How to craft the perfect LinkedIn profile - Patch

How to craft the perfect LinkedIn profile

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Are you looking to increase your business opportunities through LinkedIn? Or are you hoping to grow a personal brand? 

LinkedIn is quickly becoming the favoured social media network and is one of the few platforms where you can build your personal brand, connect with other professionals and share content. Think of it as a digital CV!

People can find you on LinkedIn in several ways. Through mutual connections, your company page or their feed.

Because anyone can view your profile (if you’re public) you’ll want to make sure it’s optimised, up-to-date and is interesting enough to get them hooked. 

So how do you create a profile that stands out? Here are 10 simple steps from us to help you achieve a perfect LinkedIn profile. 

 

1: Set a high-quality profile picture

This is one of the very first things that a user will see from your LinkedIn profile. If they discover you in search or on their feed, your profile picture will be seen. It is everywhere! 

So, make sure it’s high quality and professional. If you meet with prospective clients, employers or any connections in person, you want to be recognisable from your LinkedIn profile picture. 

 

2: Set your header image

This is a wide photo that sits behind your picture, at the top of your profile. This image allows you to showcase more of what you do. Whether you fill the header image with an employer branded banner or your freelance details, this image has the potential to make an impact. It doesn’t need to contain an image of you again, but make sure it is clear, high quality and stands out. If it contains text, make sure it’s eligible, and profile visitors can read it on desktop and mobile devices. The number one thing to remember is to keep it ‘on brand’. You want your branding to be recognisable and for your LinkedIn profile to be memorable and an extension of your brand. 

 

3: Write a compelling headline

Use the headline as a chance to not only mention your job title but what impact you have.

Your profile headline can boost the impact of your personal brand. Your headline is just as visible as your profile picture. So make sure that if people are discovering you for the first time, they can get an idea of your skills from this short headline before clicking through to your profile. Make it clear and specific. 

LinkedIn gives you 220 characters (around 50 words) for a headline.

An extra Patch Tip:

Don’t forget to set your location too! Even with hybrid and remote work taking over, it’s still important to set your location. This is so that you get relevant connection recommendations. Recruiters, employers or prospective clients will also know where you are based. 

 

4: Switch on creator mode

If you’re looking to maximise your personal brand through LinkedIn and post regularly, we recommend switching to creator mode. 

This means people can discover you through the topics you talk about, in hashtag format. These hashtags are highlighted below your headline on your profile. 

LinkedIn Creator Mode

 

This gives other users an idea of what you speak about and whether it’s relevant for them to follow you. It gives potential connections better clarity on what you’re passionate about and what areas you’re well-informed in.  

There are so many people on social media and LinkedIn that users want to ensure they are interested in what you will post about before connecting or following. 

How do you do it? 

Go to your profile on your mobile LinkedIn app and under resources, you will see creator mode. If this is active it will say ‘On’ in green. If it’s inactive it will say ‘Off’ in grey. 

To switch it on, you want to click on it, insert the topics that you will be talking about – this is how LinkedIn generates those relevant hashtags and click done. This feature also gives you added features such as LinkedIn Live. 

 

5: Take the chance to tell your story

The about section on your LinkedIn profile allows you to tell your career story. This is ultimately a summary about you.

Shout about accomplishments, statistics or goals. Prospective employers may be reading this, so you want it to tell your story from the beginning to the present day. What led you to your current role, your future goals etc? 

Don’t forget to add charisma to the about section and make it a fun read. You don’t want to bore profile visitors or come across as very corporate (those days are long gone). Companies are looking for character as well as skills!

Make it around 250-300 words and make it easy to read. Use bullet points to list your skills and headers to break up the text into sections. Think of this as your ‘about me’ paragraph on a CV. The difference is you should show some more personality here. So, drop some of your favourite emojis in there!

 

6: Keep your experience up-to-date

Your experience section is similar to a traditional CV – it needs to be up-to-date. This showcases your work history and how many years of experience you have in your industry. 

When you input a new job role, LinkedIn will update your profile. It will display your work history in date order, from top to bottom. 

Remove any old experience that’s not relevant to your current or desired industry. Like a Saturday job when you were 15, you can probably leave that one out. If it’s relevant,  keep it there! 

This is a great opportunity to showcase your progression in a role. You have the chance to display any promotions that you received at a company and so on. If you worked at a company for five years and had two promotions in that time, make sure you include these in your experience section. 

Also, don’t forget to fill in the job description section for each of your roles in your work history to give profile visitors a deeper insight into your specific skills.

 

7: Complete your contact information

Using the edit profile button, you can fill in your contact information. 

Scroll down to the bottom and click edit contact info. From there, you will be able to input a phone number, email address and even your birthday. 

Now, potential clients, connections or recruiters can get in touch easily. If this is out-of-date, you may miss out on opportunities.

 

8: Engage and build your network

Engagement is key to building a network on LinkedIn. You need to comment on other posts, start conversations or share content yourself. 

Just remember. Your comments should be meaningful. Posting a few emojis on a user’s post won’t build genuine connections. You want to share your opinions, offer insight, knowledge and supper to others. 

You can follow hashtags, which allows you to control the topics that will show up in your feed. Following hashtags on LinkedIn is especially helpful if you are looking to keep up with industry trends.

A big network is never a negative thing! Connect with like-minded people that are relevant in your industry, who inspire and motivate you. You may be a business owner looking to connect with other small business owners. LinkedIn is the perfect place to be, due to it being a B2B platform and having access to so many business owners all over the world. 

If you’re a marketing executive looking to grow your skills or you’re on a job search, then look to connect with other marketers or hiring managers. Next time they’re hiring, if your LinkedIn profile stands out, they will think about you as a candidate!  

Start finding them and hitting that connect button!

 

9: Show off awards and certificates

If you’ve achieved certifications throughout your career, be sure to shout about these! There’s a specific section on your LinkedIn profile for awards and certificates.

If you’ve completed a recognised online course that comes with a certificate, include it. All of this counts and only backs up your skills and ambition displayed in the rest of your profile. 

Keep this area up-to-date and clear out any certifications that expire. 

 

10: Get posting! 

Now that your profile is fully optimised, it’s time to start a content schedule and start posting on LinkedIn regularly. Stay active on LinkedIn will help your profile perform and keep your network growing.

The tone of your content should sound natural, show off your personality, and be relevant to those topics highlighted in your profile.

You can post content in different ways and formats on LinkedIn. Video is an excellent format for showcasing your personality and helping others get to know you. You can also post images, text-only, polls and documents. To start, you just simply need to have a play around and get creative. 

You can also share others’ content and add your thoughts to it. The options are endless! Just remember to keep it relevant, consistent and reactive where possible. Staged and rigid content won’t help create a bond with other LinkedIn members.

Most importantly – have fun! LinkedIn offers so much value to all professionals whether it’s building relationships, sourcing work, looking for a job or meeting like-minded people.  

 

For more tips and resources just like this, follow Patch on LinkedIn