LinkedIn now has the @mention function

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Posted on April 27, 2013 by Nicky Kriel

Did you know you can tag people or @mention people on LinkedIn now? At the beginning of April, LinkedIn introduced the @mention function onto LinkedIn.

This function works in the similar way that it does on Facebook and Twitter. It notifies people that they are being talked about.

How it works

From your home page or when you are commenting on someone one’s update:

Add @ and start typing a person’s name.
It can be either their first name or surname
Choose the person from the drop down menu
This creates a hyperlink to their profile
You can only tag someone if you are already connected to them or they have commented on the same update.
You can mention companies too.

Pros

You let people know when you are talking about them so that they can respond
The person mentioned will be get a notification and an email
You find out when people are mentioning you and you can respond to their update
Companies will know when you mention them
Your name, photo and headline might pop up in the drop down menu when someone is mentioning a person with a similar name. This keeps you top of mind.
Companies will be more visible

Cons

Potential for people who tend to spam to tag random people to updates.
More email notifications from LinkedIn (although you can change the email settings)

How to change your email notifications for mentions

Go into Settings
Choose the Communication tab and the “set the frequency of emails” option
Edit the messages by LinkedIn by clicking on the pencil
Change the frequency of mentions

I personally would not recommend you stop email notification unless you get mentioned a lot. It is good to be able to respond quickly when someone talks about you.

I think this is a great feature that LinkedIn has added, what do you think?

Nicky Kriel

Nicky Kriel is a Social Media Coach & Trainer inspiring, educating and empowering Business Owners to use Social Media more strategically. She is also the author of How to Twitter for Business Success. For more information visit http://www.nickykriel.com or to find out about her courses that she runs in Guildford visit http://www.nickykriel.com/courses

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LinkedIn Profile: How to improve your Headline

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Posted on January 21, 2013 by Nicky Kriel

Have you ever had the experience of listening to someone’s one-minute pitch at a networking meeting and when they sit down, you have no idea what they do? Forget the elevator pitch. Or having a minute to sell your business. On LinkedIn you have 120 characters to get your message across!

Your headline on your LinkedIn profile is the most prominent feature of your profile. So when last did you look at what your headline says about you? Or is it still set to the default setting and showing your current position and company name?

Why your Headline is important

Very prominent on search results when people are searching for your services on LinkedIn
Keywords in your Headline are picked up in LinkedIn Search
Your Headline acts like your sales pitch enticing someone to read more about you
Your LinkedIn Headline appears in Google search results if someone searches for your name
Your Headline may be the only thing on your Profile that your potential customer sees about you.

How to change your Headline

Go to “Edit Profile”

Click on the pencil symbol next to your Headline (If you do not see pencils, you are not in the “Edit Profile” mode of your Profile)

You have 120 characters for your Headline. There is no counter, when you can’t type any more characters you have reached the limit.

How to make your 120 characters count

Make sure you tell people, in a clear, succinct way:

who you are or what you do,
who you help and
how you help them

Be specific about the type of business or person you work with. The person reading your Headline needs to know at a glance that you are the right person for them.

Think of your Keywords: What would other people be looking for if they were searching for your business? Do you really think anyone would be looking for hackneyed phrases like “problem solver” or “blue sky thinker”?

LinkedIn produces a list of the most over used buzzword each year and 2012 words were:

Creative
Motivated
Multinational
Responsible
Experimental
Effective
Specialized
Analytical

Be memorable with your Headline. Think of it as your personal brand statement where you can showcase your specialist area, your value propositions and what makes you special.

Note: Don’t waste precious space in your Headline with your business name unless it is exceptionally well known. If someone is searching for your business name, your name would appear in the search results anyway because it is in your current position.

If you haven’t reviewed your LinkedIn Profile in the last few months, have a look at it now.

Does it show you in the best possible light?

Are you making those 120 characters count?

Nicky Kriel

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How to remove your duplicate LinkedIn account

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Posted on January 1, 2013 by Nicky Kriel

Have you set up two LinkedIn accounts by mistake and want to delete one of your accounts? This post will show you how to do it easily. It is surprising how easy it is to set up two accounts if you use a number of email addresses. I know because I did it a few years ago when I first started on LinkedIn.

If you are wondering whether you have a duplicate account it is easy to check. Type your name in the LinkedIn Search bar, the account you are currently logged in as will be marked as “You”. If there is another account showing with your details in it, then follow these steps.

Go the account that you want to DELETE. You will have to use the email address associated with that account. If you can’t remember your password, send a request for a new one. Sign in and take a note of your connections. Are they connected with you on your other account?

Go to your Settings Page: Go to your name in the top bar and click on the arrow. Choose Settings from the drop down menu
The Default tab for your Settings is your Profile. Select the Account Tab by clicking on it.
Click on Close your Account.
Choose the right option for the reason why you are closing your account
Wait for 48 hours and then add the email you used for this account to your open account. This will mean that if someone invites you to connect with them it will be on the right account.

If you have a large number of connections on both accounts and would like LinkedIn to merge the two accounts, here is the link to request this: Merge LinkedIn Accounts request

Let me know if you have any other LinkedIn questions that I can answer in a short blog post like this, thank you.

Nicky Kriel

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LinkedIn Skills & Expertise: Sharpen your Skill Sets on LinkedIn

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Nicky Kriel

When was the last time you updated your LinkedIn Profile? If you haven’t updated your profile recently, I suggest you go look at it today. In February, LinkedIn introduced a new section to your profile called Skills & Expertise. In the last couple of weeks LinkedIn has added the ability to endorse skills which changes things dramatically. It is really important that you make sure you add the right skills to your profile for the following reasons:

It allows people to see your skills very quickly
LinkedIn ranks people they consider influential for a particular skill.
People can endorse your skills. If you don’t have have the right skills listed, you may be missing out.
The endorsement of skills will add to your Klout score and social influence.
It is easier to add an endorsement than to give a written testimonial, so your customers and colleagues are more likely to do it.

What you can do to make sure you get endorsements.

Make sure you list all your skills that your customers would use. You can have up to 50 and I would recommend you add all the ones that are relevant.
Use the Skills and Expertise in the “More” section to ensure that you are using terminology that your industry uses (I will explain why in a bit more detail later in this blog post)
Move your Skills Section higher up in your profile (all you need to do is to click on the panel bar and drag it higher.) This makes your skills more visible and easier to endorse.
Endorse other people FIRST. When you visit their profile you can either endorse the skills shown at the top of their profile or scroll down to their Skills section.I’m sure you have plenty of people that you would recommend for skills. It alerts them that you can endorse skills. They will feel positive towards you because you have done something nice without being asked. Most people will endorse you back for your skills.
Tell your customers that LinkedIn has this new feature and that it would be nice if they could add an endorsement for you

How to add Skills

There are two ways to add Skills

Scroll down to your Skills & Expertise section, click on “Add a skill” and type the skill you want to add.
Go to the “More” Tab at the top and select Skills & Expertise from the drop down menu. Add one of your skills into the search box section. This will open up the following Page:

The first option allows you to add skills not listed by other LinkedIn users.

Different countries use different terms, so you need to use the right term for your country.
You might have a specialist skill that nobody has added yet
You may be in a niche area and the skill will be recognised by your potential customers.

The second option allows you to find other words and phrases to describe what you do which you may not have thought of before.

You are allowed up to fifty skills, it is worth finding synonyms.
It will also give you suggestions of Skills based on your Profile. (Obvious, you need to make sure your Profile is completed thoroughly.)

Have you endorsed people on LinkedIn yet? Help other LinkedIn users to find out about Skills by sharing this post with your friends, thank you.

Nicky Kriel

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Twitter no longer feeds automatically into LinkedIn: Yay!

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Nicky Kriel

LinkedIn announced last week that Tweets will no longer be displayed on LinkedIn.

No more automatic feeding of your Twitter activity into LinkedIn
No more broadcasting of Tweets with #in or #li on LinkedIn

Some people seem to think this is awful, but I think it is a good thing and here’s why:

The LinkedIn News feed was getting very noisy with Tweets from people who never visited LinkedIn – People tended to set their Twitter to feed automatically into LinkedIn and then forgot about the platform.
Not all the things you say on Twitter are appropriate for LinkedIn – Each Social Media platform has its own personality – On LinkedIn you are always a business person whereas on Twitter you are a business person but also show your human side. Conversations about walking your dog or chatting to other people on Twitter were not suitable for LinkedIn.
Frequency of Updates – Most tweets only have a short life span and so it is okay to tweet frequently. Updates on LinkedIn last longer. Many LinkedIn users were annoyed by the number of automated tweets drowning the updates by genuine LinkedIn users.
Twitter has its own language and jargon – Not everyone understands hashtags or what RT and DM mean.
Many updates were duplicated. People often set up Twitter to feed automatically into LinkedIn and then used a tool like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to publish the same content into LinkedIn again.

If you want to broadcast the same content to both LinkedIn and Twitter, you still can by:

Posting on LinkedIn and make you sure you tick the Twitter box
Use a third party dashboard like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite to publish content

What do you think about LinkedIn’s announcement? Did you use to have your Twitter feeding automatically into LinkedIn? Love to hear your viewpoint in the comments below.

Nicky Kriel

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LinkedIn: How to add Slideshare to your LinkedIn Profile

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicky Kriel

Did you know that you can showcase your business within your Profile in LinkedIn? You have the opportunity to add a presentation to create visual impact to your LinkedIn Profile and it is incredible simple to do it. Here’s how in three Easy Steps.

Step 1 – Create a presentation

Create a presentation using Powerpoint (or a similar presentation tool) for your business. It doesn’t have to be long and you may have one that you can use already. Here are some things to consider.

You don’t have to say everything in one presentation. You can always create more presentations.
Tell a story with an introduction, middle and a call to action at the end
Make sure it has visual impact. What images can you include?
Use a font size that can be read easily. People are going to watch this in a smaller format than when it is projected onto a screen.
If you use an existing presentation, does it stand on it’s own feet without you speaking about it? You might want to make a few changes to it.

Step 2 – Add it to Slideshare

If you haven’t set up a Slideshare account, set one up now. Go to http://www.slideshare.net, it will only take a few minutes to set up a free account.

Upload your presentation, by clicking the upload from the Home Page

Choose your presentation from your folder and make sure you add

a suitable heading
and description
and tags.

Millions of people are searching on Slideshare and your presentation could be found by a potential customer.

Step 3 – Add Slideshare to LinkedIn

Go the More section

Choose Add More Applications from the drop down menu.

Choose Slideshare Presentations and follow the instructions.

Every time you add a new presentation to Slideshare, it automatically updates your LinkedIn profile.

That wasn’t too hard, was it?

If you found this tip useful share it with your friends and let me know by leaving a comment.

Nicky Kriel

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LinkedIn Answers: A quick guide to using Answers on LinkedIn

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Nicky Kriel

Do you use “Answers” when you use LinkedIn? If you are wondering what I mean; then this blog post is for you.

LinkedIn has a very useful Questions and Answers (Q & A) feature called “Answers” which can be very helpful for your business.

What is Answers?

LinkedIn Answers is the place on LinkedIn to:

Ask questions to get fast, accurate answers from your network and other experts. The questions can be answered by any of the 130 million plus LinkedIn users so it provides a very valuable resource.
Showcase your knowledge, expertise, and interests by answering questions in your industry
Research your Industry and find experts.

Where can you find Answers?

This video is a quick walk through of the LinkedIn Answers which you can find under the “More” tab.

15 Ways to use Answers

Research – to find out more about a subject
Generate ideas
Check keywords and the terminology that people use in your business
Get answers from experts
Show your expertise by giving helpful answers
Get feedback and opinions on a topic
Raise your profile
Find experts by investigating the people answering questions
Test the market
Stay current within your industry
Find potential guest bloggers/writers
Find industry influencers
See the questions people ask and answer them on your website or blog
Make connections with people
Be seen as the expert in your area by regularly answering questions

There are many ways you can use LinkedIn Answers. Has this post been useful to you? Leave a comment and let me know.

Nicky Kriel

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LinkedIn Today: How to use it

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Nicky Kriel

Did you know that LinkedIn makes it easy to find articles and news that are relevant to you? In fact, they present it to you on a plate.

Have you noticed the LinkedIn Today on your Home Page? Are you using LinkedIn Today to help you?

What is LinkedIn Today?

Just below your update box, you have the top articles that are currently being read and shared on LinkedIn within your industry and among your peers.

LinkedIn will look at:

the industry that you are in
who you are connected to
how often articles are been shared, liked or commented on
which recent articles your direct connection have shared

How to use LinkedIn Today

Tailor your LinkedIn Today

The first step is to make sure that headlines you get, are tailor-made for you.

By clicking on the “See all Top Headlines for You” this is what you see:

By clicking on the “See all” for either the Top Sources or Suggested industries, this is what you’ll see:

You can choose which sources and industries are relevant to you specifically by clicking the Follow button.

Read the Headlines

It is a very easy way to keep up to speed with what is happening in your industry. It is worth creating a daily habit for yourself. Even if it is just read one article a day!

Comment on the article

Very few people leave comments on articles and there is a very good reason why you should consider doing it.

It’s an opportunity to form a relationship with the author
It’s an opportunity to show that you are a thought leader (although you have to say more than “Nice post”!) A thoughtful considered response is ideal if you have the time.
Other people can read your comment so it increases your online visibility
Most comments you leave require a website address. This creates a backlink to your website
Each comment can be found by search engines. It gives people who are searching for your name, a more rounded view of you.

Caution: Be aware that if you write a ranting comment on someone’s post it will reflect badly on you.

Share the article

Share the post you have read on LinkedIn, adding a comment to your update.

By sharing good quality content, you get associated with the content.
You don’t have to write everything yourself.
People appreciate people who share good sources of news.
It is an easy way to update your LinkedIn Profile
Which in turn gives you better visibility on LinkedIn

Simple really, isn’t it? Let me know if you have been using LinkedIn Today by leaving a comment below.

Nicky Kriel

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What to do after you have written a blog post

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Nicky Kriel

What do you do with your blog post once you have written it? You have taken the time to write a post, now how do you to get people to read it? There is no point is simply HOPING that people other than your close friends will magically find it. You need to make it easy for other people to find your blog.

So here are 5 Easy steps:

1. Make your blog post easy to share

I am still amazed how many blogs don’t make it easy for people to share their blog posts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. There are so many plugins that make it easy to add a Twitter and Facebook buttons to your blog site. They are free and easy to install to you blog. I will go into more detail about plugins for WordPress later this month.

2. Have a Call to action

Make sure that you have a call to action at the bottom of your blog. What do you want people to do when they have finished reading your blog? Do you want them to leave a comment, read another of your blog posts or share the post with their friends? It helps to be very specific and tell people exactly what you would like them to do (in a nice, friendly and polite way, of course).

3. Share with your tribe

You have loyal friends and readers, make sure that they know that you just published a blog post. Everyone has busy lives, you can’t expect people to know about it even if you have published it on Facebook.

If you are doing the Ultimate Blog Challenge with me and it is not too late to start now if you aren’t yet.

Tell your friends and email list about the Challenge and ask them for their support by commenting and sharing your posts.
Let them know that you will be sending them weekly updates of you posts or that they can subscribe to your blog directly if you have already set this up.
Send them a weekly update of your posts with links directly to the post so that they can read them easily.
At the end of the Ultimate Blog Challenge, thank them for their support

4. Share on Social Media

Here are some places to share your Blog Posts:

Twitter

You can post your blog post to Twitter more than once. Try to think of something fresh to say about it each time.
Make sure you use the #blogboost hashtag if you are taking part in the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Use this hashtag to find fellow bloggers on the challenge and share their posts and add comments too. You will make good friends this way.

Facebook

Share it on your Profile,
Share it on your Page if it is relevant for your Page,
for the Ultimate Challenge make sure that you post it to the Ultimate Blog Challenge Group Page
and to Social Media for Newbies, I will read and comment on all posts added during this challenge.

LinkedIn

Post it as an update.
Are there any relevant groups that your blog post might be worth sharing to?
You can add a link to a relevant post into your LinkedIn Profile using edit Profile

Google Plus

If you have a Google+ account share your blog post with your circles.
I tend to make my blog posts public so that anyone can read them.
By adding circles of people, it means those people people will get a notification of your post too.

StumbleUpon

If you are going to only use one Bookmarking Site, you really need to consider StumbleUpon. Posts have a greater longevity on this site than they do on Twitter and Facebook. We are talking days versus hours.

Don’t forget your call to action in your updates. Yes, you need to be specific on Social Media too!

5. Social Bookmarking

If you are serious about blogging there are so many sites dedicated to sharing great articles and it is worth getting your posts published on these. Now before you get overwhelmed with all the sites, there is a way to automate the process so that you don’t spend hours posting. I use OnlyWire which has doubled my visitors to my website since I started using it.

OnlyWire is free to use as a trial for the first 300 submissions, If you set up 10 sites, the free trial will allow you to share 30 blog posts for free. (I have upgraded mine because Iit saves me so much time and I use it a lot)
OnlyWire keeps all your social media sites in one place so that with click of a button you can publish to 47 sites at once
You will need to register for each of the Social Media sites and I would recommend that you only do a few at a time so that you don’t give up. It is a pain, but worth it in the end.
I tend to post manually to sites like Facebook and Twitter that I am very active on so that I can write more personalised updates. I would recommend you post manually to Facebook to increase your visibilty and improve your Edgerank.
It is a great opportunity to be exposed to a wider audience

Now for my call to action:

I would love to support you if you are doing the Ultimate Blog Challenge too. So can you help me by posting your blog posts on the Social Media for Newbies Page so that I can find your blog posts easily, thank you.

If you are not doing the Challenge, I would love you to show your support by commenting, sharing or any other way that you choose. I will need all the encouragement I can get to do the 31 days, thank you.

Nicky Kriel

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Social Media Strategy: Do you have one for your business?

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Nicky Kriel

Do you have a Social Media Strategy?

Or do you just have Social Media accounts that you use?

It is very easy to jump on the bandwagon and be on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn without having a clear idea of how you want to use them to grow your business. Time is a precious resource, can you afford to waste it?

This is a talk that I did for the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Surrey in September. I think that you will find the questions useful for your business.