This gets a subject in its own right as your profile in each Social network is critical to people conversing with you or not.  Think of it as your own Media relations department.  What you say here must be compelling and attractive and your active links can significantly enhance the searchability of your own sites.  An incomplete profile is a catastrophe. So ensure you complete your profile at least as follows:

 

a) Your picture:  Where provided for - add a picture of yourself.  How many Facebook profiles do I see of people with no face?  And of course, when you do add a photo, make it representative and - for a business audience - make it sensible and professional.

 

b) Complete your bio.  Imagine this as your "Elevator pitch" telling people why they should trust you and your network over the hundreds of thousand others out there.

 

c) Complete your online links to key other references for you such as your blog or website.  Don't "link stuff" - i.e. don't overcrowd these - imagine them as being a genie giving you "three wishes".  Which would you choose?

 

d) Contact information.  Again, like your Photo - put this on!  This information is no more vulnerable here  than in a website or the Yellow Pages. But absence of contact information ruins the point of your network.

 

e) Your "Interests" and favourites.  Again, this is all social reference about you and adds a different dimension to your purely "Professional" output.  Common interests are a talking point for people and  can cement online referrals.

 

f) Testimonials from past clients.  Put these on, again, as social referral for what you do.

 

g) Increase "what" people can link to - e.g. a blog, other social profiles of yours, your website etc.  And ensure all these other media also have links to all your other profiles.

 

h) Make tagging and bookmarking easy on your websites & blogs

 

i) reward inbound links - list recent linking blogs, 

 

j) Put content on all sorts of media - eg Videos, slideshows, articles, PDFs

 

k) Provide "freemium" content even if it goes against the grain to "give away knowledge"

 

l) Recognise and thanks people who help you