Here are 8 tips to build a great LinkedIn profile.
The success of your online profile hinges on its content. There is much more to building a great LinkedIn profile than words and pictures. There are qualities that must be represented in a person’s profile that will help them stand out from the crowd and increase the chances of connecting with the right people.
1. Your Profile Picture is Important, but not THAT important.
Linkedin makes it easy to add your profile picture to your page. But, you should still spend a little time making your profile picture as appealing as possible. Using a professional picture with good lighting will help to give your profile the best chance of getting noticed.
Personally, I appreciate it when I find a profile picture that isn’t overproduced or Photoshopped. Thus, my profile picture on LinkedIn is pretty low-budget because I am just a down-to-earth guy.
Linking to your profile picture from a social media site such as your Facebook or Twitter accounts will help to give your photo the advantage that it deserves. If you can’t afford a professional photographer, here is a helpful video on how to DIY a professional headshot with your smartphone.
2. Your LinkedIn Headline should be more than a Job Title and Where you Work.
Probably the most underutilized step to building a good LinkedIn profile will be the headline. Next to your name and profile photo, your LinkedIn headline is seen every time you send a connection request, a personal message, or when leaving a comment on a post.
Instead of telling people what you do and where, try to communicate, why you love what you do, how you help others achieve their goals, and why you’re a great person to connect with. Taking part in this exercise alone will dramatically increase the conversion rate or accepted connection requests. If you want to see a great LinkedIn headline example, here is a client’s!
3. When Building a Good Linked In Profile, Your About Me Section Should Be Short
Just because you have ten paragraphs in your about me section, that doesn’t mean that you must go on and on in the product description section as well. In fact, LinkedIn limits the number of characters you can put into your about section. To help you keep your information to a minimum, and easy to digest, shorten sections with bullet points and structure sections with subheadings.
You’ll want to write your description so that people who read it can scan through it quickly.
Second, you want to write about the pain your product or service provides. This will be more meaningful to readers than a list of clients.
4. Focus on Your Target Personas.
Be thoughtful and relevant to the audience you want to attract. Too often, professionals try to be experts to everyone. By focusing your profile on smaller categories or verticals you will gain more trust and credibility within your desired niche. This doesn’t mean that you won’t get new connections from other industries but will demonstrate a higher level of understanding within the group you have more in common with. This will help you to make a lasting impression on people who you actually want to build a relationship with.
5. Part of Building a Good LinkedIn profile is Sending Invites every week.
If you’ve spent all of this time building a great profile, it only makes sense that you take the next step by sending connection requests. When you’re sending requests be mindful of the types of connections that are desirable and can lead to growth for your career or business. If your profile matches up with the personas you’re trying to connect with, you should have a solid acceptance rate and a captive audience to engage with.
7. Engage aka “Be Social”.
The easiest yet somehow most overlooked part of using LinkedIn has got to be “being social.” This is critical and should be a daily exercise. This doesn’t mean you need to be broadcasting your message every day. It could be as simple as commenting on posts from your new connections or simply sharing an article which whom you think your target personas might want to engage. When you’re being social, think more about what your audience is interested in, and less about what you want them to hear.
8. Meet with People you want to collaborate with, not sell stuff to.
To help people to remember you, be willing to meet with some of the new connections in person. This is especially important if you rely heavily on referrals from outside sources. People share a business with people they like and trust. It’s easier to trust and like someone you’ve had a cup of coffee with, even if it’s over Zoom.
If you still need help with your LinkedIn game, reach out. We’re happy to provide a free consultation to get you started.