Last week we launched the second of our digital workshops and the topic was on how to : optimising your LinkedIn profile!
Whether you came along or you missed it here’s a copy of the presentation we went through:
So let’s get into it, why is optimising your LinkedIn profile important and how do you do it?
Optimising your LinkedIn Profile
So, we’re here to take you through the different ways you can optimise your LinkedIn profile in 2021 to help your social media strategy. But how powerful is LinkedIn and is it worth investing your time into? Let’s do a quick fact-check…
- LinkedIn turns 18 this year! It was originally created as a place where professional could host their online resumes.
- In December 2020, LinkedIn had nearly 30.9 million users in the UK. Of those users, 58.3% were aged between 25 and 34 years old and 21% of users were aged between 35 to 54 years.
- 4 out of 5 people on LinkedIn “drive business decisions”.
So, we know that it was originally created for people to seek jobs or hire candidates – it‘s still used for this purpose but more increasingly it’s being used to…
- Connect
- Share knowledge/learn
- Advertise online
Although it’s mainly used as a B2B marketing tool, it’s increasingly being used by fundraisers and for B2C digital marketing. After all, every business owner/decision-maker is technically a consumer too!
With content creation up by 60% in 2020 it’s becoming increasingly difficult to cut through the noise, so how can you attract, engage and convert your audience on LinkedIn!
Real Solution
First step is to make sure you complete your profile. Profiles that are completed get 5 x more page views! You can use the below as a bit of a check-list…
Choose the right picture – This is the very first impression people get of you! It might seem obvious, but make sure your picture is recent and actually looks like you. Choose a high-resolution photo (ideally 400 x 400 pixels) and make sure your expression suits your personality/brand!
Header photo – The recommended size is 1584 x 396 pixels. Here’s a few examples of what you can set your header photo as:
- You working/in-action
- A location shot (e.g. where you are based)
- A graphic with your key services and contact details on
Say your name – Did you know you can add a name pronunciation via your mobile app? A great way for members to know how to pronounce your name before they meet you!
Customise your URL – We have a video showing you how to do this here.
Headline – Use this space to talk about how you can help, why people should connect with you, or just to make a lasting impression – the characters are limited for a reason!
About – This is a chance to expand on your headline and let people know more about your story.
Featured posts – This is where you can feature something you’re proud of. It could be a website, an article or media. Did you know you can even feature one of your timeline posts?
Experience/Education – Take the time to update these with relevant information. Especially in the experience section it’s a good chance to expand on what your business does and who you help
Skills/Endorsements – List your skills so that your connections can start endorsing you. You can feature your top 3 skills.
Recommendations – This a great trust point and helps build up your character profile. Challenge – write 3 surprise recommendations today and reach out to 3 people to leave you one!
Grow your connections – If you were in our first workshop, we spoke about your Audience Avatars. You can now really put these into use when using the LinkedIn search tool. This is a really great way to grow the right type of connections so that your content is reaching the right people. You can filter by:
- Location
- Job title
- Connection degree
- Company
- Posts
Make sure to connect with people who inspire you and thought-leaders within your industry!
Post regularly – The more content you post the more likely your profile is to be seen. This is the same for your company – pages that post weekly on LinkedIn see a 2 x higher engagement rate!
real Engagement
What should I post?
- Images/graphics – LinkedIn posts with images get 2x higher engagement
- LinkedIn articles – This is a really great way to share your knowledge on a certain topic or open up a discussion with people. Don’t forget your CTAs!
- Video content – Whether you engage with a professional videographer or take a simple 30-second video on your phone, video content can help your audience get to know you better, tell a story and bring your content to life. In 2020, video content was the most reshared form of content on LinkedIn!
- Live-stream – Brands get 7x more reactions and 24x more comments on LinkedIn Live streams than regular video content.
- Showcase your passion for learning.
The most important thing to remember here is to be yourself.
Be sociable
- Read and comment on other people’s articles and posts.
- If something has inspired you, comment and then follow up with a message.
Utilise paid Ads
LinkedIn ads are extremely specific – they offer more than 200 targeting characteristics! You can use your budget to either boost existing content or create new. You can deliver ads straight to people’s inboxes or target specific audience types.
Use your insights
- Utilise https://www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi
- Find out what works for your audience – which post got the most comments and engagement this month?
- Have a look at who visits your profile and your ‘search appearances’.
real Tricks & Tips
Invite your connection to follow your company profile
You can invite up to 100 of your personal connections a month to follow your company’s LinkedIn page. It’s worth taking advantage of this feature, but make sure you go through and actually invite relevant people rather than everyone for the sake of it!
Install a LinkedIn Insight tag
Did you know you can install an Insight Tag your website? It’s a really handy tag that will help you find out who’s coming to the website via LinkedIn and give you a good insight into your demographic. This is especially useful when you are using paid ads on LinkedIn.
We hope you found our blog useful and that you feel confident in optimising your LinkedIn profile!
Make sure you check out our other upcoming digital workshops and/or reach out to us for a 1-2-1!
Email stacey@real5digital.com or negin@real5digital.com to arrange a chat.
Stay Safe,
Stacey & Negin
#realfaces #stickingtogether
