5 Quick Tips for Maximising Your LinkedIn Profile

Jodie is a social media strategist who works closely with her clients to help them recruit, retain and communicate with their audiences using social media.

Here are my tips for making the most from your LinkedIn profile. Some you may know, some you may not. Please share:

1. Utilise your ‘professional headline‘

By default, LinkedIn puts your headline as your position and company, i.e. ‘Managing Director at Top Hat Corporate Solutions‘. In fact, this space allows you a whole 120 characters to write whatever you like. So think of it as an introduction to someone and use it to coherently describe what you do. You can still include your title and company if necessary. Here are some good examples:

Andrew Ward of Scorchsoft‘s headline is simply:

“Driven to build long term business relationships. I run Scorchsoft, a dynamic web development company.”

John Borthwick of 4 Dimensions Training describes his offerings as:

“Human Behaviour Analysis | Disc Profiling | Team Profiling | 4Dimensions Training and Consultancy”

and then of course there’s:

“Generating sales and leads for businesses through social media – Managing Director at Jodie Cole Social Media Management” (120 characters exactly.)

2. Create your own profile URL

Not that many people have made use of LinkedIn’s tool that lets you customise your own profile URL. Your default URL will be something unsightly like www.uk.linkedin.com/in/your-name/33/54/83, but with a few clicks you can transform it into something wonderful like www.uk.linkedin.com/in/your-name or www.uk.linkedin.com/in/your-name-and-title. It will then look much more professional when you use your LinkedIn profile as your online CV and direct people to it from your email signature or business card.

An example:

John Borthwick’s previous LinkedIn URL: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/john-borthwick/28/h79/32

John Borthwick’s current LinkedIn URL: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/johnborthwickuk

To achieve this for your own profile, click ‘edit profile’, ‘edit public profile, ‘Customise your public profile URL’, and choose a name. Make it catchy.

3. Don’t be anonymous, but don’t stalk

Stalking is for Facebook, on LinkedIn people know when you’ve been looking at their profile. This isn’t a bad thing, in fact LinkedIn profile viewing may be overtaking imitation as the sincerest form of flattery. People like feeling important, valued and noticed. Keeping up to date with your connections’ updates can mean that the next time you run into them you chat for longer, and build up a rapport, and get started on a great business project with them… all because you took the time to see what they were up to.

To ensure that you see when people are viewing your profile, and vice versa, go to ‘Settings’, select ‘See what others see when you’ve viewed their profile’, and tick ‘Your name and headline‘.

4. Get more recommendations

Set the scene: You’re busy at work and have received an abundance of emails from customers, suppliers and salespeople. You notice one email from Mrs X’s LinkedIn account asking you to endorse her work at Company Z, where you worked as her supervisor. You then notice an email from Mrs Y’s LinkedIn account, entitled ‘Mrs Y has recommended your work at Company Z, click here to view’. Mrs Y, who worked with Mrs X under your supervision at Company Z, has written you a lovely recommendation, outlining what a fantastic supervisor you were and describing some of your best qualities… ‘personable, high integrity, expert’. She has added a note in a separate email saying she hopes you like the recommendation, and if you have time please may you return the favour.

It’s a no brainer, isn’t it? To receive recommendations: write them.

5. Past positions count

If your current position involves getting companies to hire you for your skills in creative marketing and PR, make bloomin’ well sure that you demonstrate that you used your creative marketing and PR skills in your previous roles. This is about gaining credibility and demonstrating your transferable skills. Whether it’s anything from helping businesses save money, coaching or training individuals, or providing a customer service function; bring out those skills you have used in your previous role that mean you do your current role well. An example:

Ian Hartley’s LinkedIn profile: Existing role: helping SME’s to reduce the cost of their phone, broadband, mobile phones, gas and electricity bills at Utility Warehouse.

Transferable skills: making efficient use of resources, customer services, saving money.

Previous role:

Worcestershire County Council. Description:

“…my team and I dealt with all property emergencies; for example, flooding, fire damage etc, together with the minor projects. We took care to ensure that each project was completed to its maximum efficiency, and delivered a very good value service to our clients. We made sure that the systems in place were reliable and economical.

It’s the attention to detail here that counts, and it builds up a picture of you as a professional in your chosen field.

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So those are my 5 quick tips that anyone can implement quickly and easily to make the most out of their LinkedIn profile. I would encourage you to try them out and let me know the effects. Also if you have any more quick tips please share them by commenting.

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