The Ultimate Cheat Sheet On LinkedIn Profile Tips

So, you're wondering, "How can we grow our LinkedIn Profile?" You're definitely not alone. There are some LinkedIn Profile Hacks and Tips That Will Make You Look Like an Expert.

LinkedIn seems to be the favorite breeding place for HR managers, recruiters and new businesses. Around, 94% of recruiters choose LinkedIn to reach out their candidates.

Beyond recruitment, LinkedIn's extensive network also significantly influences professionals in marketing, sales, and advertising. Some statistics:

• Currently, there are more than 50 million companies are listed on the LinkedIn, and the number grows every day.
• We know, total members are not the same as active ones. Though, the combination of others signing up points to a strong performance for the social network, with over 850 million members globally.
• LinkedIn drives more than 50% of social traffic to B2B sites and is considered the most credible source of content. So, it is no surprise that 98% of content marketers use LinkedIn for content marketing, especially for B2B marketing and lead generation.
• Content on the LinkedIn feed receives about 9 billion impressions per week, but only 3 million users (out of the more than 850 million) share content on a weekly basis. This means that only about 1% of LinkedIn’s monthly users share posts, and those 3 million or so users net the 9 billion impressions.

Given its extensive reach and influence, optimizing your LinkedIn profile should be a priority for every professional. But wait, things can get messy when you don’t have your do’s and don’t’s list to profile yourself at best through LinkedIn.

Fear thee not, because we can use some tips and tricks to optimize your LinkedIn profile and can bring you out in a crowd of more than 706 million users. So welcoming you to view some handy tips and tricks to optimize your LinkedIn profile.

1- Find your most productive LinkedIn Keywords

Staying visible in LinkedIn search can just be a game of few words for you and it’s all a matter of Keyword optimization. Identify your keywords which can help you get more attention. Your LinkedIn profile has lots of space to merge your relevant keywords. You can include them at:

• Your Profile’s headline (120 character limit) and summary (2000 char limit).
• Your current work experience and past work experience.
• Your skills and interest section.
• Your About section.

Some examples:

“Operations Associate” can become “Operations Associates at Thermo- Printing Division” (using the plural can help capture searches for multiple roles or team-based searches).

Or

“Senior Consultant” can become “Senior Consultant, IT Project Management” (this adds specific keywords related to your expertise).

These examples are not only keyword rich but also provide a clearer explanation of your role. So adding keywords to these sections can really be a good deal in attracting more visits.

2- Grab a Kick Ass Headline

First impression is the last impression and if you do not seem to hold the right cards, you are out of the game. In LinkedIn optimization, make sure your headlines are attractive enough for your readers. But, don’t overdo it. Your headline needs to be a reflection of your professional LinkedIn profile. In fact, your headlines will prepare the way for other content like summary and other important details. You can optimize your headlines with these two best known ways:

Multiple Titles: You can include multiple titles (keywords) that people most likely to search for related to what you do in your headline.

(Imagine an image here showing a headline with multiple job titles listed, like "Marketing Manager | Content Strategist | Social Media Specialist")

Descriptive: A descriptive headline displays what you do with the keywords filtered in.

(Imagine an image here showing a headline that describes the person's role and impact, like "Helping SaaS companies scale through data-driven marketing strategies and compelling content creation.")

3- Get a nice headshot and keep it professional

LinkedIn profiles that have a picture are 11 times more likely to be viewed. So, increase your chances of getting more visibility through your LinkedIn profile picture and make it strictly professional.

LinkedIn Profile Picture Don’ts:

1. Grainy or pixelated picture.
2. A selfie.
3. A party Picture or No picture.

LinkedIn Profile Picture Do’s:

• Smiling and approachable.
• Good, natural lighting.
• A clear, uncluttered background.
• Professional attire.

4- Keep your profile updated- Always!

Give away all your updated information in your professional LinkedIn profile. You should always include your updated Phone number, Email address, Twitter Handle, current Company Website and every relevant information. Adding more information will increase your chances to connect with recruiters.

Tip: Turn off your activity broadcast while updating your LinkedIn profile. This allows you to make more significant profile changes without constantly notifying your connections, keeping their feeds cleaner and allowing you to update more thoroughly without interruption.

5- Bless yourself with an Awesome LinkedIn Profile Summary

Currently LinkedIn has a 2000 character limit for the summary section (Having highest count compared to all other sections) so always try to flood it with the maximum use of keywords in it. Make sure that you carry on your legacy of writing an awesome profile summary after making it large at your headline. Here, you will showcase your career highlights, experience, thought leadership and recognitions. You can settle for either of narration types- first person or third person.

• First-person narration (e.g., "I am a passionate...") often feels more personal and engaging, good for building rapport.
• Third-person narration (e.g., "John Doe is a...") can sound more formal and objective, sometimes preferred in more traditional industries.

LinkedIn through its summary section also gives an opportunity to include links to the work that you have done so far. Marketers and Bloggers here can add their piece of writing or presentations to showcase their achievements and rewards.

Example of an optimized summary:

"Results-driven Digital Marketing Manager with 7+ years of experience in developing and executing successful B2B and B2C campaigns. Proven ability to increase lead generation by 30% through strategic SEO, SEM, and content marketing initiatives. Passionate about leveraging data analytics to optimize campaign performance and drive measurable ROI. Seeking to contribute expertise in digital strategy to a forward-thinking organization. [Link to Portfolio]"

6- Customize your LinkedIn profile URL

Optimizing your LinkedIn profile URL can provide it a friendlier edge when compared to your old complicated URL. It makes you more visible in Google and thus, people can easily find you. Here is an example about how your profile should look like.

(Imagine an image here showing a clean, customized LinkedIn URL like linkedin.com/in/yourname)

Would you like to do it as well? Follow these simple steps:

(Imagine an image here showing the steps to edit the custom URL on LinkedIn, highlighting the edit button and the URL field)

7- Search connections to improve your LinkedIn relationships

Increase in your connections can increase your chances to be visible on LinkedIn. Hence, search for your desired connections using name, skills, or company. Advanced searches may include, location, school, past organization and job title.

Reminder: Add only relevant people to your connections.

To truly improve your LinkedIn relationships, focus on engaging with your connections' content. This means liking, commenting thoughtfully, and sharing their posts when appropriate. It’s about building rapport, not just accumulating numbers.

8- Proofread your profile

Now, it is time to give a nice proofread to your profile. Well, you don’t need your profile to be occupied with typos or grammatical errors. Set an eagle eye on profile and treat it like your job resume. Read it loudly (don’t be too loud) and see if you understand it well. Reading aloud helps you catch awkward phrasing and missed words because it forces you to slow down.

However, you can also preview your profile’s public view. To see how does it look like to your connections, go to:

Profile > Edit Profile > View Profile As (at the top section) > Click on arrow

(Imagine a screenshot here showing the "View Profile As" option on LinkedIn)

Now, you know that how does your profile looks like to your connections.

9- Get some help from visual media

Visual media can get your profile to be listed in the best LinkedIn profiles. Load your LinkedIn profile with relevant presentations, videos, photos and documents.

• Featured Section: This is a prime spot to showcase your best work, including presentations, articles, videos, or portfolio links.
• Experience Section: Add relevant media to specific job roles to illustrate your accomplishments and projects.
• About Section: You can embed links or mention visual assets that support your narrative.

Using visuals makes your profile more dynamic and engaging, helping you stand out and providing concrete examples of your skills and achievements.

10- Select amazing posts and a good time to post

If you are a blogger or a marketer, this is your game. Your connections are informed about your posts on LinkedIn. Even, new users can find you through your posts. Hence, know your audience and show your expertise through your awesome content.

What makes a post "amazing"?

• Provide Value: Share insights, tips, or industry news that your audience will find useful.
• Ask Questions: Encourage engagement by posing questions to your network.
• Share Personal Experiences: Relate your professional journey and lessons learned.
• Use Visuals: Posts with images or videos tend to perform better.

Best time to post: Between Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Time: Early morning, lunchtime and early evening.

Sweet spot: 10 am to 11 am (Tuesday)

11- Give time to your connections to grow at LinkedIn

Give time to your relationships to grow with your connections. Do not go for a pitch as soon as you connect with an individual. Always follow golden rule: Like, Share and Comment on their posts. Interact with your connections. LinkedIn also provides options to raise a toast for your connections on their new job or work anniversary. Like and message them personally.

Tip: When sending connection requests, always include a personalized note. This shows you've taken the time to understand who they are and why you want to connect, which is much more effective than a generic request.

Lastly, some icing on the cake (Bonus):

• Connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts with LinkedIn
  Customize your LinkedIn profile settings and connect with Twitter. While direct Facebook business page integration might have evolved, you can often share LinkedIn content to your Facebook page or vice-versa through third-party tools or by manually sharing links.

• Backup your contacts
  Export your connections on your device. This acts as a backup if you lose all your contacts in LinkedIn. Go to connections > Settings (gear icon) > advanced settings > Download it as .csv file. This .csv file can be useful for personal record-keeping or for importing into other contact management systems.

• Attach your LinkedIn profile to your email signature
  Your email signature can help you expose yourself to people working around you. Attaching your profile link to your signature will increase your chances to become more visible even if you are not trying for that. Simply copy your LinkedIn profile URL and paste it into your email signature settings.

Now, as you know and understand everything about owning a killer LinkedIn profile, it is time to perform your experiments with your expertise. Please do share if something interesting comes your way.

Photo by inlytics • LinkedIn Analytics Tool on Unsplash