How to optimise your LinkedIn Profile? - Sageonboarding.sage.com/media/1038/linkedinuserguidejanuary2016.pdf · 2 I Sage Guide Table of contents 2 MIN READ 1 HOUR 15 MIN A DAY IS

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Sage GuideHow to optimise your LinkedIn Profile?

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Table of contents

2 MIN READ

1 HOUR 15 MIN A DAY IS GREAT

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OPTIMIZE YOUR PROFILE:

STEP 1 Update your experience __________________________________________ 6

STEP 2 Add a headline and a nice picture ________________________________7

STEP 3 Write a summary ____________________________________________________8

STEP 4 Show your expertise with skills and recommendations _____ 9

STEP 5 Follow Sage company page and groups ______________________ 10

STEP 6 Complete your personal details _________________________________11

20 min

4 min

20 min

10 min

5 min

1 min

GOING FURTHER:

STEP 1 BUILD YOUR NETWORK

Find your personal contacts Invite them to connect on LinkedInUse advanced search _______________________________________________ 12

STEP 2 BECOME AN ACTIVE MEMBER

Post and share updatesFind content on Sociabble _________________________________________ 14

20 min

10 min every day

With more than 400 + million members throughout the world, LinkedIn is the largest and most advanced business network in the world. It isn’t intended to replace face to face interactions, instead it optimizes your ability to:

According to LinkedIn - A complete profile appears 40 times more on a Linkedin search than uncomplete one

DID YOU KNOW?

BUILD YOUR NETWORK

It is essential to maintain and develop your network thoughout your career.

INTERACT

Engage with your peers and key people to build and strengthen relationships within your network.

STAY INFORMED

1. Get the latest news on your network activities (customers, partners, prospects) and industry news.

2. Know more about the people you’ve met.

Buyers’ Behaviour has changed:

of B2B buyers now use social media to be more informed on vendors*

LinkedIn is the number 1 trusted social network for buyers in the final stage stage of purchasing process*

people in average are now involved in any B2B buying decision made

75%

1

5,4

+40

Why should you use LinkedIn for your activites?

* sources IDC Report, May 20153 I Sage Guide

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Get started with your profile

HOW TO EDIT YOUR PROFILE ?To edit your profile. Go on your Homepage > Profile > edit

ON THE PROFILE DROP-DOWN MENU, CLICK HERE TO:

Ask to be recommended Create your profile in another language Manage your public profile settings

Did your know?

You can switch off the button to hide your profile updates to you networks’ feed.

?

The pen appears when you hover over the tabs with the mouse

You can pick the section you’dlike to complete

If you don’t have a profile, create your account : www.linkedin.com

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Update your experience

Having a comprehensive and completely up-to-date profile will help you build your online reputation.

UPDATE YOUR CURRENT EXPERIENCE

With your new role at Sage, you can make it short at first and update it later on. It’s important to be straightforward and detail your geography and areas of expertise. See examples on the next page.

For previous experience, select the experiences that are significant in your career path. Illustrate your successes by means of examples (no confidential information) and key performance indicators. See example from Laure Pourageaud.

BRING YOUR PROFILE TO LIFE WITH MULTIMEDIA CONTENTS:

You can add customer testimonials, product video, links to articles and websites. See examples on the right section with Keith Fenner.

20 MINSTEP 1

Keith Fenner

Laure Pourageaud

Use keywords to describe your experience

Use a short sentence to give an overview of your role and objectives

Click here to add media

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His headline is good: precise and with a clear vision.

At a glance, her headline is precise,it describes her activity & region.

Add a headline and a nice picture

First impressions matter.Besides your name, the headline and the profile picture are the 2 elements that will be seen first.

HEADLINE

By default, the headline is your current position. However, it is hightly recommended to customize it, by demonstrating the vision of your role and your expertise. Be catchy, succint, descriptive and use key words.

PROFILE PICTURE

Your picture is your virtual handshake. Pick a picture that is friendly, in a professionnal environnement.If you need help to have a nice profile picture, you can contact your local communication team and organise a shooting.

HEADER BANNER

Visually enhance your profile with a customized header bannerYou can use it to promote Sage events.

STEP 2 4 MIN

Write your summary

Explain your background and new position with a personal note. People want to know more about you. Tell us your story and your achievements!

WRITE YOUR STORY AND WHO YOU ARE:

Make your introduction unique: Share youraccomplishments. Everyone likes a good story.1. Passions/Interests2. Your background and achievements3. Your current company and role4. A call to action « Feel free to contact me to exchange further

PRESENT SAGE TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND YOUR ROLE:

Recommended content :Sage energizes the success of businesses and their communities around the world through the use of smart technology and the imagination of our people. Sage has reimagined business and brings energy, experience and technology to inspire our customers to fulfil their dreams. We work with a thriving community of entrepreneurs, business owners, tradespeople, accountants, partners and developers who drive the global economy. Sage is a FTSE 100 company with 14,000 employees in 24 countries. For more information, visit www.sage.com

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STEP 3 20 MIN

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Show your expertise with skills and

recommendationsManagers and other people looking for new talents, new customers and new business relations prioritize trusted people with recommendations.RECOMMENDATIONS

We recommend having 2 recommendations per experience. Ask your ex-colleagues/partners and customers to recommend you.

SKILLS AND EXPERTISE

Indicate your expertise using the « Skills » function.Ask your relations to endorse your expertise on your profile. 10-15 skills are recommended. Having + 50 recommendations for a skill means you are an expert.

Luke Scott

STEP 4 15 MIN

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Note that you can be member of +50 groups.

Follow Sage company page and groups

Stay up-to-date by following Sage company pages and participate in discussions in the groups

SAGE SOFTWARE COMPANY PAGE

Sage has one company page on LinkedIn where you will find all company news – by adding Sage as your company in your experience you will automatically follow this page. Feel free to like or share relevant news update with your network.You can also follow products’ showcase page, which are designed to spotlight our global products.

We invite you to join customers/partners and competitors company page to ensure you stay up-to-date with their news.

SAGE LINKEDIN GROUPS

LinkedIn groups are an opportunity for you to be visible by participating to discussions around your expertise. It is an excellent way to gain customers, peers and partners’ insights about needs, habits and worries

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STEP 5 5 MIN

Add your phone number only if it is relevant for your professional activities.

Replace your profile URL with your name only

Control how you appear when people search for you on Google, Yahoo! etc…

Here you can add your Twitter account

Click here to customize your URL

Complete your personal details

Help your connections reach out to you easily

CONTACT SECTION

Share your professional contacts details (email, phone number and address) to make people feel comfortable to contact you for business.This information is only visible to the people in your network.We recommend to add your Twitter handle details, and you will be able to share your updates both on LinkedIn and Twitter in one click (<140 characters).

CUSTOMISE YOUR LINKEDIN URL

Change your profile URL with your first name and last name to boost your online presence on search engine results (ie: when people type your name on Google, your LinkedIn profile will appear first)

89 64 35

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STEP 6 2 MIN

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To optimize your search, select the degree of connection (relationship), the current or past company and the location.

Build your networkLinkedIn helps you build a smart network, by finding the right people easily and quickly

FIND YOUR CONTACTS ON LINKEDIN

To find relevant and valuable contacts on LinkedIn, there are 2 options: Upload your email contacts into LinkedIn (Gmail, Yahoo, AOL...) to start connecting with people you already know. Use the advanced search tool to expand your network. Search by keyword (for example job title), by company (past or current), location etc…

INVITE THEM TO CONNECT

When clicking on the ‘Connect’ button, always customized your invitation to connect. START NOW: Add your colleagues and Sage network!

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STEP 1

Going further

✓ Add your network

✓ Become proactive on LinkedIn

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Share an update now:

Edit the article desciption if you wish

Add your own comments on the article

Select Public + Twitter

Join or start a discussion on a LinkedIn group:

How to become an active member?

POST AND SHARE UPDATES ON YOUR WALL

Share business insights with your network to demonstrate your expertise and interests. Your profile is an opportunity to express yourself as an individual.Special tip: Add a picture to have a higher engagement and catch the attention

PARTICIPATE TO GROUP DISCUSSIONS ON LINKEDIN

Join Groups related to your activity (HR, management…), your sector and your skills. You can participate to discussions or open a new debate. That will boost strongly your visibility and people will identify you as an expert.

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STEP 2

1/ Go on Chatter, click on sociabble

Ready to start?Not sure what to share?

WHAT IS SOCIABBLE?

Sociabble is a platform with content produced by Sage for you to reuse. You can simply click to share on any of your own social networks and this will help you gain visibility. 

HOW CAN I ACCESS IT?

To access Sociabble, you need to connect with your personal account on Chatter.

HOW TO SHARE?

1. Connect your social accounts2. Select your organisation3. Suscribe to chands according to your interests4. Share the relevant content with your nethwork

You can find content ready to use on Sociabble

2/ Set up your account

3/ Share some content

add your social channels here

You are ready to start !

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LinkedIn Profile Worksheet: 1. DISCLAIMER (NO = 0 POINTS, YES = 5)Have you included the Sage disclaimer in your summary or current role?*All views are my own and not that of Sage *

SCORE /5

2. PROFESSIONAL PHOTO (NO = 0 POINTS, YES = 5)Have you included a high resolution, attractive, professional, head and shoulders profile photograph?

/5

3. HEADLINE (5 = ROLE HEADLINE, 10 = ROLE + VALUE STATEMENT)Have you constructed a ‘value focused’ headline? Your headline should be 100 characters max, begin with a simplified version of your role/title followed by your value statement i.e. an exclamation of how you help your audience and/or the business problems that you solve.

/10

4. CONTACT ME (0 = NO, 5 = YES)Have you filled in the ‘contact info’ section on your profile?Email, phone, address, Twitter (if suitable)

/5

5. CONNECTIONS (0 PTS = <200, 5PTS – 200+, 10PTS – 500+)ABC – Always Be Connecting! /10

6. CUSTOMER CENTRIC PROFILE (RANK ON SCALE OF 1-20)Have you written your profile with your customer in mind? Are you talking about the value that you create in your role, the problems that you solve and the people who you help?

/20

7. HUMANISATION (1 SECTION = 5, 2 = 10, 3+ = 15)Have you personalized your profile by including ‘extra sections’ of information about e.g. your hobbies, interests, projects and or voluntary work that may have undertaken?

/15

8. RICH MEDIA (1 PIECE = 5, 3 PIECE =10, 5+ = 15)Have you included visual examples of your experience in your profile? In each experience section (including your summary) you can add up to five attachments e.g. a link to a video, an infographic, a presentation etc.

/15

9. LONG-FORM BLOG POST (0= NO, 10= 1 POST, 15 = 2+ POSTS)Have you created a LinkedIn Blog Post? Posts attract 5x amount of profile views + are the most effective way demonstrate your expertise and build your own professional brand.

/15

TOTAL: /100

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