Why LinkedIn matters (and also why thinking matters)
/Getting schooled by dad.
If you need to work or want to meet people in a professional capacity, you must be on LinkedIn! The good news: you probably don’t need to be on Facebook. Phew, right? The bad news (of course): most people create ghastly or – worse! – boring profiles. If you did this, don’t despair; I’m here to help you understand why LinkedIn matters and what to consider before sitting down and writing your masterpiece.
There’s no getting around it – LinkedIn matters
Ever hear folks complain, ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’? While that may be annoying to hear and irritating to accept, it’s true in many situations, a lot of the time. That’s why LinkedIn is important – it’s your online platform for getting to know people. You meet someone, you connect on LinkedIn. Or you spy on them and see who they know. It’s a great platform for opening up your professional world and if you’re interested in expanding your network, it’s actually pretty easy to turn an online connection into a real-life chit-chat. And, boom! Now you know someone new! And, they know you.
Know, like and trust
If you’re the vice president of a top-rated company, in some ways it doesn’t matter what your profile says* – people want to check out high-level influencers. For those of us without c-suite titles, we need to stack the deck in our favour by using relevant key words (to help us be found) and creating a profile that keeps our audience interested. Once they’re willing to keep reading, we can use our words to cultivate the ‘know, like and trust’ factor. When we create a profile that gives our audience a sense of who we are (and what we’re capable of), it increases the chance that some sort of connection will happen, even if it’s just in their mind at first. So if you want to use LinkedIn to get to know people, make it easier for them to get to know you first!
Think, think, think!
I’m all for action – one of my favourite clichés is ‘less talk, more rock’ – but I’m also strongly in favour of thinking first. In the long run, it really does save time and when it comes to communicating, it just makes you look good. Back to that good news…don’t even worry about making/re-making your LinkedIn profile today – that’s not even on the agenda! Instead, I’m going to take you through a few questions to think about. Big questions to get you thinking about what you’re doing now and how you want to spend your working hours. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is taking the next few days or weeks to consider these questions and jot down your thoughts. I should warn you though…asking yourself big questions and seriously answering them can be fairly disruptive to your own status quo.
Interrogate yourself
Before you craft an interesting professional profile, get your pen and paper and answer these questions:
What do you want your profile to accomplish?
Who is your target audience? Who do you want to connect with?
What skills and traits do you want to highlight?
What are you doing with your career right now? Holding steady? Making a small adjustment? Pursuing major change?
What value do you offer your audience?
Consider these questions and use the answers to guide the content of your LinkedIn profile. This will set you apart from most of the 10 million Canadians on LinkedIn!
Ready? Set? Go!
*Executive Assistants: don’t let a bad profile happen to your boss. So embarrassing!
I'm Andrea Bassett, an executive ghostwriter and content marketing writer in Toronto and I’ve spent the last decade serving executives.
I write thought leadership content marketing for executives and/or their content marketing teams. My specializations are corporate wellness, benefits, employee assistance programs, leadership & coaching, encryption & cybersecurity and strength training for seniors.
To talk about a content marketing project, call me at 647-502-3187 or send a note to andrea@redsailwriters.com.
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