Download pdf - Complete Guide to Perfect LinkedIn Profiles

The Complete Guide to LinkedIn Profiles

Written by

September 2015

GNGR Marketing Ltd Social Company 1 Web: www.gngr.co.uk Facebook Company No: 9166539 Email: [email protected] Twitter Tel: +44 (0)7979 604364 Google+

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Table of Contents

1 Introduction Why use LinkedIn at all?

2 Do Your Research Keyword Research

3 Profile Image 4 Cover Image 5 Basic Details

Name Title Location & Industry Contact Information Custom URL & Profile Visibility

6 Additional Languages 7 Connections 8 Your Background

Summary Experience Skills & Endorsements Courses Education Volunteer

9 Personalising Your Profile 10 Mobile friendly? 11 Beyond Your Profile











1 Introduction

Why use LinkedIn at all? Many people still see LinkedIn as a useful tool only when looking for a new job - and of course, it is - but it goes way beyond job hunting. Here’s some stats that really underline the value LinkedIn can bring to you as an individual and the company you work for or run.

● 300 MILLION users worldwide ● Each user logs in AT LEAST once a month ● Over 200 countries represented

The majority of these users are business professionals. In other words, LinkedIn gives you access to exactly the type of people you will want to connect to to further your career and the success of your business. Furthermore, because LinkedIn is a professional social media network, there is very little in the way of personal updates you would find on the likes of Facebook, for example. It’s business people, talking business, in a positive way. LinkedIn is not a useful tool for you to use - it is vital. Because of this, it is essential your personal profile is not only as complete as possible, not only as professional as possible, but as well optimised as it can be to achieve your goals. This guide will tell you exactly how to prepare your LinkedIn profile to get the most from the platform.











2 Do Your Research

Keyword Research Before you begin to edit your profile, you will find it extremely useful to create a list of keywords relevant to you, your career and your company. These are words and phrases you think potential connections and leads will use to search for the kind of services you offer. Aim to create and prioritise a list of around 10 keywords which you will add to your LinkedIn profile to make it as findable as possible. It will also be useful to test them out - try searching on LinkedIn using those keywords and see who comes up - if it looks relevant, that’s a good keyword to use. If, on the other hand, the search results are unrelated to your goals, discard it and try another. When you have your finalised, prioritised list, you’re ready to start editing your profile.











3 Profile Image This may seem obvious, but it’s surprising how few people make the effort with their profile image. You want your image to be as recent as possible - we suggest updating it once a year - and as professional as possible. NO photos of you drunk at a party! Remember, every time you post, comment or act on LinkedIn your profile image will show up. You will become associated with that image - so what impression do you want to portray of yourself? That doesn’t mean your profile image can’t have a bit of fun about it. LinkedIn have themselves created a fantastic guide to creating the right profile image. You can view it here: http://www.slideshare.net/linkedin/guide-to-workselfie And remember this fact - profiles with an up to date, professional image can get 14 times as many views as those without. Your image will be SQUARE and display at 200x200 (resized) - so ensure you upload a square image to begin with.


http://www.slideshare.net/linkedin/guide-to-workselfie










4 Cover Image A cover image gives you the opportunity to say a little more about yourself than your profile image. It sits at the top of and behind your main profile content and can be used to enhance your personal ‘brand’. Again, it should be professional - no drunken party photos, remember! - but you can have a little fun with it. Due to the peculiarities of how LinkedIn displays this image depending on what page you are on, we recommend not using words in your image and instead just focus on the content. In a lot of cases much of the image is cut off by your own profile information and other widgets. The ideal dimensions of your image are 1400x425px and a maximum file size of 4MB.











5 Basic Details

Name Always use your full name, correctly capitalised, and DO NOT add nicknames or other superfluous information - “John ‘Mad Dog’ Doe” just isn’t going to cut it on LinkedIn! If you have any professional qualifications you CAN add these to the end of your name - ie, John Doe PhD would be perfectly acceptable. Remember, check your spelling too - incorrectly spelling your own name for lack of care is going to hurt you!

Title This is your job title and is the second most important bit of text in your LinkedIn profile. Use it in full. Do not abbreviate. Use one of your keywords if it fits. For example, if you’re the CEO put Chief Executive Officer, not CEO. If you have more than one job title or role, put both separated by commas (ie, “Chief Executive Officer, Chief Information Officer”) - but bear in mind there is a limit of 120 characters, so be succinct without losing the impact.

Location & Industry It is important you indicate where you are based in your profile. So when editing your profile, make sure you are specific about your location - this will help people decide whether or not you’re the person they want to speak to. If you have no location or the wrong one, you’re going to miss out on potential leads. Finally, within your profile you need to set your industry. This is selected from a dropdown menu when editing. Choose the absolute best fit for you.

Adding your industry can lead to up to 15 times more profile views.











Contact Information You should provide full contact information for people viewing your profile. The full list is as follows. Those in bold are the bare minimum you should include in your profile:

● Email ● Telephone ● Address (Work) ● Website 1 (Company Homepage) ● Website 2 ● Website 3 ● Twitter ● IM (Instant Messenger - ie, Skype)

If you have other related websites feel free to add those too, though we recommend steering away from personal blogs and the like unless they’re related to your career or job.

Custom URL & Profile Visibility You should, where possible, create your own custom URL for your profile and it should be your name (or as close as you can to it based on what is available. The final format will be: http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname You can edit your custom URL by going to: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/public-profile-settings On the right you will be able to edit it, along with how visible your profile is and what information you can display. We recommend making your profile visible to everyone and ensuring ALL your profile information is included.

6 Additional Languages If you’re able to speak more than one language, it is a really good idea to add them to your profile - it can open up significant new areas of business.


http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/public-profile-settings










To do this, view your profile as yourself and hover over the arrow to the right of the “View Profile As” button. Choose the “Create profile in another language” option and follow the instructions. This should just involve choosing the appropriate language from the dropdown list, adding your professional headline (job title) again and clicking “Create Profile”, though you will want to edit it afterwards, as there is no automatic translation. TIP: Each language profile can be different to your English one, so if you have information relevant to your audience in that language only, be sure to add it to the relevant language profile. It won’t change your original English profile.











7 Connections Connections are the lifeblood of LinkedIn. You should check your connections at least once a month, ensuring you add anyone you may have spoken to or emailed in relation to your work recently. It is a good idea to regularly review who has requested a connection from you as well. Continually expanding your connections will ensure you make the most of your LinkedIn profile and will almost certainly lead to new business opportunities over time. Hover over the Connections menu item at the top of the LinkedIn page and choose Add Connections - you can search for people, or allow LinkedIn to scan your email contact list. It will give you everyone you aren’t currently connected to and you can choose which ones you’d like to connect with.











8 Your Background Your background consists of the following:

● Summary (up to 2,000 words) ● Experience (previous roles) ● Skills & Endorsements ● Courses ● Education ● Volunteer Work ● Additional Info

Summary This is where your list of keywords comes into play. Your summary should sell you and what you do. It should tell your audience how you help people, how you provide solutions, how you can help them. It should not be a dry summary about you and your career. It shouldn’t list your skills and shouldn’t read like a resumé. You’re not trying to get hired, you’re trying to make connections and generate business. Write your summary as if you’re actually talking to the person reading, telling them what you do, why you do it and how it’s going to help them. And include your top priority keywords in a sensible manner. Don’t try to force your keywords into the content, they should appear naturally as you write within your 2,000 word limit - and do use your full word count. At the end of your summary, by all means include a list of specific services or topics, especially where you can include any remaining keywords that didn’t come up in your initial summary. At the end of your summary you have the option to include various types of media:

● Document ● Photo ● Link ● Video ● Presentation











If you have any of these that you were involved in and is relevant to what you’ve written in your summary, include them. You can add up to 10, though only five are displayed initially, so put your best ones first. Remember: Include your keywords here, this is how you will be found on LinkedIn by people searching for what you do.

Experience This is where you add your previous roles, including with your current company and previous companies. You should complete this section giving as much detail as you’re allowed as it helps reinforce your skills and image.

Skills & Endorsements Consider this:

Those who use Skills & Endorsements get up to 13 times more profile views than those who don’t.

Edit this section and ensure you allow people to endorse you. Add all the skills you feel you want people to know about. You should also endorse other people on LinkedIn that you have dealt with for their skills where you feel they are particularly strong. LinkedIn will suggest these for you on a regular basis when you log in, though you can also visit a profile and do it there too.

Courses If you have undertaken any courses related to your job then add those here. Again, it reinforces your skills and image, as well increasing your chances of showing up in search results.

Education Not an essential part of your profile but every little helps! Edit this section to include the schools, colleges and universities you attended and what courses you took, especially if they are relevant to the work you do now.











Volunteer This always looks good on a profile, even if not not relevant to the role/skills/services you’re offering (and even better if it does!). It can also provide a way of getting those keywords into your profile - though again, don’t force them in. If you’ve carried out volunteer work do feel free to add it.

Additional Info Not in the least bit essential, but if you have something to add to your profile that will add to your profile and hasn’t been covered elsewhere, this would be the place to do it. It could include your interests (sports etc), hobbies and the like - but don’t put anything unprofessional. Nobody wants to know you like “socialising”! NOTE: There are other sections such as Publications, Projects, Awards and Patents. If these fit with your particular situation, complete these areas too.











9 Personalising Your Profile While many of the elements of your profile are positioned by LinkedIn, you can move around the elements in your background. This allows you to personalise your profile a little bit more and bring the most relevant sections nearer the top. Feel free to play around with the location of each Background element until you’re happy they’re in the order that best presents you and what you have to offer.











10 Mobile friendly? Nearly half of LinkedIn members use the platform on their smartphones so it’s worth taking the time to view your own profile on your phone via the LinkedIn mobile site AND app. Does it look ok? Is all the pertinent information clearly visible? Does your profile image render at a high enough quality? If the answer is no to any of these questions or there are other issues you spot, go back and edit your profile until it looks just right on mobile and desktop.











11 Beyond Your Profile Now that your profile is 100% complete and as professional and visible as it can be, there are actions you should regularly take on LinkedIn to maximise both your visibility and the platform’s potential for driving business. These include:

● Joining relevant groups ● Following relevant companies (including customers and suppliers) ● Asking for and giving recommendations ● Publishing updates ● Sharing and commenting on others’ interesting, relevant updates ● Publishing relevant, interesting and informative posts

We recommend liking and / or sharing a post or update from those you’re connected with at least once a week, if not more. Finally, make sure you share, comment on and like the posts made by your company! Follow these guidelines to your own profile and your activity on LinkedIn and you should soon be reaping the benefits of a thriving, professional social media platform.











LinkedIn Marketing At GNGR Marketing Ltd we have a wealth of experience in marketing companies on LinkedIn. If you’d like to discuss how we can help your company (or even just yourself) gain exposure on the premier business social media platform, please get in touch.


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