LinkedIn remains one of the best platforms to make connections, especially for those that intend to build their business or expand their professional network.
When used to its full potential, this platform can raise your profile among those who are in a position to support your business or hard work. The problem is that most people are not fully using their profiles, leading to wasted chances.
Just like most mindful activities such as clearing out the clutter, users must not spend hours a day on LinkedIn to experience positive outputs. Being mindful of how you use it could mean the difference between creating good leads and securing business or simply taking up space with nothing tangible to offer.
LinkedIn may not appear as attractive as other social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, but with over 690 million members and 2 million groups, it is a social platform that cannot be ignored.
Of course, you will not generate as much traffic from LinkedIn as you would from other social sites, but its audience tends to be business-minded, which means that every LinkedIn visitor is going to be worth more money.
Whether you want to expand your business profile or grow your network, LinkedIn is a great platform to utilise. When properly used, it can help you create brand awareness and increase traffic to your business.
But, unfortunately, a lot of users are using this platform the wrong way. Simple copy and pasting of your latest posts for promotion will not generate as much engagement, leads, or sales. Below are some great ways to maximize your LinkedIn profile and increase your engagement.
Use your profile
Although the presence of company pages is on the increase on LinkedIn, personal profiles still dominate the platform.
Company pages are important; they can provide more information regarding the kind of business you do, connect to your homepage, and support a lot of your employees. And there are ways that you can boost the visibility of your company page. But personal profiles get more engagements and more views for these reasons:
It is impossible to send connection requests or personal messages from a business page
You cannot make use of LinkedIn Publisher from a business page
Users are more likely to follow a personal profile than a brand
People want to engage with other people, not organizations
Make a Good First Impression
Whenever you share a post, comment on someone else’s post, or send an invitation to connect, viewers will see your LinkedIn headline. This is an important part of your LinkedIn profile that is worth putting some thought into.
If you want to attract followers on LinkedIn, ensure that your headline stands out and shows that you are an expert in your profession. People are not looking to follow a ‘jack of all trades’ kind of person on LinkedIn. They want to follow professionals in the specific fields they are interested in.
Ensure that your headline shows your knowledge and expertise in a clear, specific profession. Remember that if you try to appeal to all people, you’ll end up appealing to no one.
Also, people mostly search according to important criteria. If you don’t keep your information updated, you’ll be left out of relevant search results – for instance, people may search by:
Location
Job Title
Industry
Company
Make sure you regularly update your profile with new accomplishments, promotions, skills, and job descriptions.
Use professional pictures
LinkedIn is a platform dominated by business professionals, so you need to have a professional look on your profile. Two major pictures should be on your LinkedIn profile:
Your headshot: This is the photo people will look at each time you interact with another user or show up in someone’s news feed, therefore, you must invest in a high-quality and professional-looking pictures. For those in a creative industry, a suit and tie could seem out of place. According to LinkedIn, having a profile photo will lead to up to twenty-one times more views of your profile and nine times more connection requests.
Your background picture: If you still make use of the default LinkedIn background picture, you’re missing out on a great chance. Background photos can help you communicate your brand and show important information. Choose a quality picture that shows your standing within your company, your location, or your brand to maximize this element.
Write text-only posts on LinkedIn
Posts tend to get more engagements than articles. Statistics reveal that text-only posts always outperform posts that contain images and videos. LinkedIn’s algorithm doesn’t like contents that have external links to other sites, because they take users away from the LinkedIn platform – and that restricts LinkedIn’s opportunity to show those users advertisements.
The best-performing text-only posts seem to be longer, therefore, don’t be scared to use most (or all) of the 1300 characters you’re permitted for each post. At least, write enough to trigger the platform to show the ‘see more’ message.
Write compelling content
As you write, you should aim for your content to achieve these three things:
Communicate the story and value of your brand
Use keywords that will appear in relevant search results
Provide value for people who discover it
Two of the most important contents on your LinkedIn profile are your summary and headline. Your headline is a quick elevator pitch, assisting to give context and a ‘hook’ to keep people on your profile for a longer time. Your summary should tell readers what you do, and how you can assist your target market.
To create a compelling profile summary,
Make use of clear and simple language – avoid acronyms and jargon
Communicate honest results you will offer or have offered to your customers
Mention how your offer is different from that of others in the marketplace
Avoid hype and superlatives. For instance, do not claim you’re the greatest at something. Only state facts and measurable achievements
Make the profile easy to read
Have a call-to-action
Include your contact information
Provide external links such as your website and other social media profiles.
If your site is not hosted by one of the most used brands, ensure that it is user-friendly before sending traffic to it. You don’t want to lower your credibility by pointing people to a website that is not efficient.
Other than your summary and headline, post content on LinkedIn that people are willing to read. For instance, if you’re into customer service or HR, post something vital for colleagues on LinkedIn, like a customer service resume template they can use to make their own LinkedIn profile better.
If you’d like more tips or have any questions then contact us today at hi@leadzoom.io