When setting up a LinkedIn profile, in addition to taking time to consider what picture to use for your profile, it’s also important to spend a little time choosing your settings.

That’s according to Tom Reimer, managing partner Accretive Advisor, who spoke at the Retirement Coaching Conference for Financial Advisors in Toronto on Wednesday.

“It is absolutely crucial for you to look at those settings,” said Reimer, “because the settings are controlling how people are accessing you, what they see, how often they see it.”

The settings page can be accessed on LinkedIn once you have signed in to your account by moving the curser over your name in the top right hand side of the screen and then selecting “Settings.”

When you first create a LinkedIn profile you may not want your connections to see every little change you make, such as to your profile picture or experience or skills. To avoid that situation, Reimer recommends turning off the “activity broadcast” setting. Once you are satisfied with the profile, go back into the settings page and turn the “activity broadcast” back on to keep connections up to date on your accomplishments.

Another important setting to have a look at, according to Reimer, is choosing who can see your activity feed on your profile page. LinkedIn provides several options including “Everyone,” “Your Network,” “Your Connections” and “Only You.” These settings can be found under the “Profile” tab located on the left hand side of the page.

The “Only You” option is appropriate for when you are still experimenting with your LinkedIn account, said Reimer, as it prevents anyone except yourself from seeing your profile. The “Your Connections” option allows your direct connections to access your information whereas “Your Network” gives permission to people who are second or third connections — people who are connected to your connections.

“So, depending on what you want to broadcast,” he said, “that’s an important setting to have a look at.”

The “Email preferences” section of the settings page, said Reimer, is important as it ensures that clients, prospects and centres of influence, are able to contact you if they wish. In this section, under the “select the types of messages you’re willing to receive” tab, you can select who can reach out to you. For example, it could be for career opportunities, business or an expertise request.

As well, under the same tab is an information box where you can advise people how you wish to be contacted. This box allows you to do a little bit of branding for your business, said Reimer, because you can describe your business, ideal client and how and when it’s best to reach you.

The “Groups” tab on the settings page, said Reimer, allows you to manage what groups you’re a part of, how information from those groups is displayed on your home page and how you receive that information. For example, you may want to receive an email daily or every week, said Reimer, about the discussions taking place in the group.