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b'Saying our FREE online profiles in all of the social venues is costing us money may be confusing. Let\\u2019s think about that statement. If you create a profile and forget about it for a long while, it becomes dated, perhaps even incorrect. Not just headshots and the company you work for, but your basic statement about yourself. When you created your profiles chances are you were just checking off a box to get marketing off your back. \\nFacebook - check\\nLinkedIn - check\\nTwitter - check\\nGoogle+ - check\\nAbout.me - check\\nAnd what about all of the other profiles you forget about - such as trade organizations, professional and alumni associations, online directories. There\\u2019s a HUGE chance you have no clue how many profiles you\\u2019ve created. If you only think about the ones you remember, that gives you a place to start. \\nStarting with the more obvious: LinkedIn, Facebook - page AND profile, Twitter, About.me and Google+ the first thing you want to think about is WHOM you are trying to reach and what you want them to do. How do you want them to connect with you? What do you want them to THINK about you? It is not one profile fits all here. You have to tailor it. What I say on Facebook is not the same as LinkedIn. If you are in the camp that favors the, \\u201cIt\\u2019s all me - I\\u2019m the same everywhere - they can accept me or not!\\u201d chances are you wish you earned more money, but that arrogance is getting in your way. Business is business, even if clients become friends or friends become clients, it\\u2019s a different hat. You are asking them to pay you for your knowledge and skills. Respect that and them. This segways into headshots. Keep it clean and professional on LinkedIn. Have more fun on Facebook, but it\\u2019s still a good idea to have an actual photo rather than cartoon, a picture of your dog - unless that\\u2019s your business,. You want anyone seeking you to know it is the RIGHT you. On all of social media, I\\u2019m grateful that the OTHER Susan Finch in New York is a blonde. It helps at first glance. Also, the fact I\\u2019m in Oregon and she\\u2019s in New York. We are both clear who we are in all venues.\\nMoving on to your links you can include. \\nHave you tested them lately? As a producer for several online radio shows, I run across guests all the time that haven\\u2019t updated their LinkedIn profiles for months or even YEARS. They link to old companies and broken pages. It makes me wonder if they realize that company doesn\\u2019t consider them an employee any more. This leads into work history and projects and the topic of lost revenue through social media.\\nWhen your profile is broken, outdated with only crickets chirping in your timeline, people will think you are not current. You\\u2019ve done nothing new, can\\u2019t be bothered keeping your details updated. How can they count on you to help them if they can\\u2019t take care of themselves?\\nSpend some time reading EACH social media profile. \\nWould you hire you?\\n If you were interested in becoming YOUR client, how would you connect? \\nWhat is the next step? \\nAn example of a pretty decent About.me profile is at susanfinch.me Short, with a clear call to action and OFFER in the same breath.\\nYou will note that my social profiles are not as consistent as I\\u2019d like. Remember I mentioned that OTHER Susan Finch - vanity URLs are tough when your name isn\\u2019t super unusual.\\nAnd now we move on to the call to action in each profile.\\nAsk someone else to read your profiles through. Ask them if they understand what you do, your capabilities and what they need to do next in order to work with you. Ideally, the person helping you by reviewing it would understand your buyer personas pretty well to help you see any holes, potential confusion, or nannering on you are doing in your profiles. If they help you with this, at least send them a gift card or take them out for drinks to thank them. Return the favor for them, too.\\nAt the end of your profiles, entice people to make an appointment, get to know your company better, invite you to speak - whatever the goal'