Basics of optimizing your LinkedIn account.

1. Social Media Essentials -- LinkedIn
Sandra Fernandez
Manager of Public Relations &
Social Media Administrator
Houston Public Library

2. Social Media Essentials -- LinkedIn
LinkedIn Facts
100M Users
74% of recruiters use LinkedIn
50% of recruiters research candidates backgrounds via
LinkedIn
21% of recruiters research candidates networks on
LinkedIn
50% of users don’t visit LinkedIn on a monthly basis
http://www.bnet.com/blog/business-research/is-facebook-helping-8211or-hurting-8211your-job-search/746

3. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Include at least
Your current position
Two past positions
Your education
Your profile summary
A profile photo
Your specialties
At least three recommendations

4. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Headline
Second thing seen on your profile page (below your
name)
Consider your headline to be a personal branding
statement.
Project yourself as you would want people to
perceive you and your skillset.

5. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Headline – Activity
Change your headline

6. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Websites
Use to link to your company website
Blog
Other social networks
Portfolio
Online resume
Reminder: Ignore the default; choose custom names.

7. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Websites – Activity
Update a website

8. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Summary
• It’s a place to define who you are, what you (want to) do,
and why you’re unique
• Write a summary that is brief and interesting.
• Write it in paragraph form, not bulleted like a resume.
• Avoid long, wordy paragraphs.

9. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Experience & Expertise
Work History
Education
Specialties
Reminder: USE KEYWORDS!

10. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Privacy & Settings
Public Profile
Profile and Status Updates
Contact Settings

11. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Privacy – Activity
Make your profile public

12. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Customize your URL
Look for your name
Can be changed later

13. Complete Your Profile – 100%
URL – Activity
Set your Vanity URL

14. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Choose a profile picture
Headshot
80 x 80 pixels, square
You may not upload a cartoon, symbol, drawing or
any content other than a photograph of yourself in
your profile photo.

15. Complete Your Profile – 100%
Photo “Do’s”
Smiling
Eye contact
Uncluttered background
Alone
Appropriate dress for your industry
Simple, unobtrusive, understated clothing
Update your picture

16. Find your friends and colleagues
Add Connections
Import your address book.
Find colleagues.
Find classmates.
People you may know.
Mine your connections.

17. Find your friends and colleagues
Add Connections
Search by:
name
keywords
title, company, and/or industry
location
interest
connections
Invitations received.
Invitations sent.

18. Find your friends and colleagues
Connections – Activity
Find your colleagues
Add to you network
Accept invitations

19. Find your friends and colleagues
Don’t Connect With Strangers
You are your network.
Your Rolodex Defines You
Quality vs. quantity
Vet carefully
“I don’t know”

20. Find your friends and colleagues
Contacting Other Members
Email
InMail
Introduction
Invitation

21. Find your friends and colleagues
Recap
LinkedIn firmly believes you should know your
contacts before deciding to add them as a
connection.
Build your network by contacting business
professionals you know.
Make your connection list public. If you don't, you
are essentially defeating the purpose of LinkedIn.

22. Get and give recommendations
Get recommendations
Create a simple message and get recommendations
from key people who will add credibility to your
profile.
Use a 360 approach: ask for endorsements from
not only the person above you but “all the way
around you: above, below and sideways.

23. Get and give recommendations
Give recommendations
Take some time to reach out and offer positive
recommendations to your colleagues and friends.
When you write a recommendation be sure to
include something personal to help the reader
understand the person that you are recommending
better and get that you actually know the person.

24. Get and give recommendations
Get recommendations – Activity
Ask a colleague for a recommendation

25. Introductions
Get introduced
Your network is GOLD
Follow LinkedIn instructions:
https://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1959
InMail vs. Introductions
Don’t spam
Respond in a timely manner

26. Updates
Status updates – “what are you doing?”
Updated profiles
New connections
Network updates

27. Participate
Updates – Activity
Post a status update
Comment on an update from a colleague

28. Participate
Company Pages
Key events
New hires
Promotions
Follow company pages
Create company pages

29. Participate
Company pages – Activity
Find a company page and begin following it

30. Participate
Join Affiliation Groups
Join as much groups as you can personally handle, or have time for.
Participate in the groups that you join by posting and answering
questions.
Share articles that you feel would benefit the group.
BONUS: One of the best bonus features of Groups is that you can
send InMail to group members without having to upgrade to a
premium account.
Create Affiliation Groups

31. Participate
Affiliation Groups – Activity
Search for an affiliation group (professional
organization, alumni group)
Ask to join the group

32. Participate
Ask Questions, Answer Questions
A way to demonstrate your expertise
Content ideas:
Create a new blog post in response to a question.
Answer a question linking to relevant existing posts.
Create a stand signature for your answers.
Create a blog post asking a question that includes
pictures.

33. Participate
Questions – Activity
Choose Questions category
Select a question, review responses
Select a respondent and find all their answers

34. Participate
Join Events
Create Events
LinkedIn Today

35. Participate
LinkedIn Today – Activity
Customize the industries in your newsfeed

36. Participate
Participation Tips
Listen first, then comment.
Not a sales pitch.
Not a place to request leads for jobs.
The more you put into something the more you
get out of it.
The more that you give, the more people will seek
to learn more about you and visit your profile.

37. LinkedIn Applications
Add content from other sites
Wordpress
Slideshare
Amazon Reading List

38. LinkedIn Strategies
Create strategy on processing introduction requests,
connection requests, recommendation requests
Create approach for requesting introductions,
recommendations

39. Measurement
Network Statistics
Third Party Statistics
Link Shorteners

40. Tools to keep you organized
TweetDeck
HootSuite
Seesmic
Dlvr.it

41. LinkedIn Essentials
Upgrading your account
Free
Business
Business Plus
Executive

42. LinkedIn Essentials
Recap
Complete your profile – 100%
Choose a good profile pic
Find your friends and colleagues
Get and give recommendations
Participate
Add content from other sites

43. Reading List – Articles, Blogs, Books
LinkedIn Learning Center: http://learn.linkedin.com/
I’m On LinkedIn – Now What??? Blog:
http://imonlinkedinnowwhat.com/
How to Succeed in Business Using LinkedIn by Eric Butow
and Kathleen Taylor
How to Find a Job on LinkedIn Facebook Twitter MySpace and
Other Social Networks by Brad and Debra Schep

44. Where to find me
www.SandraSays.com
www.twitter.com/sandrasays
www.facebook.com/sandrasays
www.linkedin.com/in/sandrafernandez
sandra@sandrasays.com