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LinkedIn
being the most engaging social media platform in the business world is a
massive opportunity for all the professionals, entrepreneurs and students to
exhibit themselves, find employment and help others with their ideas, thoughts
and experiences.
Though
LinkedIn is involved with lots of media and content on the outer circle, having
a strong profile is the foundational aspect to increase the visibility on
LinkedIn.It requires careful tailoring of information and content to make your
profile unique.
I
have divided this write-up into two parts where the initial 5 tips are to
improve your LinkedIn profile and the next 5 tips are to engage your
connections and improve your visibility on the platform.
Here
are 5 tips for you to enhance your LinkedIn profile and accomplish your
purpose:
1.
Set your Goals
LinkedIn
offers a different opportunity for different people. An entrepreneur will be
using LinkedIn to promote their businesses, an employer may use it to for
hiring and a student may use it to find a job and so on. Whatever category you
belong to, it is important to set your goals clearly.
Do
not try to create a LinkedIn account for the sake of joining the bandwagon and
try to imitate someone else who is there for a different purpose. Consult your
LinkedIn profile like how you prepare a marketing plan, a resume or like how
you would create a self-promotional website.
2.
Make your Topmost Portion, Top-Notch
On
your LinkedIn profile, the topmost portion comprising of the cover photo,
profile photo and the headline is the most vital section where other users
would first look at while viewing your profile. These three components in this
section must be given at most care.
A
profile photo in LinkedIn is very different from other social media networks
and I would highly recommend you put a professionally dressed, face focused and
recent picture.
Never
ignore the importance of cover picture and let the default cover picture rule
your profile. Always change it to something related to your current employment
like a logo or recent initiatives of your firm, etc. A picture of you working
in a team in a professional set-up is also ideal.
Headings
are as important as your pictures as this would be the first thing any viewer
would be reading from your profile. Make your heading innovative and don’t just
limit to mentioning your current position but at the same time make sure it is
crisp and informative.
Revisit
your purpose and goal that you had set for your LinkedIn and craft the headline
in such way that the target audiences get a gist of you in one line and will
ignite them to read more about you in the subsequent sections.
3.
Make it Media Rich
One
of the greatest features of LinkedIn is the provision of adding media to your
profile. Few think that this feature is useful only for the media or content professionals
but it is not at all right. The power of right media additions in your profile
is impeccable and can attract your viewers.
Add
all possible contents related to your interest like presentations, documents,
pictures, etc. You can even add external links of your blogs, website or
moreover anything and everything related to your profession. Make sure you have
at least one media file for each section of your profile.
Further,star
your most important contents of media on the “feature”section as that will be
shown on top of your profile right after your “about” info.
4.
Add Description for Every Entry You Make
You
might have seen many profiles that just mention their job role and the company
or that the person is a student of any university and no other information.
Well, this is an incomplete form of filling a section and you should take full
charge of each entry available for a position.
Be
it your experience, education or voluntary experiences, for each position you
add, don’t leave the description box empty. Add at least three points
(sentences) either about your job role, course description, etc or the
accomplishments during your education and work tenure.
Try
to emphasis more on those activities or accomplishments that would help you
benefit in future and avoid adding unrelated information that would divert your
profile intention.
5.
Revisit Regularly
There
is no point at which you can call your LinkedIn profile perfect. This is
because updating is the consistent way of refining your profile. Review your
profile at least once in two weeks and ask yourself “How can I improve more?”
Update
your latest accomplishments, activities, positions, etc. Always think of any
activity you have done recently and whether it can be a part of your LinkedIn
profile to enhance your visibility or to endorse your skill.
Once
you reinforce your LinkedIn profile, the next thing to focus is to engage your
audience. It is very important to be an active user of LinkedIn to increase
your visibility and gain maximum outcomes possible.
Here
are 5 additional tips for you to engage your connections and other target
audiences of LinkedIn:
1.
Build the Right Network
LinkedIn
is all about networking and adding new connections is just one part of the pie.
To get access to the right knowledge and stay updated, you need to follow the
right pages, brand profiles and hashtags but avoid following those pages which
are extremely unrelated to your industry.
Right
connections on LinkedIn can also help you grow and improve your domain skills
seamlessly. Never try to send connection requests to random people. Try to look
at each of your connections as an opportunity for you to learn more.
2.
Share Posts from the Feed
As
we tend to spend most of our time scrolling down the news feed, it is seen that
most of them limit their responses in reacting the posts. Never limit yourself
by hitting the thumbs up or the popping bulb but share those posts which are
informative and related to your profession.
Sharing
the right content from your connections and the pages you follow will help
other connections realize your areas of interest and help to improve your
visibility. However, do not overdo this as it might seem like you share
everything which can give you a bad impression.
3.
Publish your Content
This
is something most of them are reluctant but is a very effective way to improve
your LinkedIn visibility. Rather than those seldom posts about your new
certifications or a job change, you must write your thoughts regularly to
engage your connections.
This
can be anything related to your education or profession that you think your
connections must know. Try to portray your thoughts in such a way your audience
could relate to and can learn something from it.
LinkedIn
also provides a blog feature where you can share your ideas in the form of a
blog and will reach many by the usage of right hashtags and keywords. Add
pictures and other contents to each of your posts to deliver a visual appeal to
your audience.
4.
Share External Content
Apart
from your posts on LinkedIn, you can share your external works like the web
link of your latest blog or an article in which you were featured. As
professionals, you can share a recent speech or a discussion you were involved
which can increase your visibility at a greater pace.
As
students, you could share your recent research studies published or a
presentation that won a lot of accolades from your professors. Other popular
external documents that you could post on LinkedIn are your latest
certifications and honors.
5. Comment and Start a Discussion
Most
of the LinkedIn posts are opinions or thoughts of that person like any other
social media posts. Unlike the comments you post for your friend's picture in a
single syllable, you can comment on your thoughts and opinions about that
topic.
Commenting
is so powerful on LinkedIn to improve your visibility as immediately your
connections find those posts on top of their feed. This also helps to grow your
network as other LinkedIn users will also have higher chances of viewing your
ideas and thoughts through comments.
Although
never write your comments in an offensive tone as it may give a negative
impression on the connections and the writer. Try to make it as diplomatic as
possible but at the same time emphasis on your core idea or thought that you
would like to convey to your audience.
Written
by – Arun S.
Edited
by – Adrija Saha
Social