If you are here you don’t need me to tell you the importance of a great LinkedIn™️ profile. You are ready to leverage LinkedIn to get new leads. I give presentations on how to use LinkedIn and what to post. But before you get there, you want to make sure your profile is ready to be looked at and is a true reflection of who you are and what you do. 

Before we get started a word about consistency. You want to keep your brand consistent throughout your profile, from your banner to the thumbnails in your featured section. This doesn’t mean that you can’t make changes. Keeping your profile updated and relevant is important. If you are not seeing the results you want you can use the analytics to make changes. I recommend only making one change at a time. 

Let’s make your LinkedIn™️ profile a lead generator

 

Your Banner

 

 

Your banner is like your billboard. This is your real estate. It’s the first place people are going to look and see your brand. Your banner should reflect your personality and personal brand.

Here are some design elements to consider.

• Keep it simple
• Use contrasting colors
• Banner size: 1584 x 396 pixels
• Stay on brand with colors, logo, tagline and background

Lastly, double-check mobile devices to see how your banner looks and to ensure text is readable. Don’t try to do too much with too many images or text. And, you can change your banner if needed. Let’s say you want to highlight a special promotion (i.e. an opt-in).

 

Profile Picture

 

Your profile is one of the first things that people see. It follows you around when you comment on posts, like on other social media.

• Your profile picture should be a professional image. This doesn’t mean that a professional photographer has to take it. It means that it is not a random pic from your camera roll. It is a picture that represents you as a professional A professional photo gets 14x more views.
• You want your face to take up to 60% of the frame so that people can see you well.
• You should be the only one in the picture.

   

Here are three profile pictures. The one on the left is a professional headshot. My face takes up the majority of the frame. This is the one I currently use.

The image in the middle is not bad, but I am actually sitting on a bed and you can see the railing on the side. While I like the Let’s Connect frame my face is pretty small here. Will people recognize me as I comment?

The picture on the right is so cute, right? But the dogs are stealing the show and as much as I love them. I want people to remember me. Not them.

TIP: Canva is a great tool for removing the background in a photo and then you can add a solid contrasting color that aligns with your branding. Canva now has LinkedIn© profile templates that are more creative. Just don’t forget that your face needs to take up 60% of the frame. 

 

Headline

 

Your headline is right below your name.

 Your headline is a summary statement of what you do, what service you provide, and who you serve. It’s your Value Proposition. Don’t make it long. You can divide statements with emojis or horizontal lines.

You want to use industry keywords for searchability (much like you do with SEO). Here’s an example: “I help businesses craft quality copy and blog posts | Blogger & Content Writer.”

You can also add a human connection, such as “Mental Health Advocate.” It’s something that is unique to you, like “World Traveler” or “Foodie.” 

Again this is something that doesn’t have to remain static. You can make adjustments as you evolve. There is so much variety in headlines. Just remember not to make it too long. A good test is to look at it on mobile and see how much shows.

 

Customize Your Link

 

You can add a customer link to your profile, such as a scheduling link or a link to your website. To do this, click on the pencil icon just below your banner. Then click “Edit Custom Button.” Add your link and click save.

Using this feature is a great way to drive traffic, for example to your website. Don’t be afraid to change it from time to time to experiment with engagement results. I had a link there to my newsletter for 3 months. When I looked at my data I saw that I wasn’t getting any sign-ups from that link. I decided to change it to my website and draw attention to it by putting 5 Stars. People are using it to go to my website – a great example of monitoring and adjusting as needed in your marketing. 

 

About Section

 

Your About section is much like a landing page. You want to write it in the first person. Introduce yourself in a conversational yet professional way. Inject personality and showcase your personal brand.

Start your About section with a hook to get your reader wanting to learn more. Include how you can help your ideal client and make their life easier. Include key aspects of your professional journey and highlight notable accomplishments. End your About section with a Call to Action (CTA). Here are some examples.

• Book a call
• Visit my website
• Download my freebie
• Send me a request to connect

You can make your About section 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 by using formatting, such as bold or italicized words, emojis, and even lines ( | ) to break up text. Here is a formatted tool you can use to change your plain text https://www.linkedin-makeover.com/linkedin-text-formatter/.

The only drawback to these tools is that these words will not be indexed so I would not use it on any of the keywords you are wanting to be found for.

Want to know more about how to take advantage of the real estate of the about section. I talk about it in this blog post.

 

Your Featured Section

 

This is one of my favorite sections to look at when I view someone’s profile. If you’re completely new to LinkedIn™️ and can’t find your Featured section, you can add it by clicking “Add Profile Section” (found at the top of your profile).

Your Featured section is the place where you highlight your offers, special projects, your portfolio, publications, etc. It’s a good idea to use something different than what you use for your custom link. 

Think about what you’d like to accomplish here. Do you want to drive traffic to your website, blog, opt-in etc? Do you have a post or article that has done really well? You can put that here. Here are some other ideas of what to include in this section.

• An introductory video of yourself
• Links to classes, workshops
• A link to your calendar
• A link to your freebies
• Top performing posts
• Your LinkedIn Newsletter

 

How to Add Content

 

To add content, go to your Profile and scroll to your Featured section and click the “+” icon. LinkedIn™️ will automatically make the thumbnails, or you can upload images with 1.91:1 ratio.

If you want the images to be consistent. You can also make thumbnails using Canva, Adobe Spark or PowerPoint. For example, in Canva you can use the YouTube thumbnail templates to create your LinkedIn thumbnail.

As a best practice, keep your Featured section updated with your latest work and achievements. Also, keep your branding consistent. 

 

Your Experience Section, Skills & Endorsements and Recommendations

 

These sections are especially important if you are job-seeking.

This last part of your profile is the most representative of a resume. In your Experience section, you list your professional history. This includes work experience and any special achievements. Just like on a resume, it’s always good to quantify the results you achieved  (e.g. “Increased conversions by 50% in 9 months”).

Under Skills & Endorsements, list skills that are relevant to your industry (e.g. If you’re a blogger, list that you also do SEO blogging). Request endorsements from colleagues and clients to build credibility.

Lastly, recommendations build social proof and are like your digital references. Request recommendations or testimonials from past managers, colleagues, and clients.

 

Your Profile is Set Up – Now What?

 

Authentic and genuine engagement (not AI) is the key to winning on LinkedIn™️. There are numerous reasons why it’s good. Relationship building is probably one of the most important. You build rapport and trust.

Another reason is that the community you build will also reciprocate and comment on your content. And you never know who might be watching and taking notice. They may someday become clients. You will also have the opportunity for your content to get shown to the audience of those that you connect with. 

I put together a free resource to help you get active on LinkedIn – you have to be active if you want to get any traction. Get the download now.