How to Do a Better LinkedIn Profile
In this episode:
- Announcement of Microsoft Acquisition of LinkedIn
- How to Have a LinkedIn Profile that Works for You
LinkedIn to be Acquired by Microsoft
The big news of the week for this Let’s Talk Leadership (for the Digital Age) podcast show has been the announcement that the pre-eminent online professional network LinkedIn is to be acquired by the IT heavyweight Microsoft.
Pundits from various fields of interest were quick to hit the social web with their opinions and prognostications about the deal and its potential effects.
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Here are a couple of articles that offer some helpful information about the deal and its implications, with opinions about how the acquisition might play out for LinkedIn users.
Did Microsoft overpay for LinkedIn? by Jennifer Booton
The LinkedIn Curmudgeon on the Big Merger by Andy Brandt
As the deal still has to run the gamut of regulatory authorities in a few regimes, the acquisition process still has some months to run.
I don’t see any material difference in the immediate future for current LinkedIn users.
But it’s fair to say that, with 434 million plus professionals now users of LinkedIn, this announcement is highly significant for business leaders everywhere.
The Emperor is Not Very Well Clothed, in LinkedIn Terms
I was a tad surprised, on reading the announcement and noting the enthusiasm of Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, to find that his LinkedIn profile was sparse indeed. It didn’t meet even the pretty basic criteria for what LinkedIn calls a “100% complete” profile. I tweeted about it and a colleague pointed me to Bill Gates’ profile. Similar situation.
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Then I thought about a lot of other business leaders’ LinkedIn profiles I’ve seen that have been quite underwhelming.
To me that is at best a branding opportunity lost. So I thought now was as good a time as any to run through just what is needed, not only to have a basic “100% complete” profile but an optimized one.
On a precautionary note, it’s also probably as good a time as any for each of us to export our Connections from LinkedIn to our own location of choice – desktop, laptop, cloud…, and do an updated export from time to time.
How to Do a LinkedIn Profile That Works for You
Criteria for a “100% Complete” LinkedIn Profile
- Industry and Location
- Up-to-date current position – with description
- 2 past positions
- Education
- Skills – minimum 3
- Profile photo
- At least 50 Connections
Checklist for Optimizing Your Profile
- Keywords
- Tell stories, don’t just provide lists
- Reach out to the visitor – WIIFM
- Summary – max 2,000 characters
- Personalized LinkedIn address (URL)
- Check to see how it looks on mobile devices
- Use multimedia
- Contact details
By the Way
The Microsoft + LinkedIn announcement has brought out, in social and mainstream media, a lot of very negative comments about LinkedIn. Sure, some people find it useless, annoying or boring, or all of those and more, but I find that generally they are not people who have made a serious attempt to understand how the platform works and spend time using the positive features and building business relationships. It pays not to get distracted by the trolls.
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Des Walsh
Business coach and digital entrepreneur. With coach training from Coachville.com and its Graduate School of Coaching, and a founding member of the International Association of Coaching, Des has been coaching business owners and entrepreneurs for the past 20 years. Over the same period he has also been actively engaged in promoting the business opportunities of the digital economy. He is a certified Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) coach, and a certified specialist in social media strategy and affiliate marketing.
