In this new world of branding and social media marketing, the idea of an individual being an expert or a thought leader is a really hot topic. I’m sure you’re not surprised that I think LinkedIn is the best overall tool in this space to show others that you’re an expert in your field.
Wikipedia defines an expert as follows:
“An expert is someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty to judge or decide correctly, fairly, or wisely is given authority and status by peers or the public in a specific well-distinguished domain. An expert may be by virtue of credentials, training, education, profession, publication, or experience, believed to have special knowledge of a subject matter beyond that of the average person, sufficient for others to officially (and legally) rely on the individual’s opinion.”
I hope you can say positively that it describes you in your chosen industry or field.
To help you use LinkedIn to let the world know you’re an expert, here are:
7 Must-Have LinkedIn Profile Sections to Showcase Your Expertise
1. Recommendations: Nothing is better than someone else saying that you are the best. Recommendations are really a differentiator when people review your profile and compare you to your competition. It takes a bit of work to get these, but you’ll be amazed at the feedback you get from those who are “checking it out.”
Speaking of recommendations, this would be a good time to remind you that if you’ve read my book and have a few moments to write a book recommendation on Amazon.com, I’d really appreciate it. These are so critical for first time authors. When people search for the perfect LinkedIn book but aren’t familiar with the books or authors they see on Amazon, they often look to others’ reviews for enlightenment.
2. Websites: This section is very misnomer. Your hyperlinks should be called three web addresses (for example, websites, blogs, YouTube videos, Facebook fan page, email or event registration pages, etc.) where you can display your experience for all to see, watch and –better yet–get involved. Don’t waste these. They help you move up in search engines (like Google) because search engines love links to other websites.
3. Apps (Box.net files/SlideShare/Google Presentations/Blog Link/WordPress/Creative Portfolio Display/Amazon Book Reviews): These are great places to put documents (Word, Excel, and PDF), videos, Power Point presentations, blog posts, book reviews, and photos that allow readers to see for themselves the depth of your experience.
You can put them on your profile by selecting “Add Sections” (just below the top box) or by selecting “More” on the top toolbar and scrolling down to “Get More Apps.”
4. Experience and Education – You could say it’s pretty obvious, but most people don’t take advantage of these 2000-character sections as places on their profile to detail specifics of the pillars of their experience – their education. and work experience.
5. Skills, Certifications, and Posts: These fairly new optional sections of LinkedIn need to be added to your profile, but they’re really tailored to showcase your expertise. Just below your top box, select “Add Sections” to put them on your profile.
6. Honors and Awards: Don’t be embarrassed to put entries here. Remember: you are the only one who is going to tell your story. Keep the following question in mind as you think about this section and whether or not to include something:
“If a competitor has won the same or a similar award as you and puts it on their profile and you haven’t, would you be disappointed?
7. Summary: Most people would not think of this section for this purpose. However, by strategically using this all-important section, you can direct people to the places on your profile where you’ve showcased and highlighted your expertise.
Since it’s the first entry below your top box, people are probably still reading carefully. Take advantage of this and use the Summary to direct them to the most important entries in your profile. That address might read something like this:
“To view the results of my investigation, please see the PDF document titled ‘Research’ in my Box.net archives.”
I hope you’ve found an “aha” nuggets or two in this list and put them to good use to enhance your status as an expert in your market.
