New Linkedin Feature: Endorsements ? IsaGeeks

I don?t usually have a reason to write about Linkedin, which is weird, considering most of the people who read this blog are business owners.

Unfortunately, the reason I don?t write about Linkedin more is most people don?t seem to actively use it. For such a long time it was just an online resume people forgot about.

It has grown into a lot more than that, though ? you can leave status messages there, you can create a profile for your business, and you can ask/answer questions with other industry professionals. Think of it as Facebook with a productive purpose.

When people go looking for information on you and your business, a Linkedin profile is a handy thing. It can tell people about you and your history. It gives people a context for who you are and can help build their trust with you.

Now Linked has added a new feature, Endorsements ? and it?s really something you should take advantage of.

Here?s the deal: Last year, Linkedin introduced Skills. This was a little extra on your profile where you could add a quick tag for all the things you?re good at. If you are an experienced carpenter, for example, you might add:

Renovation
Remodeling
Sustainable Design
Aging in Place
Additions

This would give people who view your profile a better idea of what you?re good at, and what you think your strong points are.

Naturally, this comes with a problem: Just because someone says they?re good at these things doesn?t necessarily mean they are.

This is where Endorsements come in. Now your contacts ? the people you?ve presumably worked with ? can essentially give you a vote for these skills.

Let?s say you listed ?Public Speaking? as one of your skills. If you have contacts you?ve done public speaking with before, they can now come in and give you a quick vote of confidence. If a number of people do the same thing, someone looking at your profile can see not only that YOU think public speaking is your strong suit, but a bunch of other people agree.

In a real sense, this is what social networking really is: Getting the people in your circle to participate in what you post.

If you have a Linkedin profile already, make sure you have some skills added to it ? if you don?t, people can?t give you these endorsements.

If you do have a profile AND skills, start endorsing your contacts. That way, they?ll be encouraged to return the favor.

About the author

?Hi all ? I?m Eric, and I form half of the IsaGeeks with Brian Anderson in the IsaGeeks training videos. I?m on Twitter and Google+. My life?s mission is to code a tool that will automatically write ?about me? pages to keep me from having to do them. Until that day comes, I continue to simply observe the first rule of Fight Club.?

Source: http://isageeks.com/socialmedia/new-linkedin-feature-endorsements/

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