Jason A. HowieWeb and Social Media Manager

LinkedIn Best Practices

Why Your LinkedIn is Important

– LinkedIn has over 175 Million members that represent every industry and every level.

– LinkedIn isn’t just another Social Media site, it is professional networking platform

– Your profile on it is a representation of how you present yourself professionally

– All of us together represent Gold Mobile’s branding

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The Layout of a LinkedIn Profile

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The Layout of a LinkedIn Profile

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Your Profile Picture

The profile picture on any social media site is the first thing that people look at.

– A picture doesn’t have to be professionally taken but it helps

– You should be dressed business casual or business professional

– Your demeanor should be inviting, friendly, and amiable

– Take special note of the shape of a photo as well, the picture to the right might look more professional but would have to be cropped into a square to use with LinkedIn

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Your Name and Headline

• Headlines to consider:

– Web and Social Media Manager |SEO, SEM, & Content Management |Social Media Marketing Blogger

– Product & Project Manager | Team Lead | Mobile Marketing Implementation and Mobile CMS Expert

– Sr. Sales Representative | Specializing in Food Service Mobile Transactions and Enterprise Loyalty Rewards

– List the correct industry you work in/ sell in, someone could be looking for an expert in your field.

– Don’t be afraid to have more than one current job title or project.6

– Spell your name correctly, and use any salutations or titles that you have earned. Especially if you have a common name

– The headline is a great space for more than just your title. That’s why its 120 characters, use every character when possible

The Great Connection Debate

Quality or Quantity?

– LinkedIn believes that people which use their site should focus on a small group of reliable (Quality) connections

– Ultimately depends on your strategy and personality traits. For it may work for you to network wide and far.

– Every company has someone that knows everyone, find these networkers and connect with them if you aren’t that person

• They may exist here at Gold Mobile or in a prospect company and they are a great way to communicate

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Best Practices of LinkedIn Connections

– When inviting a prospect to be a connection on LinkedIn do not use the generic invite message, this also means to never invite someone using your mobile phone.

– End post sales pitch emails with a mention of connecting on LinkedIn and then follow up by connecting

• Gives you access to their connections in the company, also makes it easy for them to refer back to your information

– Know the 3,000 connection LinkedIn soft cap

– Use the information on a person’s LinkedIn page prior to a meeting to determine relatable personal history

– DO NOT SPAM: Connecting with people on LinkedIn may be about getting your next great job or landing a whale of a contract, but you will not succeed if you spam your connections with unsolicited and irrelevant information. 8

Don’t Underutilize Your SummaryLike the Headline in your profile your summary is often misused.

– It is not a space for a rehashing of your resume

– Use as much of the space you can to not only develop your professional brand and the Gold Mobile brand, but to also chuck it full of keywords for searches.

Within the Summary don’t forget Specialties…

– This is and isn’t the same as Skills and Expertise

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LinkedIn Platform Applications

LinkedIn is a platform for software developers

–Amazon Reading List

–SlideShare

–Box.net

–WordPress

–Github

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Be Active in LinkedIn Groups

– LinkedIn has a huge collection of interest, industry, and association based networking groups.

– Join at least ten

• Be an active participate

• Don’t always push your/our content

• Read regularly offering advice and input to demonstrate subject expertise

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Your Last Cannot Miss Points

Claim your identity by making sure you select your vanity URL rather than the generic long URL

List Gold-Mobile.com in your website sections, whether you post to it or not, it helps with our SEO

Use the correct Title and Company name. If you have Gold Group in your company name it will not direct people to Gold Mobile’s LinkedIn page and will cause confusion

Updating your LinkedIn status weekly or even daily by sharing articles and interesting information can show that you’re aware of the current trends in your industry

Master LinkedIn’s Search, it has some really advanced features which can hone your targeted leads and prospects

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