LinkedIn is rapidly becoming THE place to be making connections and fostering relationships in the business community. It is a platform designed for meeting people within your specific business demographic and reaching out to others within that OR creating networks with people who could benefit from your company’s services.
In order to have the most impact possible on LinkedIn you need to have an eye catching and interesting profile. Getting people to stay on your page longer than it takes to have a quick sweep over can be the first step to a meaningful connection for your business or even a sale.
This blog has been created to give you an idea of how to optimise your LinkedIn Profile for the best possible chance for a new connection to stay on your page for more than 5 seconds.
How do we do that? Read on.
- Profile Picture
- Needs to fill the frame from shoulders up
- Picture should be clear, with good light
- Presentation should be neat, tidy and professional
LinkedIn is a professional’s site. Leave the goofy profile pics for FB or Instagram. Connections you want to make here will take you more seriously with a “work” mindset profile picture.
- Custom Cover
- Your cover should stand out and either be clear as to who you work for or what industry you are in. Perhaps ask your employer if they use a specific cover photo or choose one yourself (with permission).
A cover will be the first thing a new connection will see when they visit your profile page. If the cover gives a quick and easy link to your business or industry people may be more inclined to look further.
- Your Headline
- Your headline is about much more than your job title. It’s the only other text that appears with your name in a search so it should include your main skills and what you’re about.
- An example could be “Social Media PPC professional, content story creator, overall social media strategist”
Make your headline short but detailed. The more you can be concise about your role the more interest you can create around connections wanting to know more about what you do.
- Your Summary
- Your summary is a further expansion of your skills, rather than your experience (which is listed in detail further down). It’s a chance to list your qualifications, your greatest professional achievements and your greater skill set.
- An example: “Experienced Social Media Strategist with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing industry. Strong marketing professional skilled in Digital Strategy & Marketing, specialising in Social Media, as well as expertise in administration and organisation. Fully accredited Facebook Buying and Planning Professional.”
In this section, don’t sell yourself short. Think about the skills you have honestly and list them!
- Your Experience
- This is where you list in as much detail as you feel comfortable your employment history. This section will read much like your resume (and getting content from your resume is a good place to start).
- Make sure you include your current role and employer!
- Education
- This can be formal (like a degree or TAFE certification), or less formal like a course you undertook at a conference. Every little bit counts!
- Volunteering Experience
- Whilst not necessary, any volunteer experience has the ability to speak to your character and interests that provide a bigger picture as to the type of person you are.
- This can be any volunteer experience with sporting clubs, social clubs, churches or other organisations.
- Skills and Endorsements
- Here you list your skills (as many as you can think of), and other members on LinkedIn can endorse (verify) that you are actually proficient in these. The more endorsements you have the better.
- Ideally when all staff members at your business have their LinkedIn profiles up to date they can endorse one another’s skills.
- Certifications
- This is for any type of professional certification that you hold.
- For example, this is where “Facebook Certified Buying and Planning Professional” certifications sit
- This is potentially where any group certifications go as well, e.g. “Certified Financial Planner”, or any trade certifications such as being part of a plumbing association etc.
Any and all certifications are relevant here. Include things that aren’t necessarily professional but also give an indicator of who you are. For example: black belt in jiu jitsu or sailing captain.
- Languages
- Being able to speak more than one language is always a plus in our global world, so be sure to list all the languages you speak.
- Groups
- This isn’t a section you fill in, but rather it lists any LinkedIn Groups you are a part of.
If you follow these 11 steps you may just find that you are getting more hits on your LinkedIn profile, building more connections and discovering that you are getting more leads for your business. It may not happen right away but with a little nurturing a great profile can be the first step!
