Building a Strong LinkedIn Profile

Originally post on Tuleburg. 10.22.15

Every three months, Tuleburg hosts a social media class to equip businesses and business professionals by giving them a better understanding of social media. This month, our social media class was focused on building a strong LinkedIn profile. With over 1 billion searches per day for names and companies, LinkedIn is your opportunity to build your business reputation, expand your professional network, and help companies and connections know who you are and what you do. So what makes a LinkedIn profile strong? We did our research and came up with an outline that will help business professionals build a strong LinkedIn profile.

Below are key components to building a LinkedIn profile:

1. Header Image
Having a “Profile Header” is a powerful way to get your company exposure and make a great first impression in front of hundreds of potential clients. Remember, a picture is worth more than a 1000 words.

2. Profile Photo
Your LinkedIn profile is your digital introduction to those who view your profile. People like to put a face to the name with whom they are doing business.

3. Headline / Job Title
This section is simply the job title the individual currently holds.

4. Summary
The summary is the most important section within your profile, given it’s the first section people read once you’ve caught their attention with your header and headline. A brief summary of what the employee currently does. This should include the following:

Past: How you started your career
Present: What has led you to where you are now
Future: What you are working towards

5. 3-5 Skills and Endorsements
Whilst you can have up to 50 skills displayed, 3-5 is generally a good number to list. In today’s business world, consumers only want to deal with specialists. Listing too many skills portrays you as a generalist, rather than a specialist. Most importantly, make sure that the skills you do list are consistent with your personal brand and are aligned with solving your client’s’ challenges and objections, as well as differentiating you in the market.

6. Layout
LinkedIn also enables you to reorder the sections of your profile in any way you prefer. In order to reach optimum flow and consistency, the structure you see below is by far the most engaging and compelling:

a) Summary
b) Skills & Endorsements
c) Experiences
d) Volunteer
e) Honors and awards
f) Publications
g) Additional Info
h) Recommendations
i) Groups

7. Groups
Joining groups that relate to your industry or the industry you wish to enter is another step in building a compelling profile. This not only helps you keep up with industry news and advancements, but it also connects you to group members that may be the very people you want to do business with. Your participation in groups helps build your visibility, credibility, and involvement within your industry.

It’s best to only show 6-8 groups within your public and private LinkedIn profile. You can choose which groups to display by changing the visibility settings in your system and notification settings.

Having a strong LinkedIn profile is useful when looking for a job, making sales, and recruiting.