Whether you’re just starting out or would like to freshen up, here are 8 helpful LinkedIn tips.
- Personalize your profile and start with your “title”. Your profile becomes your virtual LinkedIn handshake and is the first thing people will see and read about. It clearly represents what you do and also think about search engines.
- Use a professional portrait image. Think about it carefully. Choose an image that represents the professional image you want to convey. Avoid cropping half of your face and use an image that is less than two years old.
- Customize your public URL located at the bottom of your profile area. LinkedIn will create a public URL for you automatically and you can customize it with your name. There are also many options for determining what appears on your public profile. Personally, I don’t hide anything since what I share on LinkedIn is for public consumption.
- The summary. I recommend changing this from a bio to a more personal, first-person description of who you are, how you got to where you are today, how you help your clients, and end with an invitation to connect.
- The privacy settings. You should take a look at this area under your profile to see what you are sharing. For example, I know some of my competitors might want to take a look at my connections, so I no longer share my address book publicly.
- Building your network Wide or Narrow. This is the most frequently asked question when I lead a public workshop and also the most exciting. Some people want to only connect with people they know personally. Others, like me, want to build a wider network so they can find and connect with as many people as possible.
- Personalize your invitations and responses. Most people just use the default text that LinkedIn puts in. To me, this demonstrates LinkedIn trolling. Remember, LinkedIn is about building relationships. I always personalize my greetings and responses.
- Add value to others! When you share an update, think about how it can help other people get better and do better. Think about the value to your target audience. What are the types of problems they deal with and how can you stay top of mind by positioning yourself as an expert in the field?
LinkedIn continues to grow and add new features. How you use LinkedIn depends entirely on what you want to get out of LinkedIn. Remember, provide value to others and your presence will be known on LinkedIn.
