Wise Startup Blog

For those of you looking to increase your brand by marketing online and tap into social networks, LinkedIn is one of the best destinations to find job opportunities, hire employees, and market your business. We’ve put together 5 tips to help you maximize the value of your LinkedIn account.

5 Tips To Maximize Your LinkedIn Account

1) Your Profile

This is a great brand asset so don’t waste it. Make it informative and optimized for search.

• Add a photo – nothing says nobody’s home faster than the default icon
• Get the branded URL – something like this is what you want http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewswise – it’s something you pick during editing
• Links with Anchor text – link to your blog, products, workshops, etc. through the “other” tab and you can add anchor text for the link
• Be descriptive – use the “Summary” to tell your story in a compelling way and add lots of keywords in the “specialty” section
• Keep it active – LinkedIn has a status update feature, much like Facebook and twitter, that you should update routinely
• Link to it! – put links to your profile in your email signature and other online pages. Optimization is a two way street. You can visit Andrew Wise on LinkedIn

2) Give to Get
When people view profiles one of the top features is something called recommendations. While these may feel a little fluffy when you read them, lack of them can be a competitive issue. You should acquire some recommendations and I find the best way to get them is to give them. Choose people in your network that you’ve worked with and write an honest statement of recommendation. Don’t be surprised if you receive some in return.

3) Show What You’ve Got
An overlooked feature on LinkedIn, in my opinion, is the Question and Answer function. By jumping in and answering questions thoughtfully you can demonstrate a given expertise while potentially engaging contacts that are drawn to your knowledge. The key phrase is thoughtfully answering. LinkedIn even has a rating system to reward people who give the best answers with some added exposure.
The flip side of this tip is to ask thoughtful questions. This can be a great way to get useful information, but it’s equally powerful as a tool to create conversations, discussion and engagement with like minded connections.

4) Lead a Group
Anyone can launch a group on LinkedIn and lead discussions and networking on a specific topic of interest. If you take this tip to heart and put some effort into a niche group you can gain added influence with your network, but groups are also open to the LinkedIn universe as a whole and some folks find that this is one of the strongest ways to build their network. Building a group around an established brand is also a great way to bring users or customers together.

5) Repurpose Content
Since members of your network, and those of the larger LinkedIn community, may only experience your brand on the LinkedIn platform, it’s a great idea to enhance your profile with educational information. This is best done using some of the 3rd party applications that LinkedIn has collected for this purpose.

This list was put together by John over at Duct Tape Marketing, be sure to give their site a look, they’re a great resource for all things marketing.