LinkedIn is the business-to-business social media platform for professionals. It enables you to network and to build your professional portfolio, but you can also go out into the world and look for a new job. It also enables you to connect with the people your Linked In connections know, serving as a virtual mixer in which you can rub elbows with the best in the business.
With more than 500 million users worldwide (and 20 million+ in the UK) it couldn’t be more important to have a LinkedIn profile, and to ensure that profile works hard for you and your business.
LinkedIn is more than an online CV, it’s a living document that can help you do business – by making connections and keeping you in front of your network. A good profile supports credibility and sharing good content can help you on your way to being known as a thought leader.
There are many benefits to having a presence on LinkedIn. You can:
- showcase your experience, skills and career achievements
- demonstrate your knowledge through status updates and writing articles
- connect with others who can grow your knowledge or lead to new business
- access job opportunities
- increase awareness of your brand and/or services
- get referrals and recommendations
- undertake market research
- get found online.
To get results from LinkedIn, you need to make the most of your LinkedIn profile. Once your profile is ready, can you start to connect and network.
Before you get started, take some time to think about what you are trying to achieve with LinkedIn – who are you trying to speak to?
Tips for building your LinkedIn Profile
1. A good profile photo
LinkedIn is a professional platform, so get a professional photo. Head & shoulders only with your eyes to camera (it’s more engaging). A profile photo can appear small, particularly on mobile, so make sure people can see who you are.
You can also design a banner image that reflects you or your website branding. Make sure it looks smart, on brand and captures attention.
2. Use the headline to stand out
The headline will default to your latest job title/company name. But you can use this better. Use keywords and be descriptive, tell people what you do and how you can help them.
3. Tell your career story
The About section is your chance to sell yourself – tell your career story and highlight your achievements.
Make it relevant to your objectives and of interest to your target audience. Include a call to action to make it easy for people to contact you. The desktop profile layout only displays the first two lines, so these need to work the hardest.
4. Describe your experience
To assist with searches and to ensure your profile can be easily found, you need to use keywords throughout your profile. Use the experience section explain your roles and responsibilities.
5. Skills & endorsements
You can include up to 50 skills if you want to – they work as keywords to help people find you.
Endorsements are when people can “agree” that you have that skill. This can be turned on or off as an allowable feature – and it will depend on if you want to push some skills over others. Do ensure they are relevant to the service you offer or the role you are looking for.
6. Recommendations
Recommendations (testimonials) are far more powerful and add to your professional story. Speak to clients, colleagues, peers and partners and seek out some high-quality recommendations for your profile.
7. Projects
Add projects to showcase your skills, expertise and enhance your reputation. Examples include volunteering experience, awards, publications, case studies and projects. These sections provide a great way to highlight specific areas of your work and to show who you work and collaborate with.
Does LinkedIn Help Raise Your Professional Profile?
Once you’ve built your LinkedIn profile, use the site to build your professional image. Share articles you find interesting, and comment on them with your own point-of-view. Better yet, publish your own thought leadership pieces.
Make sure that what you post is well-researched and relevant, and that you respond to others when they comment on what you wrote. This is how LinkedIn enables users to build their reputation as a leader in their respective fields.
Read more – Using LinkedIn Company Pages
Need help setting up your LinkedIn? Contact us for a chat to see how we can help.
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