Two easy tips to spice up your LinkedIn profile

A few weeks ago, Hannah (our rockstar Head of Operations) and I updated our LinkedIn profiles with these colorful little banners. ???

And you would not believe the number of messages we got from people commenting on the new banners.?Especially Hannah! I mean, this woman has one of the most engaged LinkedIn communities I’ve ever seen! If you don’t already follow her, do it now! You’ll thank me later. ??

But I digress. The fact that we got so many messages about the new banners was flattering. It was also very insightful because it says two things:

1. Even though LinkedIn is not a visual-first platform, your visuals matter.
2. Because many people neglect their visual branding on LinkedIn, you have a massive opportunity to use visuals to really stand out.

Which leads me to today’s question. ??

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To illustrate my response, I’m going to use two examples from our very own (and fabulous) DBK clients: Kristin Engen and Cherylanne Skolnicki.

Example 1

Kristin’s banner cleverly uses a photo of her to beautifully frame her tagline and call-to-action in the middle. Her banner is clean and minimalistic, letting her content shine.

She also uses beautifully branded thumbnails in the featured content section to draw attention to her two main offers: an invitation to schedule a strategy session and an invitation to sign up for her free download.?Brilliant!

Takeaway: Make your LinkedIn profile stand out by adding eye-catching thumbnails to your featured content that direct people to your signature offer(s)!

(Psst! We actually created Kristin’s LinkedIn thumbnail graphics LIVE during our Monthly Office Hours session yesterday. You can find the link to watch the replay at the bottom of this article.)

Example 2?

Do you think Cherylanne’s perfectly curated banner was a creative miracle? Nope! She used her DBK template to create this stunning LinkedIn banner for her profile.?

This particular template divides the full banner into 3 sections which allows you to fit more content into this small space without making it look crowded. And notice how her eyes are looking at her logo. She’s subliminally signaling you to direct your attention to her logo too. Coincidence? Yeah, no. The visual system wants what the visual system wants.?

Takeaway: Divide your banner into 3 sections and add your logo on one side, your tagline on the other, and a captivating image in the middle.

And notice how Cherylanne used her DBK templates to create matching branded assets for her Facebook Group page and her Instagram! That’s how you create brand consistency across platforms!

By the way, Kristin and Cherylanne both purchased the Rise & Shine collection. But notice how their graphics look unique because they personalized them with their signature colors?

BONUS INSPO ??

For extra inspo, watch me do a live critique and makeover of Kristin’s LinkedIn profile in this replay video from October’s Monthly Office Hours! (Skip to the 6:30 timestamp.) You’ll also see us live-edit the thumbnail copy and CTAs to really juice conversions. ??

Normally Office Hours are only for DBK clients, but we decided to make this little clip available to everyone, just this one time! ??

P.S. Feeling inspired to give your LinkedIn profile a makeover? Grab your DBK templates here and make it happen!

P.P.S. How good are you at connecting the dots? This Office Hours clip is a not-so-sneaky preview of a secret project my team and I are slaying away at. The project is classified for now, but keep an eye out for more details because I’ll be announcing something BIG soonish.?Eeeeeeeee! ??