Articles

How to Stand Out on LinkedIn

by Leigh Milligan, Head Editor, INALJ Wisconsin

How to Stand Out on LinkedIn

20206_10151341509208669_846428408_nA couple weeks ago, I attended a webinar through Drexel University called “How to Stand Out in the LinkedIn Network” The title of the webinar caught my eye and I decided to attend as I love professional development opportunities.  I use LinkedIn as a job search and networking tool and it has been working out great for me. However, I wanted to learn more as to how I could expand on what I already have on LinkedIn, to better my chances for network connections and library employment.

The webinar was given by Melonie Dodaro, whose expertise is in social media, and she is Canada’s # 1 LinkedIn expert. She founded Top Dog Social Media, a company whose goal is to help business owners and professionals master the world of social media marketing. Her company gives courses on social media and has speakers available to present on topics concerning social media. Top Dog Media’s website gives tons of strategies and tips on how to use social media as a marketing tool.

Here’s what I took away from the webinar:

·         Optimize your results: Make sure your name shows up at the top of search results on LinkedIn and on web searches such as Google. Choose the right keywords. By optimizing your results, your number of professional connections will increase. Clients are looking for specific types of people to fill job positions, so if you use the right keywords that fit job descriptions, you are more than likely to be found on LinkedIn.
·         LinkedIn is not a personal network like Facebook and Twitter; it is a business connection network.
·         Rather than putting your job position in your headline, use descriptive keywords to show what you can offer clients.
·         Optimize your current work experience: Use descriptive keywords. Put down the cities you work or have worked in, and include your past work experiences.
·         No keyword stuffing, it will make you look stuffy.
·         Optimize your summary with keywords.
·         Speak to your ideal client using your profile, speak in first person, and speak to your target market.

How can you stand out in the LinkedIn Network?

·         Complete entire profile; include a professional picture of yourself.
·         Fill character limit.
·         Add a video to your profile. The video could be a welcome video to your profile, tips on area of expertise, or a testimonial video for your ideal client. Whatever you use your video for; it will make your stand out!
·         Add skills and keywords. To get endorsed for skills, endorse others for their skills.
·         Optimize your profile to take advantage of all opportunities.
·         Been seen where your ideal clients are, join groups on LinkedIn.
·         Used LinkedIn to ask for Recommendations.
·         Personalize your message when asking for a recommendation, don’t use the default message, tell them why you want the recommendation, and make it easy!
·         Reciprocate, write recommendations for others.
Why LinkedIn?

·         2 new people join LinkedIn every second.
·         The average household income on LinkedIn is $109,000
·         #1 Business Social Network
·         People are 2 times more confident in LinkedIn. (http://topdogsocialmedia.com/linkedin-marketing)
LinkedIn can help you:
·         Find perfect clients for business.
·         Position yourself as an authority on a topic.
·         Find New Opportunities.

Here’s some great LinkedIn Groups you can join:
Social Media Marketing in Canada
Drexel University Alumni Association Networking Group
American Library Association
Librarianship Job Search and Careers
INALJ-The I Need A Library Job Group (Shameless plug 🙂  )
Some Links to some great sites about LinkedIn:
LinkedIn Profit Formula
Top Dog Social Media
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn!

Naomi House

Naomi House, MLIS, is the founder and publisher of the popular webzine and jobs list INALJ.com (formerly I Need a Library Job) and former CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of T160K.org, a crowdfunding platform focused on African patrimony, heritage and cultural projects. INALJ was founded in October 2010 with the assistance of her fellow Rutgers classmate, Elizabeth Leonard. Its social media presence has grown to include Facebook (retired in 2016), Twitter and a LinkedIn group, in addition to the interviews, articles and jobs found on INALJ. INALJ has had over 21 Million page hits and helped many, many thousands of librarians find employment! Through grassroots marketing, word of mouth and a real focus on exploring unconventional resources for job leads, INALJ grew from a subscription base of 20 friends to a website with over 500,000 visits in one month. Naomi believes that well-sourced quantity is quality in this narrow job market and INALJ reflects this with many new jobs published daily. She has also written for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 LexisNexis Government Info Pro and many other publications in the past decade. She presents whenever she can, including serving on three panels at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Las Vegas; as breakout presenter at OCLC EMEA in Cape Town, South Africa; as a keynote speaker at the Virginia Library Association annual meeting; at the National Press Club in Washington DC; McGill University in Montreal, Canada; the University of the Emirates, Dubai, MLIS program and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Naomi was a Reference, Marketing and Acquisitions Librarian for a contractor at a federal library outside Washington, DC, and has been living and working in Budapest, Hungary and Western New York State. She spent years running her husband’s moving labor website, fixed and sold old houses and assisted her husband cooking delicious Pakistani food. She is preparing to re-enter the workforce and is job hunting. Her husband is now the co-editor of INALJ, a true support!  She has heard of spare time but hasn’t encountered it lately. She pronounces INALJ as eye-na-elle-jay. 

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