Think about it, your LinkedIn profile is essentially your home for your personal brand. This is the space where you are able to present your story, showcase your personality and expertise, and invite your audience to take the next step with you. Top to bottom, your profile should convince someone to build a certain sense of trust with you – something you cannot do if your profile isn’t up to par!
In order to compete with the big names of LinkedIn, your profile might need a tune up. This may take some time and effort, and you might not think it’s that important – but once the quality leads start flowing in, the purpose will be quite clear.
So here we go! Let’s go through a complete rundown top to bottom of what it takes to have an A+ LinkedIn profile. (We’ve even thrown in some fun workshop activities to do with your colleagues and team!) Keep scrolling as we show you how to make your profile stand out among the rest.
Header Graphic:
This is the banner image you see in the first fold automatically when visiting a LinkedIn profile.
- Your image should be updated, this shows that you’re active. Try not to stick with the basic header that comes along with your profile automatically.
- This is your opportunity to showcase your brand visually or display a key message that you’d like to tell your audience.
- Your header is like a giant billboard, this is the first thing your audience sees – make it exciting!
Great header examples:
Profile Photo:
It’s very important to have a great profile shot, it doesn’t have to be professionally taken – but it should be bright, visible, and reflect your personality!
Great Profile Photo Examples:
Headline:
Your headline is that little line of text underneath your profile photo. It is meant to be a concise way of communicating your role and the impact you make.
- This can just include your position, but we encourage you to make it something more creative.
- This is an opportunity to combine multiple messages and create a compelling message for your audience.
Great headline examples:
About Section:
This is the paragraph on your profile that works to build a connection with your audience, let them know who you are, and what you do. If for any reason someone is to stumble upon your page – it should be clear what value they will receive after reaching out to you.
- Can include a personal story or details about what makes you, you!
- Copy should end in a Call-to-Action
Great about section examples:
Experience:
Your LinkedIn profile is your living, breathing resume. It’s exciting to see what projects you’ve been working on and the experience you have – so don’t hesitate to include anything that could be of importance!
- Include all past professional roles – even if it’s something that doesn’t apply directly to the role you may be applying to next.
- Provide a concise description of what you do/did in your roles.
- It is ok to leave older roles that have less impact on your current career empty without a description.
- Don’t be afraid to cite entrepreneurial work! Be sure to list out what type of work you’re doing, how you’re doing it, and what your goal is.
Education:
- Include all formal degrees
Volunteer Experience:
Don’t glaze over this section, volunteering helps to show that you are a well rounded individual and care about your community. It’s also great to see people talking about things other than sales on LinkedIn!
- This is an opportunity to share any volunteer experiences you have participated in.
- This can bring attention to the causes you support and boost your credibility.
- Building out this section adds depth to your profile.
Skills and Endorsements:
This section isn’t extremely important, so don’t let it stress you out. LinkedIn puts this section in front of other users in order to have them endorse your skills and vice versa.
- Profile shouldn’t be left blank, add some if you don’t have any.
- Eventually endorsements should come in organically from people in your network.
Recommendations:
Recommendations are a great way to get public and social justification for your skills and experience.
- An effective strategy to get recommendations is to offer to write one for someone else and ask them to write one in return.
- You can send a link asking for a recommendation and the other person must fill it out and submit.
That’s it! We’ve gone through your full LinkedIn profile from top to bottom! With these additions, your profile will be top notch and will be in the perfect spot to bring you quality jobs, leads, and sales. But your LinkedIn journey doesn’t stop there – check out our blogs on:
How to Create Content on LinkedIn Like a PRO!
How to Create an Engagement Strategy on LinkedIn
How to Create a Following Strategy on LinkedIn
But wait, there’s more!
Have you checked out our Hey Now! Media Webinar series yet?! In our second addition, we took a deep dive into: “How To Create An Influential LinkedIn Profile”
The best part? We have now implemented the option to download a recording of the webinar – this way you never miss out!
