Having your LinkedIn profile shared by others can be a great way to expand your professional network and increase your visibility. But what exactly does it mean when someone shares your profile? There are a few key things to keep in mind.
First, when someone shares your profile, they are exposing you to their own network of connections on LinkedIn. This gives you an opportunity to potentially connect with new people who may be interested in your skills, experience, or services. The more widely your profile is shared, the more visibility you can gain.
In addition, having your profile shared indicates that the person sharing sees value in your professional brand and wants to help promote you to their connections. It’s a form of endorsement and validation.
However, it’s important to understand that just because someone shares your profile, it does not necessarily mean they are personally endorsing you or have in-depth knowledge of your capabilities. They may simply be sharing your profile because they think their network would be interested in connecting with you. The level of endorsement can range from weak to strong depending on the context.
Overall, having your profile shared is a positive thing as it expands your reach and visibility. But the exact meaning and level of endorsement depends on who is sharing your profile and their motivation for doing so.
Why Do People Share LinkedIn Profiles?
There are several common reasons why someone might share your LinkedIn profile:
– To introduce you to their network if they think you’d be a good connection for people they know
– To help you expand your reach if they are impressed with your background and capabilities
– To publicly show that they have a connection with you
– To endorse your skills and expertise if they have directly worked with you
– To share industry thought leadership content you have posted
– To recommend you as a service provider or potential hire
– To highlight you as an example of someone doing interesting work in your field
– To share major career updates or achievements of yours
So in summary, people share LinkedIn profiles to help others in their network make new connections, to showcase professional relationships, and to endorse someone’s capabilities or thought leadership.
The motivation may be to directly help you expand your network, or it may be more focused on broadcasting their own relationships and sharing useful content. But in most cases, having your profile shared stems from someone seeing value in your professional brand.
How Shared Profiles Appear in Someone’s Network Feed
When someone shares your LinkedIn profile, by default it appears in the LinkedIn feeds of their 1st degree connections. This shares it with their direct network.
It will appear in their connections’ feeds in a format similar to this:
“[Name of person who shared] shared [Your name]’s profile”
The post will include your profile photo and headline. And it will give the option for viewers to “View profile” by clicking through to your public profile.
Depending on settings, the share may also appear on the sharer’s public profile on their “Activity” tab. For example, if you look at the person’s profile who shared yours, under their “Activity” section you may see:
“[Name] shared [Your name]’s profile”
So when your profile is shared, it provides a way for that person’s 1st degree network to discover you and view your full profile. It spreads your professional brand to new areas of LinkedIn.
Best Practices for Engaging With Shared Profiles
If someone shares your LinkedIn profile, here are some tips for engaging with it:
– Thank them by commenting on the share or sending them a message. This shows appreciation.
– Check out who is engaging with the shared profile by liking or commenting on it. These people are signaling interest.
– Connect with new people relevant to you who are interacting with the shared profile. This expands your network.
– Comment on the share with a relevant remark or call-to-action if appropriate. This prompts engagement.
– Share one of the person’s posts to return the favor. This builds reciprocity.
– If lots of new people view your profile, update your content. This leverages the exposure.
– Monitor any new followers or profile views. Follow up with personalized invites to connect.
– Avoid spamming everyone who engages with a share. Focus on quality, targeted outreach.
The key is to leverage the share to build meaningful new relationships, not just gain empty profile views. Engage thoughtfully and add value.
Risks of Having Your Profile Shared
While having your LinkedIn profile shared is mostly advantageous for increasing your professional visibility and reach, there are some potential risks to be aware of:
– It could attract unwanted attention or solicitation if the wrong audience views your profile.
– Your current employer may not want your profile shared widely if seeking a new job.
– Too many shares too fast could be seen as inauthentic and an attempt to go “viral.”
– If connections interact negatively with a share, it could impact perceptions.
– Shares could reach competitors, even if unintentionally.
– Some industries like investment banking are wary of high-profile social media usage.
– If you changed jobs frequently, shares could reveal that to colleagues.
– Old connections resurfacing could be disruptive if you have moved on.
So while small risks, it’s smart to be mindful of who is sharing your profile and which networks it is reaching. You want to steer sharing to audiences that will constructively expand your professional opportunities.
How to Take Advantage of Profile Sharing
Here are proactive tips to maximize the benefits when someone shares your LinkedIn profile:
– Thank them for the share and ask how you can support their business or career. Offer value.
– Check their followers and connections for any key people you should try to connect with or target with your own shares.
– See if important contacts engage with the share. Consider reaching out with relevant personalized messages.
– Monitor new profile views and connection requests. Prioritize following up with valuable contacts.
– Turn on LinkedIn notifications so you don’t miss engagement with shares.
– Evaluate your profile content and settings for optimization. How can you attract the “right” new audiences.
– Consider sharing a post or content that presents you in the light you most want to be seen.
– Proactively share your own profile periodically with valuable groups and contacts. This expands shares.
– Leverage the exposure opportunity by participating in conversations and engaging your new audience. Provide value.
– Express your brand clearly and intentionally through your profile content. Shares will magnify your message.
The more strategic you can be, the more you can gain from each new profile share. Have a plan to leverage the exposure for long-term relationship building.
Etiquette for Sharing Someone’s Profile
If you are considering sharing someone else’s LinkedIn profile, here are some etiquette tips to follow:
– Only share profiles selectively and thoughtfully. Don’t overdo it or be indiscriminate.
– If possible, let them know you plan to share their profile and why. Or follow up afterwards.
– Avoid sharing a profile with a direct competitor’s network or inappropriate groups.
– Share profiles you truly want to endorse and help. Don’t just share randomly.
– Comment on the value the person provides when sharing their profile.
– Focus on sharing profiles with networks that would logically value connecting with them.
– Avoid sharing profiles solely to promote your own personal brand. Keep the focus on them.
– Check with the person first if you think a share might be unwanted or reach the wrong audiences.
– Share thought leadership content the person posts rather than basic profile shares. This provides value.
In summary, be selective, add value, and make sure any shares support the person’s brand and relationship building goals. Sharing should benefit them, not just you.
How Often Should You Share Profiles?
There are no hard rules on how frequently you should share other people’s LinkedIn profiles. A few best practices are:
– Share thoughtfully and with purpose, not just for the sake of volume or reciprocity. Focus on quality.
– Avoid sharing any single profile more than 2-3 times per month. Too much looks inauthentic.
– Allow time between shares of the same profile for new content and connections to accumulate. Space it out.
– Share profiles proactively when you genuinely want to help expand someone’s reach or endorse their work.
– Share profiles reactively when the person lands a big promotion, new position, award, or publishes major content.
– Watch the engagement on your shares. If people are ignoring the shares, reduce the volume or change your approach.
– Vary the profiles you share rather than repeatedly sharing just one or two people. Mix it up.
Remember there are no universally agreed upon “right amount” for sharing other profiles. Let authentic relationship building and adding value guide your frequency.
Conclusion
Having your LinkedIn profile shared provides an excellent opportunity to expand your professional network and increase your brand visibility. But it requires proactively engaging with new audiences and contacts to build relationships, not just passively gaining profile views.
Be strategic about presenting your best professional image, connecting with the “right” people, and providing value through your interactions. Approach profile sharing as a launching pad for meaningful relationship building rather than a popularity contest.
And when sharing other profiles, do so selectively and with purpose. Focus on genuinely helping people expand their quality networks and enhancing their brand through thoughtful sharing.
Profile sharing works best when it comes from a place of authentic relationship building rather than tactical self-promotion. The quantity and quality of your connections matter far more than the raw number of profile shares.
Reasons People Share LinkedIn Profiles | Best Practices for Profile Sharing Etiquette |
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