Top 10 LinkedIn Profile Best Practices

1. Invest in a professional headshot. Smile.

 

2. The banner photo is valuable real estate. Including company/industry relevant photos and copy can "show and tell" your best work. Canva can help.

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3. Use your headline to say more than your current job. Emphasize who you serve and the problems you solve for them. You can also include volunteer work, skills, and personal passions.

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4. Make sure your profile's URL is simple and without random numbers and letters. At the top right of your profile click the pencil next to "Public profile & URL." Then click the pencil symbol near "Edit your custom URL" in the top right. Delete random numbers and letters. Save. Return to your profile and click refresh. It may take a few minutes to update. Once it does, use your new URL on your business card, on your digital business card, and in your email signature.

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5. The About section is a brief autobiography. Tell your story. Talk about who you serve, how, and why you do the work that you do. Write it in 1st person.

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6. The Featured section allows you to showcase your best content including video, written work, and podcast episodes whether you were a guest or host. This section allows you to show off  your work and talents.

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7. Experience-Use this section to write your accomplishments. Did you grow revenue or profitability? Lead a new division? Think about what would stand out to your ideal prospect.

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8. Volunteer experience-Illustrate the skills you learned while contributing to the greater good. Volunteer experience is valuable for numerous reasons including showing dependability, your ability to work with others, and it shows that you are investing your time in an altruistic manner.

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9. Skills-LinkedIn lets you choose up to 50 skills and highlight a Top 2. Make sure your Top 2 are relevant to your current work and not work you were doing in 2019.

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10. Recommendations-Recommend others who have done great work for you. Also, ask loyal clients for a recommendation. This can be for quality work and/or a character endorsement.