The 7 Worst LinkedIn Mistakes and Their Fixes

Over the last two years I’ve written often about the tips and strategies to more effectively utilize LinkedIn.  It’s just as important to consider the mistakes that people make on LinkedIn that will affect their success.  Many of these mistakes are often errors of omission.  Today I’m going to discuss seven mistakes and then I’m going to show you how you can correct them.
 

Let's get started.

1.  Bad Photo Choice

One of the first things most people do when they visit a profile is look at the photo.  Its natural to want to see the person behind the profile.  People connect to people and a photo helps improve your visitors perception.

One of the worst mistakes is to not include a photo.  What does it say about you as a business professional if you don’t understand the importance of the profile photo?

Another mistake I see is that someone decides to include the family in their photo.  That’s fine on Facebook but on a professionally based network it misses the point.  Add to this photos with effects or simply unclear.  If someone can’t see your face or recognize you there is a problem.

Finally avoid including a logo or product shot.  The same advice goes for cartoon photos.  Its a professional site.  You’re a professional.  Your photo should support your brand.

The Fix

Spend $25 $75 to $200 with a local photographer and get a professional quality headshot.  If you choose to take your own photo make sure you have proper lighting. (note:  Teryl Jackson a friend, connection and photographer in Atlanta would like to clarify that a good headshot will run from $75 to $200 and is well worth it.)

2.  Lack of Detailing Your Profile

Your profile isn’t meant to replace your resume but it should tell your visitors who you are.  There are some key areas that not only allow you to tell your story but provide an opportunity to add keywords naturally into your profile.

The first opportunity is your summary.  I like to start my profile off with my elevator speech.  This short sentence has been refined to capture attention when presented in face to face networking.  There’s no reason it shouldn’t work the same on your profile.  The rest of your summary should answer the questions of “Who you are”, “How you help people”, and “How they can help you”.

One area of missed opportunity is failing to add in your previous employment.  First people want to know the path you travelled from college to your current position.  Not including this introduces questions into your profile visitors perception.  There’s also the lost opportunity to include keywords into your job descriptions.

There are also some other areas to add information to such as specialties (great place for keywords), Interests, Awards, and don’t forget to include your phone number and your personal contact information (phone number and address if relevant).

You never know how someone will find you

The Fix
Include as many previous employers that are relevant to your development as a business professional.  It’s OK to skip that college job delivering Pizzas.  Also be sure that when you write the job descriptions to write them from the perspective of how that job contributed to making you better at what you do today.

3.  Ignoring Applications

When you look at the number of applications on Facebook (1,000’s) verses the number on LinkedIn (13) you might think that applications just aren’t that important.  That would be a bad analysis.  While few in number, the applications available are a key to sharing what it is that you do with your fellow LinkedIn members.  They provide the opportunity to take your profile from two dimensional to three dimensional.

The basic LinkedIn profile is simply a lot of text.  Sure you can tell people all of the relevant information about yourself, but I always recall my freshman English teacher imploring me to “Show, don’t tell”.  Applications give you the opportunity to show what it is that you do.

Applications give you the ability to post a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation (Slideshare or Google Presentations), add a video (Slideshare or Google Presentations), feed in your blog (WordPress and BlogLink), add PDF files or Word documents (Boxnet), announce and RSVP Events, conduct Polls, share the books you’re reading (Amazon), and the just released Twitter application.

Just about any way you want to communicate a message or information on LinkedIn is available.  Your profile visitors can engage with your profile in print, video, even audio (add your podcast to a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation.

The FIx
Start going through your resources to see what information will help you show others what it is that you do and how you can help them.  If you don’t have a blog WordPress makes it simple to create one.  It’s simple to create a presentation to share, just be sure to make it interesting by including more than just bullet points.  Load up those brochures, white papers, and one-pagers.  

Finally, add a video to your profile.  If you don’t have the tools to record yourself in a professional manner (think lighting and sound), go to http://www.jingproject.com and download this free software.  It will allow you to record a 5 minute screen capture as a video.  The hardest part is figuring out what to record.

4.  Not Securing Recommendations
When I visit at a profile one of the first things I look for is recommendations.  There’s no reason why anyone shouldn’t be able to build up to 10 recommendations if they’re good at what they do.

The reason most people fail to get any recommendations is that they sit back and wait for someone to take the initiative.  You have to remember that only 24% of the people on LinkedIn are regular users (spend at least 5 hours a week interacting), so the majority of your connections are still trying to figure it out.

These irregular users probably haven’t thought about recommending someone else because they’re still trying to understand LinkedIn.  

The Fix
Get proactive about generating recommendations.  Whenever I start working with a new prospect one of the first things that I do is connect to them.  Then once I’ve finished serving them, or moved to a point where I’m delivering results, I send them a recommendation request. 

I keep the request simple and reference the work I did for them and then state “I’m using LinkedIn to build my online brand.  If you feel the work that I did on your behalf exceeded your expectations I would appreciate your taking a moment to write a brief recommendation”.

There are some people that feel that you should not do this, but based on the response, and the recommendations, I’ve received from clients I don’t see a downside to sending the request.

I prefer client recommendations but if your position doesn’t involve clients then you’ll have to impress your fellow coworkers and business colleagues.

5.  Fail to Join Enough Relevant Groups

There was a time on LinkedIn when you could belong to as many groups as you would like.  These days there is a imposed limit of 50 groups, yet many people have not yet joined any groups.  Failing to do so severely limits your LinkedIn reach.

Currently I have 4,500 direct connections on LinkedIn so at any moment I could reach 4,500 people.  In the 50 groups that I belong to there are over 1.3 million people.  These are people that I can communicate directly to or through using discussion posts and news articles.  

Groups are also a great place to engage in conversations and cultivate new relationships.  The key is to find as many groups as possible that are relevant to your business.  

The FIx

Go to the groups directory and search for relevant groups.  These might be groups that are alumni, industry, location, networking, topical, etc.  Be sure to think about the groups your prospects would belong to and join these.  Then you simply need to start engaging fellow group members through discussions and news articles.

6.  Overlooking Answers

One of the keys in social media/networking is to seek out opportunities to share or provide value to others.  LinkedIn Answers is the perfect vehicle to do so.  Each day thousands of new questions are asked by fellow members looking for help.  You simply need to find the questions that surround your industry or specialty and share your knowledge.

There are several benefits to answering questions.  First you’re building good will with the person who asked the question and potentially everyone else that reads your answer.  Second you have the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise.  

Your answers are also Linked to your profile which is then viewable by profile visitors.  Let’s say you’re a health insurance broker that only sells in Georgia but you answer a question from someone in Louisiana.  The person that asked the question will never be your client but at least you were able to help someone (Good Karma).  But since your answer is Linked to your profile, anyone in your local area can see your answer and it can impact their perception of you.

The Fix

Go to LinkedIn Answers and search for questions related to what you do for a living.  Then start answering questions.  Be sure to include a link back to your site or blog in your answer.  I find that when I answer a question traffic to my blog increases.

Most categories also have a RSS feed.  You can set up a RSS reader that will display the latest questions asked in the category.  Using the Google RSS reader I simply check for new questions every morning and answer away.

Just be sure to provide quality answers.  Everything you do or say on LinkedIn either adds to or subtracts from your brand.

7.  Selling Directly

I’m sure that on LinkedIn someone is having success posting direct sales messages or sending messages to their connections.  That being said you are more likely to do harm to your brand over time.  People are not looking to be sold to directly on LinkedIn.  

That doesn’t mean that there are no opportunities to sell using LinkedIn, its just that you’ll find more success communicating your messages indirectly.  The one exception is with the status.  It will be interesting to see if this changes with the new Twitter integration.

The Fix
Take advantage of the opportunities to communicate your message indirectly.  One simple way to do this is to change your title to a tagline.  My title might be “Blogger” but “Helping folks use LinkedIn more effectively with tips and strategies at the Social Media Sonar blog”.  The title tells people what I am, the tag line tells them how I can help them.  Plus that tag line is visible in a mini profile when I answer questions, post discussions, or add news articles.

Starting conversation using the discussion boards is a great way to interact with fellow group members.  Adding news articles allows you to share value through the content.  Over time people will get to know you.  If they like your content they’ll begin to like you...and check out your profile.  Share value consistently over time and people will begin to develop trust.

We discussed Answers above and its another communication opportunity.  These are only some of the options available to communicate indirectly.  you can also use your applications including polls and events.

Wrap Up

Many of the mistakes I’ve detailed are simply errors of omission.  They can be corrected by simply taking some extra time to build your content.  Your first goal on LinkedIn is to get people to visit your profile.  Then once they’re at your profile page you want to ensure that they understand what it is that you do and how you can help them.

The worst thing that can happen is that they leave your profile with questions and move on to the next profile.

What are some mistakes I missed?

Sean Nelson is the author of the Social Media Sonar blog and has written three LinkedIn eBooks including one of the first books detailing how to strategically use LinkedIn to grow your business. "LinkedIn MArketing Secret Formula".  He is a Partner inSONARconnects.

Comments

[Donna Lang]

I like your short and sweet approach. It's packed full of easy to implement ideas. Very Helpful.

This is the first time I took a look at your Blog because I just discovered you on Linkedin via the Georgia Open Networkers group.

Case in Point. As you stated: "Groups are also a great place to engage in conversations and cultivate new relationships. The key is to find as many groups as possible that are relevant to your business."

Yes-it certainly happened for me. Thank you!

To Your Success,
Donna Lang

[SaraBeth Custin]

Sean,

Fantastic information! Often times I think LinkedIn and it's resources are used like Facebook's and they are not the same tool. You are a valuable source of knowledge when it comes to LinkedIn and I always look forward to your advice and information.

As always, well done!
SaraBeth Custin

[G D Stanford, CCIM]

Very good information! I got a lot of ideas for improving my own LinkedIn profile.

Thank you very much.

[Orietta Ramirez]

Sean - a perfect how "not" to use and work within LinkedIn ...awesome guide. Thank you!

[Sam Diener]

Sean And Conrad....

I am the ONLY Sam in the contest. I'd like to keep it that way... thank you. Great stuff with the comments guys.

[Morgan Underwood]

Hello Sean,

Thank you for these good solid recommendations. Also thank you to everyone for adding additional worthwhile suggestions in the comments. Wish I had something to add.

Regards,
Morgan Underwood

[Melanie Morris]

Sean - thank you for consistently providing valuable content. I often wonder how you can keep the content coming and keep it fresh. But then I see how to regenerate similar content multiple times and it still seems helpful to read it again and in a different way.
You have helped so many people and offer inspiration and act as a great role model of sharing much and asking for little. I've learned a lot from reading your blog.

[Skip Rolquin]

Sean,

I really enjoyed reading about the 10 worst mistakes and their fixes. your advise is always great to hear and very helpful to my water filtration business.

Thanks and I look forward to seeing you soon.

[Mark Jones]

Sean:

As always, you're full of good ideas and advice. Now if I can just get around to doing it.

Mark

[Sean Nelson]

I spent a day actually working and was glad to come back and see all of the comments. Rather than respond to each I'm going to do a group hug and respond in one comment.

Thank you to everyone that has commented. And to some specific comments...

Susan the applications will allow you to take your profile 3D. Load it up like a Christmas tree.

Jason the folks at the Community Marketing Blog would be happy to see some return visits.

Janet the groups extend your reach so definitely a place worth investing your time.

Conrad you can call me Sam if it helps in the voting.

Jeremy if you're going to identify the problems might as well provide a solution.

Chase since you're calling me doctor should i address you as Senator Carey?

Teryl I hope my $25 comment doesn't affect your business. I'll update the blog to reflect a more professional price.

Tony "an hour a day brings the business your way" (TM?) Should I trademark that?

David thanks for sharing the love and the blog.

Brice great tip on replacing non-productive groups. I replace the bottom 10% of my groups each quarter.

Doug from a content perspective maybe I need to break these long posts into multiple blogs. Maybe get a little sleep.

Once again thanks for commenting and taking the time to read something I wrote.

Sean

Steve glad you liked the elevator speech tip. It works in person so should capture attention for the rest of your summary.

[Bill]

Sean,

As always, great advice.

All the best,

Bill Price

[Sean Nelson]

Andy, Hansa, Stephanie, Tony, David, Erna and Chase thanks for reading the post and adding a comment.

[Susan Conley]

Thank you, Sean for your great advice that just keeps on coming. As for this particular blog you inspired me to tap into the power of the applications on LinkedIn - something I'm not doing currently. I now have a blog in the works as well as a PPT with tips to share. I've also joined more groups as a result of your suggestions. I greatly appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
All the best,
Susan

[Dave Coulter]

Sean,
Really enjoyed "The 7 Worst LinkedIn Mistakes and their fixes". Great information and well presented.
Best,
Dave Coulter

[Lee Kantor]

Sean,

Great job as usual - I have not met anyone who uses LinkedIn as effectively and explains it as thoroughly as you.

[Blake Massey]

Great article Sean. I picked up a few pointers reading this article that I will try to put into practice to improve my LI brand. Thank you for your efforts and I look forward to reading more from you in the future.

Regards,

Blake Massey

[Steve]

Hey Sean,

Good call on adding the Elevator Speech to your profile. I don't know why I never thought of it, but it makes good sense (and maybe dollars too!)

Steve

[David Kirkup]

Enjoy your posts. Recommend your web site to everyone who is struggling with LI.

[Kate Tunison]

Good tips Sean! I needed a little refresher.

Kate Tunison
http://www.presentingplus.com

[Gene Caudle]

Sean:

Ever since you presented your LinkedIn for our JobSeekers group, I have been an avid subscriber to your Blogs. The current Blog, "The 7 worst LinkedIn..and the Fix," you have continued to demonstrate your outstanding competency and communications skills in discussing this subject. Your expertise is unquestioned, but your ability to communicate so much useful information in such a limited space is exception. Keep up your excellence; I can't wait to see the next post. God Bless+

Gene Caudle

[Jason Baines]

Great Article! I never spend much time on here but will be doing more.

Thanks for the advice.
Jason Baines

[Janet Barclay]

LinkedIn has sure come a long way since it first launched! My biggest challenge is remembering to make time to add new content and actually visit the groups that I've joined.

[Tina Lowe]

Another fantastic post/blog. It is because of you and your willingness to serve with your knowledge of LinkedIn that I have my profile "complete". You have reminded me of a few things I need to pay attention to on my profile...thank you!

All the best,
Tina Lowe
http://www.linkedin.com/in/increaseyoursales

[Doug Lehman]

Sean another great post the topic of LinkedIn and social media tips. You always bring awesome content to your posts and community blogs. Your blog "Social Media Sonar" is also a must read for social media enthusiasts and people wanting to build a better networking presence.

"The 7 Worst LinkedIn Mistakes and their fixes" is an excellent example of your work. You provide direct and simple answers to fix problems. An easy and informative read.

Your insight and tips continue to bring big value. I try to apply them directly during my career transition and personal branding process. I look forward to reading additional posts. Keep up the great work and pay it forward attitude Sean!

Thanks

Doug Lehman
http://www.douglehman.com

[Conrad Hall]

Hi Sean,

Yes, I spotted the mistake - your name is Sean, not Sam. I apologise.

Now there's a spelling mistake for you! ;-)

Simcerely,
Conrad Hall

[Conrad Hall]

Hi Sam,

Good work on answering comments. I hope everyone stops by to see what you've done.

As in any competition - business, athletics, even a board game - you have to watch the people your competing with. Since everyone has a different approach, skill level, and writing style, it's worthwhile to watch and learn.

You're doing a great job, Sam. The conversations you're starting are almost as interesting as the post.

Sincerely,
Conrad Hall

[Mark St. Amour]

Great content Sean. Thanks for sharing your thoughts in a concise manner. I will pass this on.

-Mark

[Jeremy Echuck]

Sean, Information is sound and has given me plenty to work on regarding my personal social media. I like the format, jump to the relevant information and hit it hard, the only area that I would add would be more personal experiences.

[Christopher "Chase" Carey]

Dr. Nelson,

This is, as always, phenomenal. As a busy professional who wants and needs to use social media effectively, I get overwhelmed by all the choices and just don't know which things to do beyond the basic.

You remove the flak from the chaff and pinpoint what I need. Thank you so much!!

[Erna Schneiderman]

Sean,
As always, you have given me so much to think about and do to improve my position on LinkedIn.
Your insights have guided me and saved me many errors.
Thanks so much for keeping us all linked so effectively!

[Teryl Jackson]

Sean,

Great article and excellent tips!

I loved Tip #1 - Bad Photo Choice! As a photographer, I may be a bit biased, but I like to see the name associated with the face of each individual. It helps me connect the two as my network grows. Well written Sean, however, correction on the price of headshots. $25 sounds mighty cheap and everyone knows that you get what you pay for! Professional corporate headshots range from $75 to $200. Image is everything!

Thanks for the tips! I'll pass them along!

Teryl Jackson

[David]

Great tips. I'm definitely guilty of not adding apps and will need to rethink that going forward. Thanks!

[Tony Patel (Dr. Ushma Pate D.M.D.-Center for Advanced Dentistry)]

Excellent information. Now I need to just find the time to do more than the basics like answer questions on a regular basis etc.

[Stephanie]

Great tips, Sean! As always. :)

[David Fournier]

Hi Sean,

Thanks for more "World Class" tips on proper uses of LinkedIn. I'm so glad I stumbled across your blog months ago, you are the key reason I believe I'm on the proper LinkedIn track right now.

I forward you blog and suggest that friends sign up often, as I'm sure others do.

Keep it up!
David Fournier

[HANSA MAGAR]

Thanks a lot! Great content...I am a new LinkedIn user and this really helped...

[Brice Recker]

I would add that if you have joined the 50 maximum groups, you can delete your membership on one or even several if the groups are not serving your purposes. Its a little like "de-friending" on facebook. Also, linkedin has no spell or grammar checking facility so make sure your prose is perfect.

[Doug Johnson]

Sean:

You packed a huge amount of information in this amazing post. WOW! I am new to the LinkedIn system, so helping people like me "put their best foot forward" is so appreciated!

Thank you for your great information!

Doug Johnson
"The New Guy"

[Andrew R. Friedman]

Sean,
Thanks so much for your sage advice!

Sincerely,

Andy Friedman

[Thomas Rector]

Nice job, Sean! I plan to forward to several friends who have constantly been comint to me for LinkedIn advise...yet they dont fix what I recommend! Perhaps your gravitas will help!

I always enjoy your content...its helped me a lot!

[Sean Nelson]

Ross,

Thanks for the comments. Keeping things fresh is a requirement in social media.

**Anyone on LinkedIn with 10 recommendations should check out Ross's Top Recommended People group.

Sean

[Sean Nelson]

Ketty,

Take it one step at a time. You don't need to make all of the corrections right away. Start with the quick fixes and work towards the more involved.

Thanks for the comments and for reading.

Sean

[Sean Nelson]

Susan,

Thanks for the comment. Make it happen.

[Ross Dodwell]

Sean,

As always you tirelessly add great value and commitment to the greater Linkedin community, and I thank you for being a part of it!!

I think allowing your profile to go dormant, i.e. not updating your status line for 3 or more months is a mistake. Keeping it fresh is very important.

Thanks again,
Ross

http://www.toprecommendedpeople.com
http://www.howtolosedebt.com

[Ketty Wilcoxen]

Sean,

Great information! I still need to take more of your advice and make some additional changes to my approach. I am looking forward to your next post!

Best Regards,

Ketty Wilcoxen

[Susan]

Great content. I'm going to be applying some of your "fixes" to my profile this week.

[Sean Nelson]

Hal,

Your comment makes me think of the mistakes I did not include. That's a big one as well. May have to think about a sequel post down the road.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

Sean

[Sean Nelson]

Saxton,

Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. Hopefully I can keep delivering at least one new nugget per post.

Sean

[Sean Nelson]

Sam,

Thanks for the comment. Good luck to you as well. I'm looking forward to being exposed to some new bloggers and their perspectives.

Sean

[Hal Evans]

One tip I know you've mentioned before Sean, is to never accept the default intro sentence when asking someone to become part of your network.

Add a comment which reflects and relates to your relationship with the individual.

Also, keep those status updates relevant to your goal of increasing/improving your recognition.

thanks,
Hal

[Saxton Weir]

Sean -
As usual, your posts are very helpful to anyone using LinkedIn. I always pick up at least one thing that I can do to improve my "brand". Today, it was to actively ask for recommendations.

Saxton Weir

[Sam diener]

Sean. Good work. It looks like you put some work into this post. I wish you luck!

Regards,

Sam Diener

[Sean Nelson]

Conrad,

Thanks for the comments and the advice. Grammatical errors are the bane of my existence. It doesn't help writing the post at 2AM.

I've gone through the article and made some changes, though I suspect I likely still missed a few.

I'll definitely be adding a bitly link to drive traffic.

Thanks,

Sean

[Conrad Hall]

Hi Sean,

Good post. Useful content, helpful suggestions. I like the way it's divided, and that you provide suggestions to fix the mistakes.

Since the post is about submitting to a professional networking site, may I suggest checking the spelling and grammar? Whether it's in a post or in your profile, poor spelling is an attention-getter to be avoided.

Give some thought to including links in this kind of article, too. For each fix, you can link to your own or another profile in LinkedIn.

Including links builds traffic to your profile, or any other web page you link to. Traffic is one of the target items for #blogoff2, so keep it in mind. When you make posts in other places, be sure to include links to your posts here.

Bit.ly - if you don't have an account, get one. Not only does this site give you shortened URLs for your links, it also tracks the traffic you're generating.

Good work, Sean. I"m looking forward to reading your next post.

Sincerely,
Conrad Hall