We don’t need to explain the importance of LinkedIn. It is therefore essential that your digital presence in this social network transmits the essence of who you are in the professional field. There is no proof that you are the most dedicated and hardworking person in your company if this is not reflected or communicated through your digital presence. That is why we believe it is essential to follow the best practices for an excellent Linkedin profile, which we detailedly explain below.
However, before moving on to specific tips, there are two aspects that we need to be clear about when creating our profile:
Who do we want to target?
Knowing our target Linkedin audience is key when it comes to making a good Linkedin profile. The type of images we use, as well as the tone of our communication will not be the same if we are a recruiter working in a talent recruitment company, a salesperson selling lubricants for the automotive industry, or a recent graduate looking for a job.
Once we are clear about who our target audience is, we have to put ourselves in their shoes and think about what types of communication, messages and so on, they prefer. Tools can be used to define our buyer persona are the User Persona, the Empathy Map, and the Customer Journey.
How do people look for services like ours?
It is just as important to know our target audience as it is to know how they search for services like the ones we offer. Or in other words, what keywords they type in the search engine when looking for the specific service. To find out the keywords we can consult tools like SemRush.
Now, let’s get started:
How to make an excellent Linkedin profile: everything you need to know.
1. Photos
These are the first elements that impact the user who visits your profile. That is why:
- The personal photo has to show the entire face, and should have a professional vibe (i.e., please no sunglasses, doing sports or practicing your favorite hobby). The quality must be high, which means avoiding shadows and pixelations.
- The cover photo should convey something about you or show the company you work for. This is a personal decision and both options are suitable. However, if your role in the company is commercial or you are dedicated to business development, we recommend the second option.
- If we go to the mobile version of Linkedin, you can create your own presentation story which is a 30-second video presentation. This feature is very interesting because it allows you to stand out from the traditional profiles in the platform. Here are a couple of ideas that are very useful for a sales profile:
–>Highlight strengths to find a job
–>Explain your vision and purpose to expand your business.
–>Show your knowledge to find new clients
–>Describe what you are passionate about to get more followers
2. Title
While the title on Linkedin is usually related to the job title, it doesn’t have to be. As long as this text fulfills its purpose, meaning, to convey our value proposition to our target audience at a glance, we can include as many elements as we want.
In this example we see the title containing the attribute of a digital strategy consultant, which is perceived as added value by potential customers.
3. URL
Another important factor that helps the profile search and positioning is the URL. Considering this, a fundamental step is to configure it to reflect our name. However, if we want to go a step further, we can add certain words, which will let us know that our target audience searches for profiles like ours.
As the example shows, a person who wants to offer consulting services in the field of marketing can add different terms in the URL, by which a potential client can find them on Linkedin.
4. Featured
Once the user who enters our profile scrolls down, they will find the featured posts section. In it, it is recommended to display those publications that show our career or company milestones.
Also, this is a good section to display content that we know our target audience is looking for or finds value in. Here is an example of Marc Vidal’s profile that highlights fragments of his television conferences.
5. About
A section that is often forgotten in Linkedin profiles is the “About” section. It is perhaps the one that will take the most time to develop. However, it is undoubtedly one of the sections that gives the user the most freedom to express their mind.
Any good “About” should integrate two aspects:
- The value proposition of the employee or the company it represents. That is, the answer to “Why a potential contact should accept your connection request or start a conversation?”.
- A tone that matches what your company wants to convey.
This example shows that it is possible to convey a strong value proposition even with the most incredible tone.
Oh, and, of course, don’t forget to include keywords in this text!
6. Experience and training
When listing the different steps in our academic and professional career, it is vital to do so by showing the learnings that currently enhance our capabilities. In other words, this is the backpack of knowledge and skills that gives the visitors of our profile more insights about us.
7. Skills and validations
Let’s not be afraid to ask our colleagues and clients to validate our skills. However, let’s try to orient these skills towards the value proposition we aim to transmit.
Thus, a profile dedicated to digital strategy should try to prioritize its score in skills like:
In addition, Linkedin now allows you to validate your knowledge in different subjects. You are able to do this by taking a short 15-minute test that will award you badges for different skills.
8. Recommendations
Similarly to the validation of skills, we also need our contacts to enhance our recommendations section. Therefore, we recommend you to ask your past partners (after maintaining good relationship with them) for a recommendation, and, of course, return them the favor. This section will increase the trustworthiness of your profile in the eyes of the visitors.
9. Interests
The last section of your Linkedin profile is about your interests. What better way to leave the visitors with a good taste in their mouth than finding that you are up to date with the latest news in your sector by following people and institutions of reference in your field.
10. Day to day on Linkedin
Finally, having a good Linkedin profile is necessary, yet sufficient for an overall good performance on the platform. A good reputation on the social network is built daily, by publishing content that is interesting to our target audience and interacting with them through comments and reactions.
Well, these are the 10 tips on how to make an excellent Linkedin profile. While building your profile is only the first step, now it’s time to get noticed to make your target audience visit your profile.
