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Ways to elevate your LinkedIn profile for maximum impact

July 12, 2023/0 Comments/in LinkedIn /by Grace

LinkedIn is the social media platform where you can use your own profile to build your professional brand, share content with other professionals, and connect with potential clients, business partners and employees.

Personally for my business, it’s given the biggest return on investment of my time. It’s also the channel that I’m covering more and more in my social media training sessions, as many business owners feel least confident that they’re using the platform correctly. So I thought it would be worth breaking down the basics of your LinkedIn profile and how to make sure it’s at its best.

1. Profile picture

Your profile picture should be recent, and your face should take up around 60 percent of the total space. It should match how you would normally look in your work environment so people can easily identify you, for example if they’re briefly met you through networking.

2. Cover image

The cover image is a part of your profile worth utilising as it takes up quite a bit of space and it’s one of the first things people see when viewing your profile. Some people use it to display a collage of their work/projects, others create a graphic that displays their contact details and web address. To keep things consistent, ensure any colours and fonts you select when creating a graphic match your branding. See 6 LinkedIn cover photo ideas.

3. Headline

Your headline is displayed below your name with almost everything you do on LinkedIn; send a connection request, send a message, publish a post, comment on a post, and appear in search results; make sure it clearly states what you do. Rather than simply writing your job title – “Owner of X company” – expand on this (with some keywords) to briefly describe what it is you offer.

My example: Founder of Get Social with Grace 💌 supporting businesses with social media management and training to build their brand awareness ⚡️

If appropriate, feel free to incorporate emojis to add some character.

4. Profile URL

When you first create your LinkedIn profile, LinkedIn will assign a line of random numbers to your URL. This doesn’t look great when linking to your profile, but they can easily be removed.

Go to your profile
Click Contact info and the pencil icon
Click your URL
Click the pencil below ‘Edit your custom URL’
Change your URL and save your changes

This will provide you with a link that is easy to share, and recognisable to other people who may be searching for you.

So we’ve covered the basics of the first section of your LinkedIn profile. Let’s now explore more…

About

It’s amazing to see how many people still leave this field blank in their LinkedIn profile. Your summary is your chance to tell your own story – so don’t just use it to list your skills or the job titles you’ve had. Try to bring to life why those skills matter, and the difference they’ll make to the people you want to work with. Also include some personal information about yourself, such as interests and hobbies, so people can feel connected to you.

Recommendations

Recommendations are a vital part of building your authority and credibility on your LinkedIn profile. You can also repurpose them as testimonials on your website and as posts on your social media channels.

Get in touch with not only clients, but also people you have worked with, and ask them to leave a recommendation on your profile.

Growing your connections

Begin by syncing your profile with your email address book, which will provide a list of all of your email contacts who have a LinkedIn profile. Beyond this, get into the habit of following up meetings and networking events by sending LinkedIn connection requests to anyone you meet – it’s a great way of keeping your network vibrant and up to date.

Another strategy to grow your connections is to connect with like-minded people within your industry and/or local area. Think about other types of businesses that are non-competing in your field, connect with them, and even follow up with a brief introductory message. This is a much better way of building your network than connecting with potential customers and trying to sell to them.

Stay active on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social media tool. Yet, only 3% of users post more than once per week. Such a small figure! It is different to other social media platforms, but it’s still a useful tool to connect and build relationships with like-minded professionals. It’s important to post your own updates, as well as engage in other posts and discussions that might interest you. This will help to expand your network.

LinkedIn company page vs personal profile

May 2, 2023/0 Comments/in LinkedIn /by Grace

During social media training sessions I am often asked about the differences between using a LinkedIn company page versus a personal profile. If you’re familiar with Facebook, the differences between a business page and a personal profile on LinkedIn are quite similar to Facebook. The only thing to note is that you can promote your business through your profile on LinkedIn, whereas it isn’t the done thing on Facebook so much.

You may not generate much activity on your LinkedIn company page, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have one as it has several benefits. But first I’ll explain why your LinkedIn profile is more important to prioritise.

People connect with people

Responses from businesses can often miss that human element that we all desire. It’s hard to “be yourself” when you’re acting as your brand. The most memorable experiences people have with businesses typically involve a person going above and beyond to address their needs.

You can build a personal brand really well through a LinkedIn profile. This will shape people’s perceptions of the brand you represent and add value to your business.

Profiles are active, company pages are passive

With a LinkedIn company page you aren’t able to connect with people, send and receive messages, so therefore it’s hard to develop relationships. You’re purely dependent on organic interactions.

The magic has always been with personal profiles and the relationships you develop through them.

You can use your profile to connect with relevant people

One of the most powerful LinkedIn marketing strategies is to reach out to new people through connecting with them or via their inboxes. This is only possible with personal profiles.

Rather than connecting with potential clients and trying to sell to them, I always recommend using LinkedIn as a networking tool and connecting with potential referral partners, to build relationships this way. Think about non-competing businesses that are in your industry, perhaps within your area too, and strike up a conversation with them to see if you can refer each other to people in your networks. Trust me – you’ll get a much greater response from this than trying to promote something to a potential client!

The benefits of having a company page

Should you ditch your company page altogether since its more limited than the personal profile? Definitely not!

You can still use your LinkedIn company page effectively – here are some reasons why:

It looks professional

Whether you’re a large company or one-person show, if a prospect looks for your company page and doesn’t find it, it won’t help your credibility. Your company page will also be tied to your personal profile, which means anyone checking out your profile (and your employees) will be able to see your company and branding immediately.

This link takes people to the Experience section of your profile, which then links to your company page. Just make sure your company page is complete and professional looking!

More opportunities to be found

Having a company page gives additional ways for people to find you and your content on LinkedIn. A LinkedIn company page is very SEO friendly. Often your company page will come up high in search results when someone Googles your business name.

Your employees can be connected to it

Having even only a few employees connected to your company page provides increased exposure.

To conclude – have both a company page and a personal profile

Ultimately, your LinkedIn company page is one more place for potential prospects to learn about your company. So make sure it’s fully optimised and you’re publishing regular content on it.

But for most small businesses, I would say prioritise your personal profile. This will bring you greater results.

Read: A guide to LinkedIn newsletters

6 LinkedIn cover photo ideas for your brand

April 8, 2022/1 Comment/in LinkedIn /by Grace

One of the simplest ways to make a great first impression is by having a strong profile with an eye-catching LinkedIn cover photo. This is one of the first things people see when they visit your profile (or business page).

Data shows that people remember 80% of what they see, and only 20% of what they read. Use your LinkedIn cover photo to showcase who you are as a professional, highlight your services, share your contact info, or even give a sneak peek into your personality.

Photo size dimensions for your LinkedIn cover photo

We recommend creating a custom LinkedIn cover photo, because it allows you to get creative and incorporate elements that are unique to you, such as your brand colours and fonts.

If you’re not sure where to start, Canva provides a whole range of templates to get you started. These are completely customisable.

But if you have a preferred design software, below are the guidelines for your cover photo size and dimensions:

Personal profile cover photo: 1584 x 396 pixels
Company profile cover photo: 1128 x 191 pixels
Maximum file size 4MB
Must be a PNG or JPG file

When designing cover photos, beware of “danger zones” like how your profile picture will cover the header’s bottom left corner.

6 eye-catching LinkedIn cover photo examples

Whether your goal on LinkedIn is to drive new leads, grow your brand, or educate your audience, here are six examples you can draw inspiration from.

1. Danica Nelson

Danica’s cover photo tell us exactly what she does. Not only this, but its hues of red match the branding on her other social platforms. Consistency is key (and memorable!)

2. Mented Cosmetics

Mented Cosmetics are known for products that complement different skin tones. They’ve used their LinkedIn cover photo to showcase how their makeup looks on women of colour, allowing their company mission to be visually front and centre.

3. Squarespace

Squarespace is a common platform used to build personal and business websites. Their cover photo creatively uses their company slogan with on-brand photos to highlight who they are and what they do.

4. Jayde I. Powell

Jayde’s personal LinkedIn cover photo uses minimal icons to highlight what you can expect from her page and where she’s from. The perfect touch of personality.

5. Ritual

Ritual is a supplement brand and their cover photo “clearly” defines their brand mission. The bright yellow ties in with their brand identity while also highlighting their physical product.

6. Get Social with Grace

Last but not least – me! I recently redesigned my LinkedIn cover photo to incorporate contact information and my Instagram handle. The colours also match my branding.

While it can be often overlooked, using a customised LinkedIn cover photo can go a long way in helping you stand out. If you would like me to design your cover photo, please get in touch!