LinkedIn Profiles and Network Size as ONE test of a LinkedIn Expert or Social Media Expert

This is an update to our original post from May 6.  The purpose of this post was to get a quickie look at some things that might give a brief indication, vs. exhaustive test, of relative suitability for speaking or consulting.  As such, we have modernized the post.

The original post was focused exclusively on simple, “in your face”, ways to get an idea of the relative expertise of  a “self-proclaimed” LinkedIn Expert or Social Media Expert.

We are well aware that there are many other factors that fill in this picture and the blog post comments below are very good at explaining what some of the “analog” methods might be.  If one is not teaching or training others, the size of one’s network is of less importance, although it should still be well into the hundreds (see below).

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A new self-proclaimed expert, Social Media Expert, LinkedIn Expert or Twitter Expert seems to crop up every hour or two. They shout it out, present what might be their first Webinars or presentations and seem to forget that the world can see whether or not this is true.

One’s profile and network size are among the truest indicators of expertise. Profiles, because they are the root of it all, and Network Size, because it is a skill that must be learned YOURSELF before it can be taught to others.

Here are some things that you can do to see if these claims are brick solid or a house of cards about to fall under their own weighty claims.

LinkedIn:

Is their name clean and free of Non-name Text like an E-Mail address?  Should be preaching good housekeeping.
Do they have a Professional Photo? Any photo at all?  Basic 101 requirement.
Is their Profile Complete? They can’t teach YOU completeness if they are not complete.

Do they list Web sites and are they NOT defaulted to “My Company”?  This is basic customization that any expert should know and know well. A true expert will show 3 Web sites that list a Twitter site, a facebook page or some other social media location.
Is the Personal URL to their profile personalized?  Random characters in the profile URL are a red flag.

Does their Summary reflect their abilities? This is their brochure.  Does it make you want to buy from them?
Do they even have Specialties listed?  Often overlooked by basic users, but not Experts.
Are Jobs and Education listed all the way back with real data included?  SEO basics they should be practicing.

Are the Interests and Groups/Associations sections completed and “formatted”?  The strategic use of comma’s is critical and experts know this.  Hover over the words here and you will see.
Are they a member of any LinkedIn Groups? How many? More than 20?  Groups are critical in LinkedIn circa 2009.
Does their Contact Settings area tell you how to reach them?  They should know this.

How BIG is their Network? If it isn’t at 500+ you can stop right there…..  Experts without a following are not experts.
True LinkedIn experts cannot have small networks. It is a demonstration of their following and their network building skills.  EXperts should have 2,000+ connections and state it somewhere.
Are their connections being shared?  Blocking off connection sharing is only OK for a select few, not for Experts.

Twitter:

Is their Twitter ID something that makes sense?  It should be their name or their company or something else that is strategic.
Can you find them when you search Twitter (try their name)?  Findable or not?  Do YOU want to be found?
Do they have a respectable Picture showing?  Simple best practice for BUSINESS.

How many Followers do they have? Should be 1,000 or more AT THE LEAST!
How many others are they Following? Should be within 10% of the Followers – basic Twitter strategy.
How many Updates have they done? Should be well over 500.
Does their Twitter profile tell you what they do? Free of mis-spellings, include a URL?

These are the requirements for a B-level Social Media Expert, LinkedIn Expert or Twitter Expert. Maybe we will do a posting for an A-level Expert sometime (see the A-level players below).

We suggest you use this as a litmus test to gauge experts. Here a few that we recommend you look at.

Check out these TRUE LinkedIn and Social Media Experts:

Mike O’Neil, Denver, 22,000 connections, 5,000 followers
www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoneil – Twitter @mikeoneildenver

Viveka von Rosen, Ft. Collins, 9,000 connections, 10,000 followers
www.linkedin.com/in/LinkedInExpert – Twitter @linkedinexpert

Lori Ruff, Denver & Charlotte, 8,000 connections, 4,000 followers
www.linkedin.com/in/loriruff – Twitter @loriruff

Dave Westfall, Denver, 10,000 connections, 2,000 followers
www.linkedin.com/in/davewestfall - Twitter @davewestfall

Dave Reingold, New Jersey, 5,000 connections
www.linkedin.com/in/davereingold

Ed Riefenstahl, Ft. Worth, 5,000 connections
www.linkedin.com/in/edriefenstahl

Valeria Riefenstahl, Ft. Worth, 4,000 connections
www.linkedin.com/in/valeriefiefenstahl

Brad Hanks, Denver, 14,000 connections, 4,000 followers
www.linkedin.com/in/bradhanks – Twitter @bradhanks

Rich Fiene, Minneapolis, 12,000 connections, 1,000 followers
www.linkedin.com/in/richfiene – Twitter @richfiene

Lonny Gulden, Minneapolis, 9,000 connections
www.linkedin.com/in/lonnygulden

Neal Schaffer, Los Angeles, 15,000 connections, 13,000 followers
www.linkedin.com/in/nealschaffer – Twitter @nealschaffer

Patrick O’Malley, Boston, 10,000 connections, 2,000 followers
www.linkedin.com/in/patrickomalley  – Twitter @617patrick

Lewis Howes, Columbus, 5,000 connections, 6,000 followers
www.linkedin.com/in/lewishowes - Twitter @lewishowes

Miles Austin, Seattle, 4,000 connections, 1,000 followers
www.linkedin.com/in/milesaustin - Twitter @milesaustin

Integrated Alliances Web Site

Dan Schawbel of Gen-Y has a terrific post entitled “6 Reasons You Shouldn’t Brand Yourself as a Social Media Expert” that goes very well with this topic.  See the post