Having a personal and company LinkedIn profile page is a great way to build professional relationships and connect with your audience.
You should be using LinkedIn to tell your story, showcase your personality and build your brand. But it shouldn’t be a copy of your resume. LinkedIn is no longer just a place to find a job. LinkedIn is a great place to sell yourself, you brand, and your services.
Along with your personal LinkedIn page, your company page is another way to uniquely engage with your audience. You can use this channel to showcase your products or services and increase business development. Using this channel in the best way will help you build customer advocates, reach new audiences and engage with users on professional interests.
Tips for Your Personal LinkedIn Profile
Your Profile Photo
Why is your profile photo important? It’s how people are introduced to you and (visual beings that we are) it governs their impressions from the start.
- Pick a photo that looks like you
- Use a recent photo (within the last few years)
- Ideal size for your LinkedIn profile picture is 400 x 400 pixels. Larger file sizes are also fine (although 8MB is the max), but try to avoid small, low-resolution images
- No group photos
- Avoid distracting backgrounds
- Wear what you would wear to work
Your Background photo
Your background photo is the second visual element at the top of your profile page. It grabs people’s attention, sets the context and shows a little more about what matters to you. More than anything, the right background photo helps your page stand out, engage attention and stay memorable.
Your Headline
There’s no rule that says the description at the top of your profile page has to be just a job title. Use the headline field to say a bit more about how you see your role, why you do what you do, and what makes you tick.
Your LinkedIn Summary
Tell your story using the Summary and Experience sections. Your LinkedIn profile should be more than a quick copy-and-paste of your résumé. The Summary is where you can share a bit more about your vision for your role or company. You can also include personal anecdotes about activities you enjoy outside work.
Add Your Projects/Collateral
The marketing collateral that you produce for your business can add an extra dimension to your own profile as well. Sharing case studies, white papers and other brand content helps to show what the business you work for is all about – and helps people understand what makes you tick. It demonstrates passion and commitment as well.
How to Share Content on LinkedIn
It’s one thing to have a network of connections on LinkedIn – it’s far better to have an active role in that network, appearing in your connections’ LinkedIn feeds in a way that adds value for them.
Sharing relevant content with your network is one of the most accessible ways of doing this. You can make a start by keeping a close eye on your LinkedIn feed, and sharing content that you find genuinely interesting – and that aligns with your point of view.
To Comment or Not to Comment
Sharing is great – but it’s just the starting point. When you add comments to your shares, you give yourself greater prominence within the feed and start to express why you think a particular piece of content matters. Well-expressed comments also enable you to share a broader range of content. It might be that you don’t agree with a point of view but still find it interesting, for example. A comment that can express that viewpoint starts to establish your opinion and thought-leadership. It’s also more likely to draw additional comments, which then raise your profile across LinkedIn. Bear this mind when you’re writing your comment – and make sure you’re saying something you’re happy for people to associate with you.
Publish long-form content – and use it to start conversations
The more you share and comment on content, the more you establish your expertise and thought-leadership credentials on LinkedIn. Publishing long-form posts is the natural next step to take. A great starting point is to monitor the response that you get to your comments and shares. Are there particular subjects and points of view that seem to resonate with your network? Are there comments that you have shared which you feel you could expand on in a post?
Evolving your thought-leadership in this way keeps it real – and keeps you plugged into the issues your connections are talking about. Be ready for your long-form posts to start new conversations too. Keep an eye on the comments and be ready to respond.
Tips for Your LinkedIn Company Page
Complete all the page details
Fully completed company pages get 30% more views. The more details you provide, the easier it will be for people to discover and contact you.
Keep images up to date
Your Page logo and cover photo are very important; they visually introduce and engage anyone who visits your Page. Keep these images up-to-date with your latest branding and marketing materials. Not only is this critical for presenting a unified social presence, but it ensures your LinkedIn Company Page also matches your website, blog, and other digital marketing materials. Doing so will boost brand awareness and help new customers, employees, and fans discover your brand on LinkedIn.
Share content and engage with your followers
Building your LinkedIn Page is only half the battle; you must also consistently post content to successfully engage, inform, and market to your audience.
Customize your call to action
LinkedIn allows you to customize this CTA to better engage your followers and audience.
Engage your employees
Your employees are some of your best brand advocates. This is especially true on LinkedIn, where employees have an average of 10x more first-degree connections than a company has followers.
As you develop your Company Page, encourage your employees to follow and engage with it. Also, ask each employee to list your company as an employer, as this will link their profile to your Page and vice versa. This is a helpful resource when growing a new Page audience of customers and potential employees.
Have any tips or tricks for mastering LinkedIn? Leave them in the comments below!