Choose the right profile picture for LinkedIn
Your profile picture is your calling card on LinkedIn – it’s how people are introduced to you and (visual beings that we are) it governs their impressions from the start.
- Pick a photo that looks like you
- Use a high-resolution image
- Make sure your face takes up at least 60% of the frame
- Be the only person in the picture
- Get someone else to take the picture for you
- Choose the right expression
- Avoid distracting backgrounds
- Wear what you’d wear to work
- Take the photo in soft, natural light
- Use filters wisely
Add a background photo
Your background photo is the second visual element at the top of your profile page. It grabs people’s attention.
Make your headline more than just a job title
There’s no rule that says the description at the top of your profile page has to be just a job title. Use the headline field to say a bit more about how you see your role, why you do what you do, and what makes you tick.
Turn your summary into your story
The first thing to say about your LinkedIn summary is – make sure you have one! It’s amazing how many people still leave this field blank when creating their LinkedIn profile. Your summary is your chance to tell your own story – so don’t just use it to list your skills or the job titles you’ve had.
Grow your network
One of the easiest and yet most relevant ways to grow your LinkedIn network is to sync your profile with your email address book. This enables LinkedIn to suggest people you could connect with.
List your relevant skills
It’s one of the quickest of quick wins on LinkedIn – scroll through the list of skills and identify those that are relevant to you.
Spotlight the services you offer
Services is a new LinkedIn feature that helps consultants, freelancers and those working for smaller businesses to showcase the range of services that they offer. Filling out the Services section of your profile can boost your visibility in search results.
Spread the endorsement love
Endorsements from other members substantiate your skills and increase your credibility.
Request recommendations
Endorsements give people viewing your profile a quick, visual sense of what you’re valued for. Recommendations take things a step further. They are personal testimonials written to illustrate the experience of working with you.
Showcase your passion for learning
When you complete a course on LinkedIn Learning, you’ll have the opportunity to add a course certificate to your LinkedIn profile.
Share media and marketing collateral
The marketing collateral that you produce for your business can add an extra dimension to your own profile as well.
Get credit for your thought-leadership with Publications
The Publications section is one of the most under-used elements in LinkedIn profiles – and that means that you can really stand out from the crowd when you use this feature to draw attention to existing thought-leadership content.
Share relevant content from your LinkedIn feed
It’s one thing to have a network of connections on LinkedIn – it’s far better to have an active role in that network, appearing in your connections’ LinkedIn feeds in a way that adds value for them.
Add comments
Sharing is great – but it’s just the starting point. When you add comments to your shares, you give yourself greater prominence within the feed and start to express why you think a particular piece of content matters. Well-expressed comments also enable you to share a broader range of content. It might be that you don’t agree with a point of view but still find it interesting.
Follow relevant influencers for your industry
Become an employee advocate
LinkedIn Elevate is our platform for helping businesses to launch and manage employee advocacy programmes – and it generates some fascinating insights on the impact that employee sharing has for those doing the sharing. In fact, 86% of employee advocates say that sharing content for their business has had a positive effect on their own career.
Publish long-form content – and use it to start conversations
The more you share and comment on content, the more you establish your expertise and thought-leadership credentials on LinkedIn.
More information and original post from LinkedIn
