Once the Social Harbor team has built your Linkedin profile and turned control back to you, there are some important suggestions from around the web.

No need to worry about promoting a great professional presence anymore, Social Harbor has completely filled out your profile. This means it time to start connecting.

Connect. Connect. Connect!

First, upload your contacts. Linkedin makes this simple with easy-to-follow directions right on your home page after you log in. They tell you how to do it from just about every address book and email client. This is a vital step in building your network. Don’t skip it!

Keeping it easy for you, a search of your past and current colleagues, as well as classmates is one click away on that same homepage. Keep scrolling down. You’ll see Linkedin delivers always current “Network Updates” that show you who your connections have had recent activity with, giving you another easy way to build your network. Take advantage of these! It only takes a couple minutes each day to see who’s new to Linkedin that may be of interest to you.

The next important thing we suggest doing (which goes right along with connecting) is join groups. Remember, this is your Professional profile and presence, not your more social Facebook. Many groups that you belong to or attend in person have a Linkedin group (if they don’t, suggest it to them, they’ll be very impressed).  Just click “Groups” on your left task bar, then you can “Search Groups” at the top. Look for groups that represent you and your professional image. If someone is looking at your profile, you want your groups to speak about who you are. When you get some spare time, browse the groups, it’s always good to find a couple you want to join.

Our last important Top To-Do is focused on building your reputation. Once you are connected to some good people you’ve done business with, Recommendations help solidify the credibility of your professional presence. Start by writing a Recommendation for one of your connections. You can then ask for them to write a Recommendation for you. This testimonial of sorts is attached under whichever job they recommended you for, and is then visible to anyone who views your profile. This is a big step in promoting a credible presence, it validates your name and your company. Don’t forget to do this as often as possible.

Do these things and you’ll be ahead of the game. Also, next time you meet someone, suggest they connect with you on Linkedin. This profile serves as your online business card and presence after that person leaves your side, and most importantly it points them to your personal/corporate website.

Now go get started!