LinkedIn Lessons: How to get the most out of your LinkedIn profile.
Set Your Goal!
To get the most out of LinkedIn you need to have a clear idea in mind as to want to want to achieve through using LinkedIn. You should then tailor your profile according to whatever goal you have set yourself. Here are a few examples:
Looking for a new job
If your motivation is to find work then treat your profile as your online CV and sell yourself to potential employers and recruiters. Make sure all of your work experience is present and up to date; highlight your skills and professional achievements; include important job role keywords in your profile copy, and make it clear that you are open to hear about new potential roles.
Networking
For many people, LinkedIn is a great alternative to traditional face-to-face networking, and provides the opportunity to develop relationships with other relevant professionals in their industry. Frequent interaction and utilising the "social" aspect of LinkedIn can be a big help here (joining groups, commenting on appropriate content, joining polls etc.)
Generating Leads
Although not it's primary function, LinkedIn can be used as an effective sales tool. It's definitely not the place for the hard sell approach or cold calling (or messaging in this case) but it provides and opportunity to highlight your products/services to the right people. It would also be a good idea to exploit LinkedIn profile features such as recommendations and endorsements if this is your goal.
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Get Your Picture Right!
Rightly or wrongly, research suggests that the photo/headshot you use on professional social media channels and documents can make a real impact on how you’re perceived.
To help you with this we’ve created this short step-by-step video tutorial to help you create a professional looking headshot using basic image editing techniques.
Content is King!
The copy and content of your LinkedIn profile is arguably the most important factor. In addition to showing an overview of you as a professional and your background, it also provides a initial indication of your written communication skills. Regardless of what you are hoping to achieve from LinkedIn, you are selling yourself and you have to think of your profile as your sales pitch. Here are just a few of the things you need to consider.
Header and Summary Elevator Pitch
The first pieces of copy anyone will see on your profile is your headline and summary. You need to be clear, concise and informative. Keep the sentences short and to the point and try to mention your current position, level of experience and specialities if possible.
Keywords
The words you use in your profile copy will be picked up by LinkedIn's search algorithms. This is particularly important if your looking for work as using appropriate keywords (job titles, industry qualifications etc) will help to get you listed in recruiter/employer searches. Try not to spam keywords too much though as this could impact the readability of your profile.
Be Professional
It can be tempting to treat LinkedIn like any other social media site yet it's important to keep a clear boundary between your professional and personal online presence. Depending on your industry an individual context it may be appropriate to be slightly more informal, however we would suggest you err on the side of professionalism - talk about your work experience, industry knowledge, professional achievements etc.