182: 11 Steps to a Better LinkedIn Profile for Marketing Yourself [Podcast]

Company of One with Dale Callahan

These 11 steps to a better LinkedIn profile will help you be found by recruiters and will also help you brand yourself to future and current employers. While a lot of people spend time on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms, LinkedIn is the one platform that is more connected to professional impact more than others. 11 Steps to a Better LinkedIn Profile Your LinkedIn profile is likely to be the first thing people see about you. Do the following steps to create or refresh your profile. 1) Good Headshot Photo It should show your face well, be professional (as it applies to what you might want to do – no need for a suit and tie if you're going to be a professional skydiver). Best to get it made by a professional photographer – but at very least a well-lit headshot from a friend's iPhone. 2) Your Name This is no place for nicknames unless you are professionally known by them. 3) Professional Headline The headline is not your job and title. Instead, make it information that will draw your potential visitor into wanting to find out more about you. It should tell me how you can help me. Also, if you are moving away from one career toward another, make sure the headline tells more about where you want to go. 4) Your Location Since we often search for people by location, this is critical. 5) Customized Profile URL LinkedIn provides you with a default URL that you can – and should – customize. After all, https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalecallahan/ looks better than http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dalecallahan/4b/z25/146/ ? 7) Status Updates Your Activity will show your latest status update – do you have one? Get into the habit of updating your status regularly. This helps others know what is on your mind. Share thoughtful, insightful, and relevant news. Consider what might interest your visitors. Shoot for updating it once a day. Unlike Facebook or Instagram – this is not the place to share what you had for breakfast - unless that somehow relates to your headline. Keep in mind what you are about - and share that kind of content. 8) A Complete Professional Summary Create a solid professional summary to support your professional LinkedIn profile. Since your visitors have come to your page and seen your headline – you can now add to that with more detail. Think keywords. Any keywords someone might search on that relate to you – you should include. This includes all certifications, skills, etc. that relate to the kind of job you want. Keywords are powerful. 9) Connections - Add More The magic of LinkedIn is connections. So now is the time to start connecting with EVERYONE you know. Past co-workers, bosses, people you go to church with, friends – anyone. The more connections, the more powerful it works for you. And, when someone sees a profile with over 500 connections, it means you are an active user, and therefore I can expect you to be willing to connect with me. VERY IMPORTANT. 10) Contact Information Make it easy to contact you via email or the phone. Add relevant contact information, including how to contact you via social media – as long as you actually check it. 11) Join and Participate in Groups A lot of Activity happens in the groups. Find groups that relate to what you do and join them—a great way to make professional contacts. Click here to listen now. Subscribe & Review in iTunes Are you subscribed to my Company of One? If you’re not, I encourage you to do that today so you don’t miss an episode. Click here to subscribe in iTunes! If you like what you hear, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast. I also love reading them and connecting with you. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you! Links mentioned in this episode: My LinkedIn Profile