Making the Most of Your LinkedIn Profile
by Yvonne DiVita, Book Coach and Author Advisor
Don’t Be ‘That Person’ on LinkedIn
Don’t be the person who goes on and on and on all about THEM. “I did this. I did that. I graduated top of my class.”
No one cares. The people you want to attract want more. More of you, the person and the profession, not just your resume.
LinkedIn is growing and attracting more and more professionals. These are people who are experts in their industry. They want to connect with you. You want to connect with them.
That may not happen if they visit your profile page and see, “Look at how great I am at everything.” ๐ช๐ป
Instead of, “Here’s how I can help you.” โ๐ป
As an author, being on LinkedIn is a must. Even if you write fiction.
LinkedIn is populated by… people. The very kinds of people who read books. ๐ Who might want to read your book. ๐ These professionals are looking for ways to improve and enhance their current situation. They want solutions to problems. Many of them are entrepreneurs, so new at this, they are eager and willing to buy a book about how to make this new thing they started work.โ
If they see you on LinkedIn, on someone else’s feed, perhaps, and think, “I should connect with her,” the first thing they’ll do is visit your page and look at your About section. Yes, they can’t help but see your photo (you do have a photo up there, right?), and your header design, but if they’re smart, and so many of them are, they’ll scroll down to your About content. ๐๐ป
All About You Isn’t Going To Cut It
I’ve talked to a good many LinkedIn experts, and taken a course on how to make your profile work for you, so I’m not coming at this uninformed. I always do my homework.
The experts I talk to, and follow on LinkedIn, tell me this – it’s about what you can do for someone else, and not what you’ve accomplished in your life. Yes, there’s a place to validate your expertise (I would say it’s in your posts, but that’s a given, isn’t it? Isn’t it? ๐) . But put that after showcasing what you can do to solve a problem I have.
Here are 10 Ways to Make the Most of Your LinkedIn profile
1. Use a professional – well, a good – headshot, I’d say – for your profile picture. It should represent you and the work you do appropriately. This will make your profile more personal and help people remember you. I openly admit that if I go to someone’s page and don’t see a picture of them, I don’t connect.
2. Write a compelling headline that summarizes what you do and what you’re looking for. For instance, here’s my headline and opening statement:
“Author Advisor and Book Coach. I help entrepreneurs and successful business professionals write and publish a book. A book that matters. That leaves a legacy. That creates community. That helps build business and invites more speaking opportunities. A book that builds authority.”
Now you know, in a nutshell who I serve and what I do for them. I build books. Books that matter.
3. Use keywords in your summary and experience sections that match the skills and qualifications listed in the job posting or that are relevant to your industry. People forget about keyword power. Yes, LinkedIn’s bots look at keywords just as Google’s do. Make sure your About page and other content your write is full of those keywords. Mine are #bookcoach #authoradvisor #publishing #writingabook #authority
4. Highlight your accomplishments, rather than just listing your responsibilities. This is not, “I’m great because I led a team that took over the web for a whole day.” It’s more, “On a project to increase awareness to our newest product, my team and I created a landing page that brought in double the traffic for a whole week.” Then, tell us a little bit about that. It’s a story. Share a story.
5. Include a diverse range of experiences, including volunteer work, side projects, and other activities that demonstrate your skills and interests. This seems self-explanatory. Volunteer work is especially appealing. Tell us what you’re interested in – me, I’m an animal lover. I support shelters and rescues. Oh, and our local food bank.
6. Showcase any industry certifications, languages you speak, and education you received. This is mostly at the end. If people want to know it, they’ll scroll for it. You could, if you’re clever, sneak it in when you’re writing #4.
7. Don’t be too wordy. Yes, LinkedIn has a character limit (2600 as of this writing) but if you don’t need all of it, don’t use all of it. Less is more. People can ask if they want to learn more. And that, my friend, is a good thing. If they’re asking, they’re interested.
8. Customize your public profile URL. Here’s mine for example: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonnedivita-book-whisperer/
9. Keep your information accurate and up-to-date, and be consistent across your various social media profiles. What this means is please visit your profile page and your about section every couple of months. Maybe you want to add that amazing podcast you were on recently, or change your photo. Old, stale, outdated information makes you old, stale, and outdated. p.s. always, always, always check for typos or faulty grammar. you can ask a trusted friend to do that for you – maybe even one of your beta readers.
10. Ask people you trust to read and comment (to you) on your profile. Do they think it describes what you do? Having someone else check your work is just good business. It holds you accountable in ways you cannot do yourself. Someone else, or a series of someone elses, can help you hone that About section until it sings like a bluebird on a warm summer morning. And that’s exactly what you want.
You want this. To improve your profile and About section, because you want to make connections. You want to be noticed. Don’t you?
It’s your job to show people how your book can change their lives. Whether it’s a business book, a memoir, a how-to, or a novel, you didn’t write it just to have people read and set it on a shelf. You wrote it for a purpose – make that purpose stand out on your LinkedIn profile and About section. Make people want to get to know you better, and by doing that, to introduce you to all of their friends.
Oh, and to buy your book, sign up for your workshop, join your mastermind, and come see you speak at conferences. And, ๐๐ป BTW, LinkedIn Expert, Richard van der blom tells us that 66% of LinkedIn users don’t comment, or like, or share. They are the ๐จ๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ข๐๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ฎ. And while they don’t engage, they are watching. So don’t despair if your numbers aren’t reaching the top of the mountain, yet. Keep doing what you do!
Go off now. Work on your page. Make the most of your LinkedIn profile. I’m happy to give it a look-see if you like. DM me on LinkedIn.
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