Quick (but not at all Dirty) LinkedIn Tips

Recently a friend asked for some Quick and Dirty advice on improving his LinkedIn strategy. He already had the basics covered, like many LinkedIn participants do. A full (albeit not too developed) profile, 300+ connections, following a dozen or so groups. What was lacking were those few extra steps to move up to LinkedIn “superstar” status. I was able to give some advice based on my own long-time experience on LinkedIn, and I thought it would be worth sharing. For all of you out there who are thinking that you could be getting more from your participation on LinkedIn, here are a few ideas.

Quick Fixes: Edit your profile. Include a one line statement of purpose or mission for your company under your name, add 1 – 3 sentences to each of your experience listings to describe what you did there, focusing on things that are most relevant to potential clients and/or your current work.

Outside Assistance: Ask selected colleagues, particularly those you have worked with in the recent past (1 – 5 years should suffice) to write you a recommendation.

Involvement: Make sure you belong to at least 3 active groups that would be followed by people who might engage your services (as opposed to groups of colleagues, who are important as well, but might not bring you any business).. Check these groups 2 – 3 times per week and participate in discussions either by posing a question or responding to someone else’s post.

New Friends: Look at the 20 or so most influential people you are connected with at level 1, and see who their connections are. Try to get at least 3 new connections from each of these. That (60 names) would increase your level 1 reach significantly and provide you with some really good contacts. Ask your current connections for help with contacting these new people, it will give you a good reason for getting in touch with them

Publish: Post remarks/status updates at least once per day, and write a long form post (see http://linkd.in/1DybGy0 for plenty of good guidelines) once per week. If you want to become known as a thought leader in your field, publishing (particularly the long form posting) is the best way to do so.

Try these five strategies yourself, and see if you don’t experience a noticeable improvement with your own LinkedIn experience!