How to create a successful LinkedIN Profile
I have been asked quite a bit lately about how a business professional should create a successful LinkedIN profile so I thought I should let everyone know my top 5 tips on creating a successful LinkedIN Profile.
TIP 1 – A Compelling Personal Headline and Photo. Firstly, your personal headline is the first thing that people see so make it compelling. You can put in there the top few things that you do or make a statement that covers who you are, who you help and how you help them. Secondly, make sure you have a photo of you in your profile, one that represents who you are in a professional sense. It needs to be the proportions of a passport photo and make sure you are smiling.
TIP 2 – Think About Keywords. It is important to think about which keyword/s your prospects use to search for your type of product or service. Pick the strongest one and then get them into your LinkedIn profile in 5 key places. 1. in your headline, 2. experience 3. past experience, 4. summary and 5. specialities. You will have to keep tweaking the keywords and monitor your ranking over time to keep improving it.
TIP 3 – Add Applications. Applications add more depth to your profile and also help build / support the information in your profile. To add applications click on the menu item – ‘More’ and then down the bottom ‘Get more Applications’. There are a number in here you can add. eg. If you have a WordPress blog you can stream your latest posts on your LinkedIn Page, if you are an author of a book you can link to it on Amazon on your LinkedIN page, if you have created presentations you can link to these via slideshare or google presentation and therefore add value to the people that view your LinkedIN page.
TIP 4 – The Awesome Power of Groups. Groups are a very powerful marketing tool that you can use to build your profile. You can join existing groups and have an expert voice when answering or posing questions. Better still you can start your own group. Make sure your group supports your niche and keywords and will add value to the network you will build. To start a group click on ‘Groups’ in the top menu, then ‘Create a Group’. The benefit of creating a group is you have your details as the owner of that group visible to everyone who joins and in your welcome message you can put in links to your website and also provide your contact details.
Tip 5 – Recommendations. They are great to have on your profile as they show visitors that you are credible. Recommendations are people who know you or have worked with you providing their personal recommendation about the service that you provide. There are many strategies you can take in order to generate recommendations but the best one is to give out recommendations in order to get some in return.
I hope you can see the power of LinkedIN and how it can be a valuable marketing tool for you and your business. Get started today or review and improve your current profile.
Yours in creating a successful LinkedIN profile.
Belinda
