A common question asked of me is “What are the best ways to enhance a LinkedIn profile?” Although there are many approaches to take when enhancing a LinkedIn profile, there are some key considerations. Questions to ask yourself include:

  • Who do I want to reach and associate with on LinkedIn?
  • How do I want to come across on LinkedIn?
  • What results do I hope to get from using LinkedIn?

When I review a LinkedIn profile, there are three key components I always check to learn more about the person.

 

Three Key Components of Your LinkedIn Profile

  • Your LinkedIn profile photo. Your profile photo is an important part of your brand and should represent you well. Be sure to use a professional head shot.
  • Your LinkedIn profile headline. Include key words and phrases related to the work you do to help increase your search engine optimization (SEO).  Also reference the types of clients you serve.  Add your company tagline to generate more interest in you and your business. You have up to 220 characters for your headline.
  • Your LinkedIn about section. Think of the about section as a narrative about you in the context of your current business and past career. If you are a business owner, avoid the common tendency to only talk about your company. Be sure to write from the first-person point of view, which makes you come across in a more accessible manner.

Background Photo, Contact Info and Featured Section 

  • Brand yourself and your company in the background photo at the top of your profile. Too often business owners neglect to populate this image. Consider using the name of your company and your company logo and images that show you in action.
  • Make the most of your Contact Info section. The information in this section is only seen by your LinkedIn connections. Along with your company website, you can reference up to two other websites. If you want to include a phone number and don’t want to use your personal cell number, get a Google Voice Number. Finally, be sure the email address that’s displaying in the one is the one you use for your company.
  • Add items to the featured section. Feature a LinkedIn post or article that got a number of likes or comments. Include a link to a landing page on your website, a video on your YouTube channel or another site. You can also feature a PowerPoint or other presentation. Adding these items gives more visual interest to your profile.

Experience and Volunteer Experience Sections 

  • Expand the number of characters for the titles of your positions in the experience section. Each position title can have up to 100 characters. Unlike a resume. which typically lists the exact job title, on LinkedIn you can add phrases and words that more fully indicate the nature of your work. As with the profile headline, you can increase your SEO by using these terms. You can also upload a photograph and a PowerPoint or other presentation in your position listing. Plus, you can add links to landing pages on a website or another site.
  • Include volunteer leadership roles as positions in the experience section. There are several benefits to adding these roles to this section along with listing them in the volunteer experience section. First, doing so is great PR for the entity for which you are (or were) a volunteer leader. Second, you demonstrate that you believe in being involved in your community. Third, people familiar with your contributions as a volunteer leader can write a LinkedIn recommendation for your work with the organization.

Social Proof Through Testimonials, Recommendations and Endorsements

  • Increase your “social proof” by adding testimonials. Consider adding one or two short testimonials to your about section. You can also add testimonials to the position description for selected positions in your experience section. A testimonial can come from someone who’s not a LinkedIn connection. Simply ask the person for a quote of about two or three sentences and then modify it a bit, if needed.
  • Be sure to have at least a few recommendations from LinkedIn connections in your profile. Having people connected with you on LinkedIn attest to the value of working with you is powerful social proof.
  • Solicit endorsements for your most important skills in the skills and endorsements section. Send emails to business colleagues, especially clients, referral partners and others in your field asking them to endorse these skills. Although not as critical as testimonials and recommendations, these endorsements are still valuable social proof.

In summary, when enhancing your LinkedIn profile, don’t forget the basics – your profile photo, headline, and about section. Then once those are squared away, start enhancing your profile by applying the recommendations in this blog post. Doing so will really pay off!

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 55 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially LinkedIn and Facebook.

She works with business owners, business development professionals, business consultants, job seekers, and more – ranging from entrepreneurs to people in large corporations. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.