Over the past 15 years, LinkedIn saw a large growth in its user base and made its footprint in the professional landscape.
In 2016, LinkedIn measured to have more than 500 million users after being purchased by Microsoft for $26.2 billion. Since it has such a large influence in the professional environment, tuning up your profile is a necessity.
Not sure where to begin? These are five updates you could make for a significant impact for your LinkedIn profile:
Your professional photo is the first visual impression people have of you in the digital realm. Profiles that have professional photos are 14 times more likely to be viewed versus profiles that are lacking one.
Use a professional picture that you have had taken in recent years. Do you need a low cost option for pictures? If you are not savy with taking and editing photos, retail chains like JCPenney offer low-cost options.
A background picture is the perfect opportunity to showcase your personality/ company culture.
The key is to have both an eye catching and a professional picture. Premade background options are available from companies like Muse and articles like this one from Forbes talk through what you should look for when considering a new LinkedIn background.
Your headline (short description that appears by your name) is one of the most important parts of your profile. In those couple of words, people get an impression of your expertise.
While you should have at least your current role and company in this space, being creative with your messaging gets your purpose and focus across more effectively. Struggling to think of a creative headline? There are several resource to turn to include these articles.
Too many people leave the summary section of their LinkedIn profiles blank. This section can give a personal introduction into who you are both personally and professionally. A summary can be intimidating to write but resources with examples and templates are available online.
A general template to follow for a LinkedIn summary is to: 1) include something personal about yourself 2) go into your professional experience 3) include a call to action to contact (if appropriate – make sure the email is professional and not a personal one if you want to include this).
The experience section is where you can showcase your background and how it relates to the audience you want to be reaching with your profile. Trying to reach potential prospects? Talk about your customer focus and how you’ve helped businesses come up with solutions.
Again, several resources are available for formatting the experience section effectively. Don’t forget about the attachment capabilities either! In this section, you can attach videos, downloads, etc. that you want available to the public.
Think of your LinkedIn profile as your professional brand. When a person visits your profile, how do you want them to feel when seeing it? With the increasing influence of digital interactions in business, creating a positive and lasting LinkedIn presence is more critical than ever.
Although building a message or greater theme around your profile takes time, the effort truly pays off.