5 Things You Need to Do on LinkedIn RIGHT NOW!
5 Things You Need to Do on LinkedIn RIGHT NOW!
I cannot say enough good things about LinkedIn, not only is it where I find the majority of my clients, but it's an amazing place to network and meet with other professionals in your area. It's also where recruiters live these days, if you're job hunting, LinkedIn is the best way to score a top paying job. It's also one of those social media sites left untouched after all the stuff that's happened with Facebook and Twitter (Instagram is also left unharmed), and is rolling out new features almost every month (LinkedIn Live for instance) What if you don't have a LinkedIn profile? It's 2019, it's time to get on LinkedIn.
Make Your Profile Sexy!
Let's say you are one of the hundreds of millions already on LinkedIn or maybe you just got one (good for you!) and you don't know what to do with it. One of the many things you should be doing with your LinkedIn page is optimizing your profile. What does that mean?
Headshot: A good clean headshot (preferably one of your head and shoulders)
Cover Photo: A cover photo highlighting what you are about. (Pexels, Unsplash, and Pixabay are great for stock photos, Canva is good if you are artsy)
Headline: Headline that also highlights who you are and what you do. Your headline is real estate for selling yourself to visitors. It's great for SEO purposes as well. Mine says that I am a "Social Media Marketing Superstar for Global Brands | Holistic Health Advocate | Entrepreneur | Content Marketing Genius" I have also seen "The Marie Kondo of Content Writing" I have to admit, I wanted to steal that one!
Summary: This is where you can sell yourself! Whatever you do, PLEASE DON'T COPY AND PASTE YOUR RESUME! The people you want looking at your profile will say next! Briefly explain what you do in two short paragraphs. Put in a couple of links, maybe to your portfolio, your website, or what articles you were featured in. This is such a great spot for bragging too if you won some awards or featured in an article show it off!
Make Sure You Post!
LinkedIn IS a social media site, which means if you wanna stay visible, you are going to have to post at least once a day if you are serious about people finding you. The one thing I notice on LinkedIn that works well across the board is the more videos you post (in LinkedIn not as an external source) the better your engagement. Sharing stories about why you started your business or your career is what really captivates most audiences. Your passion and drive SELLS, use it. Something I've posted in my last blog post about LI is articles. Create long-form articles if you can, but if you aren't a writer then pictures and videos about the topic with a few short paragraphs will work just fine.
Create Meaningful Connections!
Be very strategic about who you want to connect with. I, for example, only connect with CEOs or founders of companies. You might want to do the same or if you are looking for work, connect with an HR person or even the CEO themselves! The enthusiasm that you put in your profile and in your messages is what is going to drive them to hire you. If you are just starting out, try to get to 200-300 connections. If you are already at 300 get to 500 or 1000.
Get Recommendations!
This is so powerful you guys, way more powerful than anyone thinks. There are companies out there that are just looking at your recommendations to see if they want to hire you. Ask your friends, or even better, an old (or current) co-worker to make a recommendation for you on LinkedIn. Return the favor by leaving one for them. If you are a service based company, ask one of your clients if they loved you, to leave a review on your LinkedIn page.
Show Off Your Experience!
It's important that you put in as much experience as you can and summarize what you did in those positions as much as you can. This is where it can get kind of resume-y, resist the urge to do it! Remember to have fun with it. In my profile, you can see I do list out all the stuff I do there, but it's short, sweet and to the point. Also, make sure you search for your company on LinkedIn, chances are they already have their own page, so when you're putting it down as your experience it should pop up.
Want More Tips?
SPB Productions specializes in many social media sites, but I consider LinkedIn to be a favorite since I am on it all the time! From profile optimization to lead generation, there are many ways you can use LinkedIn for your business. Want to learn how you can use it for yours? Schedule your free audit of your profile today!