Let me start with a disclaimer. I’m not a LinkedIn expert. But before you click close, I changed three things on my LinkedIn profile that have helped me get more views, make more of the right connections and receive more business enquiries in the last few months than in the years before that.
Curious? Here’s what I did:
Profile Photo
I learned that looking good and looking appropriate are two very different things. For example, if your picture is:
- At your cousin’s wedding – it’s too glam.
- On the beach – too much flesh.
- Petting a lion cub – it’s irrelevant.
- Wearing sunglasses – what are you hiding?
- Featuring part of someone else’s face or hand – unprofessional.
- A selfie in a bar? Uh-uh.
A fabulous tool for checking out what impression your profile picture is making is www.photofeeler.com. This website offers real-time, live evaluations of your image.
Tempted to have no photo at all? Don’t. LinkedIn stats show that your profile is 14x more likely to be viewed with a picture than without. Why miss the opportunity?
An attention-grabbing headline
There’s a school of thought that says your headline needs to stand up and dance. I’ve seen headlines that do this very effectively. I tried to make mine boogie but it didn’t feel authentic, so in the end I decided on a simple title that clearly explains what I do without getting lost in a vortex of verbiage.
You may prefer something more elaborate, so the experts give these tips:
Stuff your headline full of keywords.
- Start with an adjective, e.g. Accomplished, Energetic, Professional.
- Add your position e.g. CEO, Writer, Coach.
- End with a suffix e.g. Consultant, Expert, Strategist.
- Your headline will turn out something like this: Accomplished Marketing Consultant or Energetic Project Management Expert.
Or you could use the power statement headline. This tells a story and makes it enticing for people to view your profile. Some examples:
- Helping corporates embrace social media
- Helping entrepreneurs build their businesses
- Helping children achieve independence
A powerful summary
This is where your personality comes through. Ooh. Tricky. The summary is the part where you give a brief bio of yourself and your intentions, so if you’re looking for investors, mentors or other opportunities, this is the place to list them. BUT it’s got to be lively, and full of sparkle. The summary is the perfect place to explain why you do what you do, which is ultimately what people buy when they buy you.
Some no-nos:
- Don’t skip this section
- Don’t write high-level industry jargon
- Don’t just list your specialities
- Don’t let your personal info overshadow your professional stuff.
There. That’s it. That’s what I’ve done.
No big deal. You can do it too.
PS: If you’re looking for the benefits of posting videos, articles or Slideshare presentations on your page, I can’t help you yet. When I can confidently talk about what they’ve done for me, I’ll send you an update.
What’s working for you?
