LinkedIn, the social network for business people and can be more beneficial than Facebook and Twitter for a business owner. LinkedIn is a social network with profiles, groups, events, and discussion boards designed for professionals to network together. A LinkedIn profile can be broken down into five main sections: a synopsis, a summary of what a person does, past work experience, additional information, and most importantly, recommendations. One of the best things about LinkedIn is visibility. Clients can search a persons name and see exactly who they are, including their goals, interests, past jobs and of course, client recommendations.

LinkedIn gives potential clients a quick, accurate first impression. When a request it sent to someone to connect, the first thing they see is a name, a picture, and a headline. This is important because it gives someone a face and a name along with a brief description of what they do. LinkedIn helps increase visibility and credibility. Without LinkedIn, it’s like trying to get someone’s attention at night, it’s dark and the person blends in with his or her surroundings. Now try getting someone’s attention in a bright orange vest, your visibility just went up ten fold. LinkedIn is that orange vest.

The summary is an important tool if utilized correctly. Chris Brogan, a social media veteran, gave us a few good tips in a blog he wrote about LinkedIn. First, Chris recommends leading with what you do most. Second, let potential clients know what type of business is being done. Third, move into why a potential client will want to do business. And last, explain all the nuances of what you do. Another tip Chris recommends is to update the summary every two weeks to a month.

Updating the account is key to staying visible. By updating, the connections are always seeing you actively working hard on different projects and expanding the business. Showing work experience is also helpful on LinkedIn. One of the important things to remember is making sure past experience still supports current and future aspirations. Update this section every month or so.

The most important part of the website can easily be missed; the recommendations section on the profile. Clients and former employers can leave recommendations on the page for future prospects to see. Before contacting you, a potential client can know what a great professional you are to work with.

Lets do a brief overview; visibility which is first impression and key to being noticed, the summaries tell people what you are doing, and recommendations which tells everyone what a great professional you are.