Tip #6/10 for a better LinkedIn Profile: Use recommendations effectively

I?originally wrote?Ten Tips for a better LinkedIn Profile?in 2014. I have continually updated and refined these tips since then.

This article is also available to enjoy in an interactive online format. In the online version, I reflect new updates and changes to LinkedIn in real time. View this at?mzs.es/ten

The power of recommendations:

How to give recommendations on LinkedIn, and how to ask for them successfully...

You are biased. Other people saying you are good is more convincing than you saying it.

What you say on your LinkedIn Profile is biased.

You will always praise yourself. I can't really believe your claims, because I don't know you. Yet. But all the same, I know you are going to be biased.?

However, when I see a photo of your customer telling me how your service or skills specifically benefited them, and I see what they do, where they are, what their name and job title is, and can follow a link to their profile, THEN I can really believe it.

How do you get recommendations?

Well, they don't often come out of the blue in LinkedIn.

Try this - ask for them from your customers or colleagues. Say “I want to add a credible recommendation to my online profile so that people can see the real benefits that I deliver. Would you please add your recommendation?”?

The worse that might happen is someone might say no, or just ignore you. So you can ask someone else.?

Of course, a great way to get recommendations is to give them first. Of course it depends on the dynamics of your relationship, but it's good practice as an involved LinkedIn member to give as well as receive.

1: How to give a recommendation:

Visit the profile of the connection to whom you want to give a recommendation. (You have to be connected to a member on LinkedIn to give or receive a recommendation.)

Click the little three-dots [More...] menu to the right of their profile picture, and select 'Recommend (name)' - it's self explanatory after that.

2: How to ask for a recommendation:

The step above also leads you to where you can request a recommendation.

The steps to give, or ask for a recommendation, are very clear and self-explanatory, and you can keep a record of people you have asked for recommendations and send them reminders if needed within LinkedIn.

You can also visit their profile, or click on 'Ask for a recommendation' when managing your recommendations.

What's so important about recommendations?

The power of recommendations is that it's not you talking about yourself — it's what other people are saying. In a word, it's credibility, because it's someone else's opinion. It is social proof, like a hundred Twitter retweets or a thousand Instagram likes. Just without the 'bots.

It's worth asking people to be very specific and precise in their recommendation, and to do the same when you give recommendations.

Remind them of the project you worked on and see if you can get them to focus on the results - the benefits.

"David is a great guy to work with, and gets great results: I'd recommend him to anyone."

That's pretty vague. It's not half as impressive as this —

"David is super friendly and efficient, and explains the technical stuff effectively. He over-delivers on what he promises. His PPC strategy allowed us to lift our click-through-rate by 129% in a month, reduce spend by 39%, but still increase website traffic by 28.7%. Sales revenue went up 34.2% within 90 days and CPA went down by 47.3%. Highly recommended."

So be specific about the impact working with someone has had, and include measurable facts and figures in your recommendation if you can.

Ask them to do the same for you when you request a recommendation. You can even write them a suggested recommendation and give them some hard numbers to prompt them.

How do I get started?

It's easy to start - fire up LinkedIn, and go and recommend someone who impressed you today.

What goes around, comes around.?

Would you rather start working with someone you know very little about, or work with someone that you know has delivered the goods for others consistently in the past??

I know what my answer is - what's yours?

“92% of respondents reported that a positive recommendation from a friend, family member, or someone they trust is the biggest influence on whether they buy a product or service.” — Paul M Rand

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About David Petherick

David is a?LinkedIn Profile Doctor?and?LinkedIn Keynote Speaker?whose work it is to make you visible, legible and credible on LinkedIn. He works across the world from his base in Edinburgh, Scotland. Learn more about his services at the?doc.scot?website.

For a limited period of time once a week, David offers free ten-minute Profile Microsurgery sessions. You can book an appointment to suit your diary today at?mzs.es/free