingitspontaneouslyinLinkedIn.
LinkedInischangingalmostdaily.Newfunctionality,viewsandappsareexpandingLinkedIn’sfootprintsogettingcomfortablewith
theLinkedInlandscapewillallowyoutosailrightoverthechangesandbenefitfromthemratherthanbeingfrustratedbythefact
theyareonemorethingtolearn.
LinkedInnowhas175+ million+members,andso,beforecreatingyourprofile,Isuggestyouthinkabouthowyouwillyouuseit.
Whatdoyouhopetotakeawayfromthetrainingsession?
WhatareyourtopobjectivesforusingLinkedIn?Orwhatwilltheybe?
Willyoucommittocheckingitdaily?Over77%ofmembersdo.Weekly?
Strategy,yes,itcanbebecomeakeycomponentof yourpersonal andprofessionalbrandandmarketing.
Doyouwanttobeopenlyaccessibleormoreselective?Remember,thefoundationofallsocialmediaandnetworkingplatformsisto
betransparentandopen.
Doyouwantyournetworkopenforotherconnectionstoseeordoyouprefertokeepitclosed?[Thisisakeystrategic
consideration,canbechangedinthesettingsarea].
DoyouwanttocreateastaticordynamicprofileandvoiceonLinkedIn?ThiscomesdowntohowoftenyouengagewithinLinkedIn
andtheextenttowhichyouparticipate.

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Isyourcompanyactivewithacompanyprofile,areyouconnectedtoit?
Willyousearchforprospectsandcustomers?
Willyoujoinandparticipateingroups?
Willyouaddappstocustomizeandroundoutyourprofile?LookundertheMoretabforthecurrentlistofapps.
Willyourecommendcolleagues,clients,vendorsetc?
Willyouaskforreferrals,recommendationsandintroductions?
BeforeyoubegintobuildyourprofileinLinkedIn,usethisdocumenttolayitoutandconsiderwhatyouwanttosay
Ok,solet’sgetstarted.
Createanaccount:www.linkedin.com
Join,skipsteps2and5whereitaskswhoyouknow,youwillgobacktothatlater.
Jot downyourusernameandpassword:
Username___________________
Password ___________________
Confirmtheaccount
Ifyouhaveacurrentprofile,howmanyconnectionsdoyouhave:_______

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Settings
Createthesettingsyouarecomfortablewithbeforebuildingyourprofile.Gototheupperrighthandcornerofthepage,
itisthearrownexttoyourname.
BeforeyoubegintobuildyourprofileinLinkedIn,usethisdocumenttolayitoutandconsiderwhatyouwanttosay.
Howdoyougettoaprofilethatis100%? LinkedInranksthecomponentsdifferentlybelow.Use thistoguideand
encourageyouasyoubuildyourprofile.

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Suggestions
Uploadyourresumerightintotheprofileand
thentweakfromthere.
Usekeywordstooptimizeyourpage.Writethese
wordsdown,seelistbelow.
Youalsowanttothinkaboutlongtailkeywords,
threetofivewordphrasesthatreflecthow
peoplesearchonline.Thesekeywordsand
phrasesneedtobestrategicallyplacedwithin
yourprofiletohelpoptimizeyourrankings.
SummaryArea
Yoursummaryisyourpersonalexperience
synopsis.
Isuggestamention,thevaluepropositionor
corporate statementaboutyourcompanyand
thengointoyourpersonalsummary.Why?I
wanttocreate acorporate marketingtouchas
well; ifsomeoneisreviewingseveralmembersof
anorganizationitlooksmorepolishedwhenthey
arespeakingthesamelanguageabouttheir
organization.
KeywordsforyourIndividualProfile
Whatkeywordsbestrepresentwhoyouare andwhatyoudo.Listthem
below:
PersonalSummary

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Specialties
Addyourspecialties,onceagain;theyshould
mirrorversionsofyourkeywords.
Skills[gotoMOREatthetopandclickonSkills]
Keyinyourskillsandnoticewhatappears,check
outtheleftnavigationbarandseeotherskills
relatedtotheoneyoujustkeyedin.
Addbetween6-12keyskillsthatmirroryour
keywords

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Experience
Addallyourrelevantexperience;themoreyou
addthemoreLinkedInsuggestspeopleyou
mightknow.
Experience

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OtherSections
 Certifications
 Courses
 Honors andAwards
 Languages
 Organizations
 Projects
 Patents
 TestScores
 Volunteer Experience & Causes
Theseareespeciallyhelpfulforstudentsand
emergingyoungprofessionalscreatea
strongerprofile.
Youwillfindtheseunder“EditProfile”
belowSummary.
VolunteerandCause Experience
Includeyourvolunteerexperience,the
causesyousupportandbecomean
advocateforthoseorganizations.

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Education

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Recommendations
Askmanagers,clients,
colleaguesforaspecific,business
recommendation.
Don’tforget…recommendothersaswell.

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Groups
Gotothedirectoryandlookforgroupsthatyou
maybeinterestedinjoining.
Youcanjoinupto50

12. 12
Applications
GoToMOREatthetopandatthebottomyou
willsee“GetMoreApplications”
Nowthatyou’vestarted,don’tforgettoengageand postStatusUpdates,invitepeopleyouknow,
introducepeopleandconnectthedots.
Questions?ConnectwithColleenMcKenna —colleen@interoadvisory.com
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