LinkedIn is the only professional online network in the world. If you use it right, the platform can offer a tone of opportunities. Whether you’re looking for a job, a prospect or you want to raise the awareness of your business; this channel should be definitely your choice. However, setting up the profile isn’t enough. If you want to achieve specific goals, you have to do some work first. And that may not even be enough after all. What’s right and wrong when it comes to LinkedIn? 

Update your profile

Your profile is effectively your business card. You need to show exactly what you do without trying sounding “selly”. It’s about sharing with people your experience, why they should talk to you and how you can help them. (Check out the full guide here).

Turn off notifications when updating your profile

Before you start working on your profile, make sure you turn off the updates. You don’t want to be that annoying guy who spams everyone with several profile updates. Go to your LinkedIn Privacy and Settings page and click the option to “turn on/off your activity broadcasts.

Keep it consistent

Once you set up a profile, you’re halfway there. Now, it’s the time to make sure it’s all consistent. Your experience will play a vital role in proving that you’re good at what you do. Make sure that every position is relevant to your current role. Think about what’s your goal here. If you want to convince people that you are great at what you do, get rid off all the things that are irrelevant and emphasise those that are. 

Add more credibility

Another important aspect of setting up your account is to add some credibility to your profile. You can do it by getting endorsements and recommendations from people you’ve worked with in the past.  How do you do it? By implementing the motto: “Givers Gain”. First, endorse others and others shall endorse you. When it comes to recommendations, simply ask and request a recommendation on their profile. However, remember to personalise the message and then thank them afterwards. 

Don’t let it die

Unfortunately, having a fantastic profile isn’t enough. It’s important to be active on LinkedIn. This obviously doesn’t mean you should post three times a day. Post ones or twice a week, join groups, write articles and engage with people in your network. All you need is just a few minutes a day. Being active will result in people remembering you, and eventually, that will lead to improved awareness of your brand.

Don’t sell and network instead
LinkedIn is basically an online networking event, a fantastic way to connect with people and build relationships. That means it’s not a sales tool so avoid bombarding people with pictures of your products and services. People don’t like that, trust me. Instead, connect with those you know and those who you could help. Think how you can provide value instead of focusing on your sales pitch. Show that you’re interested in them and they will be interested in you. That involves adding new connections, liking, commenting and sharing other’s people content. Networking, not selling.

Make it personal

Nothing says “ I don’t really care” quite like the message: “I’d like to add you to my professional network”. Send a personal message and give a reason why do you want to connect in the first place. Also, make it relatively short. We live in times when people value their time more than anything else. Don’t waste by sending an essay about your company. Keep it brief, simple and always remember to show how they can benefit from talking to you.

Don’t spam
Do not ever subscribe your connections to your newsletter without asking. It’s spamming and frankly after the 25th of May won’t be legal. Also, try to avoid posts that are too promotional. It’s important to mention time to time what you do but remember that people tend to switch off when they see adverts.
Don’t send a request more than once

We all probably experienced sending someone a request on LinkedIn who didn’t accept it. It’s not a great feeling, and you probably feel like back at school again. You may feel tempted to cancel the request and send another one again, however, don’t do it. If someone didn’t accept your invitation, there is a reason behind it. Either they check their LinkedIn profile once a year in which case keep on waiting, or they simply don’t want to connect with you and should just move on. There are plenty of people on LinkedIn you can reach out to… 500 million and counting.