Flexing Your LinkedIn Muscle

LinkedIn continues to play a major part in online business networking and branding. It remains the professional online community for individuals to meet, socialize, interact, and learn from each other. No longer only a place to post an online resume, LinkedIn has become a portal of innovative and educational content, a networking hub, and a place for professionals to share their career story and meet other professionals.

LinkedIn offers a variety of tactics to help you brand yourself or your business, and how you choose to use this arsenal determines how you stand out and get noticed in the professional world. As the number one platform to meet other professionals, introductions by trusted connections will help to grow your networks. Once introduced, your profile should tell your story in a personalized way.

Forget bullet points and the online resume, this should be a narrative that highlights your skills and qualifications as well as your accomplishments. Interact and engage in groups and conversations with your connections. Share content that promotes yourself and what you do and don’t forget to take advantage of LinkedIn Pulse, the publishing format that is open to all LinkedIn members.

There is some LinkedIn etiquette you should always keep in mind. Be sure to use a professional photo, preferably head and shoulders. When sending an invitation, take the time to personalize the message rather than just using the default text.  And do not use the “friend” option if you are not friends with the person you are attempting to connect with. LinkedIn should not be your email marketing platform, so don’t spam people with uninteresting junk that will make them want to remove you as a connection.

Keep it simple, keep it relevant, and keep it professional.

Bullets

• Research from comScore found that one-third of mobile and one-third of tablet users have $100,000-plus incomes. The study breaks down the habits of the affluent on their mobile phone. 84% of affluent of all ages use their mobile phone to access the internet; 45.5% use it to access social media. Listening to online radio accounts for 25%, and newspaper reading, nearly 21%. Watching TV/movies and reading magazines come in at 15.7% and 14.1%, respectively.
  ironpaper.com

• Friday is the day on which the fewest numbers of emails are sent out, yet they have an open rate almost identical to Tuesdays (lagging behind by only three tenths of a percentage point) while at the same time having a click rate of just short of 15% (14.9), slightly ahead of Tuesday.
  dexmedia.com

• The financial services industry is the third-largest in the US in terms of digital ad spending, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast of US ad spending by industry vertical. This year, digital ad spending by financial services firms will be up 14.5% to reach $7.19 billion, or 12.3% of all digital outlays in the US.
  emarketer.com

• Active Twitter user expansion in Latin America (17.4%) will be higher than any other region in 2015 and will surpass the 14.1% global average, eMarketer projects.
  emarketer.com

• 60% of CMO’s believe the role of culture is “very influential” in enabling the brand experience.
  spencerstuart.com