Virtually everybody nowadays is on LinkedIn. If you are not, you are essentially leave yourself out in the cold when it comes to connecting with people in your industry and prospective clients.
Owns the Space that Can Help Achieve Your Business Goals
Here’s a bit of interesting HR (human resources) trivia for those seeking new jobs. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), of the 77% of employers using social media as an employment recruiting tool, a whopping 94% use LinkedIn.
With so many people looking on LinkedIn for new employees, customers and service providers, it’s an obvious place you need to be. Luckily, LinkedIn profiles are free to create. So, there is no reason not to take advantage of this helpful resource.
Create a Compelling Profile with these 11 LinkedIn Tips
Your LinkedIn profile can be a valuable tool that helps you ultimately achieve your business goals. To get you started, here are some important LinkedIn tips to for becoming a powerful LinkedIn user.
Create a Standout LinkedIn Profile URL by Customizing It
People need to see you in a light that instantly interests them in wanting to know you. Customize your LinkedIn URL to make it a stellar advertisement of your personal skills and talents. The basics of customizing your LinkedIn profile can be found here.
Maybe you already customized your LinkedIn URL but want advanced tips about how to really brand yourself? If so, check out this link to understand how to go from generic to generally spectacular!
Publish an Appropriate Photo of Yourself
Each career field reveals a certain nature to it. By publishing a career-field-appropriate photo of yourself, you show your professionalism. For example, if you are a construction manager, an appropriate picture might be of you wearing a hard hat.
Or, you might have a different picture in mind. Whatever that photo might be, let it convey your career field expertise. Invest in some pictures taken by a professional photographer rather than using an informal selfie from your cell phone camera. Remember, you only get one chance to impress someone. Make your first impression a professional one.
Tell Prospects Where You’re Located
Potential prospects want to know exactly where you are. Yes, there are virtual location jobs. However, for local work, it’s smart to supply your geographical location. If you need help figuring out how to do this, read this LinkedIn Help reference.
Publish an Attention-Grabbing, Creative Headline about Yourself
You want your name, skills and abilities to stand out from your competition. Do that by writing a creative profile headline.
Here’s a tip you can use when you write the headline. Think like the other person. This person has in mind certain goals he or she needs to achieve for the company. Write relevant keywords in your headline as if you are writing it specifically for the person looking at your profile. You can use this brief exercise to figure out what to put in your headline.
Imagine being in a meeting sitting across from the person viewing your profile. Pretend you can hear this person describe typical company problems that need solving by you. Write down what these challenges are. Use your imagination and see yourself saying what the person needs to hear to be wowed by you. Use these words in your headline. (And make sure they are the truth!)
Examples:
Professionally trained SEO web content copywriter with 30 years’ experience. Have been praised for high conversion rates of Fortune 100 company’s loss prevention app.
Harvard educated MBA. Uses 20 years’ experience and productivity techniques in #1 best-selling Amazon book to boost your company’s bottom line.
Plum brilliant plumbing supply parts manager. I keep things flowing for all your wholesale plumbing parts needs.
Write a Distinctive LinkedIn Profile Summary
Spice up your profile summary by adding specific projects, personal details or awards you’ve received. Write specifically how your contributions continue to help all companies with whom you work.
Be aware of time constraints for your reader. Format your summary in chunks of scannable text. Begin with 3 or 4 sentences in one paragraph that showcase your unique talents, skills, abilities, etc. After the beginning paragraph, provide some bulleted statements that will grab the reader’s attention. These bulleted statements highlight your unique qualifications, skills, and experience.
Join Industry Specific Discussion Groups
Actively network through LinkedIn discussion groups. This is a great way to reach out to people and make contacts with those businesses most likely to need your skills and expertise.
Connect with Others
LinkedIn members want to connect and get to know you. To do this, accept connection requests. This is a useful way to develop important business relationships. Then, introduce yourself to these connections. Let them know how you might be able to contribute to improving things for their company.
Add Relevant Skills
When it comes to SEO strategies, a website needs to be focused on using relevant keywords. Google is all about relevance. It’s a key to ranking a website on Google’s page one. Similarly, when you connect with people on LinkedIn, they look to connect with people who have skills relevant to their needs. So, add skills in your profile that show how you are a relevant candidate for a particular job or project. Doing this you increase your chances of getting messaged by people who share similar business interests to yours.
To Get Recommendations, Give Them
LinkedIn is THE business place to connect. When you recommend others as credible business resources, remember to ask them to recommend you. Make sure they say something credible about you because they personally know that you deliver what you promise to deliver. The more people see your many recommendations, the more they trust they can do business with you.
Use Relevant Keywords in Your LinkedIn Profile
You can save prospects time and frustration by using relevant keywords that describe your role in your profile. Do your research and use low competing, relevant keywords. This helps you stand out to Google AND the humans looking at your profile.
Contribute to the LinkedIn Community
You are an expert. Share your expertise by writing articles that help people get information they need to make informed decisions about hiring you for a job. It helps show you can do what you say you can do! Articles on LinkedIn can be more valuable than simple posts, so use this opportunity post your highest quality content.
Still not sure where to start? Here’s an infographic to help you.
Infographic courtesy of: OnStride Financial
Ready to Take the Plunge? These LinkedIn Tips are Just the Tip of the Iceberg
The reach of the LinkedIn platform makes it a necessary component of your self-marketing strategy. Creating your LinkedIn profile is step one, while each tip above reveals the thoroughness that you must maintain. Put these LinkedIn tips on your list and get started today.
Did you realize how important LinkedIn was before now? What’s number 1 on your to-do list to implement? Share your thoughts in the comments!
