Below are top five tips by Huffington Post to get started on LinkedIn:

Create a complete profile: Having a sparse profile does not interest those who view it. Build it out with details of work experiences/projects etc. Also, a profile with a number of keywords to your industry will increase the views to your profile.

Update your headline with keywords about you do (consultant, technology, sales)

Fill in the summary section using third person.

Add “open to new opportunities” at top of summary.

Use all 50 skills available under the skill section.

Note: Keep an eye on the “profile strength” tool that guides you through how robust your profile is and what you need to fill in.

Join groups: LinkedIn groups are discussion forums where people with similar interests can share articles, ask questions, make contacts and find jobs.

Answer questions that are listed in a specific group and you can establish yourself as a leading expert in that domain

Share your expertise about best practices and common tools to help others, you’ll be perceived as an authority figure in that area.

Make a point to include others in your post as it’s not all about you — sharing is caring!

Note: Don’t be shy to promote yourself and/or an upcoming event under the promotions tab. Remember to click ‘promotions’ before posting though. Note: Tab no longer exists!

Become a part of the conversation: You can also increase your visibility by becoming part of the social conversation. By “sharing an update” your face, your name and your profession stays in the forefront (via the updates feed).

Like, share others content (and your own) and comment to profiles you have an interest in getting to know

Follow companies and influencers you’re interested in, “like” & comment on their updates.

It’s important to comment to connections outside of groups. Be social with current connections

Note: We all do it sometimes. Our current connections are as important as establishing new ones.

Acquire recommendations and endorsements:

The more recommendations and endorsements you have, the more you prove that you are good at what you do and you’ll be more favorable to a prospective client or recruiter.

Ask past employers, co-workers, association colleagues and anyone you’ve specifically done work for to give a brief recommendation.

Use the built-in LinkedIn recommendation feature to populate it directly to your profile. The best and fastest way to get recommendations and endorsements, is to give them out first.

Note: Although some endorsements may come from people you don’t know — it offers you exposure in the news feed.

Make Connections: There is a number of ways to build connections. Organically, directly and your current e-mail lists.

Accept and request connections expands your network and professional exposure

Conduct a general search using keywords for people in the industry your looking to connect with — but also utilize the advanced search.

Learn Boolean search capabilities; target industries, job titles etc.

Type a personal thank you for connecting. It only takes seconds. It will go a long way to being remembered.

Note: Flip over to another platform and connect there for all new connections. It takes time — but a great strategy to be remembered and acted upon.