The Perfect LinkedIn Profile - What You Need To Know

You obviously heard all the buzz about why you must join LinkedIn, and how everyone who's everyone is on LinkedIn, and you would be left behind unless you jumped on the bandwagon yesterday!  So, you decided to create a LinkedIn account, and thought your business would grow by leaps and bounds.  You might have even decided to join a few groups, hoping to connect with your future-biggest-client, and yet, nothing has really happened.  Is it all hype or is LinkedIn really able to benefit your business?

Melonie Dodaro of Top Dog Social Media is a social media expert who produces excellent material with regard to how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, along with other invaluable tips for increasing your visibility on this social media venue.  Her ideas are practical, easy to implement, and greatly beneficial to you as a business person looking to utilize social media to expand your potential client base. 

You will want to read the full article she recently posted on her website, entitled "21 Steps to the Perfect LinkedIn Profile."  While the steps are briefly listed below, you will want to read the entire post for the detailed information that will dramatically enhance your LinkedIn experience.  My hope is that you will find it as helpful as I have.

1. Photo Should Always Be Professional.
2. Your Name Should ONLY Contain Your Name.
3. Your Headline Should Be Catchy & Have Keywords You Want To Be Found For
4. Connect With At Least 501 People
5. Provide All Necessary Contact Info
6. Customize Your Website Names
7. Customize Your Profile URL
8. Update Your Status Daily
9. Keyword Load Your Summary & Profile
10. Write In First Person
11. Speak Directly To Your Target Market
12. Add Video To Your LinkedIn Profile
13. Tell Them To Click Play!
14. Skills & Expertise Should Be Filled With Keywords
15. Use the "Projects" Section To Promote Products
16. Keyword Load Your Current & Past Work History
17. Use Keywords When Filling Out Your Experience Section
18. Have At Least 10 Recommendations
19. Add Volunteer Experience
20. Fill "Honors & Awards" With Significant Media Attention
21. Join 50 Groups

Ms. Dodaro provides a wealth of experience and knowledge in the area of social media.  Working in the promotional products marketing arena has enough challenges of its own; adding social media as an additional area of business to build and maintain can be overwhelming, but following her tips has been both eye opening and motivating.