As Speakers we need to amp up our marketing skills and we need to be constantly and consistently marketing ourselves. There are many ways this can be achieved. LinkedIn is a platform that many people still perceive as being for ‘recruiters’. If you still think it is, think again.

LinkedIn is one of the most dynamic platforms for you to be promoting yourself (not in a pushy salesy way). Did you know that Linkedin is the number one network for Business to Business connections, and business transactions are made everyday through introductions and communication via emails. Business decision makers will also make a decision once they have viewed your profile. So the question is, are you potentially loosing business with an incomplete profile and could you be gaining business by networking, socialising and building your reputation and social proof.

Here are 5 tips to help you build your reputation on LinkedIn.

1. Post your photo up – one that depicts professionalism, confidence and any other value that you think may resonate with your potential audience. Head and shoulders is preferably with a blank background or a soft background. Don’t let the background deter from your face. People searching for you want to know that you are a real person and that you are professional – and yes a photo at a glance can tell a lot. Unfortunately we live in a society where first impressions count and your first impression is your photo. Many people that I know will not accept a LinkedIn request from a non photo profile and this is an opportunity lost.

2. Complete your profile – ‘49% of social buyers researched Vendors by looking at their profile – IDC’.  So just to clarity, someone interested in you as a speaker has a look at your profile and then makes a decision. Besides completing your working history make sure you have a killer summary, your contact details, relevant qualifications and complete the charity and interests sections. You never know who has the same interests as you do. BIG TIP: put the words ‘Speaker’ in your title.

3. Get testimonials – Testimonials are harder to obtain but received, they give a fantastic image of you from your customers perspective. Get into the habit of asking for a testimonial.  LinkedIn endorsements can only be made from one profile to another.  This means that your client must willingly complete the information for a testimonial. What are the difference between testimonials and endorsements? Endorsements usually pop up on your page for someone in your network asking you if they have a skill. You then have the option of clicking that they do.  All endorsements can be found on the profile and are tallied by the number of times someone has clicked a skill. Clearly then, decision makers take testimonials far more seriously than an endorsement.

4. Join Groups and be active – one way of getting your voice out to the decision makers is to join groups where they hang out. Then become active by participating in the conversations.

Tips on Groups: Don’t join too many or you will be overwhelmed – the purpose of groups is to show your potential customers that you are worth looking at.  So quality over quantity is important. If you are in Groups where most people are selling – get out quick (it becomes like a shark fest and your customers won’t be there). Leave Groups that are not active and join ones that are.

5. Be Social and courteous – If you have sent an invitation to connect with someone always thank them when they have accepted. Make sure you answer emails. Congratulate people when they have received a promotion and say happy birthday. If you are wanting to connect with someone that is not in your connections list, see who they are connected with and then ask your connection to introduce you. Always be sure to thank your connection for the introduction.

If you are interested in joining one of my LinkedIn workshops, do let me know – wanita@theonlineacademy.co.nz