Today’s guest post is from my friend and favorite LinkedIn Expert – Karen Rosenzweig of One Smart Cookie Marketing. Karen is THE PERSON for all your LinkedIn and social media questions. You may still be wearing yoga pants to the home office, but it’s time to spruce up your LinkedIn profile this fall my friends…

September has arrived, which means back to school time – and back to business time! The summer is behind us and it’s time to set some solid business intentions to earn you more visibility and more money.

A great place to start is reviewing your presence on LinkedIn, the world’s largest business social network with 675 million members. This is a place to be found, look good, and get business done, so here are my top tips to do just that.

Be Found

Before any of the magic can happen, you need to be “found” on LinkedIn. This happens via introductions from your connections, LinkedIn searches, and clicks from the news feed. To be sure you maximize your visibility here, it’s time to freshen up your LinkedIn profile.

• Revisit your “headline” which may just be your job title now – but consider boosting its effectiveness by creating a keyword-laden headline (search friendly) or a benefit statement headline (what people experience when they work with you). Here’s an easy article to get you started with that.
• Be sure you have “keywords” throughout your profile for the areas you want to be found for – realtor, Portland, first-time home buyers, small business owners, etc. Be sure those words are in your headline, about section, job experiences, and recommendations to give you maximum “findability”.

Look Good

If you’re lucky enough that someone finds your profile, make sure you look like the amazing business professional you are! Your profile needs to be current, interesting, compelling, and demonstrate how you can help your target audience.

• Your “about” section is similar to a cover letter that accompanies your resume. More than 50% of people on LinkedIn don’t have an About section now and that’s simply crazy! You don’t want to be judged solely on the jobs you list in your profile (right?) so here’s where you craft a compelling and valuable narrative. Tell your story and earn their business! Check out this article with an easy-to-follow structure for your About section.
• If you searched for someone on LinkedIn and found two good candidates – one with 14 recommendations and one with 0 recommendations, which would you click on first? It’s time to get that social proof on your profile, so invite your 1^st degree connections to write you a recommendation – and perhaps start the party off by writing them one first.

Get Business

Do you sometimes feel like you are the best kept secret in your industry? You can change that dynamic in a hurry by creating a strategic plan to share your great content and engage with others so you show up on their profiles. You must do something to stay top of mind with your connections and establish yourself as the trusted resource in your field.

• Posting regular “status updates” (original or shared) on LinkedIn allows you to demonstrate your expertise and add value to other businesses. Taking it a notch up by writing LinkedIn Articles – which are essentially longer form blog posts – that allow you to show your knowledge, provide insights, and establish yourself as a go-to person in your field.
• “Liking” other people’s posts is a fine strategy but a much better one is to actually comment on their posts. When you comment, you leave your name, photo, and headline on that post, allowing others to notice you and perhaps click over to your profile (especially if you have a snappy headline!) It’s like dropping little business cards all over LinkedIn, but not in a cheesy way – because you are adding smart, insightful comments, not trying to sell anyone.

There you have it, an easy game plan for the fall (I can’t wait for football!) to boost your visibility and credibility on the world’s largest business social platform. It’s a strategy that has worked for thousands of business professionals so give it a shot and let me know what magic happens!

For those that need a little boost to get started, I invite you to check out my LinkedIn Reality Check service ($97) – a full written evaluation of your LinkedIn profile along with a 30-minute Zoom call with me to review the feedback and get your questions answered.  I look forward to working with you soon!

About Karen

Karen Rosenzweig is a marketing consultant, social media coach and trainer, author, and owner of One Smart Cookie Marketing. She has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and small business owners increase their customer base and gain visibility through Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging and other social media tools.
Her coaching program allows her to act as “training wheels” for a business, teaching them how to authentically and successfully manage their own social media.

She is a fun and dynamic speaker and presents engaging workshops to audiences eager to learn how to leverage social media tools to make more money in their business.