FEBRUARY 2017GQ.COM.AU 87I.
SOCIAL MEDIATHE POWER
OF LINKEDIN
If there’s one thing most media commentators now
agree on, it’s that The Donald’s brash approach and
frequentuseofsocialmediawasakeyfactorin
victory.Atthetimeoftheelection,theRepublican
had11.8mFacebookfollowersvHillary’s7.7m,and
streamed three times as many videos as his rival
in the month before the election. Modesty,
itseems,isnotinvogue–sogiveyourprofile
pages a new year revamp and turn them into
incredible networking opportunities.
With more than 400 million users, LinkedIn is a
keypartofaprofessionalonlinearsenal–anendless
source of leads, sales and influence. Digital marketer
and head trainer at LinkedInXpress, David Hobson,
tellsGQhis top tips for making sure a profile is the
best that it can be.1.Smileforthecamera
ALinkedInprofileisnotan
onlineresume,“it’sapiece
of personal branding,” says
Hobson, adding that an
up-to-date professional
profile photo is mandatory.
That’s right, avoid that
dodgyshotofyouamate
posted on Facebook a few
yearsago–theonetaken
towards tea on the third
day of the Boxing Day
test,yourfaceshadowed
beneath a garish green
and gold sombrero.
“Recruiters will instantly
and instinctively judge you
basedonyourprofile
photo, no matter how
impressive your
achievements are,”
says Hobson. Better get
some new headshots.- Claim your name
You may have missed out
on your favourite Gmail
address 10 years ago, but
you don’t have to make the
same mistake with your
LinkedIn vanity URL (or
‘public URL’ as LinkedIn
callsit).Withyourname,
it’s possible to create a
personalised link to your
profile. When someone
searches you in Google,
your LinkedIn page will
appear in the top rankings.
3. Headline
You get 120 characters
toworkona‘professional
headline’ to sit under your
name.Takealotoftime
over this because it’s the
second most viewed part
ofaprofileandalso
appearsinGoogle’ssearch
index. “Use this real estate
as a mini-introduction to
what you do and who you
work with.” And remember- headlines are supposed
to engage, be succinct
and, also, be alluring.
- Perfect your pitch
Consider the professional
summary your ‘elevator
pitch’. It’s how you’d
introduce yourself when
networking. It needs to
be an engaging and snappy
introduction focusing on
whoyoucanhelp,aswell
as relevant calls to action
such as your email address,
website or phone number.
- headlines are supposed
5.Tellavisualstory
In a visual-digital age, looks
countmorethanever.
LinkedIn can display up to
five photos or videos per
sectionofyourprofile.Tell
avisualstoryofwhoyou
areandwhatyoudowith
photos, logos and videos,
in addition to text.We’remoreconnectedthaneverbefore–
andyetsomehowwe’realsolessintouch.
Whichiswhytheabilitytonetworkin
person as well as online is a necessary skill
–oneofthemostpowerfulprofessional tools
and one full of career benefits.
Networkingneedsyoutobealittlebold
sodon’tbetheguyowningthecornerofthe
room/function/bar/lunch/dinner/conference talking to the colleagues you already
spendtoomuchtimewith.It’salsooftenlikenedtoacontactsport–thatis,you
need to be out and about and bumping into people. Do research and see where some
people within your industry hang out, then get there.
Anotherkeytostrongnetworkingistotargetspecificpeople.Itmaysoundalittle
stalkerish, but it’s simply about realising who can best be of benefit, and seeking
them out. When Trump sensed the parallels between his potential victory and
Brexit,heactivelytappedupNigelFarage,thenleaderofanti-EUpoliticalparty
Ukip,madefriends,beforeintroducinghimas“MrBrexit”atarallyinMississippi.
ThemessagetoAmericanvoterswasclear–iftheBritishcandosomethingradical,
youcan,too.Ultimatelythen,networkingisaboutinteractingandengagingfor
amutualbenefit.Farage’spre-electionfriendshiphasseenhimnowbecome Trump’s
go-to British politician with an even bigger worldwide reputation.
So,onmeetingsomeone–atarget,let’ssay–scoutouttheareaswhereperhaps
youcanfirstassistthem,beforelaunchingintoyourwantsandneeds.Thisbuilds
trust,asenseofattractiveness,and,overtime,connectingbeyondabusiness level
- because clients and contacts move on whereas ‘friends’ remain.
There’sareasonHowtoWinFriendsandInfluencePeople,Dale Carnegie’s 1936
tome,stillholdsupintoday’smodern,electronic-drivenage–becausetheskills
ofnetworking,orengagingwithothers,inperson,haven’toverly changed. So get
yourself out there and start networking to your advantage.
NETWORK,
NETWORK,
NETWORK
UNIVERSITY DISCOVERED THAT CONTRARY TO PERCEPTION, FINANCE WORKERS ARE NO MORE LIKELY TO BEHAVE UNETHICALLY THAN PEOPLE FROM OTHER SECTORS.