How To Write A LinkedIn Profile For Outreach Success

While Facebook remains one of the leading platforms for B2C promotions, no social outlet can beat LinkedIn when it comes to B2B marketing. According to LinkedIn latest stats, 94% of B2B marketers use the platform to build connections, share content, and promote their services to other brands and companies. As compared to 2014, when only 91% of the marketers used the website, we can observe an obvious growth curve. Sure, it might be bit slow; but, it is quite steady, which is a promising trend.

So, if you’re still figuring out how to make LinkedIn work for your business, make a note of the following tips — they should help you build an excellent profile and reach out to a broader audience.

Customizing the page name

Just like Facebook, LinkedIn offers a chance to create custom URLs. If you are creating a corporate profile, this is an obvious step to start with. Not only will your LinkedIn page look neater; it will also become more accessible to find via search engines.

Including a professional photo

When building a personal brand, make sure to include the latest headshot. The shot itself does not have to be taken by a professional photographer (but, if you have one — do not hesitate to use it). Still, even an amateur photo has to look professional. Absolutely no bikinis or martinis! You’d be surprised to know how many professionals still neglect this obvious piece of advice.

When creating a company page, a logo and a relevant background (something that represents your company philosophy — perhaps, a picture from your main website page) should be appropriate.

Crafting a catchy headline

In case of a company profile, the headline can (and probably should) be your slogan. In case of a personal brand page, you might have to get a little bit more creative. A good idea might be to think of your headline as you used to think of topics for descriptive essay in college. On the one side, it should perfectly reveal your experience and personality in a single line. On the other one, it should make your viewers want to scroll down for more.

Including a keyword-rich summary

It’s surprising how many marketers still neglect this simple piece of advice. A summary is 2000 character description of your professional experience (or your company overview) that will be featured right under your tagline. This is the perfect chance to hook your potential prospects and optimizing your LinkedIn profile for search engines. To hook the viewers, try to quickly answer the ‘so what’ questions. What can you do for your target customers? What problems can you help solve? To boost SEO, research relevant keywords (but remember to sound human).

It is also a great idea to format this text in bullets — this way, the info will be visual and easy to scan.

Highlighting relevant experience

It is common to craft your work experience in a resume-like fashion, starting with the latest jobs you held. However, a LinkedIn profile has some degree of flexibility in this matter — you are not obliged to include every position you ever took. When building a personal brand, it might even be a good idea to focus on the jobs that are relevant to your current experience.

When crafting a company page, you can pay closer attention to projects section. You might want to keep them chronological. But, you might also want to start with the most impressive projects first and gradually move on to less significant achievements.

Showcasing education and certificates

Education is one of those sections that does not get a lot of attention on a personal LinkedIn page, but still, you should fill it in carefully. Especially, if you have something to boast about. The same goes for any additional certificates you hold. Make sure to mention all the relevant courses you took over the years — this highlights your dedication and shows that you’re the kind of person who is always willing to improve. Not only the employers but also prospective clients dig that quality in their partners.

Making the most of skills and endorsements

It is crucial to fine-tune your skill list on LinkedIn because your current connections will be offered to endorse you. The more endorsements you have, the more credible your profile looks. So, do not include too many skills you WANT to have. Mention skills you already have — most importantly, skills your connections KNOW you have.

Featuring recommendations

You do not have to ask every connection for a recommendation — even though, a dozen of them will surely look impressive. Still, no need to be spammy — only contact people you have worked with for quite some time. Do not expect that every peer will be willing to spend their time writing a review of how great you are.

Contributing to groups

One of the best ways to engage with new people is to join relevant groups. When you do, make sure not to spam your peers. Take some time to observe the trends in your community; offer advice; answer questions; engage in comments; try to be helpful. Then and only then you can try to self-promote. But even when you do, do not overuse it — remember, despite its ever-growing capabilities, LinkedIn is still a platform to grow your professional connections, not push your services.