By now, you must realize how important creating and maintaining a presence on LinkedIn is; if you don’t know why…see my first IN post.
I know social media can seem like a thankless chore but this IS different. In today’s fast-paced, connection-driven world, you cannot afford to ignore the importance of LinkedIn. Believe me – the rewards will surprise you. Not only does LinkedIn provide you with invaluable professional connections, it’s a great resource for staying on top of what’s important in your industry. So, to get started:
- Come up with a scheduled set of key tasks to do
- Each day/each week – pick from below.
- Schedule it! Write down when and which taks you’ll do to stay on top of it with a minimal time investment.
Daily:
- Check all of your updates and responding as appropriate; look at notifications, connection requests, and messages.
- Pay some attention to activity in your news feed. Comment, like, and share others’ posts; be an active participant!
- Share any recent news from your company, and browse through LinkedIn Pulse to stay current on news within your industry.
Several Times a Week:
- Think about quality “shares” with your network as updates. Make sure it’s something others will find helpful. This can be an article, a relevant quote, or a new insight into your industry. Make sure everything you post is professional.
- Check out what LinkedIn Influencers are up to on a regular basis via LinkedIn Pulse. Share anything you find that you think your connections could benefit from!
Weekly:
- Connect with any new professional acquaintances—you should aim for at least 500 connections – to start J
- Connect with your customers and prospective-customers’ companies as well. Take the time to edit your groups: find new groups to join, and weed out the ones that are inactive or irrelevant.
Occasionally:
- Go through your profile from time to time and add any new skills or qualifications you’ve acquired.
- Endorse skills in trusted colleagues, and requesting endorsements when appropriate. Be conservative with endorsements; endorsing the wrong people, or asking for endorsements from too many people, can come across as unprofessional.
Sounds overwhelming? Don’t despair! Pick one or two things a day or week and soon it will become a part of your routine, and before you know it, you’ll be a LinkedIn pro!
My secret? I have the LinkedIn App loaded on my phone and preform all of these tasks while waiting in lines, or for appointments, or when I need a little diversion from whatever else is in front of me at the moment!
Keep your eyes peeled for a third blog in my LinkedIn series to help you whip your profile into shape!
Go Get Noticed!