BernieBorges.com Blog: Social Media and Web Marketing

7 Attributes of a Winning LinkedIn Profile

When I meet someone in a business setting I want to get to know, the first place I turn is LinkedIn. You can learn a lot about a person by reviewing their LinkedIn footprint. Did you notice the description I used? What is your LinkedIn footprint? Let’s explore what I mean by this.

Generally, when I review someone’s LinkedIn’s profile I’m looking for seven winning attributes.

• One - Is their profile complete, including a simple, yet business photo. Sorry, a photo of you holding your adorable toddler on your lap belongs on Facebook, not on LinkedIn.
• Two - How many connections do they have? While it’s not all about connections, someone with fewer than 100 connections isn’t very active on LinkedIn. It tells me they don’t take LinkedIn seriously as a viable online platform for networking and business development.
• Three - Have they been recommended? Even though all recommendations are positive, the words used can provide valuable insights.
• Four - How are we connected? LinkedIn will indicate if there are people in my network connected to the person, which can identify common connections.
• Five - Do they belong to any groups, and which ones? Similarly, if we happen to be members of a group, there may be common interests.
• Six - What apps have been installed that share the person’s content strategy, for example Slideshare or WordPress.
• Seven - Does he/she update their status periodically. Someone who never updates their status is a sign they don’t understand the networking value of LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a Dynamic Online Tool

Too many people perceive LinkedIn as a static online resume. That is a very limited view of LinkedIn. In reality, LinkedIn is a vibrant community of professionals where valuable networking occurs every day! It’s well known that LinkedIn is the top social media tool for B2B marketers.

As in any networking, you have to work at it. That means you have to devote some time to it. I know that many people have hectic travel schedules and very heavy demands on their time between their professional commitments and their family commitments. So, how can you possibly spend time networking in LinkedIn with such heavy demands?

I don’t have a simple answer for that. Every person’s situation is unique. But, I do know this. We all make time for the things that are important to us. Business professionals who place value in building their network, building new relationships and maintaining the relationships with people they’ve met over the years in their career, make some time to network in LinkedIn. At the time of this writing, 100 million people are on LinkedIn.

I’m convinced that the primary reason busy professionals don’t spend more time networking in LinkedIn is because they don’t fully understand its value in building relationships online.

Networking in LinkedIn can result in at least these benefits:

• New connections that can result in (fill in the blank that interests you)
• A stronger personal brand that can result in (fill in the blank that interests you)
• Insights at companies you follow that can result in (fill in the blank that interests you)

Simply stated, working professionals can’t afford not to devote some amount of time to building their network and relationships in LinkedIn.

If you don’t currently spend at least 30 minutes each week in LinkedIn, I respectfully suggest you are missing out on valuable opportunities. I spend about 15 to 30 minutes every day in LinkedIn building my network and my personal brand.

If you I and are not connected on LinkedIn, I welcome your invitation. But, if we’ve never had any previous contact, please personalize your LinkedIn invitation with a short note mentioning this blog post.

I hope to see you around LinkedIn.

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