Beginners guide to LinkedIn Marketing

Your LinkedIn profile is your online CV or your future business opportunity; it allows you to express your branding and put yourself out there for employers and customers to see. There are many reasons to create a LinkedIn profile, and not all of them are to find a new job. Many articles and posts may prove exciting business opportunities or valuable to your career. It is also a great way to speak to like-minded people professionally.

?Before we get started on what will improve your chances in professional platform writing, you need to have an active working LinkedIn account. But If you are reading this, the Chances are that you already have a LinkedIn account,?but make sure you are using your correct name and details, as this is how employers or customers will view and contact you in the future.

1. Choosing a profile picture.

We are visual beings, and because of this, your appearance in your picture will impact those who view it. Your profile picture is how people will see you. If may convey any specific message through it as above or you can keep it professional. But first of all, make sure it is a recent picture.

If you are looking for new Job or business opportunities through LinkedIn then make sure add clear picture and mainly shows your face (unlike me). Experts say 60% of the frame should be your face. Either wear what you would wear to work or something smart casual. Lastly, try to have a friendly expression.

2. Choosing a background Picture

This is the second visual element at the top of the screen on your page. This image should grab people's attention and show them what matters to you. If you have a picture that describes more about you in a positive eye-catching, memorable way, this may engage more attention.

3. Make your Job your headline.

There aren't any rules to say that your title has to be your job title. Try to describe how you see your role and why you're passionate about what you do or what you would like to be doing. Look at some other people to gain some ideas.

4. Turn your summary into your story

Please do not neglect the summary section; it is essential to have one. It is your chance to tell people about you and not just list your skills and jobs. Try to add in the softer skills and personality traits you have to make people see you for who you are. Try not to be generic and recreate someone else's using so-called buzz words. Be open and descriptive. Maybe try drafting something and asking someone's opinion.

5. The war on buzzwords

Buzzwords are descriptive words that people feel will attract employers to their profile. Due to the way they are written and the fact, so many people use the same ones, they can become meaningless. Linkedin has a ranking of overused words. You can see here the most over-used buzzwords?include terms like ‘specialized,' 'leadership,' 'focused,' 'strategic,' 'experienced,' 'passionate,' 'expert,' 'creative,' 'innovative,' and 'certified.'

Now I'm not saying you can't describe yourself as these things – or they don't matter. However, using these words won't convince people that you have these qualities.

6. Grow your network

One of the quickest and easiest ways to begin your network is to sync your profile and email address book. By doing this, LinkedIn can recommend people for you to connect with. After this, you can also search for people you work with or have meetings with.

7. List your relevant skills

While editing your profile, the skills section provides a list of potential skills- scroll through that list and pick the ones that are relevant to you. Remember to select the ones you may have used in the description. Skills also allow others to endorse you- colleagues and managers can click on the skills and promote that they believe you have them. Remember to keep this section up to date, adding and taking out skills as appropriate.

8. Spot the services you offer.

LinkedIn has a new feature that helps you show the services you have on offer. You may boost your visibility and generate more business by filling this out.

9. Spread the endorsement love

As previously mentioned, people will be able to endorse your skills, strengthening your profile. You can also do this for other people. Look through your connections and give endorsements to those you feel deserve them. This often triggers people to return the favor. You could also ask people to you with a polite message!

10. Be proactive with endorsements

When people endorse you, make sure that what they say is relevant. We meant it backs up what you have said in the rest of your profile. You can choose which ones to hide and which to show. This could be changed depending on what job you are looking for too.

11. Take a skills assessment

A skills assessment online test lets you demonstrate the level of your skills. A 'Verified Skills badge' will be displayed on your profile. 'Data shows that candidates with verified skills are around 30% more likely to be hired for the roles they apply for' – This can only strengthen your brand by giving evidence. Displaying the results of assessments is voluntary, and you can retake the tests before showing that you've passed.

12. Request recommendation

Recommendations are still endorsements. The difference is an endorsement is a quick visual of your skills; a recommendation brings these up a level. They are testimonials that vouch for the experience they had working with you. You can ask for specific recommendations using the drop-down box provided. Think about people you would value a recommendation form and request it from them. It's worth it!

13. Continual Professional Development.

At our organization, we always talk about CPD, which is ongoing learning! Keeping your knowledge and skills up to date is vital to your career. We offer courses that you can add to your profile, and LinkedIn also provides courses that once you have completed, the certificates are added to your profile. You can also share these once completed. Shout out your achievements.

14. Share media and Marketing collateral

Sharing information about your business demonstrates what kind of business you work for. It will demonstrate you have a passion for your role work and show commitment to your role.

15. Get more involved and take credit.

If you get an opportunity to be part of a video, tutorial, press release of the publication, make sure you add this to your profile. The publications section of LinkedIn allows you to share the links to this kind of activity. So show it off!

16. Share relevant Content

Suppose there is anything that you find interesting from your connection. Share it! It will help enhance relationships with those connections and help others align your point of view, values, passions, and interests.

17. Comments!

When sharing, consider adding a comment. It will give the share more meaning and give viewers an idea of why you shared it. It may even spark conversation. It also means you can share a broader range of articles as you could disagree with something but still share it while sharing your viewpoint because you find it an exciting subject. It can draw more people to view your profile but make sure you are not putting your foot in it; you do not want to put people off you in the same breath. Make sure you are happy that you are so glad that the post is associated with you.

18. Influencers to follow

By following an influencer, you will enable their Content to come through on your feed. It also gives your profile viewers an idea of your interests.

19. Become an employee advocate

This is taking things a step further on LinkedIn. LinkedIn Elevate is their platform for helping businesses launch advocacy programs. It generates insights on the impact of employee sharing from both the company and employee perspectives. 86% of employees who share Content for their business show it has positively affected their career. It means you are taking a more active role in your business.

20. Publish Content for conversation

The more you share, comment and post, will boost your profile, much like any other social media network. The difference here is that we are doing it professionally, helping to establish your expertise and thought-leadership credentials. Long-Form Content is also an excellent way to do this. Check out any comments you receive and the subject matter, then create posts that will draw conversation. If you decide to leap into these posts, make sure you are ready to read and respond to comments!

There are a lot of steps to take, but it doesn't have to be hard work. Take this guide step by step and make a couple of the points in different settings. Steps 1-10 will provide you with a great profile, while points 11-20 will boost your profile if you want to feature more and get yourself out there more often.