Back to Basics: LinkedIn

LinkedIn is becoming the quickest professional way to connect with people and maintain relationships, so I thought it was time to share a few tips on making sure your profile is set up to attract the right people. Consider this article as a guide to being good at the basics.

Small disclaimer: I am by no means an expert, just sharing some things I know to raise the bar for us all.

Why keep your profile up to date?

Simple. We all stalk.

1) It will make B2B touch points easier as you know who the right person to reach out to is; you can also see their work history and any mutual connections that may be able to help create a warm introduction.

2) It's a reflection of you - your personal and professional brand. This means the tone of voice and items you share will allow others to get a little insight into who you are and see where your interests lie. They can also see what you or your company do and find some common ground on how they might be able to help you or you could help them reach certain goals.

3) Companies invest time, money, and energy into sharing project success, new people profiles and knowledge sharing webinars. By just sharing them you'd be assisting in broadening the reach of these posts, growing your own network and brand visibility for yourself and your company. It's a win-win!

Let's get started!

a) Personalise your URL

I feel like we can agree that the days of [email protected] are gone. Having a professional URL is clean, simple and good housekeeping.

b) Headline and Bio

This is an opportunity to promote yourself, communicate what you do to new clients, give them a sense of who you are and your expertise. So, make the first two sentences count!

c) Activity

If you don't feel comfortable writing anything, you can share your company's content or articles that perhaps relate to your specialty, or that you simply find interesting. If you do enjoy writing, write away! Need a second set of eyes? someone to review grammar? or need advice on if it's a good idea? - you can always send your post to colleagues or your Marketing Manager to review.

d) Feature articles

If you've already published articles on LinkedIn or been featured on other platforms, share them! You can easily feature articles at the very top of your profile, not only to build your personal/professional brand and network, but also to leave a good impression on the person viewing your profile.

e) Up to date work history

Do make sure that your current role and company are correct (and updated as you move onto new roles/industries). It's not only the bare minimum but given the world is becoming smaller and smaller, you will come across people that may have crossed paths with you or your company before - any common ground can be a reason to connect with someone. Therefore keeping your work history up to date may be the difference of a new connection or opportunity vs. none.

Hopefully you've learnt something new from this, updated your profile and will gain more meaningful connections.

Let's get swiping... I mean connecting!!!