Your LinkedIn personal profile is your digital calling card on the world's largest professional networking platform. With over 774 million users worldwide, it's more important than ever to make sure your LinkedIn profile stands out and accurately represents who you are and what you have to offer.
A well-optimised profile not only showcases your skills and experiences but also helps you reach and engage with a targeted and professional audience, increase personal brand awareness, and advance your career.
Marketing on LinkedIn as Professionals
By making a few simple tweaks, you can elevate your visibility, attract the right connections, and position yourself as a thought leader in your field.
In this blog, we'll show you how to revamp your LinkedIn profile and make a lasting impression on your network. From crafting an eye-catching headline to highlighting your accomplishments, we'll provide you with actionable tips to leverage your LinkedIn potential.
How You Can Benefit from an Optimised LinkedIn Profile
Increased Career Opportunities
A well-crafted LinkedIn account can help you position yourself as a valuable asset in the job market. By showcasing your skills, experience, and achievements, you can attract the attention of potential employers and increase your chances of landing your dream job. It can also make it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to find and evaluate your qualifications, increasing your chances of being invited to job interviews and ultimately securing your next role.
Expanded Professional Network
By joining relevant groups, participating in discussions, and connecting with others in your field, you can enhance your visibility and expand your professional network. Building a strong LinkedIn profile can lead to new business opportunities, collaborations, and valuable connections that can benefit your career for years to come.
Improved Credibility
An optimised LinkedIn profile helps establish your professional brand. The endorsements and recommendations from people you have worked with or clients you have served enhance your credibility and demonstrate your expertise to future employers and business partners.
Top Tips to Optimise Your Professional LinkedIn Profile in 2023
1. Refine and Update
Completing all sections of your LinkedIn profile is important, as it gives a broad view of who you are and what you do. A well-rounded profile can give you an edge over others who may have only filled out the bare minimum.
2. Write A Compelling Headline
Your headline is what other LinkedIn users see immediately under your name on your profile and next to your name in search results. It’s your description of yourself and what you do, condensed down into no more than 120 characters.
We recommend you follow these guidelines when crafting your headline:
- Tailor it to your audience. This means using a title that is instantly recognisable to people who might want to find you. For this reason, Sales Representative is better than SDR, for example.
- Include your value proposition. After your title, you’ll want to include a line communicating the value you add. For example, on Alan Sharpe’s profile we see ‘helping technology firms and their HubSpot partner agencies acquire customers’. A simple formula to use here is ‘helping X to do Y’.
- Use prospect’s language. Ensure your prospects will understand exactly what you do from your headline. This means avoiding jargon specific to your industry, company or role and stating what you help with in a way prospects will easily grasp.
- Avoid hyperbole. Words like expert, top-performing, best, hard-working, winning, or superior, are best left out. Instead, show prospects your credentials and value with solid stats in your About section, also known as your summary. We’ll come to this in a short while.
3. Include Your Location
Over 30% of recruiters on LinkedIn use advanced search based on location, so adding this simple detail gives you better chances to be visible and get connected with new opportunities near you.
Additionally, having your location listed on your profile can help former colleagues reconnect with you if they have recently moved or are traveling for work. So, make sure to include your location on your LinkedIn profile for more possibilities of being discovered.
4. Transform Your Summary into a Personal Narrative
Having a LinkedIn summary is crucial for making a strong first impression. Unfortunately, many individuals still leave this section blank when creating their profiles.
Use this space to tell your story, not just to list your skills or previous job titles. Highlight why your skills are valuable and the impact they can have on those you work with. Invest time in writing and refining your summary, and consider getting feedback from trusted connections.
Your LinkedIn summary is a personal piece of content marketing, so don't be afraid to put in the effort to make it stand out and accurately represent you.
5. Acquire Strong Endorsements and Recommendations
Having strong endorsements and recommendations for your skills on LinkedIn can increase your credibility and perception as a high-performing professional with a great work ethic.
Aim to have at least three recommendations for each of your listed skills to build a robust profile and showcase your abilities. These testimonials can help set you apart and demonstrate your value to prospective employers, clients, and connections.
There’s a handy drop-down menu in the Recommendations section of your profile that makes it easy to reach out to specific contacts and request recommendations. Consider the core skills you want to be recognised for, and then carefully think about who you would most value a recommendation from before sending a personalised request. This may take time, but it definitely pays off.
6. Highlight Your Thought Leadership with Posts and Publications
The Publications section of your LinkedIn profile is often overlooked, but it can help you stand out by showcasing your thought leadership content. If you have contributed to writing an ebook, a white paper, or a blog post, you can use the Publications section to link your profile to these assets and get credit for your work. This is a valuable opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and draw attention to your thought leadership.
7. Enhance your credibility with a skills assessment.
By taking the online test and displaying the Verified Skills badge on your profile, you can increase your chances of being hired by up to 30%. The results of the skills assessment are optional and can be retaken as many times as necessary before being displayed. Showcasing proof of your abilities can greatly enhance your personal brand on LinkedIn.
8. Expand your network by joining relevant groups.
Networking is the backbone of LinkedIn, where like-minded individuals and organisations can connect. You can start by connecting with your existing network and asking for introductions to people you admire.
Joining relevant groups is a convenient way to build your network and interact with individuals in your industry. LinkedIn has groups for nearly everything, providing opportunities to share thoughts, promote your content, ask and answer questions, and get to know other people in your field.
