Take the time to review your Linkedin profile right now.  Look at your Current and Past positions, Summary, Interests, and Groups for opportunities to implement the Linkedin profile strategy discussed in the video.

I hope you enjoyed the Social Media Minute and I look forward to your thoughts and comments. Please subscribe to the Square Martini Media YouTube channel and if you have a question you would like covered on the Social Media Minute, let us know by giving us your Social Media Minute Question.

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For starters, LinkedIn is the number one business network.  LinkedIn has over 50 million users all over the globe with every Fortune-500 company represented. This is a network you cannot afford to miss.  LinkedIn is easy to setup and forget.  But just like you forget LinkedIn, so do all your LinkedIn Connections.  Your connections forget about you.

Social Media Tip: One simple step to insure you maintain top of mind awareness with your connections is to Update Your Network Status on LinkedIn.  This update will be listed on your connections home page as well as the weekly email LinkedIn sends to its users.  LinkedIn asks the question: What are you working on now?

Examples for your LinkedIn status could include:

• If you are a Financial Planner you might say, “Just finished meeting with a new client, it’s refreshing to see the excitement when I give new clients their financial plan”.
• If you are a Home Remodeler you might say, “Just completed our 200^th kitchen remodel and the owners are still surprised we finished on time and on budget” .
• If you sell Insurance you might say, “Just reviewed another home owners policy and showed the clients why they were under insured and how to correct it for an additional $28 per year!”

Updating your status is easy, time effective and most importantly effective.  We recommend scheduling a weekly appointment  that reminds you to update your status.  You’ll be investing ten minutes to reach out to your LinkedIn community.  Is that an investment you can afford to make with the largest online business network?  Afterall, you can do it in your pajamas should you choose or during your mid morning break in the office.

Want to read more about Social Media? Square Martini Media has plenty of articles with useful information for you and your business. Check out the links below and browse our website for more great advice!

• 7 Top Tips for Creating A Linkedin Profile That Markets Your Business

• Using Social Media Share Buttons to Increase Website Traffic From Linkedin

• 11 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Linkedin

And if you’ve got a great example of inspiration for writing social media strategies, please share it here  in a comment or on our facebook page.

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To guide you through making the best possible profile or redesigning your current Linkedin profile, use the following 7 tips:

#1 Use a professional picture and create a great headline

Use a professional picture – I am amazed at how many Linkedin profiles do not have a picture.  Linkedin is a professional network and your profile must include a great picture.  Choose the picture that represents you and reflects how you want people to see you.  If you do not have a professional head shot get one!  A temporary solution to a missing professional picture is to  have someone take a picture of you with a white wall behind you using great lighting.

Create a great headline – Your headline is a great description of what you do.  Are you a speaker, consultant, or writer?  Are you a serial entrepreneur with many business ventures?  The headline should include what you want your prospect and customers to read about you.

Remember: Your picture and headline is often the first and only part of your Linkedin profile that creates the first impression.

#2 Add all current and past positions as well as education

Current and past positions – Why did you join Linkedin?  Are you looking for opportunity, a new job,  to grow a network, or to attract more business?  If you answered yes, then you want to make it easy for a Linkedin user to find and connect with you by adding your current and past positions.

Education - Who better to add to your network then those friends from college.  Past friends and acquaintances from college could hire you for your next job, be a new customer, or possibly a great referral source for you.

Remember: Current and past positions and education is one of the top ways you can be found on Linkedin.

#3 Include your websites and blog using brand titles

Use brand or company name titles for your website – We all know how important it is to have a website or blog and Linkedin it makes it easy for you to include this information in a profile.  When creating a profile or redesigning a current Linkedin profile, you want to select “other” instead of “website” or “blog”.  Selecting other allows you to name the link as you can see in the example above.  This creates more brand awareness for your profile rather than the Linkedin standard of “My Website”.

Remember - Only list the websites you want prospects and potential customers to use.  List sights that are inline with your personal and business brand.

#4 Take the time to create a great summary that compels Linkedin users to connect with you

Create a great summary – The Linkedin summary is typically the one area everyone can improve.  It’s often used like a resume cover letter or short bio which is a common Linkedin profile mistake.    The best practices in creating a Linkedin summary is to include why you are on Linkedin, what you can do or offer, and what you are looking for on Linkedin.  If done correctly new connections will know what you are looking for and how they can help you.

Remember: Your summary alone can jump start your Linkedin referrals.  Spend some time on the summary, compare it to your competitors or experts in your field, make sure the message is clear.

#5 Use keywords and phrases throughout your profile especially in your specialties

Using keywords and phrases – Do you know the number one search engine online?  Internet users have been trained to Google everything!  Even if you prefer Yahoo! or Bing the term “Google it”  is the action you are taking when you type what you are looking for in any search box.  This carries over to all websites, internet users “Google it” to find what they are looking for.  On Linkedin you can search for any word or phrase and see profiles that match within your network and extended network.

Remember:  A name, company, industry, brand, title, or phrase can all be searched on Linkedin.  Make sure you are using keywords and phrases to insure the Linkedin network finds your profile when they are searching.

#6 Complete your contact settings, personal information, and groups

Complete your Linkedin contact settings, interests, and groups – This is the one area where you can show part of your personality or personal interests on Linkedin.  You want to include keywords and phrases as well as what you enjoy outside of business.  Make sure to include any past or current groups and associations as this is another way for connections to find you.

Remember:  People do business with people they know, like, and trust!  Adding a few personal activities and groups encourage or start the relationship moving beyond just a Linkedin connection.

#7 Grow Your Recommendations!

You must grow your recommendations – Have you ever purchased a product, seen a movie, or hired a company solely based on the recommendation of  one good friend or colleague?  This what Linkedin recommendations can do for you and your company.  By asking for and encouraging Linkedin recommendations you have the opportunity to leverage your Linkedin profile as a referral and credibility tool.  The more recommendations you have the more credibility you create in and out of your Linkedin network.

Remember:  The best way to receive Linkedin recommendations is to give them.  Look within your network for people you have done business with and make a point to give one or more recommendation every month.

If you create or redesign your Linkedin profile with these 7 tips in mind you will position yourself to attract more connections, prospects, and business from Linkedin.

Please add me as a connection by searching for Alan Underkofler on Linkedin. If you are ready to take the next step in Increasing Business Leads with a stand out Linkedin Profile make sure to register and attend our next Linkedin training where you will learn more ways to enhance your profile as well as different areas of Linkedin that can generate business and referrals for you.

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If you take a moment and ask your customers what they use their smart phone for you will hear all kind of answers.  Some may surprise you but many of these customers will say things like browsing the internet, sending tweets on twitter, and checking facebook.  You will receive similar answers when you ask what they are doing on the computer when they are not working.

With all of this focus on Social Media from your customers it creates a great opportunity for you to engage them where they are spending their time.  Going back to the original question here are 5 reasons why your company should be using Social Media.

1. Top of Mind Awareness - Once you have a customer why not make sure they always think of you before anyone else?  There many ways to do this and Social Media is one way that you cannot ignore!  By connecting with your customers in Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter you maintaining top of mind awareness every time you update your status or send a tweet!
2. Creating stronger relationships - Social Media tools like facebook and twitter are used in the office as well as home.  This allows you to create stronger relationships where your customers are comfortable and where they are more likely to talk about you!  Social Media makes it really easy for your customers to give you referrals to potential new clients!
3. Listening - Your customers are most likely already talking about you, your brand, or your competitor’s brand.  Social Media allows you to listen, engage, and create conversation.  Conversation leads to new customers and new sales.  If you are actively blogging and adding content to your website as well as active on Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter it will lead you and your company to new sales.
4. Building Customer Loyalty - Let’s face it people are moving so fast they forget what they did yesterday let alone who they purchased a product from last month.  Increasing customer loyalty and retention is about creating and nurturing the buying relationship.  This really gets started after the purchase has been made!  Social Media make very easy for you to keep that buying relationship going for months and years after the sale.
5. NEW FREE BUSINESS – What do I mean by new free business?  With Social Media tools you can create a base of loyal customers, users, and fans.  These customers, users, and fans will send you business.  They will think about you and talk about you!  The easiest business to receive is from prospects that have already been sold by your current and past customers or fans.  Giving your customers the tools to do this is the key and Social Media is currently one of the best tools you can use to make this happen!

Are you using Social Media in your business?  Please let us know by leaving a comment and sharing with everyone why you are and how it is working for you.

(If you found this post valuable please consider sharing it with your Facebook friends, tweeting it on Twitter, or stumbling it on StumbleUpon using the ShareThis button below as this action is one of the best compliments we receive!)

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With this in mind I made a very short video on a simple way to create brand awareness as well as drive traffic to your website or blog by using social media share buttons and Linkedin.  Take a moment and watch it:

Now that you have watched this video let’s take it one step further and share it with one of your Linkedin groups!  Simply click on the share link below and click on the Linkedin button!  Of course in order to take this step you will need to have a Linkedin account and be in at least one Linkedin group.

Thank you in advance for sharing the post and please take a moment and connect with me Alan Underkofler and my partner at Square Martini Media Angie Swartz on Linkedin!

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Here are 7 steps to creating a great Linkedin profile:

1. Start by gathering your materials.  Pull out your resume, your bio, and your marketing materials to help you with your profile.  It’s important not to just cut and paste but let these materials guide you in your profile setup.
2. Who are the top people in your company or industry?  Take a moment to find them on Linkedin and “borrow” elements of their profile or look for things you might have missed.
3. Make sure to use keywords within your profile.  If you are a marketing consultant in the niche market of tradeshows make sure to use marketing and tradeshows multiple times within your profile.  This will help potential customers find you within Linkedin.
4. Take the time to complete your profile!  Linkedin has a profile completion percentage when you log in.  Completing your profile is essential in attracting business from Linkedin.  Don’t underestimate the value of adding your picture.  People want to do business with people they know like and trust and adding your picture is an essential part in this.
5. Creating your Linkedin URL – Linkedin will assign you a random url.  You want to change it so it has your full name in the profile if possible and make sure to remove any non needed numbers.  You can easily do this by just clicking edit by the assigned link.  When you are finished your profile link should look like this:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanunderkofler
6. Paid vs. Free Linkedin Accounts?  I am always asked should I pay for a premium Linkedin account?  For the most part the answer is no.  The main reason to have a paid account is it allows you to view more people in your searches and send more messages within the Linkedin system to people you are not connected to.   If you are a recruiter the expanded search capabilities could be huge for you but for most companies the free account works great!  There are a few other options you receive with the paid version so you should take a look at the added benefits and make a decision based on your Linkedin strategy.
7. Remember your Linkedin profile is often the first impression someone has of you and what you do.  Make sure this impression counts and correctly represents you and what you do.

Once you  have your profile updated make you to send Alan Underkofler and Angie A. Swartz a connecting request.  We would love to connect with you on Linkedin.  Join our conversation on Linkedin!  Leave a comment with your Linkedin profile thoughts and make sure to leave your Linkedin profile url in your comment so other readers can connect with you!

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1. With over 50 million users and the top companies and decision makers on Linkedin, why would you not be active here?
2. Profiles on Linkedin are made up with all types of people, top executives, middle management, sales people, business owners, consultants, and micro business.  Your target customer is on Linkedin!
3. Companies can complete a simple informational profile but are limited to adding information only and cannot interact with Linkedin members as the company.  This means on Linkedin you have the opportunity to engage real people.
4. You can use Linkedin to maintain top of mind awareness with your customers and prospects.  Linkedin is one of my favorite tools to achieve top of mind awareness.  Once setup it’s pretty simple, easy to update, and takes very little time.  You just have to consistently do a few actions on Linkedin to really maximize the results.  Things like status updates, updating your profile, and receiving new recommendations is all it takes.
5. Use Linkedin to find potential customers.  Chances are very good your next big customer is already on Linkedin!  Who are you trying to find, what company do you really want to land as a customer?  Are you searching for a way in?  Linkedin is the answer!  By using Linkedin correctly you can be introduced to the person you need to meet to turn a prospect into a customer.
6. Use Linkedin to find your next job.  Linkedin is often used to post jobs and openings.  You can easily search job openings and apply for the job through Linkedin.  If you are seeking a job, Linkedin is a must have tool!
7. Are you hiring?  Linkedin is fantastic place to look for new employees for the position you cannot seem to fill.  Linkedin is a powerful tool to find potential candidates for the openings at your company.  You can post jobs and attract both people actively looking for a job and people who are passively looking for a job.  Often times Linkedin job postings are forwarded by contacts because they think it might be a good fit.  This creates a viral effect for your job postings!
8. Using Linkedin to network and generate referrals.  Often times when I am speaking on Linkedin I am asked “how do I use it” or I” have a profile and don’t do anything with it, I am really not sure how it works”.  Like anything you have to engage and participate to reap the rewards.  On Linkedin the rewards are there…  One way I attract more business from Linkedin is simply sending a short welcome email to all new connections requesting a 20 minute phone conversation where we can learn more about each  other.  This step alone generates business for me every month and also increases my referral potential on Linkedin.  The more people who know about me and what I do the more referrals I attract!
9. What are your goals for Linkedin?  Having goals gives you something to reach for!  On Linkedin your goals might be to connect with more people, to recommend 5 people in your network, or to receive 5 recommendations, or simply to meet with 5 connections this month on the phone or live in person.  Having a few goals for Linkedin is essential to insure you receive what you are looking for on Linkedin
10. Are you a local business looking for local customers or are you a national or worldwide business?  Any size business can use Linkedin to effectively grow.
11. Linkedin Answers is a powerful resource for any business or professional.  What do you need help with?  Are you deciding between two software products for your business?  Are you looking for the best email service for your company or personal newsletter?  All of these questions can be asked on Linkedin and within minutes you will start receiving answers to help you make a good decision or direct you to a good solution.

Do you have suggestions on how to receive business on Linkedin or a great strategy you use on Linkedin?  Take a moment and leave your favorite Linkedin tip or suggestions by leaving a comment.

Need help maximizing Linkedin for your business?  Find out more about Linkedin and how to maximize if for your business with our 55 minute audio guide, The Roadmap to Using Linkedin to Grow Your Business.

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