Growing Your Career with LinkedIn

My career began to really grow in 2005; coincidentally, the same year I joined LinkedIn. Like many of my colleagues back then, I didn't understand the potential power of LinkedIn. I wasn’t looking for a new job. The people who invited me to connect knew me well enough to just walk over to my desk.

My perception changed when I started to receive InMail from recruiters and prospective employers who had found me on LinkedIn. Over the years, I have made some significant career leaps by reaping the benefit of being on LinkedIn. I’d like to share three strategies that have really helped to increase my visibility on LinkedIn:

1. Make your profile headline concrete

Be specific about the title that you’d like to be found by or considered for. When I look for candidates, I steer away from the people who refer to themselves as Game Changers, Growth Hackers, Gurus, Visionaries and anything else that implies, “I think, but I don’t do”.

2. Create an authentic profile summary

This is your 10-second elevator pitch to make an impression and have you stand out in a crowded space. Most profile summaries read like a biography. Few focus on “why me”. What’s the hook that will make you memorable? Tell it in a genuine and interesting way.

3. Updates matter… a lot

If you want to be noticed on LinkedIn, post high quality content on a regular, but not too often basis. I recommend one update per week. The contacts who post multiple times a day or share irrelevant content are forever “hidden” in my feed. Model yourself after the people whose updates command your attention.

The best opportunities often come knocking when you are not looking. LinkedIn is a great platform for personal branding because it bridges readiness with opportunity.

In 2011, I made the decision to leave the corporate world for a partnership with two of the most respected technology media professionals in Canada. Together, we founded The IT Media Group, a C-suite content and relationship marketing firm serving the technology industry. Although new to the scene, we made a splash in the Canadian marketplace, becoming profitable right away by signing several prestigious clients. LinkedIn has been one of our go-to platforms to make meaningful connections, share compelling content, and to create engaging conversations with our CIO and IT vendor communities.

Soon after LinkedIn had rolled out its “Company Page” feature, we created The IT Media Group page and have been actively nurturing it with originality, relevance and consistency. Our efforts were recognized by our followers and we were awarded one of LinkedIn's Best Company Pages of 2012.

More than 60% of our web traffic originates from LinkedIn. We have never had to buy lists or make cold calls. We are often found on LinkedIn and greeted with warm introductions, inquiries and referrals.

Today, with the publishing platform, our fans are growing with each article. We are in constant contact with our peers and clients via group discussions and InMail. LinkedIn allows us to analyze business data in a powerful way. Besides being one of the most important channels, LinkedIn has become a community for us where knowledge is shared and relationships are formed.

Whether you try to run a business or do a job, you can get more mileage on LinkedIn by applying some simple tips:

1. Just met an influencer, a prospect? Connect with them on LinkedIn immediately

LinkedIn is a non–sales-y place to connect with those you have met at an event or a meeting. It is more personal than sending them a “follow up” message to their work email. The LinkedIn connection is more permanent that will allow them to know more about you through your profile and updates in a non-intrusive way. Over time, the engagement will happen naturally once the trust is earned.

2. Invest in or get your boss sign off on a Premium Account

You could spend $3000 renting a list for a one time use or $300 on an annual premium account to take full advantage of the biggest and most current professional database in the world. It’s a no-brainer decision. The advanced search function alone is worth the money.

3. Connecting with a stranger via InMail is NOT a tricky business

I receive InMail from people I don’t know from time to time. The kind of email I never respond to reads like a form letter. They want to connect with me to sell stuff to me. It’s all about them. The kind I do respond to made it all about me. They’d like to connect because they read an article that I had written. They went to an event I had presented and had a question for me. It’s simply: Trust first. Everything else comes second.

This is #MyLinkedInStory. What's yours?  Feel free to share your insights in the “Comment” below.

You are also welcome to connect with me on Twitter @CsuiteDialogue or find me on www.theITmediagroup.com.

* Proud to be part of Canadian LinkedIn Success Stories and LinkedIn Stories of Success