Are You Embarrassed By Your Linkedin Profile Skills?

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Are you wondering why a LinkedIn account is even necessary? If you’ve got a profile, do you wonder if you need to spend any time keeping it up-to-date and accurate? Do you know how to use LinkedIn to your best advantage?

I receive many questions about LinkedIn from friends and co-workers, and many seem confused by it’s value and use. The idea of a professional network is a foreign concept to many; what do they use it for and how to they use it effectively?

It’s well known that Facebook is for social networking with friends and others, and is a great way to stay connected across long distances. I’ve reconnected with friends on Facebook from grade school, remain connected with people I’ve met at all stages of my life, and in general it has been a very positive tool for that purpose.

However, for business use, I’ve found Facebook to be seriously deficient. I’ve posted notices in Facebook groups with literally tens of thousands of people, and received not a single hit or inquiry. While status updates of cats and breakfast seem to get hundreds or even thousands of likes and shares, serious posts get ignored and are lucky to receive even one like.

LinkedIn, of the other hand, serves a very different purpose: that of business networking. If you are in business, have a career, or are creating a brand, you need to be on LinkedIn. If you are not, than you are missing a huge opportunity and it is costing you money and connections to people who could help you move forward with your business goals.

Why use LinkedIn?

My LinkedIn profile is targeted precisely towards the business services that I offer. Because of that, I receive inquiries from all over the world, at all times of day, and from all kinds of people. Some of the uses include:

• Groups help expand my reach to millions of people who have similar interests or could use my services.
• LinkedIn’s search capabilities pulls people directly to my profile, where they can find out more about me and, if they are interested, connect with me and request more information.
• Potential employers can review my experience at any time of the day to see if I have the skills or experience they need.
• By spending an hour a day scanning groups, I can help people with my experience and knowledge, and people can return the favor and help me with theirs.

The key point about a well-designed LinkedIn profile, which is targeted and get up-to-date, is that it works for you 24-hours a day, 7-days a week across the whole planet. That’s an amazing thing to consider – you can reach hundreds of millions of business people, employers or like-minded peers with just a few hours effort and a couple of hundred bucks a year (if you purchase the basic service, which I recommend.)

I find the service to be exceptionally valuable, and returns the price of the basic membership a hundred times over every year.

What does your LinkedIn profile say about you?

• Do you even have a LinkedIn account? If not, you are missing out on offers for your services (if you own a business) or for employment.
• Is your LinkedIn profile barren and empty?
  • As an employer, that tells me nothing about you other than you don’t see the value of a business social network.
  • If I am looking for a fit for a position, a person with a barren or skimpy profile requires that I contact them for more information. That’s another step, and as an employer I am not going to go to that trouble. You can get my attention with a few hours work.
• Is your profile out-of-date? Keep it up-to-date because employers and customers are looking for information in the here-and-now. I want to know what you can do for me NOW, not what you did ten years ago.
• Is your profile optimized? LinkedIn has a built-in search engine, and other search engines may also be used to find you. Without proper optimization, you are making yourself less visible, or even invisible. That isn’t help you land customers or a position.

As an employer in the past, I always took a few minutes to check out a potential employee in the web. The state of a person’s online presence tells a lot about that person. A well-done LinkedIn profile gave me a piece of the puzzle-picture about a person.

• They understand LinkedIn and it’s value
• They care about their online presence (assuming everything else is equally good)
• They told their story in the way they want it to be heard

Spend the money for a LinkedIn basic account as this will help you connect more easily.

Optimize your profile and keep it accurate and up-to-date.

If this all seems like a lot of work, if you don’t know where to start, or if you just don’t have the time, I can help.

Richard Lowe Jr

Richard is the Owner and Senior Writer for The Writing King, a bestselling author, and ghostwriter. He’s written and published 63 books, ghostwritten 40+ books, as well as hundreds of blog articles.