Why LinkedIn is a Natural for Rotarians
Written by Robyn T. Braley
LinkedIn is a powerful social media tool that is an online community where professionals build their personal brand, grow their networks, and form meaningful relationships.
A new member recently joined the Calgary West Club. I introduced myself and welcomed her to Rotary.
Within days, I received an invitation from her to connect on LinkedIn. A scan of her profile informed me about her current job, work history, educational history, and work in the community. She also knew about me through reading my profile.
Your Personal Site
There are many reasons why professionals should have a personal LinkedIn profile. You can describe who you are and the value you offer other professionals. It is a perfect tool for building your personal brand.
- Establish your credentials as an expert
- Connect with colleagues and other companies
- Keep abreast of industry news
- Network, network, network
- Expand your professional circle
- Increase your name ranking on search engines
- Position yourself as a volunteer and community leader
Building a strong network can lead to new business opportunities, collaborations, and partnerships. The platform makes it easy to communicate using LinkedIn tools.
The Difference
LinkedIn is different than other social media platforms. It is strictly for posting relevant content for professionals and companies. Personal messages about what you ate for breakfast or cute baby pictures and videos of your cat napping in your favourite chair belong on Facebook, TikTok, BlueSky, and other popular sites.
Rotary Specific
For Rotarians, your personal platform also offers opportunities to profile your Rotary affiliations and achievements and to promote club events. As your connections grow, you can …
- Identify potential new members
- Invite them to meetings
- Stay connected with former members
- Stay up to date with current members
- Connect with Rotarians around the world
- Source club speakers
Which is Number One
If you were to rank social media sites by effectiveness, Facebook would be number one. But, LinkedIn offers different options and is an excellent companion.
Kelly Baker, Past President of the Edmonton Northeast Rotary Club said,
“Our Facebook page has resulted in 2 members and several inquiries. So, we are starting to see that social media is working. We are also encouraging our members to be on LinkedIn.”
Club LinkedIn Profile
You can develop a site for your club. It will be like a second website. It will increase your online presence and allow you to do different things.
- Market events
- Increase club awareness
- Connect with not-for-profit organizations at home and around the world
- Connect with community leaders, politicians, and influencers
- Link to club websites and other social media platforms
Check out two clubs that use LinkedIn to promote events.
Relevant, Authentic, Transparent
Whether a club or your personal site, making a strong first impression is key. A carefully crafted profile paints a picture of who you are, what you do, how you do it, and how you think.
In developing your profile, consider the overall value you offer other professionals you want to impress! Do you come across as being authentic?
Can visitors trust that you are who you say you are? All content should take them through the five stages of online relationship building.
- Know
- Like
- Trust
- Engage
- Close the loop
What Every Profile Needs
Most people will decide whether to engage with you in 3 seconds or less. The key Is to include introductory content that will encourage visitors to learn more about you. Ask, “Does the quality of my profile speak to the quality of my work?
Here are tips for building an engaging LinkedIn profile:
- Profile picture: A recent, high-quality headshot of your face and shoulders. No pictures of you digging in your garden or fishing with your grandsons in Cabo.
- Banner picture: Create a graphic about what you do or a photo that tells a story about you
- Headline: Short, succinct, and catchy
- Summary: In the About section, summarize your skills, passion, and mission. Limit the text to one or two paragraphs. Read Master the Art of Writing for Online Audiences for tips
- Experience: Include relevant work, education, and volunteer experiences. List roles at previous companies, summarize responsibilities, and include awards and accomplishments. This is not bragging; it’s telling it like it is.
- Skills: List relevant skills and ask your connections to endorse them.
- Keywords: Use relevant job-and industry-specific keywords.
- Media: Embed video or audio messages to introduce yourself.
- Recommendations: Request recommendations from people who know you like colleagues, business partners, or students.
- Engagement: Post relevant content and engage with other professionals. Comment on the posts of others.
- Updates: Regularly update your content and make improvements.
Quality Content
Success on any social media site has a direct correlation to quality content. In creating content, ask,
- “What do professionals care about?
- What do I know that may benefit others?”
LinkedIn has become a place to establish thought leadership within your industry and community. It is a place for leaders to shine.
Without diving too deeply into the technical side, LinkedIn algorithms evaluate your content and increase your ranking (exposure) accordingly.
- Relevance: The relevance of the post to a distinct audience
- Expertise: The author's expertise in the post's subject area
- Engagement: The number of "meaningful comments" from people who engage with your content.
How to Build Connections
When you start posting, you will attract attention. Some who read your content will be impressed enough to check your profile and ask to connect based on the promise of receiving further quality posts.
Another way to engage is to comment on relevant posts. Most writers review them, and your interaction may lead to a connection request.
Start building your community by googling the LinkedIn profiles of people you know and asking them to connect. They can be anyone you’ve met within your business and personal networks. Also, connect with professionals you interact with like doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants, politicians, and others you know.
As your community grows, you can scan their connections and approach people you don’t know but would like to. Mention you are both connected to the same individual. They will usually scan your site before accepting your invitation.
Once you are connected, you can direct message the person. The first message should be to thank them for connecting.
For Rotary, you can direct message them with an invitation to a special meeting or to make them aware of a community project. By all means – and I despise it when this happens – do not try to sell anything on that first contact. That can come later when you’ve strengthened your relationship.
Rotary Speakers
I’ve booked club speakers using LinkedIn. This is how it can work.
As a media commentator, I am connected with many media and personalities, producers, and editors from across Canada and in the U.S.A.
Craig Button is a TV Hockey Broadcaster who lives in my city and was on my speaker target list. Craig and I had connected several years before and I could direct message him.
I thought I would be smart and invite him to speak in August before NHL training camps opened. Unknown to me, he was in Slovakia doing colour commentating for games in an Under 18 summer tournament. The games were broadcast across Canada and beyond.
He agreed to speak to our club a few days after returning home. He opened his talk with a story describing eating dinner at a street café along the Danube only two nights before. We were fully engaged.
Virtual Rotary Pins
Do you remember when Rotarians wore pins? Many still do.
A friend met his future wife who began a conversation on their first date by asking what his Rotary pin meant. Ten years later they are both active in our club.
Including ‘Rotarian’ in your subheading does the same thing. Rotary is respected even if people don’t have extensive knowledge about the organization.
I was thrilled to be asked to connect with Mitch Jackson, ESQ. Mitch is a lawyer from Orange County, California.
He is also a world-class speaker, author and social media expert recognized throughout the legal community. I had posted content that drew his attention.
Why did he ask me to connect? He had scanned my bio and noted we were both Rotarians at the time. That was all he needed to know.
In fact, his LinkedIn profile is a model of how to do it right! Click here to check it out. Scroll down his home page to the Volunteer Section and note how he describes his Rotary history.
Agism
The average age of Rotarians tends to be over 50. That can be a problem statistic when thinking of club growth.
As we grow older, our networks naturally age with us. People in their 60s often do not have as many personal or business relationships with those in their 30s as they do with their contemporaries.
Because it is meant for professionals, a person’s age is secondary to the value a professional relationship can offer. In my LinkedIn community of just under 9,000, I am connected to professionals of every age, profession, gender, creed, ethnicity, and geographic location.
Wrapping It Up
In the past, LinkedIn was used primarily for finding jobs or headhunting. While that continues, the platform has morphed into a professional networking site where industry experts share content, network, and build their personal brands.
As a place for professionals, LinkedIn offers a natural space to grow your club in different ways.
Please let me know about your experience with LinkedIn in the comment section.
CONTACT INFO
Robyn T. Braley is a Rotarian in District 5360. He has served on numerous Club and District committees, including as the P.R. Chair in his District He has also produced major events in the community and in Rotary. He is a brand specialist, writer, and speaker. You may contact him at robyn@robyntbraley.com
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