Displaying endorsements on your LinkedIn profile can build trust and credibility with potential clients, says Loic Jeanjean, director of sales and marketing with Advisor Websites in Vancouver.

Endorsements show that others can attest to your experience and skills — as opposed to your own declarations of your skills.

However, it is important to know the social media policies of your regulator and your firm before you present endorsements. While financial advisors in Canada are not generally forbidden from using LinkedIn endorsements, some firms may have their own policies. Therefore, Jeanjean says, you should check with your compliance department. Also note that regulators may change their position on LinkedIn, so you should keep yourself informed on what is permitted.

If your firm permits you to use endorsements on LinkedIn, here are three ways to do so effectively:

1. Focus on quality, not quantity
List skills that are directly connected to your areas of expertise. In this case, quality trumps quantity.

It is much better to have 20 skills with at least five recommendations each than to have 50 skills with most never having been endorsed, Jeanjean says.

Also, be as specific as possible, so readers of your profile are clear on what you do. For example, “high net-worth individuals” can be listed as a skill on LinkedIn. If your client base consists of high net-worth individuals and you have been endorsed many times in this area, people in that market will understand that you can provide great service to them.

2. Manage your endorsements
Be sure that you can explain why certain people have endorsed you.

If you have been endorsed by a connection who does not know you well, you should hide that endorsement. (You can do this when your profile is in “edit” mode.)

“Saying ‘I have no idea who this person is’ doesn’t sound good,” Jeanjean says.

Overly generous connections can endorse you for skills that you have not chosen for yourself. If you are endorsed for a skill that does not relate to your business, do not accept the endorsement. This is especially important if a connection has endorsed you in an area in which you are not licensed.

“It’s not a race to see who can have the most endorsements,” Jeanjean says. “It’s who can have the best endorsements that mean the most for their specific business.”

3. Say “thanks”
If connections are taking the time to endorse you, return the gesture. Just make sure you are being honest in that person’s ability in the area you choose.

It is also a good idea to send a quick thank-you message to anyone who has endorsed you.

“It’s a nice gesture,” Jeanjean says. “It shows professionalism, and it could help open new conversations with that person.”

This is the second instalment in a three-part series on LinkedIn for advisors.

Next: Elements of an effective LinkedIn profile.