If you’re anything like me, thinking about working on your LinkedIn profile is as cringe-inducing and unappealing as cleaning out the refrigerator during a heatwave. So, I empathize!  But the fact is, over 260 million people use LinkedIn every month. What are they seeing when (and if) they visit your profile? Was your last update in 2008? Did you stop updating your workplace information after finally landing your dream job? Well now’s the time to change that.

Why You Should be Active on LinkedIn

Before we get into the how to and why of your profile, it’s important to understand the benefits of the platform. You already know the importance of prioritizing networking, but how does LinkedIn fit into that? First, it’s an easy way to keep up with what people in your industry are doing. Curious about who’s getting promoted, scooped up by top firms and joining exciting boards and organizations? Check LinkedIn! Also, if your peers are engaging on LinkedIn, doing the same is an easy way to show you are active and in-the-know when it comes to your industry. Finally, if you regularly pop-up in your followers feeds, you’re more likely to be top of mind when they are mining their network. Keeping your profile up-to-date and active can help you achieve all of these goals.

Tips for Creating and Maintaining Your Profile

• Add an image, customize your URL and add a headline

It may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people miss this one. A quick search for “Alison Simons” on LinkedIn returns 400 results. A scan of the first 10 hits has 6 profiles with no images. If I didn’t have a picture, would you spend time looking around to figure out which one was me? Probably not. Add a photo. While you’re at it, customize your URL. It’s easy, free and saves you from having to share a URL you can’t rattle-off in under 30 seconds. Finally, populate the headline with something short, clear and catchy. These three things are your first impression.

• Create a Compelling About section

The About field is your very own 30 second commercial. A strong summary section tells a visitor who you are and can give them a sense of your personality. It can even let people know what you want them to do (in other words, a call to action). It can also hook someone who is just casually scanning and make them want to scroll down. Be sure to write professionally, use relevant keywords and proofread. Here are some examples of strong About sections.

• How to Approach the Other Sections

Don’t leave the Experience, Education, or Skill sections empty! Not only are you letting a potential client know about the experience you bring to the table, but it also helps you make connections. Don’t just copy and paste your resume. Paint a picture of your experience and accomplishments. Also, getting endorsements is a great way to promote your capabilities without having to toot your own horn.

Looking for more profile tips? Here’s the “perfect LinkedIn profile,” according to Harvard career experts.

It’s Time to Start Engaging

Now that you’ve done the work to optimize your profile, it’s tempting to sit back and relax. However, we’re just getting started. As we already discussed, staying active on LinkedIn is the best way to reap the potential benefits of the platform. So let’s start by taking a look at your own feed. If you’re not regularly posting content, visitors will think you’re not active, and may start to question what else on your profile is stale. It could discourage someone from reaching out if they think you don’t really use LinkedIn.

Not sure what to post? First, share any content being published on your firm’s LinkedIn company page. You can show (instead of tell) potential clients what’s going on at the firm, and you don’t have to create any original content. Win-win!   Plus, you probably have far more connections than your firm does followers on its company page, so this is a really important step for sharing firm information. 

Do you keep up with industry news and events? Share a link to the article you read and include one sentence update on your point-of-view or opinion. Followers will get accustomed to turning to you for insightful content. And don’t forget to share good news! From promotions and awards, to that blog post you wrote for the firm website, keep your followers up to date with your professional life.

Connect, Comment and Like

People ask me all the time if my team can manage their LinkedIn profile for them.   I always have to decline.  The engagement that you have with your network needs to be authentic.  With many hundreds of connections, only you will know who is your good friend or long time referral source vs someone you barely remember connecting with years ago.  

It’s called SOCIAL media!   The idea is to engage with people on the platform. Be sure to dedicate a few minutes to following, commenting and liking other content. Even if it feels a little forced at first, the more you do it, the more comfortable it will become. Liking other people’s posts will garner some reciprocal likes for you down the line, and let people know you are paying attention. Additionally, you’ll pop up in your followers feeds with your activity. Remember, one of the things you want out of the platform is to stay top-of-mind. Finally, joining groups is a great way to increase your engagement, make connections and get more out of LinkedIn.

With just a bit of time and simple strategies, the days of choosing a root canal over logging into LinkedIn can be a thing of the past. Putting the right effort into optimizing your profile and spending a little time each day nurturing your online network will pay off with stronger connections and could even be fun. If you’re interested in using this powerful networking tool as part of your growth strategy, contact me today.