How to Boost The Credibility of Your LinkedIn Profile

Over the years, LinkedIn has become an incredible social media marketing hub, so much so that optimizing your LinkedIn profile to boost your credibility is now crucial to the success of your LinkedIn marketing strategy.

LinkedIn offers users - business owners, marketers, and industry leaders the opportunity to showcase their expertise, connect with other professionals, and grow their businesses.

Even from a distance, one can clearly see that LinkedIn is unarguably the #1 social media marketing platform for B2B marketers. Why?

Because 80℅ of B2B leads comes from LinkedIn.

In fact, a study reveals that 79℅ of B2B marketers view LinkedIn as an effective source for generating leads.

Better still, over 90℅ of B2B marketers are leveraging the platform over all other social media platforms to grow their businesses.

So, the question is:

Why are you struggling to generate leads from LinkedIn?

You might be struggling to generate leads from the platform because of your inability to create an outstanding LinkedIn profile that boosts your credibility.

Having a credible LinkedIn profile will gain you the trust of your prospects, and set you up as an expert in your niche market.

Thus, you need to boost your LinkedIn's profile fast to start generating leads.

How can I boost the credibility of my LinkedIn profile?

There are many ways to boost your LinkedIn profile.

In this article, you will learn the best tips that will help you boost the credibility of your LinkedIn profile, drive tons of traffic to your website or product page, and effectively become a credible expert in your niche market.

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#1? Customize the URL of your LinkedIn profile

All social media profiles including LinkedIn comes with a unique URL specifically for you or your business account. That is your brand.

Whether you realize it or not, your LinkedIn profile is the foundation for your personal brand.

Even though customizing your LinkedIn URL does not seem to be significant, it signals your brand image and gives your prospects a positive concept of brand.

For example, how would your prospects view your URL if it randomly reads like this: linkedin.com/in/123l456link? That is not a branded URL.

With that, you don't have a brand identity, and cannot be found so easily in searches.

On the other hand, what if your URL reads like this: LinkedIn.com/in/yourname, or LinkedIn.com/in/yourcompanyname?

Now you have a credible unique brand identity that can be trusted.

How to edit your LinkedIn profile URL

Simply click on the “Edit public profile” button on the right sidebar > click the pencil icon, find and edit your URL as desired.

#2? Choose the right profile image

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that offers users the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and professionals to build both personal and business relationships.

These relationships will go a long way in helping you with the following:

• Establish your brand
• Create brand awareness
• Generate leads
• Boost traffic
• Grow your business, etc.

The list goes on, but you are aware that you cannot achieve all these without having a brand identity. That is why you need to choose a unique profile picture for your LinkedIn profile.

Your profile picture is the brand image that introduces you to your prospects and the world at large.

People want to know and connect with you before deciding whether to partner with you in business or on projects. So, give them a reason to do business with you.

Hence, depending on the quality of your image, your profile might give your prospects a negative or positive impression about you and brand.

Nobody wants to be a bad guy in front of his customers.

You can use a personal image or your company's logo. Just be sure that it is a clear-cut image that represents your brand in the best possible light.

#3? Add & customize your background / banner image

Does a background image play an important role in the credibility of your LinkedIn profile? Yes, it does!

Because profile picture, your background image is basically the first components on your profile that people will see when they visit your LinkedIn profile.

If you may already know, your LinkedIn profile is your real estate on the platform, and your background space is your drawing board for marketing.

As a result, a unique background image will help you:

• Stand out
• Build a personal brand
• Create a portfolio
• Establish credibility
• Attract the right prospects
• Engage your audience, etc.

Here are some sample profiles to inspire you...

Neal Schaffer is a social media marketing influencer, social media strategist, business consultant, author, keynote speaker, and educator.

Neal used his LinkedIn banner or background section to build his brand identity, establish credibility, and create a mini portfolio, which has helped him attract the right prospects and scale his businesses.

His background image tells visitors who he is, what he does best, and shows his published books as an accomplished author.

Lolly Daskal, a renowned leadership executive coach, keynote speaker, and best selling author.

Lolly recently published her book “The Leadership Gap” which has garnered much attention from industry leaders, experts, and media outlets.

She made her profile unique by establishing credibility as a leadership expert, and create a mini portfolio by using her background space to showcase her book and a testimonial of what other experts are saying about her book.

Ravi Chahar is a WordPress professional, web developer, and web designer. Ravi used his background space to build a brand name and establish credibility.

Donna Merrill is a professional blogger and Internet marketing coach. She didn't display much on her background space.

But, just like a billboard, she used her space to build her personal brand, and direct prospects to her online empire, “DonnaMerrillTribe.com.”

Sharon Atkins is a LinkedIn professional, LinkedIn trainer, specialist, and profile writer.

What do you see in her background space?

Without going down her summary section, you already know who she is and what she does. This helps her attract the right prospects.

Learn from these sample profiles and others as well.

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#4? Optimize the headline of your LinkedIn profile

It is essentially important to optimize your LinkedIn profile headline because it is the 3rd element of your profile that visitors will see.

Hence, it will help tell search engine and visitors to your profile that you are trusted and credible.  

Therefore, optimize your headline to boost the credibility of your LinkedIn profile by adding your job title with a blend of relevant keywords.

Please, take a look at the sample profiles in the section above for inspiration on how to optimize your headline.

#5? Take advantage of your LinkedIn profile summary section

View your summary section as a place where you pitch to clients and prospective customers.

But, it is ironic that many users of the platform fail to utilize the summary section of their LinkedIn profile.

Create a remarkable summary that highlights or describes your services in detail.

If possible, include testimonials of clients you have worked for and people you have worked with on projects.

Use this section to sell yourself but, without being pushy.

Simply let your prospective customers know why you're different from your competitors and the benefits of working with you.

Don't forget the Media Section. Use the Media section to showcase your talent and personal achievements. Upload accomplished work, videos, etc.

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#6? Add your skills and get endorsements

When you're done with your summary, head over to the “Featured Skills & Endorsements” section and fill out your skills accordingly.

In this area, it is recommended that you use keywords to boost the credibility of your profile and make it easier for your brand to be found in searches.

Adding your skills doesn't have to be difficult.

All you have to do is scroll down to “Featured Skills and & Endorsements” section > click the “Add a new skill” button and start adding your skills.

Then get as many endorsements as possible.

Make it a habit to endorse your connections, though, not all will return the favor, but the majority of them will endorse you as well.

However, don't sit and wait for them to return the favor.

Ask your connections to endorse you. Word of mouth has a powerful force, so take the initiative and reach out to your connections.

#7? Get recommendations to boost your profile

Getting recommendations from clients you have worked for and individuals you have worked with on a project is remarkable because it serves both as a case study and a testimonial, and this will significantly boost your profile credibility.

Prospective clients who visit your profile will always look at your recommendations to find out who and who are recommending you.

Thus, the best way to go about it is to start by asking those you have worked with on projects to write recommendations for your profile.

Also, contact clients you have worked for to write recommendations for your profile.

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Wrapping Up

As mentioned earlier, with 80℅ of B2B leads coming from LinkedIn, the professional networking platform is the #1 social media marketing platform for B2B marketers.

So, to generate leads and scale your business, you need to boost your credibility by optimizing your profile.

Follow the steps in this article to help you build a trusted and credible brand.

This article originally appeared at www.mossmedia.biz