John Nemo — May 22, 2017 LinkedIn recently brought back one of the platform’s more popular features in hopes of helping users generate more business from their profile pages.
Do you know how your LinkedIn profile stacks up against other users? Are you maximizing all the features to give you an edge up on your competition?
Good news – LinkedIn recently brought back a feature that will help you determine just that.
The platform’s popular “All Star” profile feature is your recipe for success. It encourages you to create a better LinkedIn experience by showing you what features and content you can add to help your profile stand out.
If you’re not all-in on LinkedIn yet, the platform recently shared some eye-opening statistics that reveal how to shore up your own profile page while also maximizing your impact on the world’s largest social media network for professionals.
Seeing is Believing on LinkedIn
For example: “Did you know having a profile photo can get you 21x more profile views and 9x more connection requests?” LinkedIn shared in a recent post announcing the return of the All-Star profile feature.
Along with your professional headline, your photo is the instant calling card people use to size up who you are and what (if any) interest they should have in your profile, profession and content.
Make your best impression by using a headshot of you smiling and dressed in professional attire. Your photo will help other LinkedIn users begin to trust you.
Share your Experience
Furthermore, LinkedIn noted, “adding a current position can lead to 8x more profile views. If you’re not yet employed, not to worry — adding in your education will get you 17x more messages from recruiters.”
In my own work teaching others how to use LinkedIn to generate business for themselves, I’ve found it critical to take your experience a step further. You need to take your profile beyond reading like a boring résumé and instead make it what I call “client-facing.”
Here’s why this matters: Prospects you encounter on LinkedIn must be able to immediately understand what type of products or services you offer and the key audiences you serve.
Remember, your LinkedIn profile should not be about you!
Instead it should be focused on what you can do for your ideal audience and what makes you different or better when compared to your competitors.
For example, here are a couple of simple sentences that you can start your “client-facing” profile off with:
WHAT I DO: I help [MY TARGET AUDIENCE] achieve [THEIR GOAL] by providing [MY PRODUCT OR SERVICE].
WHO I WORK WITH:
– [Audience 1]
– [Audience 2]
– [Audience 3]
With this approach, you are making it immediately clear who you serve, what type of product or service you offer and how it helps that audience achieve their goals.Second, you are laying out 2-3 key audiences you serve, so anyone scanning your profile quickly can see if they are someone you specialize in helping.
Find and Be Found
In addition to having functional, practical keywords listed in your LinkedIn profile’s headline, summary and experience sections, adding your industry type will help you get found more readily.
“Adding which industry you work in can unlock up to 9x more profile views and surface news and information that will help you stay informed and up to date when you come to LinkedIn,” LinkedIn notes.
It’s important to remember that these keywords and phrases you strategically insert to create a killer LinkedIn profile are all indexed into LinkedIn’s massive internal search engine.
Hundreds of millions of professionals worldwide are using LinkedIn’s powerful internal search engine just like you and I use Google.
One of the things we know about prospects when they’re searching online is this: If you make it difficult for people to find you, or if it’s not clear cut who you are and what you do, you’ll be skipped over for someone who does!
LinkedIn and All-Star Success
Making some simple adjustments to your LinkedIn profile can make all the difference in terms of your visibility and opportunity on the platform.
Once you begin to utilize this type of functional, client-facing approach on LinkedIn, it becomes far easier to get potential clients interesting in doing business with you.
So, whether you want to become an “All Star” or not, it’s worth taking the time to update your profile if you’re looking to win more business on the platform.
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