When The Robert Prophet Group launched Prophet News late last month I had no idea what I was getting into.
I hired a local marketing firm: 412 Media that “tried” to explain Social Networking and how it worked. It’s not that they did a poor job explaining. It’s that I just couldn’t wrap my head around the entire concept.
Social Networking can be confusing
LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogging, Facebook it really was overwhelming. Fortunately for me Michael and his team at 412 Media walked me, correction, carried me (gently) through the entire process of setting up and learning these solutions (That’s what they call them).
Today after a full month online I’m starting to really “get it”. This site alone (Prophet News) had over 64,000 hits in August and there are still 6 more hours left in the month!
The guys at 412 Media kept telling me how important having a LinkedIn profile was. Honestly I didn’t even know what, where or who LinkedIn was. 412 Media explained that it was a social networking site for professionals. In it’s simplest form Linkedin is a digital business card/resume.
Now that I get it I realize that LinkedIn is much more than that. I’ve found that LinkedIn is going to be a big part of my new Social Networking plan. You can view the public LinkedIn profile that 412 Media helped me create here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robertprophet
Over the next few weeks I’ll be sending out invitations asking other professionals to join my network. However since I know many of you are already quite a bit ahead of me please don’t hesitate to send me an invitation to join your LinkedIn network. I would greatly appreciate it.
Please send your invitations to: rprophet@homesoc.com I promise I’ll respond quickly.
I want to share an article I found written by Lindsey Pollak that gives some great advice for those of you that are dabbling with LinkedIn or thinking about checking out LinkedIn.
If you’re a do-it-your-selfer these tips are invaluable. If you’d rather leave it to the professionals you might consider contacting 412 Media.
Here now is Lindsey’s article:
As the largest and most vibrant professional social network, LinkedIn provides a wealth of opportunities for job seekers and ambitious professionals. But LinkedIn doesn’t work unless you work it.
How can you make the most of LinkedIn? Here are some tips for creating a profile that will impress employers, colleagues, headhunters, professional association members and more:
1. Include keywords in your summary statement.
The Summary portion of your profile provides a chance to share the highlights of your bio in your own words. It’s also a place to include key words and phrases that a recruiter or hiring manager might type into a search engine to find a person like you. The best place to find relevant keywords is in the job listings that appeal to you and the LinkedIn profiles of people who currently hold the kinds of positions you want. Check out LinkedIn’s Company Pages feature to search through the profiles of employees at your dream employers. And remember, it is absolutely fine — crucial, in fact — to include unpaid or volunteer work in your Summary. If you are a current student or recent grad, you can include relevant coursework and extra curricular achievements as well.
2. Write for the screen.
LinkedIn, or any website for that matter, is not the place for long-form prose. Present your summary statement in short blocks of text with lots of white space. Bullet points are great, too.
3. List all experience.
One of the most valuable aspects of LinkedIn is the way it connects you with former colleagues and classmates—which, as we all know, are some of our best networking contacts. It would be a shame if a long lost former colleague or classmate, who happens to be a recruiter now, couldn’t find you because you hadn’t listed that shared employment in your LinkedIn profile.
4. Collect diverse recommendations.
Nothing builds credibility like third party endorsements. The most impressive LinkedIn profiles have at least one recommendation associated with each job a person has held. Think about soliciting recommendations from professors, internship coordinators and colleagues, employers, classmates with whom you shared an extra curricular activity and professional mentors.
5. Share your news frequently.
The best way to stay on other people’s radar screens is to update your status on LinkedIn (the box near the top of your profile) at least once a week. Tell people about events you are attending, major projects you’ve completed, professional books you are reading, successes you are celebrating or any other news that you would tell someone at a networking reception or on a quick catch-up phone call.
For more information about LinkedIn, Social Networking, Web Design or other marketing information please email Michael at 412 Media.
For more information about Orange County real estate please contact Robert Prophet and the Robert Prophet Group. Send us an email or visit our web site: RobertProphet.com
