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Look Good On LinkedIn

YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE

LinkedIn is the biggest online platform for business professionals and is a great source to build and maintain business relationships and for recruitment purposes. Think of it as your CV that is visible to everyone but also a platform to build on and promote yourself professionally. There are many things that need to be taken into consideration on a platform like LinkedIn – similar to Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. First impressions and building your reputation is extremely important for your career.

Here at Westray, we have put together some helpful tips on improving your LinkedIn presence and what will benefit your professional profile.

PHOTO:

Perhaps the most important factor of having a form of online presence is to upload a profile photo. This ensures people viewing your profile know who you are. It’s important to use a professional looking headshot unlike other social media platforms and not use ‘selfies’ like other social platforms. According to online reports, you get more views on your profile with a professional looking photo!

You can control the visibility of your profile photo using the editing controls on the sidebar. You want to ensure your visibility is public to help generate more profile views.

As well as your headshot, make sure your profile includes a cover photo. This can be related to the industry you’re working in, branded to the company you work for, or a simple stock image. People are more likely to interact with you on LinkedIn if you’re engaging with the industry you work within.

WORK EXPERIENCE:

Just like your CV, your LinkedIn profile should include all relevant jobs you’ve had and where you currently work. This gives people a great insight into your skills and experience. It’s also beneficial to give a brief overview of your responsibilities and duties in each of your roles.

Remember to always update your current position and update it accordingly whenever you receive a promotion. This is a great way to engage as it will post to your feed and let others know about your success.

Top tip: Using your current job title in your headline is another great tip and allows others to see what company you represent.

CONTENT:

The majority of us are guilty of spending too much time on our phones, but this is a great tool to keep up-to-date with news stories, events, company updates and is a fantastic source of communication. LinkedIn is no different to other sites and consistently sharing posts and updates will help keep you engaged with other business professionals. Companies notice how active you are on these platforms and if you regularly update your feed with relevant news stories, share advice or get involved with the company you work for, you are more likely to build new relationships and potentially gain new clients.

ENDORSEMENTS & RECOMMENDATIONS:

One of the great things about LinkedIn is being able to share interests and support each other. The platform allows you to endorse colleagues with skills or them to endorse you in return. By receiving endorsements, potential employees can get a clearer understanding of your expertise and where your strengths lie.

Recommendations are similar, however, this gives you the chance to describe your working relationship with someone and the reasons why you enjoyed working with that person. It’s important to add a personal touch to your profile and recommendations are perfect to showcase your personality and work ethic.

Building a bank of positive recommendations can only enhance your reputation!

CONNECTIONS:

Rather than ‘adding friends’, on LinkedIn you ‘Connect’ with people. Whether this is business owners, colleagues, seminar speakers, influencers or business pages, building your connections gives you great visibility in your industry and allows others to interact with your content and vice versa. We would suggest adding a quick note to a LinkedIn Connection request just to say ‘Hi’ and to make you seem like less of a robot. There are now automatic message responses which you can use instead of manual typing, lazy I know, but a quick “Thanks for connecting, it’d be great to keep in touch”, can go a long way.

Connecting can also be a great lead generation tool enable you to communicate with people you may never have otherwise crossed paths with. It’s important to keep connecting with new people and staying active.

HEADLINE:

Create a short and snappy headline which represents your skills and experience within the industry. This should be kept minimal and to the point. It allows people who view your profile to gain a clear insight to who you are and what you do.

This section also allows you to add media documents, website URL’s, images and links, for example, a great tip is to upload testimonials and reviews. Keep reviewing this section and update with any new information to ensure your connections are engaged.

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