Begin by setting up a free LinkedIn Account. Your profile is a traveling brochure for you — available to the public and the search engines, plus VERY available to people in the LinkedIn network who can use your decorative concrete services.

The headline on your new profile is important — it is that first impression. Make it say what and who you are in 120 characters including punctuation.

Example for Joe Contractor: Decorative Concrete | Engraving | Staining | Polishing | Finding Existing Concrete’s Low Maintenance Beauty (this is only 93 characters)

Use the SUMMARY area to describe everything you can do with concrete. Don’t expect people to read your mind. You can add sections, then lift the things you do the VERY best out for the Specialties area.

Your experience is valuable — people can look at your work history as you list it, plus see the continuity of your experience through employers to being self-employed.

Connections and recommendations will come as soon as you have completed your account.

The website listing space is something that is often misinterpreted. Where LinkedIn has a default “Company Website,” they intend for you to put your company name. Doing so  helps reinforce your name with one more mention instead of a default faceless link. If you have a Twitter account, you can list it here to extend your marketing efforts.

A great deal more can be done with LinkedIn, but it all takes time and planning. For the beginning, simply use LinkedIn as another Internet Billboard and let it work for you 24/7.

If you have questions about LinkedIn profiles, just ask in the comments section below. Or, ask at our Facebook page “Engrave-A-Crete Decorative Concrete Engraving Tools and Supplies”