So what's in your LinkedIn profile?

I have a couple of clients who are excellent business executives with great web sites and powerful marketing materials.  Still, they have the most Godawful Linkedin profiles.    To paraphrase that credit company, "They don't know what's in their LinkedIn profile."


Here's why have a good Linkedin profile is important.  First, a lot of people check the web to get information about you and LinkedIn can direct them to information about you, your work and your company. Unlike most other web sites, the folks at this California networking site allow you to control how the whole world perceives you.   While my profile isn't perfect, I have spent some time and effort updating it.    And, just like any web document, a Linkedin profile is a work in progress.

So, here are a couple of points for those who have the Steve Martin version of what I would term as the "I was born a poor black child" LinkedIn profile.  In other words, you  may have entered a name and the the dates they started their duties with a new company   There is nothing else to it, and it leaves the reader wondering about you and your qualifications.  If you are in any form of community outreach, sales or marketing, having this abbreviated form of a LinkedIn profile is like wearing Bermuda plaid shorts and a dirty T-shirt to a job interview.

To overcome this poor effort in your marketing effort with your LinkedIn profile, I would suggest the following:

1)  Take a pad of paper and outline your key points for every job you ever held.  Then, write it up into your Linkedin profile.
2)  Ask a trusted advisor or friend like my good friend and colleague, Jay Fraser, to serve as your grammar enforcer.  Allow them to nitpick it for errors and suggestions on how to improve it.
3)  Reach out to others within your industry.   LinkedIn allows you to share with others in your industry.  Looking for a way to improve a process.  Your colleagues will share their input with you, especially if you reside in San Antonio, and their base of operations is Baltimore.
4)  Ask your friends, former bosses and other colleagues to comment on your work.  These third party endorsements allow you to convince others that you truly are the best in your business.

Finally, here are some great Linkedin profiles that should give you some inspiration for how to make it better:

Brian Massey: One of the best Linkedin profiles on the web because it gives you a sense of what the Conversion Scientist does for a living.
David Smith:   Another great profile because it chronicles the CEO of HBMG's achievements for the past 30 years.
Michael Kelly:  My friend Mike Kelly's LinkedIn profile shows how endorsements legitimize his efforts and acchievements throughout his military and civilian career.

A LinkedIn profile like these allow you to take advantage of the changes in today's marketing channels.  There is no cost for setting one up, but with a little time and effort it can help open your doors to new opportunities and connections.

Why pitching to reporters is like Best Buy selling the latest Kenny Chesney CD

My friend, Brian Massey's latest blog about how Best Buy is targeting its online customer base is as my Aussie friends would say: "Spot On!" According to Massey, "The Consumerist finds this somehow disingenuous, that one of the biggest consumer electronics retailers on the planet is not interested in selling to customers that aren’t profitable."

As a publicist, I work in the selling process. I truly target the pitch towards the right media decision makers. There are sadly a few reporters who don't respond to me. Like Best Buy, I am not offended, so I don't spend a lot of time or effort trying to reach them either. If there is something of interest, I make an effort to call them. However, if another reporter covers the same beat and I have a better selling relationship, I spend more time with that media professional to ensure he or she gets the information.

Brian's latest blog re-enforces my decision to focus my effort on the customers that matter. Smart business professionals know that they need to focus on the customers who will make them profitable. While public relations isn't as scientific as the retail sales process for selling someone a new flat screen TV or that latest Kenny Chesney CD, there is still a little research involved in the process.

Best Buy wouldn't target hip-hop music lovers or those with an urban demographic of 14 to 29. Yet, if I was a valued customer, they would probably tell me about the latest Jimmy Buffet or Alan Jackson CD. But, they already know that if I buy something it's from Amazon.com, where they have a profile of my buying habits. And, while the folks at Amazon recommend new music and books when I travel to their site, I usually never buy anything from them unless I specifically want something. I am sure that somewhere in Amazon there's a researcher like my friend Brian, who is studying my buying habits so they can close more sales.