My Second Appearance on The Focus Group

Did you catch it? I was on SiriusXM’s weekly business program, The Focus Group with Tim Bennett and John Nash!

The Focus Group is a great program all about business and marketing. Tim and John have asked me to be a regular guest to help their listeners get up and running with LinkedIn.

It was on June 23rd that my sister and I took the train to New York City. We hoofed it to midtown to the McGraw Hill Building where the 36th floor hosts the Sirius/XM Studios.

Monica greeted us and said she’d be back for us in 20 minutes. Self-promoter that I am, I had Lisa take pictures of me by the Sirius/XM logo as we waited.

At noon, Monica shepherded us to The Focus Group booth. John Nash, Tim Bennett, and Katie Castellano greeted me with big hugs. We talked a little bit about the recent LinkedIn password breach and Facebook’s disappointing IPO.

We also talked about how nice Katie’s LinkedIn profile is looking… I worked with her last week to optimize it!

The 5 minute break ended and we were suddenly on the air. The subject of this visit was LinkedIn Search Engine Optimization and the importance of keywords.

Here are some gems I shared:

• If you want to be found, CONNECT! Grow your network and have it match your offline network. Everyone you meet, everyone you once met, people you know, people you kinda know, people you didn’t like… CONNECT!

Not sure how to effectively and efficiently grow your LinkedIn network? Download my eBook, 12 Mind-blowing Strategies to Expand Your LinkedIn Network. This book explains WHY you need a strong network and walks you through 12 easy steps to expand your network so you can be found AND find opportunities.

• Determine your keywords and sprinkle them throughout your profile. You can’t be found for terms that are not on your profile.
• Creative problem-solver, dynamic professional, results-oriented ARE NOT KEYWORDS!
• Need help determining your keywords? An easy way to identify your keywords is to copy your current or dream job description and paste it into Wordle’s Word Cloud Generator.

If you are regular listener of The Focus Group, you know Tim does a Top 10 List each week. Tim chose a great list for my visit… the Top 10 overused buzzwords in LinkedIn Profiles in the USA! Check it out:

Tim’s List for June 23, 2012

Top 10 overused buzzwords in LinkedIn Profiles

1. Extensive experience
2. Innovative
3. Motivated
4. Results-oriented
5. Dynamic
6. Proven track record
7. Team player
8. Fast-paced
9. Problem solver
10. Entrepreneurial

It’s so much fun interacting with Tim and John! I love taking calls from their audience. They keep me on my toes!

In the meantime, if you have any suggestions on topics for my next appearance on the Focus Group, leave a comment! Right now we are considering talking about the power of RECOMMENDATIONS!!!

Listen to the Show