Are you a LinkedIn Zombie?
The walking dead are among us. There are thousands of them out there shuffling around aimlessly on LinkedIn. They usually appear after dark, skulking in the shadows. They look at a couple of competitors profiles, maybe look up a friend or two, do a superficial skim of a group they belong to, read a couple of posts…..then wander of again for a few days.
[bctt tweet=”Here is your challenge: Go and change your Zombie Profile on LinkedIn to something alive.”]
How to spot a LinkedIn Zombie
There are some telltale characteristics that you can use to identify a zombie. You might find yourself feeling a little uncomfortable when you read these, because they may apply to you too!
1. An incomplete profile
If your profile is full of holes, then people cannot find out much about you, how best to contact you, or even if you are worth contacting in the first place.
2. A nearly non-existent number of LinkedIn connections
When users have a very low number of connections, it can show that they may not understand how to use LinkedIn properly, or how it can be used to their full advantage. If you ever get the chance to question a zombie about why they ever joined in the first place, they will usually shrug and say “because that’s what you are supposed to do, isn’t it?” This means that the zombie is fated to wander aimlessly around LinkedIn until doomsday.
The Zombie Cure
Fortunately for these poor living dead creatures, there is a cure for their zombieness. There is plenty of information available about how to successfully use LinkedIn to your advantage, and the first steps towards recovery is to set some goals that need to be achieved.
Depending on whether the zombie is a salesperson and needs to find businesses that would be interested in their product or service, wants to hook up with others in their niche for a bit of networking, is looking for a new job, or wants to research a different element of their business sector, LinkedIn can provide all that they need to succeed.
The Quest for Brainzzzz
The first goal that can be achieved is by improving the zombie’s visibility to others. This starts with completing all sections within, and updating everything on their profile. This alone will make them stand out from their peers and makes them look more credible and less zombie-like.
Issuing regular status updates, interacting with others through commenting on other people’s posts, participating in groups, and networking with their existing connections are all actions that will help enormously in bringing back a zombie from the dead. Actually doing things on LinkedIn instead of simply shuffling around looking at stuff will make all those minutes spent on the site become valuable rather than an aimless waste of time.
Having a purpose for the site and using it like the useful tool it can be for your business is a better way to approach LinkedIn rather than signing up for it just because someone told you to. Set your goals and pursue them one at a time. Each time you meet a new contact, look them up on LinkedIn, make contact with them and start a conversation. You never know where it can take you, or how many new and very useful contacts they could put you in touch with. Invest your time on the site – don’t spend your free time there mooching around like the undead.
Here is your challenge: Go and change your Zombie Profile on LinkedIn to something alive.
Your first steps towards shaking off your zombie vibe is to craft your profile to tell your story. Cut away all the dead flesh, the corporate-speak, and the non-language that just confuses people and sucks the life blood out of your profile.
Go back to the old-school values of ‘keep it simple stupid’ and let everyone get to know the person behind the business. Let everyone know what is happening in your world and invite them in to talk to you. Make it as easy as possible for people to contact you, and make everything including your profile picture come across as warm and friendly, rather than stiff and corporate.
While updating your profile, make sure to steer-clear of these common profile mistakes that LinkedIn zombies tend to make:
Don’t come across as a robot – people will quickly switch off
Don’t bring your ego – no one likes to feel overwhelmed
Don’t look down on others – sneering at people does not win you any friends
Don’t put your profile on autopilot – people like to talk to real people
The key word here is ‘authenticity’. LinkedIn is a professional site for like-minded business people. If you want to create a persona that is not really you, then go make up a fake one for fun on Facebook and leave LinkedIn to the professionals.
By being honest with your profile you will attract like-minded people organically. You can then share your values and ideas with others that will appreciate them and appreciate you too, which is what you want, right?
