When people search for your name online, your LinkedIn profile is the first thing that shows up. It’s essential to keep it up to date and use it effectively so you can make the most of this professional networking tool. Follow this LinkedIn profile advice to improve your personal profile and platform usage.
1. Your name
Use the ‘first name’ section for your full name, and ‘last name’ for your business and title. This allows you to have more visibility, creates a memorable impression when engaging with other users and boosts brand awareness.
2. Your ‘About’ section
Always write this in first person and add a call-to-action at the end. For example, this call-to-action can invite people to contact you by email to discuss how your products or services could benefit them.
3. What to post
Keep your posts 80% educational, inspirational and conversational, and 20% promotional. People want to hear about what you’re doing and your achievements, so post about them!
4. Respond to comments
Always respond to comments on your posts, even by simply saying thank you. This will increase your post’s engagement and inform the algorithm you have something valuable to say, as well as making your post more likely to show up on other people’s feeds.
5. Ask for recommendations
Request 1-2 recommendations per month from your connections – this can be colleagues, employers, or clients you’ve worked with. These will increase your credibility and can be shared to your profile as part of your content strategy. You can request them directly from your connections by going to their profile, clicking the ‘More’ button below their profile picture and selecting ‘Request a recommendation’.
6. Schedule a reminder to update your profile
To keep your profile fresh and relevant, you should update it every 6-12 months. You don’t need to change everything – you could add a new profile photo, revise your skills, or rewrite your summary to include awards you’ve won, or exciting projects you’ve been working on.
7. Use LinkedIn daily
Start with 5-10 minutes a day to engage with other people’s posts, send direct messages, as well as replying to comments on your own posts.
Following these LinkedIn profile tips will result in a more relevant and credible profile that’ll put you in a stronger position to promote your business on the platform.
Sandra Tricoli is an expert in public relations. She is one of our Digital Solutions program advisors based in Western Australia.
