Tech Talk: How to Raise Your Profile with LinkedIn

Editor's Notes

• #2 In 2008 I chose a redundancy from a senior leadership role in strategic marketing at Diageo Australia. Diageo Australia is a global organisation. You may know it from some of its brands, Guinness, Johhnie Walker and Baileys Irish Cream. I had been with the organisation for 11 years. As part of the redundancy I was given access to an executive outplacement program. This is when I was first introduced to LinkedIn. And so began a process for me that I now train and consult in. Showing people how to find their voice, share their story and use LinkedIn to raise their profile and position their personal brand in a professional and relevant way. 4 out of 5 professionals have a LinkedIn profile and this is growing daily. LinkedIn members are educated, there are slightly more men than women on LinkedIn and it has the deepest penetration of an older age profile than social media platforms, especially in the 51 - 60 age range. Tonight I would like you to consider 2 questions as I walk you through some of the key elements of LinkedIn that are relevant to helping you raise your profile within your industry.
• #3 The first question I’d like you to consider is What do you want to be known for? In my case, at a very simple level, I am known as the LinkedIn lady. While this is just one of my focus areas, it has helped me establish a niche within my industry and be invited to share my insight at events such as this. Whenever I spend any time on LinkedIn, I am crystal clear about the 3 areas I want to be known for and so have written my profile with this in mind, and engage with the LinkedIn community with a clear focus on these topics. For me it is LinkedIn training, social strategy and career planning. I recommend you give some thought to what this is for you.
• #4 The next consideration is who are you trying to influence when you are on LinkedIn? For me, it is about my referrers and those people who do not know me, but have heard someone mention my name and may be looking at my profile to find out more about me. For you, I recommend you give some thought to your current priorities, stakeholders, projects and goals and consider what you want them to know about you when they have heard your name. LinkedIn is your opportunity to very powerfully control the information people can find out about you online.
• #5 Once you’ve given some thought to these two questions, you can then consider what is relevant for you on LinkedIn. Here are the 6 zones that exist within LinkedIn. I am going to focus on the first 3 in terms of their role in helping you raise your profile within your industry.
• #6 Your LinkedIn profile is where you present your personal brand. It is not your resume and is best written in the 1st person. I like to think of LinkedIn as a virtual room, and my LinkedIn profile is where you can say learn a little bit more about me and say hello to me. When someone reads your profile it should give them a sense of who you are as professional, the types of individuals and organisations you work well with and how you add value to your community.
• #7 There are many features within your profile that allow you to present your personal brand. Many of my clients find the process of updating their profile quite empowering. The process of reflecting on what you want to be known for and who you are trying to influence enables them to get more value from LinkedIn as a tool to raise their profile within and beyond their industry.
• #8 Your LinkedIn newsfeed, once curated properly, can either be a rich source of information. It is also your opportunity to stay top of mind with your connections. Whenever you like or comment on an update in your newsfeed your connections will see this. It is therefore important that you treat your connections with respect and only comment on updates that are relevant and add value to your community. It is easy to unsubscribe form a connections updates without removing them as a connection. I recommend a daily ritual of liking or commenting on relevant updates in your feed. Your approach needs to be strategic and based on what you want to be known for and who you are trying to influence. At this point, I hope you are giving some thought to the 3 topics that are relevant for you on LinkedIn.
• #9 Whenever you like or comment on an update in your newsfeed your connections will see this. It is therefore important that you treat your connections with respect and only comment on updates that are relevant and add value to your community. It is easy to unsubscribe form a connections updates without removing them as a connection. I recommend a daily ritual of liking or commenting on relevant updates in your feed. Your approach needs to be strategic and based on what you want to be known for and who you are trying to influence. At this point, I hope you are giving some thought to the 3 topics that are relevant for you on LinkedIn.
• #10 Who currently publishes on LinkedIn? {Show of hands}   How often?
• #11 LinkedIn expanded the publishing platform in June 2014 by allowing members, in addition to Influencers, to publish long-form posts about their expertise and interests.   While publishing a long-form post on LinkedIn doesn't mean you're a LinkedIn Influencer, publishing allows you to further establish your personal brand and professional identity by expressing your opinions and sharing your experiences.   When you publish a long-form post on LinkedIn Your original content becomes part of your professional profile. It is displayed on the Posts section of your LinkedIn profile. It's shared with your connections and followers. Members not in your network can now follow you from your long-form post to receive updates when you publish next. Your long-form post is searchable both on and off of LinkedIn.   Access to publishing is not determined or affected by your LinkedIn account type - both free accounts and premium accounts have publishing access. If you would like guidelines on how to write a post, please take a look at the format I use. Tell a story, have a call to action and remember to include a bio about yourself.
• #12 I encourage you to consider the 2 questions I have shared with you tonight and consider the daily rituals for LinkedIn to help you position your personal brand and professional identity on LinkedIn. Once you are clear about how you want to present yourself, your daily activity on LinkedIn and LinkedIn Publishing will play a key part in helping you raise your profile within your industry.