I’m a huge LinkedIn fan and advocate for building your personal brand.
It’s a big reason I’ve been able to continue building my content business rather than return to a 9-5 digital marketing role.
LinkedIn is for anyone looking to build their social presence and connect with others in their industry, which can open doors to all kinds of opportunities. With over a billion LinkedIn members, it’s the social platform to be on, especially if you’re a B2B.
This year, two unexpected opportunities came my way – teaching university-level courses and speaking in front of a room of 60+ entrepreneurs. That was in addition to helping clients with their online content.
I didn’t see either opportunity coming, but they presented themselves to me through connecting and building relationships. And I have improved certain skills because of both experiences.
That’s what this social platform can do for you when you join LinkedIn. It can help you grow in ways you never expected.
However, one of the first steps after you join, without question, should be creating your personal LinkedIn profile page. This page is your online resume to help you stand out and attract the right connections.
So, if you’re new to LinkedIn or looking to increase your activity, the following LinkedIn profile tips should help you. I’ve included my recently updated profile as an example.
Table of Contents
- LinkedIn Profile Items to Include
- Create a Great LinkedIn Profile that Attracts
- Frequently Asked Questions
LinkedIn Profile Items to Include
Before you even begin to worry about posting or engaging, I strongly suggest you pause to evaluate your profile page to ensure it speaks clearly to the profile visitors stopping to take a look to understand what you do and how you help.
If you don’t, you could miss out on connection requests and others following you because your profile page doesn’t look trustworthy or approachable.
#1. Approchable Profile Photo
Do you have a profile picture that clearly shows who you are? Better yet, are you smiling, and does it feel approachable? All of this says a lot to those landing on your personal profile page. What’s the first impression you want to make?
Avoid long-distance shots where it’s difficult to see your face. Also, don’t make the biggest mistake of forgoing a photo entirely. That’s a sure sign that others will not trust you.
Some pretty interesting AI tools are available to help you create those professional photos. Insta Headshot is a free AI generator I’ve seen recommended by others in my network.
#2. Clear Banner Image
Next, you want to evaluate the banner image in your profile. This is the tiny design real estate you have at the top of your LinkedIn profile page. Here’s my current one…
You want to make sure it’s easy to read, reflective of your personal brand, and has a clear call to action. If possible, it’s great to include logos of companies you’ve worked with as social proof to build trust.
Some resort to using a background photo. It can be effective, but be cautious. You don’t want it to be too busy from a design perspective and hard to read at a quick glance.
In my banner image, I emphasize my commitment to helping businesses create audience-obsessed SEO content for their website properties (web launches, redesigns, and blog content).
My clear CTA is to book a free consult with me, which you can see above my main profile picture.
I’ve also included the 3 logos of other businesses that have (or are currently) trusting me to do content for their websites today.
The thing is, your banner image can change. The banner I have today differs from when I landed my first two clients in two months on LinkedIn back in early 2023.
I would expect my banner to change again, potentially later this year. It’s good to keep it fresh and focused on the goals you’re trying to achieve with your business.
Here recently, LinkedIn pushed out a new feature for a banner image slideshow. You can now create several different banner images for you to scroll through. I plan on creating a second banner image promoting my newsletter, The Organic Freelancer.
Make sure the first banner displayed talks to the primary goal you’re trying to achieve. For example, my first banner image will publicize booking a free consult with me to focus on my primary goal of increasing more qualified leads.
#3. Informative Headline
Your headline is the copy that follows under your name. Here’s mine today…
Your headline should first talk about what you do and how you help.
That’s why the first line of mine says, “Crafting Audience-Obsessed SEO Website Content for Nutrition & Wellness Businesses.”
Crafting audience-obsessed SEO website content = What I do
For Nutrition & Wellness Businesses = Who I help
What you want to remember as well is that the first few words are what will show up with every comment you make.
You can see not all of my first line is captured when viewing from mobile. Honestly, I need to do some work here to refine and shorten this.
Holly does a better job…
Your headline section is a place where you can highlight experiences that may resonate with your target audience and consider including job titles that relate to your work. I’ve included “Content Strategist” and “SEO Specialist.”
You can also get creative and add emojis or something unique in this section. Erica does this with her last line, “Running on seltzer.” Subconsciously, now I associate “seltzer” with her, making it easy for me to remember her.
Your headline section matters big time from a LinkedIn search perspective.
For example, when I search “nutrition” or “wellness” on LinkedIn, looking for potential clients to engage with, my daily posts typically appear in the feed even if I don’t mention nutrition or wellness. I have no doubt they’re showing up because I use these same words in my headline copy.
#4. Featured Section with Actionable Content
Your featured section is a little lower on your page and shows up right above your posting activity. Here’s mine today…
You can…
- Add a post that did well
- Add a link to your newsletter if you have one
- Add an article that you wrote
- Add another link for a video or website
- Add a lead magnet
You get it. There are several options.
But here’s where I think it comes back to your goals. In general, I try to keep it simple, focusing on my top two goals. What I like to ask is…
What’s your primary goal?
What’s your secondary goal?
Today, as I write this blog post, my primary goal is to fill my client funnel and increase leads.
So, with that being said, my first featured section item is a callout to book a free consult with me. It’s the same CTA in my banner image and the link “Book Your 30 Minute Consult” under my headline copy.
My secondary goal is to grow my newsletter. So you see that callout to subscribe to my newsletter, The Organic Freelancer.
You can add several items to the Featured section, but remember that when viewing from mobile, the user will only see your first featured item.
Pro Tip: Set up your featured section callouts so that when clicked, they go directly to a destination instead of the user having to click twice. Today, my “Book a Free Consult” callout goes directly to my zcal calendar, where potential clients can book a 30-minute meeting with me.
#5. About Section with Storytelling and Customer Challenges
Your LinkedIn profile About section is closer to the top of the page below your headline copy.
When writing copy for this section, the biggest mindset shift is to say less about yourself, and more about the common client pain points that your services address and solve.
I start with this statement, “What the data continues to show me over and over again is that SEO is far from dead.”
I totally went for more of a polarizing statement here to grab attention.
SEO is still a big factor when writing content for my clients. I want the content to resonate with their audience and be found by Google.
Many of my clients come to me saying…
I need to increase awareness.
I need to increase organic traffic to spend less on paid efforts.
I need more leads for my business.
Referencing the problems you’ve heard from your clients in your About section gets their attention. While reading, you want them to shake their heads and say, “Yeah, that’s the problem I’m struggling with, and this is the person or service that can help me.”
You can write a pretty lengthy section here, but I’ve tried to keep it brief. I’ve captured:
- Common client problems
- How my services help
- A few testimonials from past clients
- Clear CTA: “Send me a DM today, and let’s schedule your 30-minute consult to discuss more.”
Customized LinkedIn Profile URL
I also highly suggest customizing your LinkedIn profile URL.
This is mine today: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonditmer/
Before updating to “allisonditmer” in the URL it was a mix of random numbers and letters (not something easy for others to remember).
If you go to the top right corner of your profile page, you should see a “public profile URL” box you can click on to edit and customize…
Create a Great LinkedIn Profile that Attracts
My LinkedIn profile was nothing to look at when I worked in the 9-5 at another company. It had the bare minimum as a corporate employee.
The organizations I had worked at, and the various job titles I earned were listed. There was a brief summary of my skill sets under each position. But it was far from optimized. It simply was a placeholder.
Knowing what I know now, I would have done things differently.
I would have concentrated on building a network. I would have done that by putting more effort into my profile page, knowing it served as a resume for recruiters.
If you want LinkedIn to help you discover professional opportunities, then you’ve got to put in the effort. You have to be willing to share content, talk about your current position, and give a glimpse into the experiences that have shaped your viewpoints and how you approach your career.
Some incredible opportunities on this platform can change your professional life. Creating a solid LinkedIn profile page is your first step. Now get to it:)
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is your LinkedIn profile important?
Think of your LinkedIn profile as your one-page resume. It’s important because it allows other professionals and connections to learn more about what you do and how you help others 24-7. You can showcase your expertise and highlight the professional experiences shaping your career. Keeping it up-to-date and relevant helps you maintain credibility and top-of-mind when a great opportunity arises in your network.
How does a LinkedIn profile help you with marketing?
Your LinkedIn profile page is the most effective way to market yourself and your business online. With LinkedIn being the biggest professional networking site online, ignoring its value is foolish. Whether you’re a student graduating college, an entrepreneur, or working in the 9-5, everyone can benefit from using LinkedIn to build their personal brand and stand out in this competitive market. People buy from people, and there’s no better way than building relationships and utilizing the opportunities on LinkedIn.
How do I increase my LinkedIn profile views?
You can increase your LinkedIn profile views by taking action and becoming more active on the platform. That entails showing up consistently, leaving high-quality comments on others’ posts, and posting relevant content that speaks to educational and inspirational examples that help others. Be genuine and open with your expertise, and you’ll see more profile visitors stopping by to check out who you are and your content.
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