Anonymous Views of Your LinkedIn Profile

Admit it... you're more that just a bit curious when you notice that there has been an "anonymous" view of your LinkedIn profile.

Executives take note: you may wish to consider changing your settings to prevent LinkedIn users from knowing that you have viewed their profile. This can be particularly helpful if you are in a high profile position such as a VP level or above, company president, or HR manager who does not wish to be contacted by potential candidates whose profiles you have viewed.



An "anonymous" view of your LinkedIn profile.

To adjust your settings, follow these simple steps:

 

1. Hover over your name until the account dropdown appears.

2. Go to "Privacy and Settings" in your LinkedIn account.

3. Click "Select what others see when you view their profile."

4. Change the setting to "You will be totally anonymous."

 

Keep in mind that when you adjust this setting, you will also lose the ability to see who has viewed your profile. A small tradeoff to help protect your privacy as you are viewing profiles on Linkedin.

 

Did you find this blog helpful? Click to share on LinkedIn or your favorite social network.

 

CHEESE (your LinkedIn profile photo)

Your LinkedIn Profile Photo:
very important!

I'm not sure what the exact statistic is, but my guess is that the majority of LinkedIn users who do NOT have a profile photo are having a really hard time getting their invitations accepted. Like it or not, people want to see faces of their LinkedIn connections. I know that personally, one of the considerations for me on whether or not I'll accept an invite from an unknown person is their profile photo, or lack thereof.

When it comes to your Linkedin profile photograph, I always recommend:

• YES, include a photo on your LinkedIn profile.
• YES, make it viewable by public.
• Pleasant and smiling
• Head and shoulders only
• Professional attire
• Clean background
• NOT: summer vacation picture, group picture, avatar of something scenic instead of your face, sunglasses, angry grimace, etc.

Check out a few posts related to this topic:


On LinkedIn Chat:
When do you NOT accept a LinkedIn invitation?
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/When-do-you-NOT-accept-3904551.S.212031642


Blog:
How to Take and Choose a Professional Photo for LinkedIn: Tips for Picking a Perfect LinkedIn Profile Photo
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/tips/qt/linked-profile-photo.htm

Blog:

25 Things that Make You Look Dumb on LinkedIn

http://blogs.constantcontact.com/fresh-insights/look-dumb-on-linkedin/

Blog:
10 Mistakes That Drive Other LinkedIn Users Mad!
http://mrlinkedin.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/10-mistakes-that-drive-other-linkedin-users-mad/

Hopefully this blog post makes you rethink your position on the ever-powerful LinkedIn profile photograph. What do you think?

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LinkedIn for Executives: How Do You Stack Up?

If you're an executive using LinkedIn, chances are you have unique challenges and unique needs compared to the average working professional.

How do you stack up against these items? Give yourself one point* for every "YES." Subtract one point if you answered "YES" to items 6 or 19.

1. I’m on LinkedIn
2. I know why I’m on LinkedIn
3. I’ve completed my LinkedIn profile

   

   Don't use a "selfie" as your
   LinkedIn profile photo. 

4. I review and update my LinkedIn profile once per quarter
5. I personalize invitations to connect
6. I accept all invitations
7. I know what to do with invites from people I don’t know
8. I hide my connections
9. I know how to modify my profile settings…
10. … when I make updates, so my network does not see the edits as I make them
11. … if I want to privately view a profile
12. My company is on LinkedIn (company page)
13. My professional summary on LinkedIn mirrors my professional bio
14. My photo on LinkedIn is a professional headshot (NOT a “selfie”)
15. I know how to access LinkedIn HELP
16. I am aware of the value of LinkedIn groups
17. I participate in group discussions (post or read)
18. I review my LinkedIn homefeed weekly
19. My assistant manages my LinkedIn for me
20. If I have multiple emails that I use professionally (work, gmail, etc.), they are all linked to my LinkedIn account
21. I have only one LinkedIn profile
22. I’ve looked at my peers’ profiles on LinkedIn
23. I’ve looked at competitors’ company pages on LinkedIn
24. I know how to modify what displays on my public profile
25. I've added my board affiliations to my LinkedIn profile



Use a professional photo for your
LinkedIn profile photo.

26. I am connected with Brenda Meller on LinkedIn

This is just a sampling of common concerns that executives face when working with LinkedIn. In the next few months, I'll be blogging an explanation for each topic and provide instructions on each when applicable.

Was this blog interesting? Please click to share on your professional network.

** Extra bonus points if you share this blog as a LinkedIn status update.

Is Your Company on LinkedIn? It Should Be.

Stop what you're doing right now and do a search for your company on LinkedIn. Does your company have a company page on LinkedIn? If not, make sure you send your head of marketing, social media, or HR a note and tell them that Brenda said you NEED to get your company on LinkedIn. It's free to do so and fairly easy to do.

Here are the instructions from LinkedIn on setting up a company page: http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/710

Keep in mind that there are a few requirements you need to have before setting up a company page, as outlined here: http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1594

At a high level,

1. You must be a current employee of the company to set up your company page.
2. Your email address must match your company. Ex: my work email is bmeller@walshcollege.edu and my company's webpage is www.walshcollege.edu 
3. There cannot be a company page already created using that web address, such as subsidiaries or franchises. 
4. You must be rated "intermediate" or "all star" by LinkedIn. 
5. You must have "several" connections says LinkedIn. Once upon a time I heard the minimum was 50 connections. This may have changed. 

WHY HAVE A COMPANY PAGE, you ask?

Several reasons. 

• People aren't going to your website to learn about your company as much as they used to. Sorry, but it's true. Now, people find information on your company on social and professional networking sites, which tend to be more current, active, and visited frequently.
• It's free to set up a company page on LinkedIn. Really.

  

  "Your competition has a company page
  on LinkedIn," says Brenda Meller. 

• You can set up product descriptions on LinkedIn through your company page and ask your customers to recommend those products. 
• You can post on behalf of your company: news, announcements, general messages, etc. 
• Every Fortune 500 company has employees on LinkedIn. I.e., it's kind of a big deal.
• LinkedIn provides you analytics for people who "like" your page. Again, this is free. (I'm big on free)
• Because your competition is on LinkedIn. Don't believe me? Go ahead and check. 
• Because I think it's a smart thing to do. I call 'em like I see 'em. 

Like this post? Please click to share on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or wherever your network may be found. And then send me an invite to connect: www.linkedin.com/in/brendameller and mention this post. 

Do I Know You? Have We Met? (invites from strangers)

Another question from a network contact and my response.

Q: I just had someone ask to connect to me on LinkedIn.  I don’t know him.  I’ve had people with no connection to me try to link on LinkedIn only to find out they were looking for a job at (company). Sugestions?

 

A: LinkedIn serves up suggestions every day to every LinkedIn users about who they should connect with. It's quite possible this person is just clicking the "connect" button without realizing the etiquette of personalizing your invitations to connect.

 

It's also quite possible this person is trying to apply for a job at your company, as you suggest.

The best way to figure it out is to ask the question.

 

Here's what I do:

 

Hover over arrow next to the "accept" button and you'll see the text "reply (don't accept yet)." Then, reply to the person and say, "Hi John, thank you for the invite. Have we met?" This action will help to clarify their invitation intentions so that you can decide whether to accept, decline, or achive (delete) their invitation.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Find this blog helpful? Please share it on your social and professional networks.

 

Using LinkedIn for Business

I received another question from a network contact today.

Q:
I am a commercial real estate broker and find LinkedIn a valuable tool for making connections with people I would like to meet. How can I give my company greater exposure generate more business through LinkedIn?

A: 

LinkedIn is a great business networking tool, but I have to say first and foremost, in my experience it's best to use LinkedIn to establish relationships than for pure business prospecting. If you're using it the right way, you'll find leads by demonstrating your subject matter expertise, by making yourself and your company available to those seeking you, and by working through warm referrals. That said, here are a few tips I'd offer which may help:

1. Be on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the #1 professional networking site for business professionals. You can connect with individuals up to two connections away and through common groups. By being on LinkedIn, you're adding yourself to the virtual rolodex.
2. List Your Company on LinkedIn. LinkedIn offers a free service for companies to add themselves into the company directory. They have recently changed the requirements to set up a company page on LinkedIn, but most active LinkedIn users will qualify. You must have an email address that matches your company's web address. (ex: I work for Walsh College and my email ends in walshcollege.edu which is our College's website address)
3. Update Your Status Strategically. Remember to share a blend of status updates, ranging from industry news demonstrating your interest and expertise, as we
   
   ll as periodic reminders of what you do and how you can help others. This will help your network contacts to offer endorsements based on your skills and expertise, which should be related to your industry if you're posting the right things. Yes, it's okay to be promotional on LinkedIn, but be careful it's not a dominant part of your efforts. Sprinkle your sales approach. Like salt, don't use too much.
4. Build Your Social Media Karma. Pay special attention to the status updates of your first level connections, which are your best source to help with warm introductions. Reply to their status updates. Like them, share their asks. Help them. In turn, they will be more likely to want to help you in the future. 
5. Join Groups Related to Your Industry. Yes, you may be networking with competitors, but you may also share and learn valuable tips and trends. 
6. Join Groups Where Your Future Clients May Cluster. At Walsh, we offer business degrees. So I join MBA groups. In these groups, I may find posts from students who are looking around for MBA programs. In full disclosure, I mention that I work at Walsh and that we offer MBAs, both in metro Detroit and online. 
7. Request Introductions (selectively) through LinkedIn. Sales people / business development professional may want to use LinkedIn to aggressively connect with prospects via their connections, but if you only talk to your connections to ask for introductions to leads, you're going to turn them off and find yourself being disconnected pretty quick. Now if you've been helping a connection and participating in their  status updates (see #4 above), they will be more likely to want to help you. 

If you'd like more tips on using LinkedIn for Business, check out this slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/bmeller/linkedin-for-business-11468966. 

Hope this helps! If you found this post helpful, please share it along. 

Customizing Your LinkedIn URL

Q&A from a network contact.

Q:- how did you get a spiffy, short link?
 aka How do I customize my LinkedIn page address?

A: follow these instructions from LinkedIn.
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/87

There are several reasons why you should personalize it.

1. It makes it easier for someone to type in our LinkedIn URL if they are reading it off a business card, resume, flyer, etc.
2. It shows you are knowledgeable about modifying your LinkedIn profile.  Okay, maybe this only interesting to LinkedIn geeks like me.   There. I've said it.   
3. it makes it easier for YOU to remember it.  My LinkedIn URL is http://www.linkedin.com/in/brendameller/