LinkedIn continues to be an exceptionally popular social media platform amongst professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners and job seekers, and for good reason! With over 930 million members, LinkedIn is a proven platform for networking, establishing and enhancing one’s professional reputation, advancing careers and facilitating business growth. To help you make the most of the opportunities offered by LinkedIn, in this blog post we are sharing five steps to polish your LinkedIn profile, grow your network and nurture your connections.
Step 1: Craft a compelling headline and summary
The headline and summary sections are the first things that people will see on your LinkedIn profile. In fact, your headline is even visible in previews of your profile in search results and when you share content on LinkedIn, so it’s especially important as it could be the very first impression you make on a new connection.
Your headline should summarize your skills, expertise and industry in a clear and captivating way. You might also choose to mention your professional goals in your headline, depending on what your objectives are. The summary should go into more detail about your skills and expertise, the industry you work in, your accomplishments and who you are looking to connect with on LinkedIn. In both areas, you should also consider which keywords are important to help people find you on LinkedIn – LinkedIn will take the keywords you use into account when curating its search results. All that being said, your profile should be infused with your personality and passions and be written in a way that entices and engages the people you want to connect with.
Step 2: Highlight your experience and achievements
This part of your profile may look like a regular CV but it’s so much more than that. Focus on showcasing the relevant positions that you’ve held – you do not need to include everything, so be selective.
Include a summary for each of the positions you choose to highlight on your profile, focusing on the skills developed and your accomplishments. You could also add attachments – such as videos, images and links – to enhance this section of your LinkedIn profile.
And don’t forget about those all-important keywords!
Step 3: Showcase your skills
Use the skills section of your LinkedIn profile to highlight your core skills and the expertise you hold in specific areas. As with step 2, be selective. You do not need to include every skill you possess; focus instead on those that are most relevant to your current career and/or business goals.
Step 4: Ask for endorsements
Endorsements are a great way to add social proof to your profile. This LinkedIn feature allows people who know and/or have worked with you in the past to publish a written endorsement of you directly on your LinkedIn profile. Think of it a little like a Yelp review, but much more personal. Endorsements are a fantastic way to enhance your credibility!
Step 5: Engage, connect and converse
Your LinkedIn profile is now polished up and ready for the world to see, but the last thing you should do is vanish from the platform and leave your profile to gather dust until the next time you decide to give it some attention.
It’s now time to make the most of your profile and focus on building your network. Posting engaging content on LinkedIn, on a regular basis, is an excellent way to demonstrate your knowledge, skills and expertise. It can also help you to reach new people and make connections as great content often gets shared by other users, giving you visibility way beyond your existing network. What’s more, you can utilise the newsfeed on your LinkedIn account to nurture relationships with your connections by commenting on their posts and engaging in conversations.
There you have it! 5 steps to polish your LinkedIn profile and build a strong professional network. Remember, LinkedIn is so much more than an online CV! It’s a place where your professional brand can shine and connections can blossom.