LinkedIn: how best to show up

Whilst I am by no means an expert in this field, I have worked with LinkedIn for the best part of a decade. With the help of my friends (who are indeed specialists) I have accumulated a guide to showing up on LinkedIn.

I would firstly like to thank Pamela Doran for her help pulling this guide together. Pamela runs her own social media agency, Standout Social, that specialises in the hospitality industry and whilst being a close friend is also a LinkedIn wizard! I’d also like to thank my friend Eppie Shepherd who is an amazing freelance digital marketer and writes the most incredible blogs. Writing is not my strongest point, so I called in a little help from Eppie to craft this one.

So, why did I decide to write this? Like many of you, throughout this pandemic I have been trying to look for ways to help people. It somehow brings back a little control in a world where you have lost most of it. This is a subject that I love and know- plus I have a wonderful network who can each share their expertise with you.

I consider myself a good user of LinkedIn. I know a fair few twists and tricks that come with using the platform and am a dab hand at promoting not only myself but also the company I work for. So imagine my surprise when I sat down with Pamala over a socially distanced cup of coffee to find out I knew nothing!

LinkedIn, like any other social platform, has a habit of changing the way it does things on a regular basis, making it hard to stay up to date with the latest trends. (I guess that's why people like Pamela have a thriving business! It really is a full time job to stay on top of these things).

So here are our top tips on how to stay relevant and show up on LinkedIn - whether you’re searching for a new job, staying in touch with people or selling your wares!

Your profile

Profile picture

They say a picture tells a thousand words. Well on LinkedIn, it’s the first chance you get to make a good impression. Ideally you want to look professional whilst reflecting your personality in some way. Make sure it’s of high quality, not too dark and most importantly, you look friendly! It doesn’t harm to change it from time to time - it should reflect what you look like now and not the first picture you signed up with ten years ago!

Banner image

Most people forget that LinkedIn profiles have a space for a banner image at the top. This is the perfect spot to show off your company or what you do. Remember to design it around your profile picture which will sit over the left hand corner and check it on mobile as well as desktop. It should be impactful and can be updated regularly to show you’re not a one trick pony.

Use the size guide below for your LinkedIn imagery:

Your job title

Some job titles can be quite misleading or directly copied from an outdated role. Be aware that a director may not run a company etc., so make sure yours is clear in telling connections what it is you do.

Headline

There is a new section now that appears just below your image on your profile. This a headline for which you have an opportunity to describe what you do in one sentence. Try to make this emotive and understandable. Who are you? What do you do? How do you do it?

Bio

This section is a great opportunity to talk a little more about not only what you do but why you do it. Show your personality and tell a story or a journey to make for a more interesting read and help people remember you. Make sure you write in the first person - this is about you after all.

CV

LinkedIn now has a feature where you can download a profile to create a CV so make sure there are no gaps in your job history and you’ve covered all your top achievements. Keep it up to date and you will never have to write a CV again in your life - which to me is a big win!

Using LinkedIn

Joining groups and following hashtags

Something I often get wrong is joining too many groups or following too many hashtags. Pamela recommends following three or four as a maximum to start with. This will help you to really narrow down what you are interested in and not overfill your newsfeed.

When you have joined a group, make relevant comments on posts to get involved with conversations - if you feel you have nothing to add, it may well be in the wrong group for you! This will promote you as a leader in your industry and show you are willing to share information.

Using hashtags

LinkedIn will only recognise the first three hashtags that you add so if you are planning on adding a joke one make sure this is the last one in the list! These work like most other platforms, showing your post to users who search for the hashtag in their newsfeed.

Making new connections

When you are reaching out to new people on LinkedIn, always add a message and try to make it as personal as possible. For example, if you have a meeting with someone later that day, mention it in the request. Or if you know someone in common, talk about that in the text. Say why you want to connect - this will help you and them. If for some reason they do not want to connect this time around, at least you know they understand why you were reaching out and if they need you in the future they can look back and see why you were connecting.

What to post

LinkedIn is not a platform that is used every day. The majority of users log on Monday to Friday during office hours so post during these times too. You should try and post once a day, writing a mixture of short and long form content. If you are posting an article or blog, post it earlier or later on so that people who are commuting have time to read it.

12% of your audience will see your post so only invest in quality connections and make sure it stands out! LinkedIn used to be very stiff and corporate, but over the past few months it has softened. Sharing things about your life and company culture rather than just resharing company information can help to build a following and then you can add in the company stuff at leisure. Make sure to talk about things that affect everyone and avoid politics - save the moaning for Facebook ;) News stories that are of value, educational pieces and inspiring events are great to inspire and provoke emotion. Most importantly, posts should be genuine.

If you need any help, please feel free to contact me directly. I love to share my knowledge and am more than happy to answer any questions!