I sometimes wonder if people assume that the term 'Social Media' means that they can lower their professional standards and take unprecedented liberties with the English language and the way they use the medium to represent themselves.
I'm no social media expert but a short stroll through the membership lists of your favourite LinkedIn groups should quickly reveal to you some incredibly common mistakes that hopefully, you're not making yourself.
My pet hates are:

• Profile Picture;
• Headline role unclear;
• Career Opportunities;

Profile Picture I have 2 complaints about profile pictures.
Firstly, it's not difficult to put up a simple picture of yourself.
I can understand if you can't find a picture you like but something is better than nothing.
Social Media is about being social, an empty profile pic tells me you've got something to hide.
Even the most unflattering image tells me there's a human on the other side of the profile.
You can always get a friend to help you take some better pictures later.
Which brings me to my second complaint and the title of my post today.
LinkedIn is not Facebook.
It is a social media site committed to Professional networking, so be a Professional.
I was horrified yesterday to see a lady who works for one of my former employers with a profile pic that heavily suggests that the only thing she is wearing is last nights mascara.
Many compliance heavy industries such as finance are struggling to come to terms with how social media works.
Putting up a profile pic that suggests their well paid employee is naked does nothing to advance our cause or yours as an individual.
Headline Role Unclear When prospective clients or employers use LinkedIn to find a professional in the segment that they have a need to fill, they'll use the search function in the top right corner.
So if you want people to find you when they need a Financial Planner, then having that term in your headline will go a long way to helping you be found.
Listing your title as Senior Consultant or Director of WhoAmI P/L might be good for the ego but makes it harder for anyone to find you unless they're searching for you by name.
Oh, and Financial is spelled f.
i.
n.
a.
n.
c.
i.
a.
l.
Mis-spelling your industry is unlikely to help your recruitment cause either.
Career Opportunities I am regularly astoundedby the amount of people who list themselves as being contactable for Career Opportunities.
There is only one time, you should EVER include this option in your profile and that is when you're looking for a role AND not currently employed by someone else.
Unless your employer is one of the few who actually groom their employees to be worthy of headhunting then to list yourself as looking for a new role is likely to put you in that position should your employer find your LinkedIn profile.
Not only that, but no employer worth his salt would employ a person that advertises themselves as available while in the employ of another man.
If you want to take a different look at it, we all want what we can't have, so anyone that shows themselves as being available for career discussions is likely to command a much lower market price than someone who is unavailable.
remember, scarcity adds value.