How LinkedIn Launched My Journey as a Nutrition Entrepreneur ���

BETH STARK

RDN, LDN

MARKETING COORDINATOR

If you’re like I used to be, you probably haven’t looked at, let alone updated, your LinkedIn profile in a few months� While I am only regularly active on Facebook and Instagram, the thought of maintaining yet another platform previously felt overwhelming and, quite frankly, unnecessary� I mean, was anyone really interested in what I was doing? That was until February 2021, when out of the blue, I found myself jobless� After nearly 13 years as a retail dietitian, six of which were spent leading the team, I was let go due to downsizing� It wasn’t until then that I became more engaged with LinkedIn and saw it as a gateway to multiple opportunities� LinkedIn is described as the “world’s largest professional network on the internet�” It’s touted for being used to find jobs and internships, foster professional relationships and help users learn skills needed to have a successful career� Oh and it’s FREE! After more than a year of consistently engaging with the platform, I fully agree that this description aligns with what LinkedIn is capable of� But like anything, you get out what you put in� When you first get started on LinkedIn, you’ll need to upload a professional headshot and build out a profile including details about your educational background, job history, and unique skill set� Easy enough� Perhaps more daunting than establishing your profile is carving out time to regularly refresh the content� This is where I can share two examples of how regular engagement with LinkedIn brought new career opportunities to me�

According to LinkedIn, All-Star profiles are 40 times more likely to receive job opportunities�

One way I coped with the very sudden and drastic change in my career path was to take action� Among those action steps was posting a LinkedIn profile update to share that I was no longer employed as a retail dietitian and looking for work� I also better positioned my “side hustle” to be front and center as my current work experience� An incredible resource that helped to elevate my LinkedIn profile was The Dietitian Side Hustle podcast interview featuring self-proclaimed “LinkedIn evangelist” Stacey DunnEmke� After listening to this episode, I applied the super-simple tweaks she recommended to achieve “AllStar Status�” I strongly encourage you to listen to � According to LinkedIn, All-Star profiles are 40 times more likely to receive job opportunities� Because these profile updates are how many people in my network learned of this change, I received an onslaught of messages offering to support me through this transition� One such message was from a former colleague that ultimately resulted in an unbeatable opportunity with the Pennsylvania Beef Council/ Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative� When my now-supervisor learned of my departure from retail (thanks to LinkedIn) she promptly reached out and we jointly created the parttime role of my dreams as director of channel marketing and consumer outreach that I started in June 2021�

The other opportunity that came out of a simple LinkedIn update was serving on the Sifter Medical Advisory Board� Similarly, a colleague there saw my job experience updates and contacted me to chat� Fast forward a few months and I received an invitation to join the board� This opportunity has not only contributed to more visibility and credibility for me and my brand, it has also led to other opportunities for growth and connecting with new and highly respected colleagues� As a nutrition entrepreneur it’s important to optimize professional opportunities however you can� I hope my positive experience with LinkedIn has inspired you to take a look at the current state of your own profile to determine if a makeover is in order� And if it is, you also find this platform to be a contributor to continued success�

Beth Stark is a registered dietitian nutritionist based in Pennsylvania and the owner of Beth Stark Nutrition; a nutrition and culinary communications consulting business� When she isn’t working her hybrid role of part-time beef nutrition advocate/part-time nutrition entrepreneur, Beth finds joy in family time, outdoor adventures and self-care�

A Few Thoughts About Starting a Blog

KELLI SHALAL

MPH, RD, CPT, CLT

DIRECTOR OF MEETINGS

With so many promotion avenues for your business nowadays, it can be challenging to figure out how to best spend your time� Maybe you’re killing it on social media or you have a ton of referrals or some other area that’s working for you� Why then would you prioritize a blog?

REASONS TO START A BLOG:

1 To attract clients or partnerships 2 To build credibility in a niche area 3 To sell products 4 To create an email list 5 To monetize with ad revenue, affiliate income or other passive income Of all the reasons to start a blog, the most important is that you own it� Social media audiences are not your property� They are the property of the social media outlet� So the audience you build there is “borrowed” and can be hacked or taken away if terms of use change� That’s the number-one reason to put the time and effort into building a blog, but beyond that, blogs are surprisingly powerful�

HOW TO CHOOSE A PLATFORM

When you start your blog, you should have some idea of your blogging purpose because that will determine the best platform (website builder) to use� What to consider: y What investment can you make at this time? y How much content will you produce? y Will you ever want to monetize your content with advertising revenue? y How will people find your content?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies help your content rank at the top search result for specific queries on Google� Some platforms optimize for SEO out of the box, and others do not�

DRAG & DROP WEBSITE DESIGNERS

Platforms like SquareSpace or Wix are considered drag-and-drop website designers� Unlike the options listed below, these make website building and blogging more intuitive� You have a lot of control over the design and the ability to run a blog on these platforms; however, you cannot monetize your content with advertising revenue on this platform� It is also complicated to transfer your content to a website platform that can run ads if you change your mind later� The SEO features on this type of website are lacking compared to the platforms below�

WORDPRESS.COM

This is a free blogging platform that you can use if you aren’t sure if you will like blogging and if you will continue� You can also use this site to write your blog for personal use� You will be very limited in design options, but you’ll have basic functionality� You cannot monetize with ads on this platform, but you can quickly transfer content to wordpress� org if that becomes your goal�

WORDPRESS.ORG

This is a “self-hosted” platform� This means you’ll have to set up your server and network yourself� If that sounds intimidating, don’t worry; it’s just one extra step of hiring a company to “host” your website versus relying on the platform to host your website� Hosts range in quality and price� You can start with a budget site and move up as your blog becomes more profitable� You’ll have total control over design, but you may have to hire a website designer to help you implement your design ideas for some features� In addition, if you intend to profit from your blog via ad revenue, you will need to use wordpress�org and pay for a hosting service� It’s a similar investment to drag-and-drop website builders, but the learning curve is steeper to get started� This platform has excellent SEO capabilities right out of the box� Consider your reasons for starting a blog� You have a lot to gain by maintaining a good blog� Start today!

Kelli Shallal, MPH, RD, is the owner of Hungry Hobby LLC, a nutrition counseling and communicationsfocused business� She is author of the blog Hungry Hobby and book Meal Prep for Weight Loss� Kelli doesn't believe that food can be "too sweet"- her favorite dessert is frosting of any flavor and type�