10 Tips on How to Optimize LinkedIn

By Michiel Verstraten -?Owner @ YouLynq.me

You never really take the time to review your LinkedIn Profile critically or you never feel like adding some details or thinking about your results. And above all, your profile picture has been there forever, you got attached to it, why change it?

There are various reasons why I advise you to just take a moment and give your LinkedIn Profile some attention. It deserves that, and it pays off...

First of all, it is really satisfying and fun to think back on what you have done and what you have achieved. And that is not only to motivate you. It is true. You will see.

The obvious is that you can be obligated to improve your profile because you are looking for new clients. Maybe that moment is now? Continue reading…

More importantly, you are forgetting about all the other awesome clients that you miss, because you haven’t optimized your reach. Your profile is less complete, less attractive or less professional than the ones of your fellow entrepreneurs.

Last but not least, Business. Your LinkedIn profile is your landing page. More clients will see your profile than they will visit your website. Your profile needs to make the sale. To all the connections you make, people you invite or people you want to meet, you want to give your best presentation. Practice what you preach, that’s what it’s all about. As a professional, you need to be the best, better than the rest, precise, functional, efficient, effective and so on... Your profile needs to reflect that.

Ok, that’s enough, you get the point. Here are the 10 easy to apply tips, how to Optimize your LinkedIn Profile, as a professional:

1. Work from head to toe, figuratively and literally. ??

Start at the top and work your way down, so you know what’s left to do and you start with your first impression. Next to that, make your profile as complete as possible. LinkedIn shows you automatically which steps you have forgotten. Be very precise and punctuate properly. Also, make sure that your profile is consistent; use one language, preferably English, and use one, max. two, kind of bullet points. And above all, your LinkedIn Profile is not your Facebook Profile. Be professional and functional. Keep these two words in the?front?of your mind at all times when you do anything on LinkedIn. Professional and Functional.

2. Your Profile Picture. ??

This one is very much discussed. Your profile picture is very personal. There are a lot of different opinions and there is no right or wrong. Of course, your optimal profile picture depends on your profession, your sector of activity and your role. In general, your best picture is the one that you look sympathetic and professional at the same time. It doesn’t have to be your prettiest or coolest picture. Neither your most formal one. Choose a nice and professional one. No sunglasses, no drinks, no phone, no cigarettes... Again, it is not your Facebook profile picture. Choose it like it is meant to be the profile picture on your company website. Sympathetic and professional.?Tip: Smile!

3. Optimize your Settings. ??

Customize Your LinkedIn URL & Make your Profile Public. Clients are more likely to find you when you change these (privacy) settings. Click on:?Customize Your LinkedIn URL ?&?Make your Profile Public , to change it straight away. Don't be afraid, I promise you, people will not immediately show up, on your doorstep.?Tip: Use the same name that you use on your profile to be found better online.

4. Get endorsed & Get recommended. ??

Always make sure that your skills are relevant and true. Like in real life, if you know what you're worth, go out and get what you're worth. In this case, ask for it. To get endorsed you have to actually ask people by sending a message or ask your connections in person. Of course, it helps to give endorsements to others. You can expect to get some in return. To get recommended there is a button that you can use. Just right next to recommendations: 'Aks for a recommendation '. I always advise you to ask your last client, manager or peers to write a recommendation as soon as you have finished your project. To boost your conversion rate, feel free to send an extra message to mention that you just asked for a recommendation and if they can please fill it in. You will see that in most cases people will even ask you to write it for you. Perfect!?Tip: Ask for some recent recommendations.

5. Use a (decent) Background. ??

Stand out in the crowd and use a background. This feature is the most unused of all. Still, make sure that you use a relevant and calm background. No holiday pictures, no parties, no fireworks, etc., unless you have a very good story. My advice: less is more; use your logo, a slogan or your personal banner. But keep it professional. Once again, professional and functional.?Tip: Use a similar style of background for everyone in the company.

6. Your Headline. ??

This is the first impression that you give. Make it clear and make yourself stand out. Remember that you want to be found better and stand out at the same time. In this case, one does not always result in the other. Your headline should contain at least, and preferably not much more than your current title, expertise and slogan.?Tip: "Owner @ YouLynq.me | Development & Advisory | Turning the recruitment and consultancy sector 180 degrees".

7. About, Your Summary. ??

Be creative, choose a hip bullet point and use it consistently. For inspiration look at?https://coolsymbol.com/ . As the word 'about' says: This is about You. Use this area to your advantage, because it is still part of your first impression and clients are very likely to read it. There are three rules to apply: Tell something about you as a person, show your highlights and still keep it 'short'. Avoid using Buzzwords and give concrete examples. You can use the following structure: Personal note, fields of expertise, years of experience, highlights relevant projects + client names, responsibility and results. Try to create a balance between long text and bullet points. When you really want to make an impression, use a different font a few times. But still, be consistent. For inspiration look at?https://lingojam.com/boldtextgenerator .?Tip: Add some leading companies that you are doing business with.

8. Your Experiences. ??

As mentioned before, be consistent. Even if your experience goes way back, try to use the same structure in the description, as with all the other experiences. Be smart with explaining what you did. Your experience is your asset, formulate it in a clear and structured way. Also, take a look at job descriptions and 'steal' some smart keywords. If you had multiple roles, don't be shy and mention 'all' of them: "Owner | Development & Advisory | Business Lover". For your experiences, it is also very important to avoid using Buzzwords and 'only' use bullet points.?Tip: Add a website to your experience and make sure that you and all of your colleagues are linked to the same Company Page.

9. Use Data. ??

We live in a data-driven business world and that becomes more important every day. clients are hungry to see data-driven results. Use that to your advantage and show your accomplishments in numbers. Be humble and use real data only. LinkedIn allows you to add visuals, case studies, links and numbers in your descriptions.?Tip: Show some client references and share some business facts that everybody would like to know.

10. Sell Yourself in a Smart Way. ??

As a businessman, you are the expert in your field. Brand yourself regularly on LinkedIn and in a structured way. Like, Share, Comment and Post daily and weekly. Guarantee the quality though by interacting only with professional and relevant discussions. And last, but certainly not least, write an Article once every 6 weeks to 2 months.

11. Bonus tip for advanced users. ??

Since March 2021 LinkedIn introduced a few new features to show your personal story. The setting that you can add is the ‘Creator Mode’. You can switch this on via your dashboard on your profile. Your shared content will now move to the top and you can add #’s to your profile. This is an excellent way to show which topics you are talking about. Moreover, you can now add a personal ‘Video Cover Story’ that your visitors will see immediately when they visit your profile. We would advise you to use this feature for sure and of course, avoid pushing your proposition and pitch but inspire and share knowledge ??

Good luck! ????

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