Power Formula LinkedIn Blog

Here is How to Make LinkedIn Part of Your 2023 Success Plan

Posted on December 28, 2022
Wayne Breitbarth

Are you starting to put your game plan together for 2023? Is LinkedIn part of that plan? If not, it's probably because you don't know exactly what to do each week to get results.

Well, it's your lucky day. I created a LinkedIn Game Plan for Success: Your One-Hour Weekly Playbook for Results. It's received rave reviews from my audiences, and I know you're going to love it, too.

Start following these steps now, and make them a part of your weekly routine in 2023.
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2023 LinkedIn Game Plan for Success

You can download the full worksheet below, but here's a quick summary of the weekly process that's sure to kick-start your business and career in the new year.

Page number references in the worksheet refer to the 4th Edition of my book The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success. Pick up a copy at your nearby bookstore or Amazon.com to learn more simple ways to acquire lucrative new customers, land a great new job, and, of course, substantially boost your income.

1. Start by checking out profiles of people you're considering connecting with, taking specific note of the things they're posting and sharing.
Consider mentioning them using the "@" sign before typing in their name when sharing one of their updates. Then be sure to keep an eye on your Who's Viewed Your Profile section to see if they check you out. That would be a good sign.

2. Use a custom invitation and invite ten people in your target audience to join your network. This will take about 15 minutes per week, but strengthening your network is bound to result in more future business.

3. Send a follow-up thank-you note to ten people who have agreed to join your network. This should only take about ten minutes, and it gives you an opportunity to request a meeting or phone call that could lead to new business or lucrative referrals.

4. Engage with your audience. Like, share, or comment on status updates, published posts, or company page updates made by ten of your most important connections. This, too, should only take about ten minutes, and it's a great way to stay on the radar of your target audience.

5. Share two or three status updates each week. This might take you 20 minutes per week, but it will go a long way toward establishing yourself as a rockstar in your field—and it also gives you an opportunity to promote your products and services.

You're now prepared to hit the ground running in the new year and make it your best year ever.

If you need my help in putting your 2023 LinkedIn strategy together, why not sign up for one of my LinkedIn profile optimization and custom strategy sessions, which includes a one-hour phone and screen-share session, a full critique of your personal profile or your LinkedIn company page, and much more, all for just $197. And for a limited time only, until January 15, 2023, I am including a recording of the session.

Click here to book your session.

 

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Take These LinkedIn Steps Now to Land a Great Job in 2023

Posted on December 19, 2022
Wayne Breitbarth

I am thinking of looking for a new job next year. What are the best LinkedIn strategies that I should be executing for my 2023 job search?

In the past couple months, this was one of the top questions I got from people who are looking to upgrade their careers.

In response to this question, along with multiple quick, actionable steps to take right away (several included in the rest of this article), I also suggest that they consider investing just $197 to get their profile critiqued by me and spend a full hour on their individual LinkedIn job search strategies. If you need help, check out the details and schedule your time here.

Here are the five foundational LinkedIn job search strategies and one specific action step for each of those strategies.
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OPTIMIZE your profile

Improve and expand your profile Headline. You only get one shot at a first impression. Make it a good one. It was expanded recently to 220 characters—so make sure you use all those characters to your benefit.

Keep in mind this section is some of the most fertile ground to plant the most important keywords recruiters and HR professionals will use to search for you.
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LEVERAGE your network

Let the right people in your network know you're looking for a job. Your LinkedIn network probably includes quite a few people who would be willing to help you secure a new position if you simply ask for their help. There are a couple ways LinkedIn can help you accomplish this.

The first way is to download your entire LinkedIn connections database. After you've reviewed and narrowed that list to people you think can help you with your job search, import the targeted list to a contact database you use to communicate with others (Outlook, Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, Gmail, etc.), and send a group email to update them about your job search.

To download your database, go to the Me tab on your top toolbar and select Settings & Privacy.

Next, select Get a copy of your data in the Data Privacy subsection. Then click the Connections box followed by the Request Archive button.

Within ten minutes you will receive a spreadsheet of all your first-degree connections, with each person's name, title, company name, and the date you connected.

Spend a few minutes reviewing and paring down the spreadsheet to the people you think could help you the most in your job search.

Note: The email addresses will not be in the column marked Email Addresses, but you can look them up and cut and paste them into the spreadsheet from their individual Contact info box on their profile.

The second way to leverage your network is to perform a targeted search of just your first-degree connections, and then send direct messages through LinkedIn to people you believe can help you. Learn specifically how to do that here.
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REVIEW your settings

Enable your Open to work setting. Lots of job seekers didn't even notice when this new feature became available a couple years ago. If you're one of those people, you better head to your settings ASAP and get this set up correctly. It won't take more than five minutes.

Start by clicking the pencil in your Open to work box just under your profile photo.

You can choose five specific job titles and locations you're interested in as well as the type of job (full-time, part-time, contract, etc.) and a few more bits of information that recruiters can use to search for you.

Also, this is where you can decide how public you want this information to be—recruiters only or everyone on LinkedIn. If you choose everyone on LinkedIn, you will get the green Open to work swoosh on your profile photo (see screen shot).

Enable this setting by following the steps outlined here.
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BUILD your target company list

Complete a filtered people search using the Alumni tab on the University page. One of the best tools for building out a target company list is the Alumni feature on the University page of a school you've attended. I have outlined how this feature works in detail in this article. Once you use the filters and decide what cities you'd like to work in, what type of job you want, etc., LinkedIn will display the companies that hire the most alumni in that job function.
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IMPROVE your LinkedIn routines and activities

Review profiles of and send connection requests to hiring managers and recruiters. Before we had LinkedIn, it was almost impossible to get a hiring manager or an industry-specific recruiter to look at your resume. But that's all changed now that you have a LinkedIn profile.

To get started, you'll need to use the advanced people search function. Search for people with specific titles at the companies you're targeting or applying to as well as recruiters who specialize in your region, industry, or job function.

To do an advanced people search, put your cursor in the top search box and click your Return/Enter key. Next, click the People button in the secondary toolbar that just appeared, and then click the All filters button.

Enter the appropriate information in the corresponding filter box (title, location, etc.), and then click the blue Show results button. Review the list Linkedin returns, looking for the person(s) you think you may be reporting to in the position you are thinking of or have applied for. Next, send a well-crafted note of introduction with your invitation to connect with them.

If you're considering a career move anytime soon, get busy and execute these simple but highly effective strategies, and you'll be well on your way to landing that great new job in 2023.

If you'd like more winning strategies for finding a terrific new job in the new year, consider signing up to spend an hour with me and seriously improve your LinkedIn profile and job search activities.

Here is what just a few of my past clients have said about my LinkedIn job search strategies:

"Great job offer received via LinkedIn only two days after consulting with Wayne! I've also received many compliments from recruiters saying that they are impressed with my background and what they've seen on my profile…He had some great suggestions that were quick and easy to implement…He also shared some valuable step-by-step techniques for making important connections."

"I attended a LinkedIn workshop by Wayne. Updated my LinkedIn profile using all his Awesome tips and got 4 interviews with top Fortune 500 companies 3 days later."

"Wayne has an eye-opening way of approaching LinkedIn and it helped me succeed in finding a job.  As soon I sat down and started applying his advice, my LinkedIn started flooding with recruiters for positions and companies that I was interested in. Within a few weeks, I had interviews for multiple companies and an offer from Meridian (Pfizer) which I accepted. Thank you, Wayne! I recommend anyone who wants to maximize the benefits of using LinkedIn to speak to Wayne."

Get your time booked with me now: https://www.powerformula.net/one-on-one-linkedin-consultation/

Over 60 million companies have LinkedIn company pages, and that's a great place to start, but you may not get the results you desire from your company page alone. The road to real corporate marketing success begins with company employees presenting a consistent branding message on their personal LinkedIn profiles.

But if you're company management, how can you help your employees share the responsibility for promoting your company's products or services?

It starts with creating LinkedIn best practices guidelines and sharing them with all employees. The guidelines should include profile standards as well as simple LinkedIn activities that will be helpful for the employees as well as the company.

A LinkedIn training session is a quick and easy way to share the guidelines with your employees—and they will be more likely to follow the guidelines if they understand the strategy behind them and see the personal value in addition to the corporate value.

Of course, I've provided LinkedIn training for hundreds of companies and would be happy to assist you and your company as well. Click here to check out the details and register for my upcoming virtual workshop on November 21 Optimize Your LinkedIn Company Page & Effectively Market Your Business.
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What to include in your company's LinkedIn best practices guidelines

The first six items below are typically one-time profile updates that all employees can quickly and easily perform. The last item includes activities employees should be encouraged to engage in on an ongoing basis.

1. Photo. Bring in a photographer and get professional headshots. You only get one chance to make a great first impression, and the photo is the first thing people see when they view someone’s profile.

2. Background photo. Design a standard company background image that all employees can put on their personal LinkedIn profiles. This could include your website address, physical address and phone number, photos of your products or facilities, etc.

3. Keywords. These are critical on LinkedIn, and if you expect your people to show up in a search, you have to give them a list of five to ten of the most searched-for terms for the company—these are usually your products, services, brands, etc.—and then encourage your employees to place them in the right spots on their profiles.

4. Standard company description paragraph(s). Share with them one succinct paragraph to be included in their About section and a more detailed two or three paragraphs to be included in their job description for their current job at your company.

5. Add media to Featured and current job experience entries. Give them videos, slide shows, photos of your best work or products, customer testimonials, etc. that they can display on their profile by uploading a file or linking to the information.

6. Each employee’s job entry correctly attached to your company page. Make sure your company logo shows up on their job entry for your company. This is must-have branding. If it doesn’t show up, it means (1) they added this job entry prior to your business having a company page with a logo attached or (2) they selected the wrong company or no company when adding this entry to their profile.

7. Sharing, liking and/or commenting on company status updates. This is a bit hard to monitor because it is ongoing and not a one-time profile change. But the more it’s done, the more sets of eyes your company updates are seen by, and we can all agree that is a good thing.

For additional LinkedIn company branding ideas, be sure to check out my upcoming virtual workshop on November 21 Optimize Your LinkedIn Company Page & Effectively Market Your Business. And all registrants get a link to the recording, so you don't have to attend live to get the benefit of this workshop.

Did You Miss These Great LinkedIn Company Page Changes?

Posted on November 5, 2022
Wayne Breitbarth

LinkedIn just keeps the changes coming, and this article will focus on the exciting changes relating to your LinkedIn company page (LinkedIn now refers to this simply as your "page"). And more good news—they don't require any kind of premium account or paid advertising.

If you're not the person responsible for your company's LinkedIn page, be sure to share this article with that person—he or she will thank you later.

Note: I will be covering these and so many more LinkedIn company page strategies at my next virtual workshop on Monday, November 21, Optimize Your LinkedIn Company Page & Effectively Market Your Business. 
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Best recent LinkedIn changes/updates for your company page

Here are the four game-changing LinkedIn company page changes, along with the action you need to take to make sure your company gets the exposure you need to grow your business and attract new employees.

Detailed list of followers. This list was available back in the early days of LinkedIn, then it disappeared, and now it's back. I hope and pray it's here to stay, but—just in case it isn't—be sure to review this list ASAP.

So, what exactly are you looking for?

You're looking to see if there is anyone on the list who looks like a potential employee, customer, supplier, someone you could partner with on a new product or service, etc. These people have made the purposeful choice to follow your page, which means they have an interest in your company. Therefore, it's your job to reach out and inquire about what their interest may be.

The simplest tactic is to send an invitation to connect with a customized note that inquires about their interest in your company. Sure, there will be spammers or totally unrelated people who follow your page, but don't let that fact stop you from finding the gold in that list. Be diligent, and mark your calendar to periodically check out the new followers. They're listed in the order they started following your page, and the month and year they became followers is also listed.

To get to your list of followers, click the down arrow to the right of the Analytics tab on your toolbar. Then select Followers. Scroll down, and you'll see a list of all your followers. The most recent ones will be at the top of the list.

Easy way to invite 250 people to follow your page each month. Another real goodie here (and one that people have been asking for) is each month you can invite a selected group of your personal connections to follow your page—and it's simple, too. Just check the box next to each person's name.

More good news: For every person you've invited who doesn't decide to follow your page, you receive a credit you can use to invite someone else the following month.

These invitations show up in your connections' open invitations list, right along with their new invitations to connect. Therefore, there's a high probability that your notification will be seen, and that's a good thing.

To get started, click the down arrow next to Admin tools on the top right of your company's home page. Please note that you need to be viewing this page in Admin mode and not Member mode in order to see the Admin tools arrow. Once you select Invite connections, you can check off up to 250 of your connections and invite them to follow your company page.

LinkedIn company page activity notifications. I can't believe this took so long, but now you can see exactly who is engaging with any of your company page posts. Because notifications are shown with a bold red indicator, you won't miss any opportunities to engage with the folks who are engaging with your posts.

People engaging with your posts and then your engaging with them will really help the organic reach of your posts. Reaching out to these people will help you strengthen relationships and begin new ones, which should ultimately lead to new customers and talented new employees.

You can access your company page Notifications tab by clicking Activity on your company page toolbar.

Notify employees of LinkedIn company page posts. You can now notify a group of your employees that you've posted an update by simply clicking Notify Employees after you've clicked the three dots on the post you're interested in notifying your employees about. These notifications go to some of your employees. Who receives them is based on LinkedIn's secret algorithm for relevancy. Then hopefully your employees will engage with the post, and some people in their networks will see the post in their LinkedIn home feed. You can use this notification feature once a day.

Another way to get the word out to a group of employees is to either send an email to them saying you just made a post or tag them in the first comment box of the post.

Whether you use the new, easy-to-use Notify Employees feature, a more traditional method, or both, the goal is to spark engagement. The more comments or shares your post gets, the more company page followers who will see it in their activity feed.

These are by far the most helpful changes LinkedIn has designed for your company page in at least ten years. Take full advantage of them, and not only will you gain some new customers, but you'll undoubtedly discover some terrific new team members as well.

SPECIAL OFFER

To learn about more terrific company page changes, address the mistakes you're making, and formulate a specific strategy for your company page, be sure to check out my November 21 virtual workshop Optimize Your LinkedIn Company Page & Effectively Market Your Business.

OK, You Viewed My LinkedIn Profile…Now What?

Posted on October 19, 2022
Wayne Breitbarth

After someone looks at your LinkedIn profile, you'd probably like them to call you, email you, or send you a LinkedIn connection request, right?

But what if the reader is not quite ready to take that big step? What if (s)he needs more information about you, your company, or your products/services before (s)he picks up the phone or reaches out to you with an email?

This is where calls to action (CTAs) come in. What is a CTA? Wikipedia says this:

"A call to action, or CTA, is a term used to describe a banner, button, or some type of graphic or text...meant to prompt a user to click it and continue down a conversion funnel."

Hubspot, one of the world's leaders in designing websites that concentrate on lead generation and inbound marketing, says:

"Calls to action (CTAs) are one of the key lead generation elements, and they should be used in each and every one of your marketing tactics: emails, social media updates, press releases, trade shows..."

Note: I will be covering these strategies and so many more at my upcoming two-hour virtual advanced sales workshop "Using LinkedIn to Generate a Steady Stream of Sales Prospects" on October 24. Check out the details and register here.
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What actions might you call people to take?

There are lots of possibilities, depending on your business purpose, but here are a few examples:
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  • Download an informational document
  • Watch a video or listen to a podcast
  • Download your resume
  • Go to your website
  • Read your blog
  • Read a product review
  • Sign up for a discovery call
  • Request a quote
  • Email you
  • Pick up the phone and call you
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How can you incorporate calls to action into your LinkedIn profile?

Your LinkedIn profile needs to have several CTAs to help move your reader down the conversion funnel and closer to that all-important step of contacting you. And if you have a company page, you'll want to put CTAs there as well.

The best sections on your profile to include your CTAs are:
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  • Headline
  • About (previously referred to as your Summary)
  • Featured
  • Job Experience
  • Contact Info
  • Status Updates
  • Projects
  • Publications
  • Long-form articles

Here are examples of CTAs I've included in the About and Featured sections of my profile. The Featured section is simply the very best CTA tool that LinkedIn has ever given us for our profiles.

Here is another example but this time from one of my Job Experience entries. I give people a couple easy ways to contact me or sign up for my virtual one-on-one LinkedIn consultation service.

Other great places to include CTAs on your profile include the Websites listing in your Contact Info section as well as the Publications and Projects sections. To see examples of these, check out my full LinkedIn profile.

Why not add some calls to action to your LinkedIn profile today, and hopefully your phone will start ringing just like mine.

A final reminder that I will be sharing a live LinkedIn demo of these strategies and more at my two-hour virtual advanced sales workshop on October 24. Here is the link to check out the details and register:  https://linkedinsalesoct2022.eventbrite.com

By the way, all registrants get a link to the recording, so you don't have to attend live to get the benefit of this workshop.

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Here’s a LinkedIn Setting You Better Think Twice About

Posted on October 16, 2022
Wayne Breitbarth

One of the best LinkedIn features often overlooked for business development purposes is the People Also Viewed box, which is in the right column of your profile. This tells you who else people are looking at besides you—and it's probably people who have similar characteristics to you.

Now, LinkedIn doesn't share exactly how it works (other than this interview with a former LinkedIn employee), and you have no control over who appears on your profile. However, below I'll show you how you can take it off your profile if you don't want it there.

Note: I will be covering these strategies and so many more at my upcoming two-hour virtual advanced sales workshop "Using LinkedIn to Generate a Steady Stream of Sales Prospects" on October 24. Check out the details and register here.
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How to capitalize on this great prospecting tool

If you look at a client's or prospective client's profile and scroll down to People Also Viewed, the list could be a target list of people very similar to the person whose profile you are viewing.

I suggest you check this list out often on your clients' and prospective clients' profiles, and add some of these names to your master prospect list. And, hey, why not try to connect with the ones you are not connected with using a customized invitation to connect.

Now, it's great to look at who's viewing other people's profiles, but you should decide whether you want People Also Viewed to show up on your profile. The default setting will put the list on your profile.

Personally, since I was tired of my competitors showing up on my profile, I unchecked the box. I feel pretty good about my decision because it doesn't stop me from seeing the People Also Viewed list on other people's profiles (unless they've also unchecked the box). And if my competitors haven't unchecked the box, I can still show up in the People Also Viewed list on their profiles. It seems like a no-brainer to me.

If you'd like to remove the People Also Viewed list from your profile, click here to learn how to change your setting.

Over time, if more and more people do what I'm suggesting, this feature will become less helpful. But, trust me, LinkedIn will probably change something before we get to that point. Take advantage of it while you can.

A final reminder that I will be sharing a live LinkedIn demo of these strategies and more at my two-hour virtual advanced sales workshop on October 24. Here is the link to check out the details and register:  https://linkedinsalesoct2022.eventbrite.com

By the way, all registrants get a link to the recording, so you don't have to attend live to get the benefit of this valuable workshop.

 

I Hope You Didn’t Make This Critical LinkedIn Mistake

Posted on October 10, 2022
Wayne Breitbarth

If you haven't given serious thought to what location and industry you've selected on your LinkedIn profile, you're probably leaving money on the table. Why? Because you aren't coming up in the search list when your target audience uses them to search for someone like you.

Most people haven't given this choice a moment's consideration since setting up their profile many years ago. I suggest now is a good time to reconsider what you've selected so you can be sure your choices are helping you accomplish your current goals and your goals going forward.

Note: I will be covering these strategies and so many more at my upcoming two-hour virtual advanced sales workshop "Using LinkedIn to Generate a Steady Stream of Sales Prospects" on October 24. Check out the details and register here.


The options are limited but very important

LinkedIn allows you to choose only one industry and one location. Since many of us wear more than one hat and do business nationally or even globally, this can be quite challenging.

(Note: Currently the industry you select is not displayed on your profile, but it's still important because it's one of the most used search filters.)

In addition, they're extremely important when people search with Google and other search engines as well.

Industry and Location are two of the filter options when you use the LinkedIn advanced people searching function. They're frequently used by people who are looking for your products, services, expertise, and—especially if you're looking for a job—YOU.
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How to choose the best location and industry

Start by putting yourself in the shoes of people who are searching for you or someone like you. What location and industry might they put in the advanced search boxes? Here are some strategies to help you get started:
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  • If you're a job seeker and thinking about relocating or working in a new industry, use the new location and industry.
  • If you're a sales professional who sells your products and services in a certain part of the country or world or to a specific industry, consider using that location and industry. In other words, think about your customers' industries and locations. This may take priority over your personal industry and location.
  • If you're not seeking a new job and aren't directly selling anything, select the broadest but still correct location (e.g., select Greater Milwaukee Area instead of Thiensville, Wisconsin).
  • If you have multiple industry and location choices that are equally good, consider changing them out from time to time to your alternative choices.
  • Consider mentioning multiple cities, regions or industries in other profile sections to improve your search ranking and your chances of being found. The sections that work well for this would be your About, Job Experiences, Job Locations, Interests, and maybe even your Headline if it's important enough.
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  • Share your thought process for your location and industry choices with others at your company, industry associations, networking groups, etc., and get their feedback. There probably isn't only one correct answer, so getting the opinions of other knowledgeable people who know your situation is a no-brainer.
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How to enter or adjust your industry and location

Follow these simple steps, and you'll greatly improve your chances of being found by your target audience.

Go to your profile by clicking the Me icon in your top toolbar.

Click the View Profile button.

Click the pencil to the right of your profile photo.

Select your desired industry from the drop-down menu.

Select your country from the drop-down menu.

Type in your postal code.

Select either a region or city that is provided from the Locations within this area box. I suggest you select the larger of the two choices LinkedIn shares with you once you put in your desired zip code.

Select your desired industry from the drop-down menu.

Click Save.

Don't make the mistake your competitors are probably making—not taking the time to carefully choose their industry and location or, worse yet, letting LinkedIn make the location choice for them.

Granted, because of LinkedIn's limitations, there's probably no perfect answer. But making a conscious, thoughtful decision about what location and industry to choose is sure to give you a leg up on your competitors.

A final reminder that I will be sharing a live LinkedIn demo of these strategies and more at my two-hour virtual advanced sales workshop on October 24. Here is the link to check out the details and register:  https://linkedinsalesoct2022.eventbrite.com

By the way, all registrants get a link to the recording, so you don't have to attend live to get the benefit of this workshop.

 

Does Your LinkedIn Profile Really Sound Like You?

Posted on September 22, 2022
Wayne Breitbarth

"Before I meet someone for the first time, I send them a link to my profile. I think that—when we meet someone—the entire first meeting (as well as the rest of the relationship) is a confirmation (or correction) of our pre-existing expectations. I send my profile in advance because I think it will establish the right expectations. Looking at my LinkedIn profile is a lot like meeting me."
Artie Isaac (Vistage chair, CEO coach, and  creativity trainer—convening CEO peer groups)

When my friend Artie Isaac said that, I had to stop and ask him to repeat it. Then I realized, holy cow, this is one of the best overall LinkedIn profile strategies I've ever heard—and I was bummed I didn't think of it myself!

If you aren't using this brilliant strategy, it just might be the reason your LinkedIn profile is not generating the profile views, connection requests, or, more importantly, meeting requests/phone calls/emails, etc. you'd like to see from the right people.

However, if you're going to direct people to your profile, you need to be certain it adequately reflects not only your experience but also your personality and passion—in other words, exactly what makes you tick.
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9 quick and easy profile updates

You only get one chance to make a powerful first impression. These nine simple profile tweaks will help you put your best foot forward and engage with the people who look at your profile.

1.  Profile photo. Be sure your profile photo is current and you're wearing your typical business attire because you want them to recognize you when you meet.

2.  Background photo. If you're going to replace the default background, make sure it presents a positive image that reflects your personal brand. The other day I had a job seeker whose background photo was a beach view, a drink, a palm tree, and his sunburnt feet. I have a feeling prospective employers might think he's more focused on his PTO than their job.

3.  Headline. Are headlines important in the articles you read? Of course, they are, and the same is true of your LinkedIn headline. Don't let this powerful branding section consist of just your title and current company name (this is the LinkedIn default). Make the most of the 220 characters, and include not only your professional occupation and skills, but consider using some of the space to showcase a personal interest or passion.

Visit the Free Resources section of my website to download my Definitive Worksheet to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile Headline. It includes more tips on this important profile section.

4.  First person. Write your profile in the first person, because that makes it easier to draw people in and quickly put them at ease. Third person can make you appear distant.

5.  Tone. Be sure the tone of your profile reflects your personality—such as friendly, funny, helpful, etc.—while still keeping in mind that LinkedIn is a professional site.

6.  Concern for others. If you share your time and talents with nonprofit organizations, you may wish to include a reference to this in your About section (formerly called the Summary section) or add separate Job Experience entries to share more specific details about your involvement with particular groups. You can also use the Volunteering special profile section. Adding media to these profile sections can make them more interesting—and you can also request recommendations. These references can be great conversation starters.

7.  LinkedIn activity. Any status updates or published posts you originate or like, comment on, or share will be a reflection of your personality and style. Therefore, be sure to think about how it might be perceived before clicking any of those buttons.

Your current activity is prominently displayed in the Activity box toward the top of your profile, and thus it grabs your viewers' attention. This will give readers of your profile a good feel for the information and type of audience you're passionate about.

8. Featured section. This fairly newish section on your profile is a great way to share not only documents that help you generate more business or find a job, but why not include information from your favorite nonprofit, business association or university/school?

9.  Accomplishments. Add the Accomplishments section to your profile, and include your most important personal interests (without "going all Facebook"). These can also be good conversation starters.

After you update your profile, ask a close friend or business associate if it's a positive and accurate representation of who you are—or, as my friend Artie said, does it feel a lot like meeting you?  Make a great first impression, and it's sure to improve your LinkedIn ROI.

If you want me to check your profile as part of my full profile critique and also help you develop strategies to skyrocket your business and career, then take advantage of my special one-hour $197 LinkedIn consultation. This consultation will take place on the phone, and I'll share my desktop screen with you. I will email your marked-up profile to you prior to our session. Click here to book your session.

Here are a few comments from my recent clients:

"Great job offer received via LinkedIn only two days after consulting with Wayne!"

"I highly recommend Wayne's 1:1 Linked In coaching session. Per Wayne's guidance, I reached out to the SVP of Client Success for a company I saw a suitable role. I used language Wayne provided in our 1:1 session to initiate the contact...Since then I've had an initial interview and interacted with the SVP multiple times."

"He made the learning experience fun, interesting, and was a big help to me. It has increased my exposure almost two-fold in a couple weeks."

Don't miss your chance to get results like these. Book your session now by clicking here. Space is limited.

 

During my upcoming virtual workshop Using LinkedIn to Recruit Top Talent Without a Premium Account on September 26, I'll show you eight ways to effectively use free LinkedIn to directly find and reach out to people who have the perfect experience for your open positions. You can check out the details of that workshop and register here.

Here is a preview of just one of the eight highly productive LinkedIn strategies I will be sharing during the workshop.

LinkedIn Alumni Tab on the University Page. Use the Alumni feature to find potential candidates who attended a specific school. Fellow alumni of the schools you attended is a good place to start.

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. In the large search box on your top toolbar, type the name of the school you're interested in. When it shows up in the drop-down list, choose that entry—or you can just click the name of a school on anyone’s profile.

2. Once you're on the university's page, click the Alumni tab. This will take you to that school's Alumni page.

3. You can now filter the entire list by entering words in the Search alumni by title, keyword or company box, entering years in the Start year and End year boxes, or selecting or entering information into one or more of these six columnar filters:

      • Where they live
      • Where they work
      • What they do
      • What they studied
      • What they are skilled at
      • How you are connected

If you are looking for a person from a certain age group or years of experience, use the Start year or End year filters on the top right to find alumni who are probably in that age range. Granted, it isn’t exactly an age search because not everyone gets an undergrad degree at age 22, but it should still provide some valuable information.

4. Once you have selected your filters on the Alumni page by clicking the bars under your desired selections, LinkedIn displays a mini-profile for everyone who meets your filtering criteria.

Without leaving the page, you can send a message to any first-degree connections or use a personalized message to invite anyone on the list to join your network. As part of your personalized invitation, you can begin a conversation about your job opening.

If you'd like to see this strategy demonstrated on live LinkedIn or learn about my other seven proven ways to find great employees with a free LinkedIn account, then join me on September 26—or at least register so you can get the recording after the event. The full 90-minute workshop is only $99 plus fees.

Here is the link to check out all the details and grab your seat:

https://linkedinrecruitingfall2022.eventbrite.com

 

It's amazing to me how many people have been on LinkedIn for six, eight, even ten years or more and still don't know how to find the exact right person on LinkedIn—and it doesn't even require a premium account to do it!

If that sounds like you, I'm about to show you (step by step) how easy it is to search into LinkedIn's 780 million profiles and find top-notch candidates for your job openings. I'll also give you a template for starting conversations with those potential employees.

To learn all of my best strategies for capitalizing on LinkedIn's recruiting potential, join me on Monday, September 26, from noon-1:30PM CT, for my webinar Using LinkedIn to Recruit Top Talent Without a Premium Account.

If you can't attend live, no worries, because you'll receive a link to view the recording at your leisure. Seating is limited, so learn more and grab your seat now at https://linkedinrecruitingfall2022.eventbrite.com.

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Simple steps to discover highly qualified candidates

The key to this strategy is taking advantage of LinkedIn's robust search capabilities and sending a short message (300 characters) to a potential candidate as part of an invitation to connect.

Here are the steps:

To get to all the free Advanced People Search filters, put your cursor in the top search box > click Enter or Return on your keyboard > click the People button on the left of the new toolbar that shows up right below the main toolbar > choose the All filters button on the right of the same toolbar. What then floats in from the right are all the available filters to get yourself the very best list of candidates.

Use these filters when building your Advanced People Search:
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  • Title. Be sure to try some different words for the same job.
    .
  • Keywords. Here you can get very creative, using things like specialty software, skills, specific industries, territories or regions of the country, etc. Find interview-ready candidates by including words like pursuingseeking or looking.
    .
  • Companies. Put your competitor's name(s) here. You can choose current or past, based on your desire to hire someone who is still there, has left their employ, or both. This is really helpful. It's how I found the last employee I hired.
    .
  • Connections of. Drop the name of one of your connections in this filter box, and then use any of the other filters to get a great list of potential candidates that he or she knows.

Once you find a combination of filters that produces a good list of qualified candidates, spend time reviewing details on the individual profiles of the best-looking candidates.

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How to engage with impressive candidates

The next step is to click either the Connect button on their profile or if the Connect button is not on their profile, click the More button to the right of the Follow button, and then you'll have a choice in the drop-down that says Connect.

LinkedIn will then ask if you want to forward a message to the individual (maximum of 300 characters), and in it you can share with them your desire to have them consider your position. This message can vary, but try something like this:

Hello, [insert first name]:

Based on a review of your profile, I think you might be a great fit for an outstanding opportunity at our company. If you'd like to have a CONFIDENTIAL conversation about this, let me know. In the meantime, I'd be honored to have you join my network. 

I hope to talk to you soon.

Wayne

By simply cutting and pasting the message and inserting each candidate's name, you can quickly reach out to lots of prequalified candidates without spending a dime.

To learn more quick, easy, and FREE strategies to fill your company's open positions with top-notch people, join me on Monday, September 26, for my webinar Using LinkedIn to Recruit Top Talent Without a Premium Account.