There are two settings that some of us adjust on LinkedIn regularly.
Note – Since this post there have been significant changes to the settings and adjustments we can make within LinkedIn.
Activity Broadcasts –
As of late 2016 these settings have again changed. For the most part these settings are adjusted while you edit your LinkedIn Profile.
Many of us turn off our Activity Broadcasts under Settings when we are adjusting our Headline, Skills, Position Title, change our Profile Picture and add new sections to our profile.
I encourage you to leave your activity broadcasts turned on; however sometimes it may be practical to turn them off. Here is an example:
Every time you change your Headline, LinkedIn sends out a broadcast to your network announcing you have a new job. Change your Headline in an effort to get the right wording and your network is going to wonder what you are doing.
Timing Issue – LinkedIn confirmed that Activity Broadcast require at least 30 minutes to take affect. Therefore, if you want to turn off your broadcast, do so and wait at least 30 minutes before you make any profile changes. The same timing affects turning your Activity Broadcast back on.
What others see when you’ve viewed their profile.
Some of us like to play hide & seek when looking at our connection’s profiles. This setting is managed under Settings.
I encourage you to leave this setting turned on so that your network knows when you have looked at their profile. The purpose of this is to create an opportunity for engagement – ie a conversation.
However, periodically you may want to change this setting so you can “secretly” look at a LinkedIn member’s profile.
It is important to know that when you decide to hide behind an industry or company name or to be totally anonymous, you will not be able to see who has looked at your profile.
Don’t play hide and seek on LinkedIn. You need to know when someone has looked at your profile so that you can engage with them or better yet, get into a good conversation with them.
Timing – LinkedIn told me today (1/28/2014) that modifications to this setting are immediate.
In summary, use these LinkedIn settings to get the most value out of your investment in LinkedIn.