Monthly, Daily, and Weekly Checklists
Even though you have probably created your profile and network by this point, you will want to keep an eye on both, as shown in Table 9-1. I often see profiles that are sorely out of date. As you add businesses, products, or services to your business, make sure they are reflected in your profile as well.
Also, continue to strategically build your network according to your industry and location, and see Who You Might Know, people new to LinkedIn who might be colleagues or classmates, and who in your network you should connect and build relationships with. Be proactive. As Stacy Donovan Zapar says, “Whether you are a job seeker or business person, it is much more effective to build your network before you need it.”
Table 9-1: Profile and Network
| Focus | Action | Frequency |
| Profile | Check headline for accuracy. | Quarterly |
| Photo | Update photo. No 1970s glam shots! | Quarterly or as needed |
| Add Sections | Update Add Sections (Publications, Patents, Languages, Organizations, etc.). | Quarterly |
| Summary | Update Summary. | Quarterly or as needed |
| Skills | Update skills as you learn or master new ones. | Quarterly or as needed |
| Contact Me | Update Contact Me. | As needed |
| Search | Check for “Findability”—keyword people search. | Biweekly |
| Viewed My Profile | Check and respond to “Viewed My Profile.” | Daily |
| Network Location | Check location and industry of your network. | Weekly or as needed |
| Add People You May Know | Check People You May Know and add connections. | Weekly |
| Network Statistics | Check for growth. | Daily |
| Recommendations | Add recommendations. | As needed |
| LinkedIn Blog | Check LinkedIn’s Blog. | Weekly |
In Chapter 8 you created worksheets for your Goal and Campaign updates. Implement those worksheets (and schedulers) by posting or scheduling your updates daily.
LinkedIn doesn’t offer much in the way of monitoring and statistics, but you do have Signal. Make sure you are keeping an eye on what people say about you, your competition, and your clients, as shown in Table 9-2. This information can change daily.
Table 9-2: Updates
| Focus | Action | Frequency |
| Updates Topics | LinkedIn Goal Status Updates, daily or upload into Scheduler. | Daily or via Scheduler |
| Campaign Status Update, daily or upload into Scheduler. | Daily or via Scheduler | |
| Signal | Add to (Edit) and Save Critical List Worksheet. | Monthly or as needed |
| Search LinkedIn Signal for “Critical List.” | Daily or Weekly | |
| Respond to updates when necessary. | Daily or Weekly |
Your groups (Table 9-3) can be one of the best ways to engage your target audience and build relationships with relevant LinkedIn members. But you must be proactive in moderating your own group and participating in groups of which you are a member.
Table 9-3: Groups
| Focus | Action | Frequency |
| Create Group | Create group following guidelines in Chapter 6. | One time |
| RSS Feed | Search for up to 50 RSS feeds (Technorati). | Monthly |
| Rules | Create rules and templates. | One time or as needed |
| Invite | Invite members. | One time |
| URL | Create bitly URL for group. | One time |
| Share URL | Share your group in email signature, on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter updates. | Daily |
| Announcements | Create weekly announcements and calendar. | Weekly or biweekly |
| Monitor | Monitor your group’s discussions; make sure you moderate as needed. | Daily or weekly depending on your group’s activity |
| Spammers | Delete those spammers. Be proactive! Keep your group interesting, relevant, and free of spam. | Daily or weekly as needed |
| Create Website for Group | Some people create a website or blog page describing their group (LinkedMinnesota is a good example). | One time |
| Other Groups | Participate in groups you are a member of. Read discussions. Respond when applicable. Most people only keep up with 3–5 groups. | Daily |
LinkedIn Answers (Table 9-4) are a great way to find “blog fodder” and position yourself as an expert in your area or interest or industry. You can be very active in Answers, answering several a day, or just use them selectively for certain projects. In either case, having a system and a schedule will make your time in Answers more effective.
Table 9-4: LinkedIn Answers
| Focus | Action | Frequency |
| Repurpose Content | Search questions asked in Answers on your area of expertise. | Weekly |
| Create Editorial Calendar | Create a list of blog topics/Editorial Calendar (see worksheet from Chapter 8 or use your own). | Weekly/monthly/quarterly |
| Answer Questions | Answer questions with blog article link. | Several times weekly |
| Create new content | Research “hot” questions in your area of expertise (those with a lot of answers). | Weekly—create list |
| Use question as your new post (use the content of the answers—ask for permission if you do). | 1–5 times weekly |
While LinkedIn events (Table 9-5) should not be the only way you market your event, you should definitely create an event for any business occasion you are offering. Not only might you drive some traffic to the event, you might even get some “Google Juice” (visibility). Events can also help support your positioning as an authority in your industry.
Table 9-5: Events
| Focus | Action | Frequency |
| Create Event | Make a list of upcoming events. | Monthly |
| Event titles: compile keywords. | As needed | |
| Event dates: schedule. | As needed | |
| Create description of event. | As needed | |
| Landing page/registration page for event. | As needed | |
| Create summary with a call to action. | As needed | |
| Post event in updates. (Also consider putting into a status update scheduler.) | Every few days until event | |
| Invite your first-level connections. | Weekly until event | |
| Post event in relevant groups. (If you have your own group, make sure to put event URL in an announcement.) | Weekly until event | |
| Pay for an events ad (send to specific people: industries/search terms). | One time |
Polls (Table 9-6) might not be statistically accurate and I would never use the results to substantiate my claim in a lawsuit, but they sure are great for garnering interest in your network and building relationships. Plus, the results are cool and people love the pie charts!
Table 9-6: Polls
| Focus | Action | Frequency |
| Polls | Monitor existing polls. | As needed |
| Respond to participants. | As needed | |
| Share in groups. | As needed | |
| Use in blog post. | As needed | |
| Create New Polls | Look at editorial calendar. Do you have a blog, or a project that a blog could enhance? | As needed |
Keep an eye on your applications (Table 9-7). Some are a one-time-only addition (like WordPress) and some might require daily or weekly interaction (like Projects and Teamspaces). Another reason to monitor your applications is that occasionally LinkedIn will have glitches and your apps might simply disappear and need to be replaced or readded to your profile. In addition, LinkedIn will delete entire programs and add new ones. So keep an eye on Get More Applications as well as the existing apps on your profile.
Table 9-7: Applications
| Focus | Action | Frequency |
| Video | Create a file of videos to feature on LinkedIn. | Monthly or as needed |
| Presentation | Create a presentation and insert video. | As needed |
| SlideShare | Upload using SlideShare. | Monthly or as needed |
| Blog | Add WordPress or blog link. | One time or as needed |
| Creative Portfolio Display | Compile portfolio and upload (link) with creative portfolio display. | Update weekly with new content |
| Box.net | Create a file with existing e-Docs you already have (testimonials, checklists, questionnaires, white papers, research, résumé, etc.). Upload relevant files.Create and organize into appropriate folders. | Upload new content when available |
| TripIt My Travel | Sync TripIt’s My Travel with your travel booking site or add travel manually. | Schedule travel monthly |
| Amazon Reading List | Amazon: Update when you read (or write) a new book. | Monthly |
| FT Press eBookShelf | Search and download relevant articles. | According to subscription |
| JD Supra Legal Updates | JD Supra (if applicable). | Check daily |
| Rofo Real Estate Pro | Rofo (Real Estate) (if applicable). | Check daily |
| Manymoon Projects and Teamspaces | Manage projects with your team, follow up with team members, add new projects. | Daily or as needed |
LinkedIn is very invested in making company profiles (Table 9-8) more interactive and more viable for its membership. Make sure you are using all company profiles have to offer (Targeted Status Updates, Statistics, Targeted Service pages). And don’t forget to add any new products or services you have to your company profile.
Table 9-8: Company Profile
| Focus | Action | Frequency |
| Company Profile | Create company profile. (Make sure the email address for your company is added to your settings; under Account, add email.) | One time |
| Create description. | One time; review yearly | |
| Add administrators. | As needed | |
| Products and Services | Add products and services, logo, and description. | As needed |
| Add video and special offers to products and services. | As needed | |
| Create targeted audience and banners for products and services. | As needed | |
| Status Updates | Create status updates for company. | Daily |
| Statistics | Check follower statistics. | Weekly |
| Other Companies | Follow other relevant companies (clients, prospects, competition). | Receive daily or weekly email |