Are you befuddled whenever a new “feature” gets added to your favorite Social Media site? Or are you excited about the possibility that the new feature may unlock for you? The Endorsement feature of LinkedIn holds fascinating possibilities, but unlike every other part of your profile, it is the one that is completely beyond your control.
The Professional Headline (what appears closest to your name) is set by you. The Summary section of your profile is set by you. The remainder of your profile – also set by you – is designed to be the evidence that supports the Professional Headline and Summary. The only exception (so far) is the Endorsements section, which is the crowdsourced reputation for your skills and expertise. How much longer will it be before LinkedIn begins to allow people to vote – thumbs-up or thumbs-down – on other aspects of your profile? Or for people to flag parts of your resume with “please call me about this“?
If – or rather when – LinkedIn crowdsources your entire profile, LinkedIn will become the ultimate arbiter of your real-world professional reputation – something that sites such as Klout and Kred do crudely at best.
And if we are heading into a reputationally-transparent, crowd-sourced world, then what can you do now to prepare? Consider three pre-emptive actions:
1) Slim your connections: The ability to endorse someone is limited to direct connections. Disconnect from those you don’t know so well, to improve the accuracy of your current endorsements. Removing these people will also remove their ability to “vote down” your profile in the future.
2) Strengthen real-world relationships with your LinkedIn connections: Instead of merely collecting names, engage your connections more proactively. Demonstrating your expertise, willingness to help, and attitude now means more “up” votes later on. This also strengthens the tribe of people who will rush to your defense if someone comments negatively about you.
3) Remove wishful thinking: Don’t list “wanna be” expertise that people might question or call you on. Remember the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
This week’s action plan: Will LinkedIn ever crowdsource the rest of your profile? Whether they do or not, even if LinkedIn never implements a 100% crowdsourced model, people are still voting up or down in their minds – and sharing their thoughts in real-world conversations with their colleagues. Spend time this week getting stronger online by acting on these three pre-emptive actions now.
Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.RandallCraig.com to register.
Randall Craig
@RandallCraig (follow me)
www.RandallCraig.com
www.108ideaspace.com
www.ProfessionallySpeakingTV.com
How good are you, really? While we all may have our own (sometimes inflated) opinions of our greatness, the reality of our expertise – and our personal brand – is always defined by others. Social Media, for the first time ever, gives us the opportunity to find this out directly.
Here are some ideas on how your greatness can be exposed on the social web…
Numerical measures: Of course, one way to measure our influence is through the number of followers, friends, and connections. The greater the number of followers the better. And the number of retweets, likes, and shares also speak to what people think of you: activity equals respect and influence.
Comments: Beyond the numbers, the quality of the comments is also important. For example, if people are not just commenting on your original post, but also commenting on the comments, this speaks to your ability to strike a chord – and develop a community. The activity level of “your” community is a direct reflection on your greatness.
LinkedIn Recommendations: These are the 2-3 sentence testimonials that some of your connections give you. Because others can see both the recommender and the context of their relationship, recommendations are an exceptionally powerful indicator. There is also the benefit of selectivity: you need not have a LinkedIn recommendation appear on your profile – it’s totally up to you.
LinkedIn Endorsements: These are relatively new, and one of LinkedIn’s most powerful features. For the skills that you have listed, others can vote for (“endorse”) your strongest. In essence, this is crowdsourcing your reputation. To get the most from this feature, only list those skills that you really want “on the menu”. If you list too many, you may put yourself in the embarrassing position of thinking that you have a skill, but the market not agreeing. One additional point: unlike LinkedIn Recommendations, ALL endorsements appear on your profile – the only choice you have is which skills to list.
This week’s action plan: Take a closer look at how great you really are. If there is a gap between your self-image and what is reflected on the Social Web, then close it. Hint: start with LinkedIn Endorsements and Recommendations. (And check out whether I am following my own recommendations, at http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/RandallCraig)
Bonus Opportunity: Last week I presented a session to the CSAE, entitled “Bums in Seats and Minds Engaged; Using Social Media to Drive Attendance and Engage your Audience”. We’ve started a LinkedIn group to continue the conversation. If you are interested, please join (and contribute your ideas.) Here’s the URL: http://budurl.com/BumsInSeats.
Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.RandallCraig.com to register.
Randall Craig
@RandallCraig (follow me)
www.RandallCraig.com
www.108ideaspace.com
www.ProfessionallySpeakingTV.com
