Good evening, Social Rabbit here with your guide to the world of social media.

LinkedIn is ALL about brand YOU!

What do you want people to say about you? or think of you professionally?  This is all brand YOU.  When you get dressed each morning you think where am I going today? what am I doing?  and you dress for the occasion knowing that first impressions count – LinkedIn is exactly the same, you need to think about what kind of impression you want to give people and work on that.  Remember that everything you say on LinkedIn whether in groups, answering questions or on network updates is seen by people.  But not just anyone, the majority of them DON’T know you, don’t know your sense of humour, don’t know that you can be silly, don’t know that you’re a bad speller etc.  All they know is what they read.  If what they read gives them the wrong impression then how does that affect you?

Here are 8 ways you can come across well on LinkedIn…

1. Whatever you type always read it before hitting save so that you check it for appropriateness, spelling, grammar etc.  (note: if you know you’re bad at this you can write it in word and copy and paste it across once you’ve hit spell check)
2. Fill in your WHOLE profile, any less and people can think – you can’t be bothered, you’re not serious about using it, you’re lazy, you’re unprofessional – get the picture?
3. Even if you think the person who is answering/asking a question/discussion is an idiot don’t put that out there! Remember that just because you can’t shake that person’s hand doesn’t not mean they are not a real person, so as my Mum always said “If you can’t find anything nice to say you are better off saying nothing”.  But this point isn’t just about that person’s feelings, think about what other people think when they read that you have posted something horrible about someone else – who will they think the idiot is?  probably you!
4. Add value. Answer questions, contribute to discussions and use it as an opportunity to been seen as an expert.  We have probably all seen those people who answer a question on LinkedIn just so that it says on their profile that they have answered a million questions, the answer is 5-10 words, not really adding anything and no one thinks it’s clever.  You have to remember you are on a professional network where most people have degrees, we see through this stuff!
5. Interact with others. Get involved, don’t expect to get if you don’t give.  People are drawn to generous sharing types.
6. Be real. This is not the social networking website where you pretend to be someone else, be YOU.  Show people who you are, your personality, not who you think they want to meet (also see point 2 on this)
7. Be professional. This is a professional network, treat it as you would a professional networking evening, don’t go on LinkedIn when drunk, don’t have a picture of you on the beach in your bikini as your photo.
8. Have personality. You don’t have to be the same as everyone else, just as you wouldn’t dress the same, or act the same, don’t think that you have to on here.  It’s all about you, be natural.

Getting the picture?  Brand YOU is like the brand of washing powder you buy, you buy it because you like it, it has a great smell and does the job!

Help people “buy” YOU because they like what they read and see, and don’t be a dodgy toy that breaks after 5 minutes of playing with it!

If you want to connect on LinkedIn with me, I’d love to…..  If you have any tips for LinkedIn (or pet peeves) tell me below in the comments.