Do you have a LinkedIn profile yet? If not - it's definitely something to think about!
Here's 7 tips on creating your profile and using LinkedIn.
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Create Your Headline
There’s only so many characters available for your headline, so make sure it counts! Remember, your headline is not your job title, it’s what you do. Add detail about your current role, who you are as a person, and maybe even a bit about what you’ve achieved. It all counts to make your profile stand out.
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Blow Them Away with Your Profile Summary
Because we know what you do is amazing! You’ve got the experience, the know-how, the skills… it’s just a matter of showcasing them on a platform where you can connect with others – whether to talk with like-minded individuals or to make connections for your business.
Because there’s less space and characters available in the headline, this is a truly important section. Use keywords relevant to your industry and role, be succinct and straight-forward, showcase your talents and knowledge, and you’ll make it easier for people to find you.
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Include contact details
If you want people to get in touch with you – especially if you’re using LinkedIn to network, it’s a good idea to include your email or phone number (though, a tip to remember – it might not be a good idea to use your personal email you have for this… you know, the one you receive all those general shopping newsletters – otherwise important emails may get lost. Although, Outlook offers a good way of splitting out these types of emails, but that’s another blog post!).
As a side note, LinkedIn offers an email inbox anyway, so you can start off with this and move on to adding your work email or phone number in the future.
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Photography
One of the first things people will see is your profile picture, so it’s a good idea to make sure your photography is professional – how you would normally look in the office or out at networking events (rather than what we might wear at our home office, as we know it’s certainly more comfortable to wear joggers and hoodies when working from home!)
According to the Senior Content Marketing Manager at LinkedIn, your profile picture should be recent, look like you, and your face should take up around 60% of the total space.
As well as your profile photo, you can also upload a background cover photo that showcases a bit more about you. Depending on your job, you could have a photo of you working from home, your local area, or perhaps you are a Yoga Instructor and want to upload a photo of your studio?
The sky is certainly the limit (though you could certainly upload a photo of the sky here too).
LinkedIn Image Sizes for 2022
Personal Profile:
- Profile Photo: 400 x 400px
- Cover Photo: 1584 x 396px
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Ask for Recommendations
If you’ve worked with people in the industry, worked with clients, or perhaps you’re just starting out and want personal recommendations – we really recommend this as an area to get to grips with.
Recommendations really show future employers and potential business clients all about you and what you offer, who you are as a person and their glowing thoughts of you.
Reach out to close contacts for recommendations first, and then if you would like recommendations from clients and business contacts, ask for these soon after you’ve completed business with them.
A tip – it’s good to also provide recommendations for the other person too! Reciprocate in kind!
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Growing your Network
When growing your network, it’s a good idea to keep the network at a good size. Too big and it can get a bit complicated to keep on top of that network!
Here’s a few ways to grow your LinkedIn Network:
- Connect with current and previous work colleagues and friends already on LinkedIn
- If you’re attending conferences and events relevant to your industry, or even training events, connect with the people you spoke with!
- You can already follow businesses and people on LinkedIn. After a while of connecting and engaging with people, why not connect with them also?
- Simply ask people over LinkedIn if they’d like to connect! More than just send a ‘connection request’, it’s good to include a little message as well on why you think it would be good to connect.
Don’t forget – LinkedIn is a social media platform. Use it like one!
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Publish Your Own Content
And finally – there’s a lot of content on LinkedIn already, but it’s also a great idea to create your own content on there. You might have other social channels and/or a blog, and it’s well worth recreating this content on LinkedIn too. Engage with people, post interesting and industry-related information, share your thoughts and more.
By publishing your own content, you’ll create more credibility for you and your business in the eyes of your connections.
If you want more ideas about how to use LinkedIn better for you and your business, we have regular events talking about this topic.
Check out our events page for this topic and more!
Blog Post written by Kate Anderson, Marketing & Design Executive