We recently had a discussion during our CEO Peer Group meeting in DFW, about how a CEO should use LinkedIn. We have some business owners who were on it each day, and some that almost never went on it. Some CEO’s use it as a valuable resource, and others have their marketing team run it. Here is what we came up with:
The Details:
Be Accessible
I suggest you post your email and phone number at the top of your profile in the summary so people can connect with you. Isn’t that why you’re on LinkedIn?
Complete Your LinkedIn Profile
Fill in your career history and skills so others can understand your strengths and reach out to you for a new role in their company, help with an issue they face, or share with you something they feel would be of interested to you based on your experiences.
Keep Us Posted
Take time to let others know who you are and the impact you are having on the world. Share your business experience so people can ask you for help when they face challenges in life. Tell stories of your daily experiences so others can learn from your success and failures. Connect to people who share your passion and purpose in life so you can encourage each other to be your best.
Be Real
Your profile and your postings should reflect who you are. If you present an image of you that is not real you will confuse people when they meet you in person or try to refer you to someone else. I share my professional journey as well as my personal side because when you work with me you get it all. I don’t have a business side and then a personal side; I’m me all the time and I mix in my business experience with my personal life, faith, humor, and passion for life. What you see is what you get. Here is a good article on Being Real.
Listen to Others
There is a lot of great content being published on LinkedIn. No matter what you do for a living we all need to be learning each day. I have found inspiration and wisdom from the content others are posting and I can use it to inspire those I lead and coach. I follow companies I want to see what they are doing to lead with excellence or build a culture that I can mirror. So I “Follow” them and get their postings in my daily feed. This allows me to see how they handle things, find fresh ideas to grow business or build trust with their employees.
For example, last week I read a great article “Busy Is The New Stupid.” It was awesome and reflected many of the lame excuses I hear leaders share all the time. I actually emailed this article to my contacts and encouraged them to read it because it was so powerful. I heard back from many people who said they too were moved by the article and shared it with many others. I even took the time to read the entire article to the members of our Renaissance Executive Forum Peer Group members in DFW during our last meeting. Here is the article so you too can enjoy it: Busy Is The New Stupid.
Use Regularly
If you plan to be on LinkedIn, visit it regularly and respond in a timely manner. This is a great tool to help you reach your personal and professional goals IF you use it to its full potential. Set a calendar reminder to go at least once a week so you stay connected and reply to people while the issue is still current. I visit LinkedIn each day to do research, stay connected with others, and tell my story. You’ll get what you put into it so decide what you want from LinkedIn and invest appropriately.
Oh yeah, and have some fun.