Your LinkedIn Personal Brand

It all starts with your profile here on LinkedIn. It should reflect your personal brand and speak to your audience (the community in your field). If you are a recruiter looking for the perfect candidate or a candidate looking for your next employer, your profile needs to be positioned to speak to that individual.

Pictures are a must and this includes your background picture. Your head-shot should reflect how you would present yourself in person to your audience. Good lighting is a must too. There are many examples of the good, the bad and the awesome here on LinkedIn so I'd recommend going with the latter.

Headline is the line right below your name and picture. This should also speak to your audience through the use of relevant keywords. Please do yourself a favor and remove your job title as quickly as possible. This is the default headline that LinkedIn uses for you. Also keep in mind that your headline will show up in searches along with your picture and name so it needs to pack a punch! Think picture (jab), name (jab), headline (right hook). It should encourage someone to want to click on it and view your profile. Another way to look at it would be as an email subject line - make it enticing! Ex: Helping clinicians move their career forward.

Custom URL is one of the most overlooked aspects on LinkedIn profiles which is fascinating when you think of it terms of that it's the gateway to your personal brand on LinkedIn and the web. Two tips on customizing it; first is use your full name if available or a version of it and the second would be a combination 2-3 key words that again are speaking to your audience. Another tip is to use your custom URL to promote your page: add it to your resume, your email signature, and blog.

Summary is great opportunity to introduce yourself professionally and personally. Think of the summary in terms of an elevator pitch (brevity is key!). It should follow the 3 paragraph rule: 1. What you do 2. Value you provide 3. Something personal to humanize you. If you are into digital media and content, a short video is a great addition to add in the mix here and help your profile stand out. Most importantly think of the value you provide and make sure to express it here.

Experience should be a shortened version of your resume in terms of details. You do not want it to mirror your CV/resume details verbatim, but it should reflect all relevant work experience that you have. To include any honors, awards and accomplishments that you'd like to highlight that will make your profile stand out.

Skills add key skills that you possess so you you can be endorsed for them and they will also help with search optimization. Skills are apart of the LinkedIn profile experience but they are definitely not the most important in my opinion because anyone can endorse you for them even if they have no idea who you are and/or if you are proficient with a specific skill. Endorsements are where it's really at!

Recommendations are 100% authentic and cannot be diluted or fabricated like the above (skills). Because of that they hands down are the most effective part of your profile to encourage someone to want to connect with you, respond to a connection request or InMail. If you don't have any endorsements or only 1-2 do yourself a massive favor and seek out an additional 5 endorsements today. Trust me on this one.

Groups join group that are in your space and start engaging your community today. This is one of the best ways to jump right in and start engaging your audience. Participate in several; post thoughtful questions, articles and anything you believe will provide value to your audience.

Influencers if you are not following any influencers you are losing out big time. This is a great opportunity to learn from the best at their craft. It will also spawn new ideas for you and way to enhance your personal brand on LinkedIn.

Pulling it all together ?the goal of your profile should be to encourage someone to want to connect with you and ultimately jump-start a conversation. Follow these steps and go out and start some new conversations today!

Also, please comment or post any questions you'd like answered below, thank you!

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