Such is my social whirl that I've been to two parties in the last two weeks.  Neither were formal dinner parties; the group of forty-something invitees spent both evenings lounging around the kitchens of our hosts, beers and wines in hand and engaging in social chit chat around kids, sport and... Social Media. 

So whilst we were socialising face-to-face, we were also talking about socialising online.  Pictures were duly taken on iPhones, posted to Facebook and hangovers were Liked and shared the following day.

Pretty well everyone in those kitchens was on Facebook, but many admitted being a little bored with endless pictures of cute kittens, puppies (my own puppy included), baby rabbits and inspirational quotations.  And we’re just weeks away now from endless photos of Christmas trees...  

No, it seems the forty-something employee or business owner is looking for somewhere a little more ‘substantial’ to do their online socialising, and it turns out that LinkedIn is ticking the right boxes for many of them.

Out of all the party goers, only one was actually looking for a new job, so why would LinkedIn increasingly be their online party venue of choice?  After all, whilst LinkedIn has evolved into a powerful real-time networking platform, there is still much about Facebook that is highly appealing.

To start with, by the time we get into our forties, many are making good progress in their career or are building their own businesses.  Either way, they now see LinkedIn as their default search engine when looking for information about people they are about to meet at work or potential partners, suppliers or clients in their business.  And yes, if they are looking for a job, they can use LinkedIn for that too.

And every day we’re spending more time on LinkedIn.  Even in my own niche of Social Media Sales within regulated industries where many people are still figuring out the benefits of ‘Social’, we can quite clearly see them spending more and more time on the site.

'People buy people' has always been the sales mantra, and most of us now 'get' that an attractive, compelling, intriguing online profile is essential in today's Internet world.  Indeed, many of us are discovering new things about the professional lives our fellow party guests - and we love it.  Yes, we’re still intrigued by their holiday snaps on Facebook, but we’re increasingly intrigued by their professional activities, their business skills, where they came from and what makes them tick.

I already know that my friend Brian adores his tennis (he tells us about it ad nauseum on Facebook), but what I only recently discovered is that he's an ace copywriter and has a background in graphic design.

Serena posts pictures of her chickens almost every week, and love her as we do, I might soon be tempted to go round there and stock up my freezer.  But again, a quick voyeuristic glance at her LinkedIn profile tells me plenty that I didn't know.  Guess what, she used to be a forensic accountant until she gave it up to start a family.

And what about Mike who adores his gadgets and his golf and his gardening?  Turns out that in a former life he used to be a fighter pilot and is still qualified to fly light aircraft.  He has some inspirational stories to tell.

I've known Brian, Serena and Mike for several years, but I didn't know anything of their work/business skills.  I've never needed to; they have always been just mates I meet at parties or in the school playground; they’ve certainly never been part of my business circle.

So armed with this information, what can I do with it?  

Quite apart from giving me a more rounded knowledge of my friends, I can now use it in my networking and can potentially connect them with people who might need their skills.  But most importantly it shows them in a new light – one which adds flesh to the bones of the relationship we have on Facebook.

And right on cue comes a new feature on LinkedIn called ‘Skills Endorsements’, where at the click of a mouse we can say how much we acknowledge and appreciate our contacts’ skills (even if we haven’t actually experienced them); a kind of professional version of the Facebook ‘Like’.  The very excellent Chris Voss describes it as ‘the gamification of LinkedIn’, and it wouldn't surprise me if we soon see more features which make LinkedIn more fun and engaging.  After all, games were one of the key drivers of Facebook...

I for one am enjoying seeing more of a human touch appearing on LinkedIn profiles, where we get to see more of the people behind the masks.  However well optimised your profile is and however high up the search results you appear, you still need to stand out from the crowd to win the business, make the new connection or get the job.

Appearing high in the search results is soon not going to be enough; to be attractive and compelling to future employers, potential business partners and new clients, we’ll need to learn how to be significantly more engaging online.  Our profiles will need to be infinitely more than a resume with a few endorsements of our skills; and employers, business partners and customers will want to see much more of the person behind the skills.

Whilst LinkedIn is yet to have the mass appeal of Facebook, with a little care, thought and imagination we can make it a real asset in our online lives – and still have fun too.

By Philip Calvert

The launch of skills endorsements is one of the most simple, but exciting developments that LinkedIn has announced in recent times, and continues to cement their position as the foremost business focused social networking site.  It also gives profile pages some long overdue interactivity.

Until now, LinkedIn profiles have been little more than a shop window for an individual’s expertise, with testimonials being the only way that contacts can publicly acknowledge that expertise.  Often though, testimonials on a profile page can be long and well, rather tedious, with many people simply scrolling past them unread – somewhat defeating the object of having them on your profile in the first place.

LinkedIn needed something a little shorter and with more focus which could acknowledge specific skills of an individual – but without resorting to the simple Facebook-style ‘Like’ button.  And skill endorsements seem to do just the job.

Here are a few tips on how to make the most of the new feature as a valuable personal branding tool.

Look closely at your skills list

Firstly, on your own LinkedIn profile page, revisit your skills list and remove any that might just be ‘padding’.  Whilst it’s nice to potentially receive endorsements for a wide range of skills, few of us want to be seen as a ‘Jack of all trades’. 

Expertise in specific niches will become increasingly valuable, so don’t include skills which are only there to fuel your ego.  And if you are using LinkedIn to look for a job, you can bet your bottom dollar that potential employers and recruiters will ask you to account for the skills listed on your profile, so edit your skills list ruthlessly.

As and when you receive endorsements for skills, LinkedIn automatically lists them on your profile with those receiving the most endorsements from the top down, so it is better that you are seen to have many endorsements for a few skills rather than watering down the ‘votes’ across multiple skills.  In short, the list with its endorsements needs to very clearly show that you are an expert in specific areas.

When someone visits your profile, at the top of the page LinkedIn displays a limited selection of skills from your list for people to endorse.  The selection displayed is random, so without looking at your full list of skills, some people may ‘accidentally’ choose to endorse you for skills which are near the bottom of your list and miss the skills for which you would prefer to have endorsements.  So again, it’s important that the skills you list really are the ones which you want to be known for most of all.

Set your expertise level

A little-known feature of the Skills section on your LinkedIn profile is that you can set your proficiency level for each skill from Beginner to Expert with Intermediate and Advanced as other options.  You can also show how many years you have had that skill.  Simply visit your Skills section, click on the skill concerned and set proficiency and time accordingly.  Do it now, it might make all the difference to whether you win a new contract or new job.

Endorsing other people and being endorsed raises your profile

The news skills endorsements will also help to promote you and the person endorsing you.  This is because when someone highlights a skill you have, it appears in their activity timeline and on your own – thus your contacts and their contacts potentially get to see the endorsement, so increasing the likelihood of a visit to your profile.

So take some time to visit some of your top contacts’ profile pages and endorse their skills.  This is not only something that they will appreciate, but will make you more visible on LinkedIn.

Interact with skills updates on the LinkedIn home page

When someone adds skills to their profile page, it appears on the LinkedIn home page timeline.  Not only could you endorse those skills, you can also ‘Like’ or Comment on that addition on the home page timeline – again making you more visible and also making the other person feel good. 

On the LinkedIn home page, from time to time you will see that people have been endorsed for their skills; again you could ‘Like’ the endorsement publicly.

Give to get

Like all good networkers, give before you take, so use the skills endorsement feature to show other people that you acknowledge their skills.  We all like to be acknowledged, and you will find that some people reciprocate after you have endorsed one or more of their skills.

Be polite and acknowledge endorsements

And finally a small but important point.  When someone endorses your skills, take a moment to thank them with a brief note – either through the LinkedIn message system or by email.  Alternatively a public way to thank someone for an endorsement is to click the ‘Like’ button under the endorsement when it shows up in your Activity box on your profile page.   They will appreciate your thanks and may well spark a conversation which could lead somewhere useful.

LinkedIn have done a great job with the news skills endorsements feature.  Use it to both acknowledge your contacts’ skills and also to raise your own profile on the site.


For even more proven tips on how to attract new customers and to leverage LinkedIn, take a look at our special 300 Tips eGuide here. 

This little boy (my son Ben) had his day/month/year well and truly made yesterday when a Blue Peter (the world's longest-running children's television show) badge turned up in the post, complete with letter from the BBC thanking him for the great effort he had put into drawing a picture of one of the presenters.

I also received a Blue Peter badge when I was a similar age and I can still remember feeling that it was a mark of true recognition (along with the Cycling Proficiency badge) which I happily showed off to my friends.  

My wife managed to top both of us, because she proudly boasts a Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.  I got a letter from Valerie Singleton, but she got one from HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.  We’re hardly competitive at all in our family...

In today's world of Facebook and Social Media, recognition is all too easy to dish out.  With the click of a mouse we can tell people that we like photos of their new puppy, we like photos of their dinner, we like their witty remarks, we like their rants at politicians – we like everything and anything.

Brands adore Likes.  It’s the new measurement of how loved they are; advertising agencies dream up ways to attract Likes for their clients – they even run competitions in exchange for Likes.  The world wants to be liked.

Putting the psychology of wanting to be liked to one side for a moment, whether you are a brand looking to increase sales or an individual building a career, recognition from our peers is becoming increasingly important, because if you are online in any way, shape or form, you are more visible than ever.  

People, customers, prospects, future employers get to see you in more detail than ever before.  They see how you conduct yourself, they get a sense of your expertise and they get a strong feel for your personality.   Like has become the currency of reputation.

How likable are you online?