The folks at LinkedIn have been busy! By now you have experienced the homepage make-over, the changes to company pages and the endorsement features. You may also have noticed a drop in your completeness percentage — mine recently dropped 5%. And, most recently, you’ve been given the opportunity to connect with “Influencers” — a select panel of 150 thought leaders to follow right from your homepage.
LinkedIn is a great tool. It is important not only to use it, but also learn about the new features and leverage the ones that improve your results. Consistently managing your profile will enhance your personal brand and further your career goals.
So, how do you maximize your profile and all the new changes?
1. Use your homepage to connect with and to be valuable and visible to your network. The LinkedIn homepage recommends news of interest to you, shows new status updates and provides an easy way to directly engage with your network from those updates. You can comment or send a message in seconds. You can filter and customize the view of the page.
2. Take advantage of the new streamlined design of Company Pages. Company updates and connections are easier to locate and are now available on your phone. Navigation and career opportunities are more engaging and the company can personalize the experience if they wish to do so.
3. Make the most of the new Endorsements feature. LinkedIn is touting this newest feature as “Kudos with Just One Click.” Though the jury is still out on the value of this feature, the premise is that anyone can recognize someone’s skills or expertise with just one quick click. When you visit a profile, a pop-up box will appear asking, “Pssst, Cindy – Does John have expertise in these areas? Click the Skill button to endorse them!” I think it is a bit cheesy — time will tell if this feature truly adds value or not. This feature may help you if your profile is on-brand and focused. If not, it may cause confusion and harm if you have 50 skill items listed (i.e., no clear focus).
4. Finally, as I noted above, you may have noticed a drop in your profile completeness. I would encourage you to manage your profile and not allow LinkedIn to pressure you to do what is good for their data collection efforts. When you see their gentle nudges, ask yourself, “Is this good for my brand?” and “Does it help my target audience?” If the answer is “no,” move on.
If you are interested in more information on all the recent changes, the LinkedIn blog topics tagged with ‘new LinkedIn Features’ have more details and tips.
Remember, a quality profile is critical to your personal brand, career management and your career opportunities. You can leverage LinkedIn and its power with focus and about 15 minutes a week. If you need some help with your LinkedIn Profile let’s talk about a Fast Track solution for your LinkedIn challenge.
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