Professionals, especially salesmen, devote significant effort to establishing their respective brands. We’ve had practice. Therefore we’re competent at it. But how often do we use those abilities to develop our identities? In many cases, we don’t do it nearly enough. My LinkedIn profile might use some work, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.
We put it off because we are too busy or find it distasteful to focus on our promotion. Put another way, we don’t simply undervalue ourselves when we ignore personal branding; we also miss out on a significant business opportunity. Employees can have a substantial impact through the sharing of information. Those workers who have established themselves as experts on LinkedIn are the most likely to spread the word.
Your personal brand starts with your LinkedIn profile. You could be missing out on opportunities to expand your personal brand if you haven’t visited your profile page in a while. And we’re always working to improve its functionality as a personal marketing platform and provide you with more methods to showcase your strengths and drive.
The following are 20 sections of your profile that need to be reviewed and updated for 2022. All of them are well worth your effort; however, some of them pay off quickly, and others may take a bit longer. You can count on them to assist you in Developing a Stellar LinkedIn Profile and Identity.
1. Carefully Select an Appropriate Image for Your LinkedIn Profile
Since most of us are visual creatures, our first impressions of someone are often shaped by the image on their LinkedIn profile. Some excellent articles have been written about what makes a good LinkedIn profile photo, but here are a few pointers to get you started: Keep it current and representative of who you are today; ensure that your face fills up around 60 percent of the photo (long-distance images are less noticeable); dress as you would for the job; and smile with your eyes.
2. Set a Backdrop Image
The second thing people see when they visit your profile is the photo you set as your backdrop. It interests people, provides background, and reveals some of your values. More than anything else, a striking background image will make your page stand out, attract attention, and be remembered.
3. The Third Piece of Advice Is To Make Your Headline More than Just Your Job Title
One’s job title alone need not constitute the only piece of information displayed in the top section of one’s profile page. If you want to explain your role, motivations, and personality more deeply, you can do so in the headline section. Take a peek at the headlines of the profile pages of salespeople in your firm actively engaging in social selling. They will most likely include additional information than just their work titles.
4. Repurpose Your Synopsis into a Narrative in the Fourth Paragraph
First and foremost, you need a LinkedIn summary. Surprisingly, many LinkedIn users still don’t fill out this section. Please don’t waste your summary section simply listing your qualifications and past positions; use it as an opportunity to tell your own story. Make an effort to illustrate the significance of your skills and the impact they can have on your coworkers.
Don’t be afraid to put in the effort, try out a few different versions of your summary, and get feedback from those close to you. It is the content marketing piecemost comparable to your heart, so make sure it’s good.
5. Make a Stand against Clichés and Catchphrases
Buzzwords are adjectives that have grown so overused in headlines and summaries on LinkedIn that they have practically lost all of their meaning. The keywords “specialized,” “leadership,” “focused,” “strategic,” “experienced,” “passionate,” “expect,” “creative,” “innovation,” and “certified” all appear on our regular lists of the most overused buzzwords. To be clear, I’m not arguing that such self-descriptions are impossible or irrelevant. However, it takes more than merely saying these things to persuade people that you possess them. It would help if you also displayed these qualities in your LinkedIn profile’s writing and functionality.
6. Broaden Your Social Circle
Connecting your LinkedIn profile to your email address book is a quick and easy approach to making your LinkedIn presence more relevant.
Because of this, LinkedIn can now recommend potential contacts for you. It’s incredible how useful this can be for helping you find the right individuals to connect with; no connection requests are made without your approval, so you may carefully consider each new contact. Beyond this, make it a practice to send LinkedIn connection requests as a follow-up to meetings and conversations; this is a fantastic method to maintain a healthy and active network.
7. Enumerate Your Pertinent Abilities, And Why They Are Important
One of the quickest victories on LinkedIn is browsing the list of skills and picking out the ones that apply to you. It will assist back up the claims you made in your headline and summary and give people a place to endorse you. However, maintaining currency is essential. Having an extensive list of abilities that aren’t fundamental to your identity and work can be overwhelming. Occasionally, it’s a good idea to go through and update your skillset.
8. Highlight the Services You Provide
The new LinkedIn feature, “Services,” is designed to make it easier for independent contractors, consultants, and employees of small firms to advertise their services. Including detailed information in the Services, part of your profile can increase the likelihood of your profile being discovered in relevant searches.
9. Share the Love of Your Endorsements with Others
Having the community’s support behind you is a great way to boost your confidence and prove your abilities. Precisely what is the procedure for gaining LinkedIn recommendations? To begin, examine your sphere of influence to find persons you know who you believe justifiably deserve an endorsement from you. Try not to be shy about sending a courteous message asking for the endorsement of a few essential talents.
However, keep in mind that contextual relevance is crucial. Communicate with those whose support you would genuinely appreciate.
10. Manage Your Endorsements in a More Proactive Manner
Your LinkedIn profile’s focus may change in ways that don’t reflect who you are once endorsements begin rolling in. For instance, if your bread and butter is content promotion, your event collaborators make for the most fervent advocates. Use the profile editing tools provided in the Skills area to proactively manage the list of your endorsements, deciding which to display and which to conceal.
11. Conduct a Test of Your Abilities
Statistics suggest that applicants with skills verification have a 30 percent better chance of being hired for open positions and that showcasing one’s capabilities also improves one’s brand. Passing a skills exam online may prove your expertise and earn the right to add the Verified Skills badge to your profile. You can take the exams as often as you like before establishing that you’ve passed before deciding to display the results of your skills assessments.
12. Solicit Suggestions
People who read your profile will get a quick, visual idea of what you are valued for based on your endorsements. Further action is suggested in the form of recommendations. These are real people who have worked with you and written testimonials about their time with you. In the
Recommendations part of your profile, you’ll find a handy drop-down menu that allows you to easily reach out to specific contacts and ask for recommendations. Consider carefully who you would most like to receive a recommendation from and tailor your request to them. Putting forth the extra time and energy is worthwhile.
13. Exhibit Your Hunger for Knowledge in Some Way
Complete a course on LinkedIn Learning, and you’ll be able to add a course certificate to your profile. Your LinkedIn Learning account’s Learning History is where you’ll find this option and the option to share your progress with your network.
14. Disseminate Promotional Materials and Media
The promotional materials you create for your company might also enhance your reputation. By disseminating brand information like case studies, white papers, and the like, you can demonstrate the company’s mission and values and provide insight into what motivates you. Passion and dedication are also shown in this action.
15. To Be Recognized As a Leader in Your Field, Publish Some of Your Ideas
To stand out from the crowd, highlight your thought leadership content by highlighting your publications in LinkedIn’s Publications section, one of the most underutilized sections of profiles. When was the last time you contributed to writing an eBook or White Paper? Or published a blog entry on the company’s website? These resources can be accessed from your profile by clicking on the Publications tab.
16. Don’t Be Shy about Re-Posting Useful Items from Your LinkedIn Feed
Having many LinkedIn connections is nice, but it’s much better to play an active part in those connections’ professional networks by showing up in their LinkedIn feeds in a way that helps them out. One of the most convenient methods to achieve this is to share pertinent content with your network. Keeping an eye on your LinkedIn feed and posting articles you find fascinating, and that reflect your values is an excellent place to start.
17. Feel Free To Add Your Thoughts inthe Comments Section
Though it’s lovely to share, that’s just the beginning. Including commentary on the stuff you post raises your profile within the feed and allows you to begin explaining why you think a given piece of information is essential. Sharing a wider variety of content is another benefit of leaving well-written comments. It’s possible, for instance, that you disagree with a particular point of view, but you still find it interesting. To establish your authority and credibility as an expert in your field, all it takes is a comment expressing your point of view. It also increases the likelihood that other people will comment on your post, boosting your visibility on LinkedIn. Keep this in mind as you compose your comment, and only mention things you wouldn’t mind having linked to your name.
18. Please pay Attention to the Opinions of Influential People in It
If you want to see a wide variety of engaging items in your LinkedIn feed, follow influential people in your field. As a bonus, it will assist in giving your LinkedIn profile some much-needed context and show off your dedication to your area.
19. Take Up the Cause of the Worker
When an organization uses LinkedIn Elevate, our platform for launching and managing employee advocacy initiatives, it gains intriguing insights into how employees’ sharing affects the employees who conduct the sharing. 86% of company advocates report that sharing company material has improved their professional standing.
Using Elevate as a company is a terrific approach to being more proactive in promoting your brand’s content. Even if it isn’t, you should still ask around the office to see if anyone is creating any interesting stuff worth sharing on LinkedIn.
20. Publish Lengthy Works; Employ Them as Conversation Starters
Your credibility as an expert and a thought leader on LinkedIn will increase in proportion to the amount of content you post and discuss. The next logical step is to start publishing longer-form content. Checking the reactions to your comments and shares is a good place to begin. Is your network showing any preferences for topics or viewpoints? Have you made any remarks that could benefit from being developed further in a post? Growing your thought leadership in this way helps you remain grounded in reality and in touch with the topics that matter most to your connections. It would help if you also were prepared for your lengthy posts to spark further discussion. Keep an eye on the comments and be ready to answer.
Signing Off:
Getting your LinkedIn profile working harder for you doesn’t have to take up hours of your time. Try working through these concepts, building from one to the other – and you’ll find that you can make progress rapidly, even if you’re able to set aside a few minutes over a lunch break or in the evenings. You’ll be astounded by the difference your LinkedIn profile can make for you and your business once you use all of its features to their maximum potential. Put off till 2022, the inevitable.