Put the “social” in #LinkedIn as #socialmedia …

The other evening I was listening to my car radio and heard the nationally-syndicated John Tesh Radio Show mention that people now use LinkedIn to check out the counterpart they will be dating, to check out the other’s career goals, and learn more from their profile.

Pretty smart.

But let’s make this information go a bit further, since this is after all, a LinkedIn ideas blog:

Three nuggets for you:

• Be sure your profile is great too. It takes 2 to tango, as the saying goes. Chances are you are being pre-screened too…
• Check out any person you are meeting professionally, or socially, before you the actual encounter. Think of the conversation possibilities when you learn more about them…
• Read the other person’s LinkedIn profile before, or during, a phone call with him/her so you can have a better, more engaged conversation. Again, who knows where this might lead…

Social media for professionals, indeed.