Here at Creating Media we love LinkedIn. The whole team are on there, as well as our company page. However, we have plenty of pet hates of badly constructed profiles (which are thankfully very easy to fix!). Is LinkedIn not performing as well as you’d like for you? Take a look at our top tips below and maybe you’ll spot some aspects of your profile which you can improve in just a few minutes.
-
Customised URL
Adding a shortened URL is so easy and has so many benefits, it’s a wonder that more people don’t do it! It makes you easier to find, allows you to add a short snappy url to your business card and email signature, and makes you look like you know what you’re doing. It is especially important for people with slightly more ‘popular’ names – for example on our team ‘Michelle Dalley’ is very easy to find on LinkedIn, ‘Victoria Jones’ not so much…
Just go to you profile and hit the ‘edit profile’ button. There should be a box about halfway down the right hand side that allows you to ‘customize your public profile URL’.
-
Choose a good profile photo
Never, ever forget that LinkedIn is a professional business network and should be treated as such. Would you go to a business networking event in a bridesmaids dress? I’m guessing not.
One of our pet hates is seeing LinkedIn pictures that have obviously been taken at weddings, on a night out, or are just plain out-of date (for example, their hairstyle has changed dramatically). It’s shocking how often it happens. It’s easy to get a clear head-and-shoulders shot on a camera phone these days so there is no excuse for a grainy, badly cropped, out-of-focus photo. And when you’re taking it, try and be in front of a neutral background – you don’t want to have a potted plant growing out of your head!
-
Adding contact details!
We understand that many ‘employees’ may not want to add contact details. However, if you are a small business owner then why aren’t you making it easy to contact you? You may be losing out on potential sales and contacts, just by not having your phone number or email address easily visible on your profile!
-
Keeping profile up-to-date
How often have you gone to add someone you met at a networking event, and found someone you think may be them but listed at a different company? It’s frustrating and misleading. Keep your job roles and profile information up-to-date to make it easy for contacts to find and add you – otherwise frankly what is the point?
-
Send invitations with personalised messages
Let’s imagine you’ve met a whole bunch of people at a networking event and want to add them on LinkedIn – it’s only sensible to give them a reminder of who you are. Alternatively, if you are adding someone cold then at least introduce yourself first. It is only polite and courteous to introduce yourself, or remind contacts who you are, and numerous polls have shown that people are much more likely to accept invitations with personalised messages.
Our very own Michelle is a bit of a LinkedIn guru, so if you’d like to talk to us about improving your LinkedIn presence give us a call today on 01291 423 234 or email info@creatingmedia.co.uk!
