Optimizing your LinkedIn profile (For Insurance Professionals)

LinkedIn more than a resume.

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LinkedIn

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What is it? Social Network with 277+ Million users world-wide

It’s the highest lead generating site. Period.

277% more effective for lead generation than Facebook & Twitter.

But LinkedIn is kind of like a trade show; you don’t overshare.

Guide: LinkedIn

HOW? Be transparent.

Be inclusive.

Be authentic.

Be client-driven.

Step into the circle of trust.

LinkedIn

People do business with people they know, like and trust.

WHY? People are not just demographics anymore. Kids today know their way around

iPads, iPhones and pretty much every tech-related gadget you can imagine.

Tomorrow’s consumers are today’s digital prodigies.

Millennial’s outnumber boomers. [Insurance Tech] They wield $350B in direct

spending power. And at least 96% have joined a social media networking site. They

think for themselves (except hipsters who ironically hate and/or like depending on

how cool they think it may/may not be.) They only care what their friends think and

do. Meet them on their turf.

LinkedIn

creating & optimizing your profile LinkedIn Become a 7 on LinkedIn What does this even mean? LinkedIn rates profiles on a scale of 1-7 (7 being the highest)

The algorithm is pretty complicated, but they look at a few things:

(1) How many connections do you have? (e.g.: The average person has 250 connections; having more or less will

affect your connectivity rating.)

(2) Do you have a profile picture? (e.g.: or is it an avatar?)

(3) How many searches do you complete a month? (e.g.: do you search regularly?)

(4) How many times are you logging in? (e.g.: do you sign in once a month or several times a day?)

(5) Do you have three (3) past positions listed? (e.g.: have you filled out your profile in its entirety?)

(6) Are you sharing & engaging on LinkedIn? (e.g.: through groups , status updates or messages?)

creating & optimizing your profile LinkedIn

http://www.linkedin.com

Once you sign up, check your email for a

confirmation from LinkedIn. Click & go to

the site.


First, edit your profile.

Tip: Have your resume

handy to copy & paste

descriptions.


Click the “edit” link.

Add full name & photo.

Personalize your headline.

Fill out all FIVE (5) sections;

and relevant sub-sections.

Sections:

Background

Recommendations

Connections

Groups

Following

Sub-Sections:

Summary

Experience

Skills/Expertise

Education

Certificates etc.


Fill out the summary. This is an opportunity

to showcase the “big” picture of who you are: work

experience, volunteerism, community involvement

& extracurricular activity (but not what you ate for

Supper last night or a bad date you recently went

on.)

At any time, one each section

(Summary, Experience,

Education etc., you can edit!)


Fill out your experience by using the “+ Add a

position”. This means any jobs or skills relative to

the industry you currently work within. It’s best to

showcase the last three (3) positions rather than

filling out 5-10-15 + years of jobs.

Tip: Be as specific as you want. The more rich your

profile is with “keywords” relative to your industry,

the higher the SEO value.

SEO (search engine optimization) – basically, how

easily you are to find.


Fill out your education. This includes any

Relevant school (e.g.: Insurance Institute of Canada

etc.)


Ask for recommendations. People do business with

people they know, like and trust. Also, when they

have a good reputation within their respective

industry Or community.

Only 14% of people trust advertisements, but 78%

trust the recommendations of other consumers.


Get endorsed for skills & expertise!

What if someone endorses me for a skill they

wouldn’t have direct knowledge of?

Click edit at the top of

your profile. Then scroll

to the Endorsement area.

Click “edit” again and

then “Manage

Endorsements” – this is

where you can edit who

endorses you.


Get your vanity URL.

Go to accounts & Settings.

Choose Privacy & Settings


Get your vanity URL.

Go to accounts & Settings.

Choose Privacy & Settings

Next screen, choose Edit your public profile

Type in your name

e.g.: www.linkedin.com/in/katmacaulay


EDITING SETTINGS

If privacy is important to you, please follow

the next few slides to select privacy settings

appropriate to your needs.


• Go to accounts & Settings.

• Choose Privacy & Settings.

• Click “select who can see connections..”

• Choose either “only you” or “connections”

***People will always be able to see shared connections

Edit who can see your connections.


If privacy is important

to you, please follow

the next few slides to

select privacy settings

appropriate to your

needs.

Click edit profile. It will

take you to a page

where you can check

off what information

you want made

available to the public

EDIT YOUR PUBLIC PROFILE


MANAGE WHO YOU ARE BLOCKING

As with any social media

site, there are inevitably

spammers and individuals

whom you may not want to

connect with. LinkedIn

offers an option to block or

report an abusive user.

You can also manage who

you are blocking by going

to privacy & settings, then

clicking on “manage who

you are blocking.”


EDIT COMMUNICATIONS


Edit how many email notifications you get.


Want to edit your job title but don’t

want to broadcast to everyone?

Easy.

You can turn off your broadcast settings

from your privacy tab (highlighted.) Hover

over your picture and click on privacy &

settings. Then click on Turn on/off activity

broadcasts.


If you have Twitter, you can also link it to

your profile.


Once your profile is filled out, LinkedIn will prompt

for other ways to optimize it. Click “Improve Profile”

and they walk you through other profile additions.

You can see how your profile is stacking up on the

right side of the screen, by “profile strength”


SHARING INFORMATION via status updates

• Visit the “Home” page

• Copy/Paste URLS

• Attach PDFs, JPEG or PNG

• Share your comment/remarks to spark

conversations.

What should I share? Are there new laws? Policies that will affect

clients? Potential clients? Businesses? Public?

Traditionally, LinkedIn is a professional site so

the expectation is that whatever you are

sharing links back to professionals.


ADDING CONNECTIONS

When adding a connection, you can

use advanced search. When you click

“connect” it will take you to the page

shown. To protect the integrity of

LinkedIn as a strictly professional site,

it’s really important to actually know the

person you want to connect with.

Additionally, it’s a must to change up

the message. Yes. LinkedIn

conveniently populates it for you, but

it’s much nicer to personalize it!


CONTACTS

As you start growing your connections, it can

become overwhelming. To search for contacts,

hover over network and click contacts. From

there you can filter based on certain criteria.


WHO HAS VIEWED YOUR PROFILE?

Remember that if you’ve chosen to

be completely anonymous you will

not have the ability to see who

viewed your profile unless you’ve got

a premium version.


PULSE

The Pulse tab

shows you articles

and information you

may be interested

in.

Within the Pulse tab

you can follow

influencers like

Richard Branson,

Bill Gates, Barack

Obama and other

individuals who

share their

expertise.


GROUPS

One of the greatest features of LinkedIn

is the ability to join any number of

groups relative to your interests.

Currently, there are over one million

groups on LinkedIn; everything from

industry specific to role specific.

When you join a group, make sure you

add value to the conversations. Share

information relevant to the group and

chime in on conversations where you

can offer valuable input.


GROUPS

You can join/leave group by clicking on

top right member button. You can view

member list by clicking on number of

members.


more conversations; more listening.

RECAP:

LinkedIn

more conversations; more listening.

Sign up for LinkedIn. If you need help, ask Kat.

LinkedIn

more conversations; more listening. Give clients the opportunity to be as proud of the company as you are.

LinkedIn

Complete your profile

in its entirety. Whatever the account, make sure you add a photo (yes, having a photo is important; people are

SEVEN times more likely to check out your profile if you have a photo!) and fill out each field (skills,

experience, education.) Aim to become a LinkedIn “All-star.”


LinkedIn

Spend ten minutes a

day on LinkedIn. This means looking for new contacts, clients, updating your profile, sharing industry and business

news/information. Look at what others are doing online; share & engage.


LinkedIn

Share relevant content

in your network. Think about it, most people are using LinkedIn for professional reasons: connect, stay up-to-

speed on industry news & dialogue. Only share information that is business/industry relevant –

this is not the place for a status update on what you ate for breakfast (that’s Twitter.)


LinkedIn

Aim to be visible &

valuable. Look to answer questions posed on discussion pages. E.g.: our company is looking to switch

providers, does anyone have recommendations? Engage, share information, build your

reputation, establish yourself as an expert and become a credible source on your industry.

more conversations; more listening. LinkedIn

NEED HELP? E: [email protected]

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Optimizing your LinkedIn profile (For Insurance Professionals)