First in a Five Post Series

I’m helping a family law firm with their content marketing efforts, and learned that some of the attorneys do not have LinkedIn profiles and that others have profiles but aren’t doing much with them. These attorneys are very busy people, and the common reason they haven’t done anything with LinkedIn is due to the time crunch they believe is involved.

As with anything, you get out of it what you put into it. Many high profile sales people like Jill Konrath, Lori Richardson and those in content marketing like Ardath Albee and Carole Mahoney have been highlighting the success businesses and professionals can achieve using LinkedIn. They provide tons of social proof.

What I’m creating is a step-by-step cheatsheet that anyone who is just starting with LinkedIn can use to get up to speed quickly in a few bite-sized chunks that don’t take a lot of time.

Here’s Week One. I’ll be sharing the other weeks over the course of the next four or five weeks. I’d appreciate your feedback.

Week One: Getting Started with Your LinkedIn Profile

Set up a profile/account

1)      Use your personal email to sign up so you always have access throughout your career.

2)      Find (or take) and upload a good professional headshot also known as a photo to accompany your profile. People want to know what you look like, and if you don’t have a photo, people will wonder why not or what are you hiding. A photo builds trust.

 

3)      Write a headline using your top keywords. Don’t just put your title but tell pepole who you are and what you do.

Here’s Mine:  B2B Content Writer | Freelance Journalist I create compelling content that helps companies connect with customers.

Read this great blog post, Crafting an SEO- and Human-Friendly LinkedIn Headline if you need more help in crafting a headline.

 

4)      Fill out this guide before you fill out the rest of your profile. Carole Mahoney wrote it to help folks like you. She is a LinkedIn expert who coaches people on how to use LinkedIn for sales.

5)      Upload the information you created from the Optimize your LinkedIn Profile worksheet.

No. 4 will take you a little bit of time. If you are feeling stumped at what to include in your profile, take a look at what other people have included in your profession. Don’t worry if they have a lot more information, links, connections and endorsements. Focus on what they have said and how they said it.

As I mentioned, I’ll be posting the additional weeks quick bites over the next four to five weeks. Since I’m delivering emails along these lines to my client each Tuesday, I’ll upload the posts that day as well.

Beginners: Please leave me questions about what might not be clear.
Veterans: I’d love to hear how I can improve this Cheat Sheet or what else you would have started off with. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.