Making the Most of LinkedIn
September 2nd, 2008 by David Bradley >> 5 Comments
It’s been a while since I last wrote about LinkedIn. But rather than starting from scratch I thought I’d crib a recent post from Ari Herzog where he tells it like it T.I. is. Here is a modded version of his top ten tips for making the most of your LinkedIn login:
- Update your LinkedIn profile – no one is interested in yesterday’s you
- Use colorful language, evocative keywords, and no marketing speak
- Write in first-person, not third – make it personal
- Include a picture and make it match your avatar on social media sites
- Join relevant groups and get active
- Ask questions AND answer questions – get involved, network
- Connect only to real contacts and not just anyone who asks
- Invite genuine connections not just random online “friends”
- Recommend your genuine connections and ask them to recommend you
- Read my LinkedIn profile, Google me, and send a personal invite
Incidentally, while I’m quite discerning on LinkedIn, because it’s more of a business and non-virtual friends networking tool, I’m quite the social media tart on Twitter, Plurk, Facebook, and all those other web 2.0 social networking sites and will accept friendly approaches from all comers on those.
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Ari Herzog // Sep 2, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Thanks for the plug, David. I’d edit #8 though:
It’s OK to be “linked in” to social media friends with the caveat that there is a relationship. For instance, while I’ve never met you, we’ve shared enough comments back and forth on both of our blogs and on some off-blog media that I respect your opinion and I have no problem with you in my LinkedIn network. I presume the feeling is reciprocal.
On the other hand, just because I’ve known someone for 20 years, that person may provide zero value to my professional networking field. I know how to contact him if I need to, and if he asks me to join his network, I’d consider it.
The takeaway in the LinkedIn vs Facebook (or any other social network) debate is how much noise do you want repeated across your networks? If the same people are in the same networks, wouldn’t life be easier if you all were in just one?
David Bradley // Sep 2, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Good point re #8 Ari…editing right now to reflect new thinking
David Hughes // Oct 23, 2008 at 3:32 am
I especially like #6. The question and answer part. I wish I had more time to go through the Q&A. The questions answered and the other users responses often kick start my thought processes on something I might otherwise ignore.
Carey // Nov 14, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Good post. Being such a social mediaist you should check out LabRoots. It is a new site targeted to scientists of all kinds.
David Bradley // Nov 14, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Thanks Carey…I’ve just written about social media for scientists on Sciencebase, cannot believe I missed LabRoots, perhaps you’d like to comment over there too.