Writing a great LinkedIn recommendation is an art form
It isn’t something that should be written as a throwaway comment to tick it off the to do list
Businesses live and die by their recommendations and what isn’t often thought about is that a recommendation says as much about the person leaving it as it about the person receiving it
A LinkedIn recommendation can be rushed, short, lacking detail and a narrative
or
A LinkedIn recommendation can be well structured, in-depth, detailed and passionate
Always aim for the latter – it will help you and the person you’re recommending so much more
WRITING A GREAT LINKED RECOMMENDATION IN A NUTSHELL
A LinkedIn Recommendation is all about your personal experience
Tell that experience with a strong narrative
There is a difference between a review / recommendation and a rating and that’s where you story comes in
Saying someone is or good or great or amazing or excellent is a rating
You need to explain why and elaborate
Tell that story – the beginning, the middle, the end
Pixar Films, the company behind the likes of Toy Story, The Incredibles and Finding Nemo have the same format for every film – “Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.”
Think of Pixar when you write your LinkedIn Recommendations
BEGINNING – SETTING THE SCENE
The beginning sets the scene for the whole recommendation
It explains the problem or scenario that you had that led to you seeking out the person you’re recommending
People often feel uncomfortable with exposing themselves at this stage. They can feel it’s admission that they don’t know everything
Being real is attractive – admitting you look for the expertise is attractive and shows you value learning
Here’s an example of a beginning LinkedIn Recommendation narrative that Thornley Groves left us
“I went to Alex’s Social Media Training Workshop because I have recently been given responsibility of the Social Media pages for Thornley Groves.
I have been fiddling around with the portals for a few months now and so I felt that some extra training was beneficial in order to make the sites been more productive in a business capacity”
Notice how it set’s the tone – it explains clearly the WHY they chose to attend the workshop
MIDDLE – HOW THE PERSON HELPED
This is where you really get to explain how the person helped you with your problem
Remember this isn’t a rating. This has to explain the WHY the person was good or great or amazing or excellent. Not just say they are
How did they approach the problems? What did the person do that was different? How do they compare to previous service providers in the same industry? What really stood out to you about the experience?
Think about how you would describe a restaurant if a friend asked you about it – you would describe what meal you had; you would compare it to other similar restaurants; you would describe the service; you might even mention the value / price
Your middle part of your LinkedIn recommendation needs to be as passionate as that
Here’s an example of a middle LinkedIn Recommendation that Burton Copeland left us
“Not only does he show you how it works, tips, advice, ideas and how much time you should devote, he also explains what not to waste time on. He also has evidence to support his advice, as a lawyer the most important thing!”
Notice how this middle section explains what was important to them – time spent on social media and also evidence is important to their industry
THE END – THE RESULTS OF THAT
So you had a problem and they helped
What were the outcomes of it? What were the results? How is your business improved as a result of the service provider?
In essays at University you called this the conclusion or the summing up
Here’s an example of the end of a LinkedIn Recommendation by Alice Chingwaru at “The Science of Healthy Living”
“I was so fired up at the end of the day I sent out more tweets on the train journey back to London from Manchester; than I had since signing up for the account!
If you want to improve your social media marketing strategies, you could do worse than contact Altrincham HQ. Alex McCann is truly an expert who’ll show you how to increase your bottom line”
This explains the action taken after a Social Media Training session – these are the results
Here are a few examples of great LinkedIn recommendations we’ve received
All of them tell a story with a beginning, middle and end
“I knew the importance of social media but knew I wasn’t making the most of it and struggled to fit regular and genuine updates that would be noticed above others. Alex provided hands on training which related directly to me. His training and advice have helped me to utilise social media much more and I am now seeing a lot more interaction based on his guidance. I would highly recommend Alex” Holly Krupinski – Direct Marketing Executive at Home Retail Group Financial Services
“Alex came into our offices to provide Social Media training to two of us with absolutely no idea! He was very personable and most importantly extremely informative and pitched it at just the right level. What has been really helpful is that since the training he has been very quick to answer any queries we have had. He has also monitored our tweets and provided some necessary input as we move forward. All in all I would definitely recommend Alex” Sally Gordon – Owner, Medical Record Collation Ltd
“I approached Alex after taking on a marketing apprentice so that he could learn the conventions of social media and digital marketing as soon as possible.
I was blown away with what my apprentice learnt in only a few hours. Alex provided an clear and understandable approach to social media that made it easy for us to utilize the knowledge he had given to us.
I would recommend Alex and his team to anyone, very impressive! ” Ansar Mahmood FCA – Director at Progressive Living Developments
NEED HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING – CHAT TO US
Chat to about Social Media for YOUR business so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your business
We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting to you
Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services
Or
Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
