When you write your LinkedIn profile, you have an opportunity to paint a picture for your audience and tell the story of you. People use LinkedIn to look for information about you and your business. With Microsoft purchasing LinkedIn, this is a trend that is expected to increase – to the point that Microsoft may start using LinkedIn to recommend experts for projects.
A successful LinkedIn profile needs to illustrate how your business – and you – can help clients. It needs to illustrate how you are an expert.
What’s the story your LinkedIn profile tells about you?
Have you ever heard that you should dress for the job you aspire to? Your profile should be similarly dressed – from your LinkedIn summary and experience to the content you post. A good LinkedIn profile should reflect who you want to be to the world and illustrate your successes (honestly, of course).
My LinkedIn profile highlights my lead generation sales and marketing expertise and the expertise of our company. Everything I’ve highlighted supports that message – even my accounting and finance experience!
How you write your LinkedIn profile is important. Focus on the expertise you want to emphasize. This leverages your profile much better than if you just list your past positions and use generic job descriptions.
To dress your LinkedIn profile for success, create a common message that threads through your whole LinkedIn profile. Think of it as the golden thread connecting all the elements of your profile:
- Profile photo
- Summary
- Experience
- Education
- Recommendations
- Groups
- Content you post
A successful LinkedIn profile defines how you want to be known. For business owners, it also tells the world about your business.
How do you want the world to know you? Your answer determines how you should write your LinkedIn profile.
Here are a few examples of themes you might use throughout your profile:
- An entrepreneurial owner of a successful technology company that solves clients’ business problems with proven technology solutions.
- A top-performing consultative sales rep focused on finding the best solutions for her customers.
- An innovative marketer who actively seeks out new strategies to maximum lead generation results.
Use your LinkedIn summary to describe how you are that person. Your achievements and experiences should reinforce that message.
This is how you dress for success – on LinkedIn.
A successful business owner can use this opportunity to highlight how their business has provided clients with the best service. Be sure to include the industries of your clients and the types of products your company sells so your audience gets a feel for how you can help them.
If you’re a top-performing consultative sales rep, describe the biggest sales you’ve made, the number of new accounts you’ve sold or the percent of quota you meet.
What about that innovative marketer who actively seeks out new strategies to maximize lead generation results? List the programs you’ve implemented and the results you’ve had. Point out unique strategies you’ve used and how they worked.
Remember, this is a story – the story of you.
Your LinkedIn summary and your accomplishments should work hand-in-hand to communicate exactly how you want your audience to know you. Keep in mind that a good LinkedIn profile will string that golden thread throughout. That way, your audience will have a clear picture of how you can help them.
Want more social media savvy? Check out our recent post 6 Tips to Engage Your Audience on Twitter and Rise Above the Crowd. Coming up next, we’ll take a look at how to use LinkedIn to position yourself as an expert.