Top five tips to optimise your LinkedIn profile

Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn is all about business. It’s for building business connections and finding new information or services for your business. That makes it an essential tool for business-to-business marketing.

LinkedIn has more than 600 million profiles. That’s a lot of potential leads, contacts and opportunities. But with that much competition it is essential that your profile stands out. To do this it needs to rank highly on the search pages and look credible to any potential new connections.

So how do you go about optimising your LinkedIn profile? Here are five tips to get you started.

1 – Use the right photo

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so make sure your profile pic is making the right statement. According to LinkedIn the ideal picture size is 400×400 pixels, this is a high enough resolution that your image should appear sharp and in focus. If it does not, choose a different one. You should also ensure that your face takes up at least 60% of the picture.

It probably goes without saying that the picture should be professional, but that doesn’t mean it has to be super formal. A good rule of thumb is to wear what you would normally wear to work. And remember to smile, you are trying to get people to approach you – so look approachable!

Once you have snapped the perfect picture make sure you set the visibility to Public so people can easily find you.

2. Perfect your headline and summary

First impressions matter, so make sure your headline stands out. The headline is the line of text that appears under your name and gives users a quick snapshot of who you are. While this should tell people what you do, this does not need to just be a generic job title. Get creative and describe how you see your role rather than just stating the job title. You can also use this line to highlight information, such as if you are hiring.

Treat your summary as if you were writing marketing copy. This is not just a dispassionate list of your skills but an insight into the brand that is you. So it is worth spending time on this to strike the right note.

3. Use your keywords multiple times in your profile

Using keywords in your LinkedIn profile is essential if you want to get noticed. And you can use them anywhere on your page.

The first step is to find out what keywords you actually need to use. The best way to do this is to spend a little time browsing the profiles of those with roles similar to yourself to see how they describe their job. Keep an eye out for industry-specific jargon that potential connections may use to search for you.

Once you have hit on some appropriate keywords make sure to include them throughout your profile.

4. List your skills and get people to endorse you

The Skills & endorsements section is a great way to attract potential connections to your profile. Go for quality over quantity and pick those skills that are most relevant for your industry and the connections you are looking to make.

Don’t be afraid to ask your connections for recommendations. This is a great way to build trust with new connections as it shows that you are just as good as you say you are.

5. Be active on LinkedIn

You need to be active on LinkedIn if you want to attract new connections to your page. Posting and sharing content is a fantastic way to get noticed by others in your industry and to build new connections.

Sharing or posting relevant content also helps you strengthen the connections you already have as they will see you as someone who is contributing positively to their feed.

Do you want to get more from your social media? Get in touch with our friendly team to find out how we can help!