In the world of social media, LinkedIn is a powerhouse. It’s a professional network site that can be used for meeting new connections and networking with industry leaders. LinkedIn may seem like just another social media site to many people, but it has one major difference: your account defaults publicly viewable by anyone on the internet.
This can lead to some embarrassing moments if you don’t take steps to optimize your account! In this article, we’ll discuss 10 simple ways you can make sure your profile is up-to-date and optimized for public viewing.
P.S. New to LinkedIn? Want to use this social media platform to grow your business? You can check out our LinkedIn accounts packages so you can get started right away.
Why Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile Important
If you’re a job seeker and you’re not optimizing your LinkedIn account, then it’s time to take a step back.
LinkedIn is the most popular professional networking site on the internet – with over 500 million users worldwide – so why would you NOT want to make sure yours stands out?
Here are a few reasons why you should optimize your LinkedIn profile:
First, you will get more exposure. With an optimized LinkedIn profile, you’re automatically in a better position to be found by recruiters and hiring managers. For example, when someone is searching for “SEO”, you’ll appear first on LinkedIn search results. This is a huge advantage, as you’ll be the first one they see.
Second, you will have more access to opportunities.
With the help of an optimized LinkedIn profile, your company and yourself are more visible in keyword searches that recruiters use for finding potential job candidates.
Third, people will see you as an authority in your industry. Optimizing your LinkedIn profile will show you as an expert in the field, and help others see that too.
Identify Keywords You Want To Be Visible On LinkedIn
Now that you have your account set up, it’s time to identify keywords that will make sure people can find you on LinkedIn. For example, if you are a social media marketer, you might want to include “social media” and other related keywords in your headline. This way when someone searches for those phrases on LinkedIn, they see your profile first
To identify what keywords to use, think of what you would search for if you were looking to hire someone in your industry. For example, if I wanted a Social Media manager, I might type “Social Media Manager” or even just “social media” into LinkedIn and see the profiles that come up.
Perfect LinkedIn Profile Photo
For your profile picture, you need to use a professional headshot and you need to make sure your face is well-lit. Make sure that the picture shows off your best features, like if you have great eyes or cheekbones
A few tips for profile photo:
- Professionally lit headshots work best – avoid pictures of yourself taken in low light with flash. This is because it will look like you are taking a photo of yourself with flash.
- Use this as your main profile picture and make sure it’s well lit, professional-looking, and shows off your best feature
- Update the headshot every six months or so to keep up with changes in how LinkedIn displays photos (e.g., they now allow larger pictures on LinkedIn )
- Make sure your face is visible and not blurry. If the picture looks like it was cropped, remove it. We recommend you use a professional headshot taken with natural lighting on an overcast day or indoors in front of a window
- Avoid using group photographs (i.e., those where you are one person out of many people as it will make your profile feel less professional)
- You can also use a headshot that includes your work environment if it’s interesting or relevant to the viewer (e.g., you’re in front of an office building). However, make sure it is not blurry and does not look like someone took a picture from down the street
- You should NOT use a profile picture of yourself with your friends or family. This will make viewers feel that you’re just looking for a friend on LinkedIn and it can also lead to them feeling like they are intruding
- Avoid using pictures of objects because these don’t show what we do.
Optimize Your Linkedin Profile Headline
The headline is the most essential part of your LinkedIn profile. It needs to be succinct and exemplary, so people know what you do right off the bat.
One way to make sure it’s concise yet catchy is by following these guidelines:
- Use a few words that represent who you are
- Include keywords about your profession or interests
- Use an action verb that describes what you do (e.g., teach, consult)
- Keep the characters to less than 150
- Use an action verb that describes what you do (e.g., teach, consult)
Don’t include capital letters in the LinkedIn headline unless it’s a proper noun.
When optimizing your LinkedIn profile headline, avoid using the following words:
- “I am looking for a job”
- “Looking to hire me?”
- “I am new to LinkedIn”
This is because this word has nothing to do with your profession or interests, which might be the reason why someone would visit your profile in the first place.
If you’re struggling with coming up with an idea, check out other successful LinkedIn profiles so that you can get ideas.
For more information about this topic, you can check out this article: How to Write a Professional LinkedIn Headline
Write A LinkedIn Profile Summary
The best way to write a LinkedIn Profile Summary is to think about what you want your profile to do.
In order to accomplish this, ask yourself these questions:
- What industry am I in?
- Am I looking for a job or want someone to hire me?
Think about how potential clients will see your LinkedIn Profile Summary and adjust it accordingly so that it attracts their attention to the best of your abilities.
The way that you optimize and use LinkedIn can be the difference between getting a job or not, so it’s important to do everything in your power to make sure you’re providing as much value as possible for those who visit your profile.
Make sure that you add a call to action at the end of the summary to encourage those who read your profile to contact you.
Share Your Education, Certifications, and Awards on LinkedIn
It is important to share your education, certifications and awards on LinkedIn. This is a great chance to show off what you are capable of achieving so that recruiters can see the type of person they would be hiring if they make contact with you for a job interview.
- Include where you went to school: majoring in ___________
- List any qualifications if you have them
- List any awards you have won.
These are all things that employers would want to know about so it’s important to make sure these are on your LinkedIn profile.
A great tip for this section is to make sure it’s completely current. Remember, people can search for you on LinkedIn so if your qualifications and awards are out of date then they will know that too!
Related Post: How to Add a Portfolio to Your LinkedIn Profile
Write Relevant Articles on LinkedIn
Want to be an expert in your industry? LinkedIn has the perfect platform for you to share information and articles.
Start by searching for keywords related to your field on LinkedIn, or even just browsing through some of their ideas pages. This will give you a great idea of what people want from an expert in your niche.
Writing and sharing relevant articles in your industry is a sure-fire way to make your profile stand out.
Make sure that your articles are well-written and contain content that people will actually find useful.
For example, you could share tips on how to increase customer loyalty or strategies for hiring the best employees while consultants might discuss ways of increasing revenue in a tough economy.
Sharing relevant industry knowledge with LinkedIn members is one way you can build your authority and credibility.
By offering your expertise to LinkedIn members, you can establish a valuable reputation and increase your influence through LinkedIn and increase the likelihood of receiving an introduction from another member via one of their many referral networks.
Ask For Endorsements and Recommendations on LinkedIn
A great way to optimize your LinkedIn account is to ask your connections to endorse and recommend you.
LinkedIn members are able to leave a public endorsement or recommendation for someone they’ve done business with in the past, which is then displayed on their profile page.
A LinkedIn member’s professional credibility increases as more people take the time to provide endorsements and recommendations, so it pays off big-time.
This will help you to establish a valuable reputation and increase the likelihood of receiving an introduction from another member via one their many referral networks.
Grow Your LinkedIn Connections
You would need to grow your connections in order to have a more robust network. This is important because LinkedIn is known for its networking and business-related connections.
You can grow your network by using LinkedIn’s search function to find people with similar interests, skills or industry as you.
LinkedIn allows you to send a connection request that will be accepted if the other person approves of it on their LinkedIn account page.
Make sure you connect with them on LinkedIn as well! This is because you want to do everything you can in order to establish a relationship with them.
After that, make sure to keep an eye on their newsfeed and maintain the connections by following up every once in a while via LinkedIn’s messaging system or email (which will be sent from your personal account).
To get more connections, you can also start following relevant companies on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn typically doesn’t allow users to send connection requests for other LinkedIn members without their consent or knowledge – so be sure not to spam anyone.
In Conclusion
With that, we’ve provided you with actionable tips on how to optimize your LinkedIn account. Now it is up to you to put them into practice and see which ones work for you! If this article has helped you in any way, please share the post so others may also benefit from these insights.
To learn more about optimizing your LinkedIn profile or social media strategy, contact our team of professionals today! We are available 24/7 for consultations via phone call or chat window. We look forward to hearing from those who read this blog post — and helping out if needed too!
