Professionals, particularly salespeople, devote a significant amount of time and resources to brand development. We’ve been trained in it, and we’re good at it.
The profile page on LinkedIn serves as the foundation for your personal branding. And we are constantly adding features to expand its capabilities as a personal marketing platform and provide you with new ways to communicate your skills and motivations.
If you haven’t checked your profile page in a while, you may discover new ways to build your personal brand.
Here are some profile features to review and update in 2022.
Some are very quick wins, while others may take some time – but they are all very worthwhile. They will assist you in developing the LinkedIn profile and personal brand that you deserve.
- Select the appropriate LinkedIn profile picture
On LinkedIn, your profile picture is your calling card; it’s how people are introduced to you, and (being the visual beings that we are), it governs their first impressions.
There are some quick tips to get you started:
- Make sure the photo is recent and looks like you, that your face takes up around 60% of the space (long-distance shots don’t stand out).
- Wearing what you want to wear to work.
- Smiling with your eyes.
- Include a background image
The second visual element at the top of your profile page is your background photo. It catches people’s attention, establishes the context, and reveals a little more about what matters to you. Above all, the right background photo makes your page stand out, engage attention, and remain memorable.
- Include more than just a job title in your headline
There is no rule stating that the description at the top of your profile page must only be a job title. Use the headline field to elaborate on how you see your role, why you do what you do, and what motivates you.
If you have sales reps at your company who are on top of social selling, take a look at their profile page headlines for ideas. They will almost certainly include more than just their job titles.
- Transform your summary into a story
The first thing to mention about your LinkedIn summary is that you should have one.
Your summary is your opportunity to tell your own story, so don’t just list your skills or job titles. Try to explain why those skills are important – and how they can help the people you work with.
Don’t be afraid to put in some effort, try a few draughts, and run your summary by people you know. This is your most personal piece of content marketing, and it is well worth your time.
- Declare war on catchphrases
Buzzwords are adjectives that appear so frequently in LinkedIn headlines and summaries that they have almost no meaning.
Among the terms on our list of the most overused buzzwords are ‘specialized,’ ‘leadership,’ ‘focused, “strategic,’ ‘experienced,’ ‘passionate,’ ‘expert,’ ‘creative,’ ‘innovative,’ and ‘certified.’
However, simply saying these words will not persuade others that you possess these qualities.
You must demonstrate them as well, both in how you describe yourself and in how you use LinkedIn profile features to demonstrate who you are.
- Expand your network
Syncing your LinkedIn profile with your email address book is one of the simplest and most effective ways to expand your LinkedIn network. This allows LinkedIn to recommend people for you to connect with.
It’s incredible how effective this can be at surfacing relevant people for you to contact – and no connection requests are sent without your permission, allowing you to vet all potential connections.
Aside from that, make a habit of following up on meetings and conversations with LinkedIn connection requests – it’s a great way to keep your network active and up to date.
- Describe your relevant skills
It’s one of LinkedIn’s quickest wins: scroll through the list of skills and identify those that are relevant to you.
This helps to substantiate the description in your Headline and Summary and gives others a platform to endorse you.
The key here, however, is to remain relevant. A long list of skills that aren’t fundamental to who you are and what you do can become overwhelming. Every now and then, do a spring cleaning of your skill list.
- Highlight the services you provide
Services is a new LinkedIn feature that allows consultants, freelancers, and those working for small businesses to showcase the services they provide. Filling out your profile’s Services section can increase your visibility in search results.
- Spread the word about your endorsement
Endorsements from other members validate your abilities and boost your credibility.
To begin, go through your network and identify connections who you believe truly deserve your endorsement – this is often the trigger for people to return the favor.
Don’t be afraid to send a polite message asking for approval for a few key skills as well. But keep in mind that relevance is important. Contact people whose approval you highly value.
- More proactive in managing your endorsements
Once you start receiving endorsements, you may notice that they skew the emphasis of your LinkedIn profile in ways that do not reflect who you are.
It’s possible that your primary area of expertise is content marketing, but those who have worked with you on events are more enthusiastic supporters.
Use the edit features in the Skills section of your profile to manage your endorsements list – you can choose which to show and which to hide.
Getting your LinkedIn profile to work harder for you doesn’t have to take hours. Working through these ideas, one by one, will show you that you can make significant progress even if you only have a few minutes to spare during your lunch break or in the evenings.
To read our blog on “How to use LinkedIn smartly to get a Job,” click here