Have you ever clicked on someone’s LinkedIn profile and been blown away by their listed experience? Their skills? The number of endorsements they have? Join the club!
LinkedIn really is the ultimate way for your staff to stand out in your industry and has become an important part of personal and business branding.
As a business owner, you want to make sure your whole team is representing your brand and claiming a place to operate in LinkedIn’s digital space.
LinkedIn allows you and your staff to show off the skills and experience you all bring to the table and how you actually back them up. It’s a great platform for generating connections and leads for your business or the one you represent.
Every member of your team is representing your brand, so you want to make sure their profiles are professional and unique. But it can be tough to make your profile stand out amongst a mass of LinkedIn users while still aligning with your business’ brand.
To help you and your team find your way, we’ve outlined the key steps to take to improve your LinkedIn presence and virtual personal brand.
First, make sure you use all of the vital components of a good LinkedIn profile
Like most social media platforms, LinkedIn has various elements you can complete for your profile. From basic elements like your profile and banner pictures, to advanced elements like your skills, recommendations and qualifications. While it may seem obvious, every component of your profile is vital to drawing attention to your profile and therefore, your business.
Here’s our guide on leveraging each section:
Profile Image
According to LinkedIn, you’re 14 times more likely to be viewed by potential employers if you have a profile picture.
Swapping out your profile image from one with your cat to a professional headshot is pretty important here. Unless your cat brings something special to the table?!
Your photo should actually look like you – shock, horror – and reflect the brand you are trying to portray.
Need some help? Check out this HubSpot blog on how to take your own professional headshot. Or, take a look at some of our team’s below.
Banner Image
Your banner image sits above your profile and is one of the first things LinkedIn users view on your page. You should choose a banner which is branded for your business. Nobody wants to see the default, boring blue banner set by LinkedIn (snore!). A branded banner means connections are immediately made between the user and your business.
Take a look at our Marketing & Events Coordinator, Laura’s LinkedIn banner below!
Your about section
If you’re going to completely ignore our advice and not update any part of your LinkedIn profile, please at least write an ‘about’ synopsis of who you are and what you bring to the table in your business. It is one of, if not the, most important part of any LinkedIn profile. If people don’t have time to view your whole profile, they will simply choose to read your summary.
Your about section should summarise your entire profile. This includes your experience, your current role, your skillsets and what you bring to the table as an employee, business owner, partner or business representative. This section isn’t a boring recap of your career life. It should be effective, exciting and make people intrigued. Start off with a punchy line to draw attention to this section!
And please remember to write this in first person. There is nothing more confusing then landing on a page that you have obviously set up, only to feel like you are hearing from someone out there, in the abyss, that sure knows a lot about who you are.
It’s your profile. We want to hear from you!
Why not read these great LinkedIn profile summaries chosen by LinkedIn?
Tell us about your experience
This is the section where you really get to toot your own horn. You can list any previous roles you may have had as well as your current job. We recommend you include a summary of what each role consisted of and what you offer in your current role. Don’t hold back – you need to be your own greatest advocate here.
If you created a whole new work management system, mention it. Did you completely change the staff morale with HR developments? Mention it. Listing this information means your backing up your skillset with tangible examples.
Don’t be afraid to include examples of your work too. The experience section allows you to upload images and files, so if you created an out-of-this-world presentation which scored you a promotion, make sure you include it!
You want visitors to see how you’re an asset to your business – if you’ve got a punchy profile your business’ page is more likely to be viewed by them too!
Your experience on your LinkedIn profile is the time to pick a tune and toot away.
Alright, you have the basic LinkedIn profile elements down pact, now let’s take it up a notch
It’s time to level up your LinkedIn profile to help you really stand out.
Connect with as many people as possible.
Connections on LinkedIn are a little different to Facebook friends. Connections can obviously be people you know, but don’t be afraid to reach out to people in your industry you don’t know, people you want to work with or customers you want to attract! LinkedIn is about networking – so how are you supposed to network without connecting with strangers?
Like, share and comment regularly.
Interacting with posts helps boost your LinkedIn profile presence. A simple like, or a comment on a post you agree (or disagree) with helps get your name and your business’ name out there in your industry. Make sure you follow business pages to increase your interaction!
Share updates regularly.
Don’t just use LinkedIn to promote yourself – use it to promote your brand and business! Try to share updates on a weekly basis. Whether it’s creating a LinkedIn article based on a blog on your website (with a click through to read the rest there of course), a workplace achievement, or a thought-leadership piece. Regularly sharing content means your profile stays active and improves your ranking against the LinkedIn algorithm.
It’s important you encourage your team members to regularly share updates on LinkedIn. If you’re a frequent LinkedIn user, you’re more likely to show up on prospects’ feeds.
We might be stating the obvious, but we’re pretty thrilled with our own LinkedIn profiles. If you are looking to build your connections, connect with us! Visit our team page to find our individual LinkedIn profiles and let’s connect!
