"If you're not going to do it right, there is no point wasting your time (and everyone else's) on LinkedIn." Alison Doyle the great job search consultant wrote those words in her fantastic blog Don't Waste Your Time on LinkedIn. Echoing Alison's post I would like to add my two cents worth and give you 5 reasons why you can't do LinkedIn halfway.

 

1. Important People Are Looking For You

Who is on LinkedIn?

• Your Boss
• Your Next Boss
• Your Customer
• Your Competition
• Your Peers
• Many Others You Don't Know But Need to Know

They are all waiting to see and be impressed by you! -- And you can't impress when you are doing LinkedIn halfway.

 

2. An Incomplete Profile Is Like Having No Profile

Your profile is the linchpin of your professional networking on LinkedIn. A complete profile is essential and advantageous; with greater opportunity to be seen and connect with over 200 million people around the world. It is the key to achieving your dreams and goals!

 

3. You Have to Go Public to Be Effective

As I have stated before, LinkedIn is the site for professional networking. It is designed to display only professional information. I strongly urge all my clients to go public with their profiles and pictures; so they can be viewed and people can network with you. If you believe that the information you are putting on LinkedIn will somehow compromise your privacy, then, LinkedIn is not for you; and you should have no further activity on it.  

  

4. You Can't Network Without Connections

The "big fat secret" about LinkedIn is that it is a place for networking. You need connections to network. Regardless of your connection strategy you need to reach out to people to grow a cadre of capable connections who can be of use to you.

 

 

While I am on the subject of reaching out for connections I have to share a concern I have regarding connection requests on LinkedIn. I am very grateful for the attention my blogs generate. After each blog, I get a pleather of people wanting to connect with me. They use the standard LinkedIn boiler plate line "I'd like to connect with you on LinkedIn". Now, imagine if we were at a networking event and every person who wanted to connect with you used the line "I'd like to connect with you." How many people would you really connect with? The key to networking is context. Take a few moments to explain why you would like to connect with them.

 

In fact, if you would like to connect with me after reading this post copy and paste this line:

 

"Marben I really enjoyed your post 5 Reasons Why You Can't Do LinkedIn Halfway I have decided to take my LinkedIn experience to next level and would love to connect and network with you. I look forward to reading more of your blog post and to our personal interactions."

Sincerely,

Susan

 

Remember; if you give the person a reason to want to connect with you on LinkedIn, the more likely they are to connect with you.

 

5. It's Cool to Show Your Mug on LinkedIn  

LinkedIn's own research shows profiles with pictures are ninety percent more likely to be noticed and acted on than profiles without pictures. Simply put take a professional picture post it on your LinkedIn profile and make it visible to everyone.   However, if you have a problem with displaying your picture on LinkedIn because of privacy concerns; I would suggest you end your filtration with the site.

 

The Bottom Line: Learn to play the LinkedIn game the right way

Alison Doyle and I have written extensively about the right strategies for using LinkedIn. Today I am pleased to offer my entire LinkedIn blog archive to assist in your efforts to use LinkedIn the right way. Additionally I invite you to attend LinkedIn Simplified a 3 hour workshop designed to use LinkedIn the right way. To register go to www.marbenbland.com