The A-Z Guide to LinkedIn for Technology Businesses and Technology Professionals - The Letter A

Welcome to my NEW guide 'The A-Z Guide to LinkedIn for Technology Businesses and Technology Professionals'.?This A-Z series will be useful for all types of businesses, but business technologists are 'my people' and this series is written primarily for them.??

Why am I writing this series??There are two reasons.?

Firstly, I previously wrote a book entitled the A-Z of Organizational Digital Transformation having built a wonderful LinkedIn community of over 40,000?members, during the past 3+ years.?And time and time I have been asked, how did I grow that audience? ?

Secondly, I am a big believer in karma. Give out to the world expecting nothing in return and it will give back to you. LinkedIn has enabled me to create a technical writing and LinkedIn training business all from just posting content for fun. That is the universe giving back!

So Hi to the universe. It is now my turn to give back.

For the next few months I will share the secrets and tips and tricks I know about LinkedIn for FREE. ?

Today we begin with the letter 'A' and cover Audience, Articles, Authority, Alumni, About Section, All Star Profiles, Automation, Algorithm, AnswerThePublic, Analytics, API, Ads, Activity, Away Message and lots more.?If I miss an 'A' just let me know and I will add it.

So let's begin...our first 'A'.

About Section: It’s useful to think of your About Section or LinkedIn summary as your online?cover letter?for your?CV. Your summary tells prospective employers, customers or partners things about your?skills, motivations and personality that are not included in your headline or work history. It can be used to explain the connections between your job roles, education and experience, creating the story of your career, in a way that other sections cannot. It should highlight your professional objectives and promote who you really are – your values, work ethic and ‘personal brand’. Use a conversational tone to convey the kind of person you are. Write a keyword-rich LinkedIn summary so that you can become more visible to potential prospects and recruiters in search results.

Some About Section guidelines (and more if you like Hubspot):

1. Use an opening line 'hook' to grab your readers interest and attention.
2. Mention what you do and speak of your industry experience.
3. Show your personality.
4. Talk about your professional interests and the value you bring to your audience.
5. If you sell and work with marque clients then mentioned them (ask permission first) and use a quote from them validating your IT skills as social proof of your expertise.
6. Call out skills and use client quotes to 'social proof' this expertise.
7. Use emojis and break up blocks of text to make it easier to read.
8. Include a call to action and provide several or more contact options.

Activity - The best research on LinkedIn suggests you need to post at least 3 times a week at times that your particular audience will most likely see your content. So, unless your audience are mid-night workers who love tech, then be active commenting and posting content at around 10am Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at your local time zone when the majority of folks are online.

Activity Section - The activity section of your LinkedIn profile shows what posts you have liked or commented upon, what you posted, who has liked or engaged with your content, and alerts you to connection or follower requests, job openings and more.

Ads - It is possible to run very highly targeted LinkedIn Ad campaigns. Companies run Ad campaigns to generate leads, drive website traffic, and build brand awareness. You can target professionals by job title, function, industry, and more. But before you run a campaign, ask yourself 'when was the last time you clicked on LinkedIn Ad'?

Admin Company Pages - LinkedIn company pages were developed to give your company a home base and reach an audience on the LinkedIn network. It is possible to administer your company page much like you do your personal profile but there are other things you can do. For example, allow others access to your company page to administrate, post or comment. You can also create ad campaigns, post roles, publish product pages, manage events, share company news, and lots more.

LinkedIn company pages are the equivalent of your company 'website' on LinkedIn. They are different to LinkedIn groups which is where like minded members digitally congregate to discuss common topics.

Advertise: Let people know what services you offer and how to connect with you. If people don't know you have something to offer then they won't know to connect with you. Use every section of your LinkedIn profile to communicate the value you bring.

But remember, whilst this is a business platform, people don't like getting constantly 'sold to'. A suggested ratio of 4 pieces of content to every 1 sales post feels about right. Provide immense value through your content and comments and people will see you as the 'go to' expert.

All Star profile - Growing your network is paramount to getting a better job or moving up in your industry. To do either, you need to be seen. And to have the best chance of getting seen on LinkedIn I recommend you build an All Star profile.

Consider your LinkedIn profile your own personal mini-website and make it the best version of you that you possibly can.

The All-Star level is?given to users who have 100% profile completion. LinkedIn algorithms give priority to users with complete profiles by ranking them higher in search results compared to users with incomplete profiles. So it is worth investing some time in tidying up your profile and making sure it is complete

To achieve All-Star status on LinkedIn, there are?a number of?things you must and can do:

• Use a professional headshot?– profiles with social pictures aren’t great for LinkedIn and profiles with no photos are unlikely to rank highly or be received particularly well by other LinkedIn users.
• Capture and captivate your profile read with a strong headline. Many people make the mistake of just writing their job title in their headline, despite there being a 120 character count. To help you reach all-star LinkedIn profile status and capture attention, utilise all 120 characters. Leave no one uncertain as to what value you can bring.

• Complete your work experience?and volunteer sections. Add the same level of detail you would have in your CV, ideally with the business outcomes you delivered and achievements clearly highlighted.?Add keywords and mention the skills you want searched for and known by as well as any photos and links to content that helps the reader learn more about you.

• The more positions you list on your LinkedIn profile, the more likely you are to be found in search results - but add key words that you want to be found for in each section. You'll need at least 3 job descriptions to achieve All-Star LinkedIn profile status.
• Write a clear About (Me) summary?– this is your pitch to future employers, clients, partners and connections. Make sure you outline who you are, what you do, what you've achieved and what makes you a unique person. If you're a business or self-employed, make sure you focus on?YOU?and not your company; people are visiting your profile to learn about you, not your business.?See About section for further guidance.
• Complete the Education and Courses Sections. Be sure to list all your qualifications and awards, including the name of the qualification, the name of the place you studied and the year of completion.?If you have good grades, include those too and any qualification acronyms. Adding school, college and university information, particularly if you attended a renowned institution or attained outstanding grades, can boost your LinkedIn profile's appeal.?Your education section is a great way to list your qualifications and allow alumni to connect with you.
• Add skills and expertise to get endorsements. Adding skills and expertise gives your connections the ability to endorse you in those specific areas. At a minimum, you should include at least 5 or more skills but you can record up to 50 skills.
• Get at Least 3 recommendations. Having at least 3 strong recommendations on your LinkedIn profile that demonstrate the full scope of your knowledge, experiences, skills and achievements. Remember, don't be afraid to ask you colleagues, customers or partners to recommend you. They can only say no, and then you simply move onto the next person.
• Tell people what interests you.?There are also sections on your LinkedIn profile to include details of charities you support. You can even offer your skills and services on a pro-bono basis to charitable organisations.
• Complete your Contact Information. Complete your contact information to enable recruiters, partners, prospects, customers and organisations to contact you directly.
• Use the website details section to direct people to you website, calendry or any another contact method you prefer.

Algorithm - How does the algorithm work? No one is sure as this is a well guarded secret as many an individual might try to 'game' the algorithm, in much the same way many web developers have tried to game Google's algorithm. LinkedIn relies on an algorithm for sending 'relevant' content to its members in order to keep them coming back. If LinkedIn members did not get relevant content they would leave and LinkedIn's business model would fail.

But like any other algorithm, there are things that we know LinkedIn likes (e.g., relevant posts, carousel, articles, that encourage engagement, 3-5 hashtags, tagging a small number of people who respond to the content, asking a question, etc.). And we know there are things LinkedIn does not like (e.g., spam, poor quality content, poor grammar, too many hashtags that make content hard to read, your trying to get people off LinkedIn to another site by peppering your content with external URLs, etc.).

One LinkedIn expert, who I recommend you follow is, Richard van der Blom . Each year Richard van der Blom releases extensive research on the LinkedIn algorithm for free. This research is worth its weight in gold. The fact that this is given away for free is a true testament to Richard van der Blom 's believe in the power of LinkedIn community.

Alumni - Part of the fun of LinkedIn is connecting with members who went to your alma mater. The?Alumni?tab on a LinkedIn Page provides high-level insights about the alumni of a school, college or university, as well as access to more detailed professional profiles they've shared. The Alumni tab is located in then avigation menu of your alma mater. With more than 22,000 colleges and universities listed on LinkedIn worldwide, it is a great way to keep track of who you studied with.

?The?Alumni?tab enables you to see:

• What alumni in your field have accomplished since graduation and expand your sense of what's possible for you.
• Identify alumni in your field and reach out to them for their industry expertise and career opportunities.
• Learn about job opportunities and mentoring partnerships.

AnswerThePublic.com - It can be difficult to understand what content to write about. One way is to ask your customers and another is to check online to see what topics people are searching for answers to - and then create content that answers those questions. AnswerThePublic (not a recommendation) or Ahrefs (again not a recommendation) can be used to find content idea.

AnswerThePublic listens into autocomplete data from search engines like Google?then quickly cranks out every useful phrase and question people are asking around which you can then answer or talk to on LinkedIn.

There are lots of alternatives to ATP including; Buzzsumo, Feedly, Google trends, Inoreader your website FAQs, etc.

API - LinkedIn’s APIs provide software developers with access to the professional social network’s data and functionality. With APIs, software developers can create applications that allow users to:

? Search for and connect with professionals

? View LinkedIn profiles

? Access LinkedIn groups and discussions

? Post updates to their LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn offers a variety of APIs for software developers to use in their applications. The different APIs have different pricing models, so it is important that you understand what each one offers before selecting the right one for your specific business needs. But before you can get started using LinkedIn’s APIs, you will need to create a developer account and register your application.

Ask - as in ask for recommendations, ask for help, ask for business, ask for comments and content. But remember before you ask, earn the right to ask for anything on LinkedIn by giving a lot of value away first.

Article: A LinkedIn article is?a like a blog post or magazine article. An article is your opportunity to showcase your expertise and demonstrate your thought leadership. Articles are longer and more in-depth than LinkedIn posts.

What is the difference between a LinkedIn post and an article? Articles are long-form pieces that let you show your expertise in a relatively in-depth way: articles can often run to over 1,000 words.?

To write an Article, one must click specifically on the 'Write an article' icon.

The LinkedIn article feature comes equipped with some basic editing tools, lets you include a large Headline, a separate section for body copy, and the insertion of media (e.g., an image, video, slides, links or snippets) at the start of each new paragraph.

To write an article (source LinkedIn):

1. Click?Write article?in the share box near the top of your homepage.
2. Click the?Headline?field to type the headline of your article. Note: If you're unable to click into the Headline field, you may have a browser extension that is blocking this functionality. The two extensions that we know cause this issue are Lazarus and Grammarly. This can be resolved by disabling these extensions and refreshing the editor.
3. Click in the?Write here?field to type the content of your article.

• You can add images, rich media, hyperlinks, #hashtags, and ‘@’ mention another member or a LinkedIn Page in your article.

4. Click?Publish?and follow the prompts to publish your article. You can disable the ability to leave comments on your published articles. You can edit or delete your articles at any time.

Author advice: Write an article once and use it many times. For example, you can hyperlink to an article from another post, or you can present an article on your LinkedIn featured section. You can even add an article link to the bottom of you email signature or send it to a WhatsApp connection.

Note: Don't be tempted to create a WhatsApp or email article boost group - emailing content links and asking folks to go like them as soon as you post - as that will get seen by LinkedIn and you again run the risk of suspension or ban from the platform. LinkedIn wants to see well written content and genuine audience reactions and does not want its algorithm messed with.

To build credibility in your industry or field, I recommend you publish articles. Whilst these don't get the same sort of traction as a poll, picture post or carousel they are important to establish expertise. Articles can be written once and used many times e.g., send the link to the article to your contacts, add it to your website or the bottom of another post or put a link to the article in your email messages.

Audio: There are a range of audio options on LinkedIn. For example, did you know you can record the pronunciation of your name to help tother LinkedIn members? Click the audio image at the end of a surname to hear someone speak their name.

As you have 15 seconds to record your name, you have the opportunity to tell people the services or skills that you have to offer as well after your name.

To record your name pronunciation via your mobile phone (this cant be done on the desktop):

1. Tap your profile photo, then?View Profile.

2. Tap the?Edit?icon from your introduction section.

3. Tap?Record name pronunciation.

• If you’ve already recorded your name, you can tap the? Edit?icon to delete or replace the existing recording.

4. Tap the recording button and?hold to record?your name.?Note: You can also cancel or preview the recording.

5. Tap the?Use?button when you’re satisfied with your recording.?Note: You can also?Retake?the recording.

6. Tap?Save.

To delete your name pronunciation via your mobile phone

1. Click the?Me?icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Click?View profile.
3. Click the?Edit?icon in your introduction section.
4. Click the??Delete?icon next to your?Name pronunciation and
5. In the confirmation pop-up window, click?Delete.

Audio Events / Rooms: Early in 2022, to much fan fare LinkedIn launched LinkedIn audio events. Some might argue this was in response to Clubhouse (anyone now remember that?). Using an audio-only format, LinkedIn users can host virtual events between 15 minutes and 3 hours long. Only those creators given access to this feature can create an audio event but as these are not widely used, you are probably not missing out.

Auto Captions (for videos). A lot of video content is consumed with sound turned off. So use LinkedIn's auto caption feature to make it easier for your viewers and for those with hearing difficulties. LinkedIn offers this option as you post your video AND you can also edit the text to avoid LinkedIn making transcription errors.

Automation - it is possible to automate the posting of content. For example, Social Pilot, Later.com, HubSpot have engines that allow you to post at particular dates and times. The prices vary but there is a tool for all budgets. This can save you a lot of time and has the benefit of getting your content in front of you audience at the best time. But the tools suffer from two main issues.

• Firstly, few if any allow you to use the @ symbol to reference someone in the post. That is not always necessary as you wont always need to do that. But it is useful.
• Secondly, whilst you can automate posting, you should not automate comments in reply to audience comments or questions.

Whilst content is King, content forms the remainder of the royal flush. And the first hour and a half or so after posting, the so called 'golden time' should be commenting and engaging with your tribe. LinkedIn is a social platform, so be social to get noticed.

BUT: there are specific LinkedIn rules around automation so please seek them out and abide by them. LinkedIn does not favour automation so you risk being suspended or banned from the platform if you don't follow LinkedIn's guidance. For example, using automation tooling to screen grab contacts and sending mass connection requests is not something LinkedIn wants you to do. Whilst I am in the automation industry and could automate my LinkedIn experience I choose not to.

Algorithms - The LinkedIn algorithm is hidden from the public for all the right reasons - people or businesses would attempt to game the platform for their own purposes. LinkedIn obviously wants you online and dwelling on the platform so it can sell advertising and related services. If the content you are presented with is continually salesy or irrelevant then your are not likely to remain on the LinkedIn platform. That does not stop companies and individuals trying to learn what works and what does not work. One individual - Richard van der Blom - spends considerable time each year researching what works well on LinkedIn and then kindly shares that information.

Analytics - there is a host of analytics now accessible from your profile that you can use to learn from. You can determine what works and what does not work for your audience e.g., content and audience metrics. You can tweak your posts and content based on the responses you get from what and when you publish to get the best audience response from your content.

There are commercial tools like Shieldapp.ai (*this is not a recommendation, I have never used this tool) which promise to offer a wider array of metrics to help you learn what works what doesn't, and when to post.

Archive (as in data archive): There is no guarantee that LinkedIn won't decide to block you or remove your access to its platform. If you have built up a loyal following / business network on LinkedIn and that were to happen, not only could that be very upsetting but it could be financially ruinous.

So, always, always build your network outside of LinkedIn (e.g., on a website or email list) and regularly back up your LinkedIn data on a regular basis. But I can always contact LinkedIn support and get it turned back on, right? Not if you are blocked from the platform.

The easiest and fastest way to obtain a copy of your LinkedIn data is to initiate a data download from your?Settings & Privacy?page (source LinkedIn)::

1. Click the??Me?icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Select?Settings & Privacy?from the dropdown.
3. Click the?Data Privacy?on the left rail.
4. Under the?How LinkedIn uses your data?section, click?Get a copy of your data.
5. Select the data that you’re looking for and?Request archive.

You can select specific categories of data or a larger download. If you select a specific type of data, we’ll email you within minutes. If you select the larger download, you’ll receive an email within 24 hours. Use the link provided in the email to download the information you requested. The data will be available for download for 72 hours.

Some things to to note (source LinkedIn):

• You should only download your data from a personal computer and not a public computer.
• This feature is currently not available on mobile.
• You'll only receive the categories of data that are applicable to your account and activities on LinkedIn. For example, if you don't have certifications listed on your profile, you won't receive a Certifications file.
• LinkedIn will only provide your own personal data and not that of other members. LinkedIn does not provide?People You May Know?or?Who’s Viewed Your Profile?data.
• If you close your account, you'll no longer have access to your LinkedIn account data.
• You may notice in your connection data that some of your connections’ email addresses are missing. That’s because members choose in their privacy settings whether to allow others to download their email address.

Articles: You or all members of a LinkedIn company page have the ability to create drafts of articles prior to publication, and then publish articles about your expertise or interests. Articles are displayed in the Activity section of your profile. It’s shared with your connections and followers in their news feeds, and sometimes through notifications. Articles can be shared on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.

Audience: Launched in 2002, LinkedIn is arguably the biggest social platform that caters directly to?business professionals. Your technology audience or your tribe of business professionals are those who view and engage with your content. Sometimes those figures can be markedly different. LinkedIn makes it very easy to follow others and people do tend to follow easily. But the LinkedIn platform audience is huge, affluent and educated. It is no wonder technology recruiters and sales people excitedly come to 'shop' for their perfect candidate audience.

Here are just a few key numbers to keep in mind for context:

• 675+ million users?worldwide. That’s more than double the population of the United States! (Source Hootsuite).
• 303 million monthly active users
• 9% of US users?visit the site multiple times a day
• 12% of US users?visit the site daily
• 30+ million companies?use LinkedIn
• 20+ million open jobs?are on LinkedIn
• 2+ new members?join LinkedIn per second
• 154+ million American workers?have LinkedIn profiles

How can you build a LinkedIn audience? There are a whole host of ways. It is possible to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator (which we will cover in S) to find your ideal audience, or use limited Boolean search criteria (we will cover Boolean Search in B) , search using the MyNetwork function, choose View Profile and see 'People Also Viewed' on the right hand side, publish content and attract an audience, follow or connect your competitors audience members, ask your contacts to follow or connect with you and lots more ways besides.

Author advice: I recommend you spend at least 30 mins per day identifying 10 professionals you want to connect with or follow and thoughtfully connecting (*don't pitch slap). Spend another 30 mins commenting thoughtfully and insightfully with professionals who you already have, or want to have a business relationship with. Be social on social to get seen, heard and build expert authority.

The LinkedIn Audience Network is different again. What is the LinkedIn Audience Network? The LinkedIn Audience Network allows you to extend the reach of your single image, carousel and video ads by delivering beyond the LinkedIn feed to members on third-party apps and sites.

Automatic reply. It is possible to automatically reply to people who message you.

1. Go to Messaging.
2. Beside Messaging (top left - see image below) are there dots, click on those dots.
3. Select Set away message.
4. Switch the toggle to the right to turn On Away message.
5. Switch the toggle to the left to turn Off Away message.
6. Enter the Start and End date.
7. You can customize your message (optional).
8. Click Save.

Authority: If you want to become the 'go to' expert, company or brand in your technology sector, then you need to build authority. And to build authority you need to publish excellent content, take part in webinars or podcasts, offer insight, produce content that speaks to your experience and comment insightfully to show your expertise in your technology space.

Away Message - LinkedIn offers premium members (a paid membership type) the ability to set 'away messages' so that you can respond to LinkedIn messages when you are not available (e.g., on leave, at a conference etc.). This can be a hand feature if you want to reply to LinkedIn members but not be disturbed. Consider this options very much like your email 'out of office' message but with less options.

End of all things LinkedIn beginning with the letter 'A'.

LinkedIn has enabled me to grow a business and a highly engaged technology community that is second none. If you learn to master LinkedIn, you too will be able to do the same.

Next time I will share a blog post starting with the letter?B and talk about - Behavioral Psychology, B2B and B2C,?Banners, Backgrounds, Boolean, Business, Blog, Block (connections), Background images, Best time (to post) and lots more B's.

Boolean banner boost best time (to post) blocked or banned account background (image) block contact?business network background images banners and lots more.

I hope you enjoy the journey ahead as much as I have the journey to get to here.

Kieran Gilmurray

Below are some of my other posts that you will enjoy:

?? My monthly newsletter -?https://lnkd.in/eE7zuCxS

?? The Top 7 Workplace Trends for 2023 -?https://lnkd.in/ef5aE33e

??? The Top 10 technology predictions for 2023 -https://lnkd.in/e5pdnrpP

Like this? Want to see more? Then follow me and ring the ?? on my profile.

I am recognized as a digital transformation, intelligent automation, data analytics and social media strategy thought leader. I have received many national and global awards for business brand leadership and technology thought leadership.

I am now available for technology and LinkedIn strategy consultancy.

??Consulting for your intelligent automation, AI, data analytics, or digital transformation queries

??Technical ghost writing for busy founders and business

??Training and consultancy on how to build your technology brand or company strategically on LinkedIn.

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Visit my LinkedIn profile or my personal website to learn more about the things I can do for you and your business -?www.gilmurray.co.uk.

P.s., If you would like to contribute?'independent, vendor agnostic' real world LinkedIn expertise to this series please do reach out to me.

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If this could benefit someone else?tag them and share this.

Further Help:?If I can help you in any way please do reach out.

Free to repost but not for commercial use:?We are a community of LinkedIn specialists and technologists with years of real world experience. We have stories to tell and the scars to show for it. We all share our collective wisdom for free to simply provide as much value as we can to you. Therefore, if you want to post this article on your LinkedIn page then please feel free to do so.?But kindly do reference me as the content owner.

Note:?The views expressed above are our views and not those of my employer or the employers of the contributing experts.