Have you been using LinkedIn endorsements?
October 3, 2013 | By Dennis Yu | 2 Comments">2 Comments
Here’s my profile.
For any skill, the max shown is 99, in the same way that if you have 500 connections, it says 500+. You get only 50 skills to display, so you must remove one to display another one.
And when you “endorse” someone, which is to merely click on that skill or the “+” button, they get a notification about it.
The more endorsements you make, the more you’ll get. My inbox from the last few days:
Not the same as recommendations, mind you, which requires someone to say something specific and thoughtful.
Cynics say this is LinkedIn’s response to Facebook’s “frictionless” sharing, where clicking like on pre-suggested topics is easier than writing a true job recommendation for a colleague.
Some LinkedIn folks privately tell me that they see Facebook as a direct competitor, especially with Facebook now allowing you to add skills. We don’t see it.
MY ADVICE TO YOU
1) Go ahead and list the 50 skills that best describe you. If you’re young and don’t have a lot of skills, don’t list things like Microsoft Word, and being able to type quickly. That’s like being prison inmate of the year or fastest burger flipper. Choose skills you can write articles about.
2) Endorse a few folks on skills that you’d be willing to vouch for in public— because this IS public. This generates notifications for them, enabling them to reciprocate. Plus, your endorsement shows in both newsfeeds (which is why you must be accurate).
3) Make sure you pimp out your profile, since when folks boomerang back to view your profile, you’ll want them to see articles you’ve written, a rich description of who you are, who you’re connected to, and so forth. You wouldn’t invite people to your house and either not be there or have nothing to drink, would you?
4) Tie your profile to your company. And if you have control of your company page (maybe you’re a freelancer or run a small agency), you should make sure to have at least one update a week. You’ll generate more leads this way.
If you’re a real pro or business owner, start pumping your company status updates into the LinkedIn news feed. You’ll drive more people to your profile and more endorsements.
If doing endorsements seems spammy to you, then the sponsored updates is your path to scaling up how you drive more business.
How is LinkedIn working for you guys?
Meet Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is the Chief Technology Officer of BlitzMetrics, a digital marketing company which partners with schools to train young adults.
Dennis’s program centers around mentorship, helping students grow their expertise to manage social campaigns for enterprise clients like the Golden State Warriors, Nike, and Rosetta Stone.
He’s an internationally recognized lecturer in Facebook Marketing and has spoken in 17 countries, spanning 5 continents, including keynotes at L2E, Gultaggen, and Marketo Summit.
Dennis has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, LA Times, National Public Radio, TechCrunch, Fox News, CBS Evening News and is co-author of Facebook Nation – a textbook taught in over 700 colleges and universities.
He’s a regular contributor for Adweek’s SocialTimes column and has published in Social Media Examiner, Social Media Club, Tweak Your Biz, B2C, Social Fresh, and Heyo.
He held leadership positions at Yahoo! and American Airlines and studied Finance and Economics at Southern Methodist University as well as London School of Economics. He ran collegiate cross-country at SMU and has competed in over 20 marathons including a 70 mile ultramarathon.
Besides being a Facebook data and ad geek, you can find him eating chicken wings or playing Ultimate Frisbee in a city near you.
You can contact him at dennis@blitzmetrics.com, his blog, or on Facebook.
