7 Must Haves for a Strong LinkedIn Profile

Having a strong LinkedIn profile means more than racking up your connections. As a small business owner, it’s important that you showcase your talents and experience, as well as recommendations of previous clients. LinkedIn is the largest professional social media platform on the market and is one of the fastest growing social media sites period. Take a look at these 7 areas of your LinkedIn profile and how they will help increase your business opportunities.

A professional headshot

A professional headshot makes your profile 11x more likely to be viewed! It’s time to update the fuzzy phone picture with a sharp new photo of your professional self. Connect with someone you know about getting a headshot done with a high quality DSLR camera and you’ll be pleased with the improvement. Your profile picture is the public’s first impression of you and your business. Just like in a business meeting, you want to be sure to dress professionally so your client’s first impression of you is positive.

List your education

LinkedIn is all about connecting with people both professionally and personally. Camaraderie is made through commonality, so if you put your alma mater on your profile, the higher the chance you’ll connect with someone who went to the same college. It’s also wise to list your degree(s) on your profile. This gives yet another channel that people can connect with you. Doubly so if they went to your alma mater and received the same degree as you. It also helps if you are trying to partner with another business and your degree is in the field you are wanting to partner.

Write a captivating headline

Succinct and snappy is the best way to write your headline. Similar to a headline of a newspaper, you’ll want to use exciting verbs, along with a clear message of what products and services you sell in your business. The content of your headline is searchable by Google and LinkedIn so put some effort into what you want potential clients to be searching when your profile pops up.

Endorsements

Potential clients will search your page for your endorsements to see how qualified you are to help them with what they need from you. A good way to get endorsements is to endorse others. Think about the vendors you’ve worked with in the past and endorse them for all that you know about them. Once they see you’ve endorsed them, they will endorse you. Having a large quantity of endorsements can be a quick visual reassurance that you are the right business for a potential client.

Create a unique LinkedIn URL

Make your vanity URL something that is short and memorable. This way you can list your URL on your business cards so when you pass them out, potential clients can go straight to your page. A unique LinkedIn URL is also easy to share on other business pages such as Facebook and Instagram business pages.

Recommendations

Just like when people shop on Amazon and look for places to eat on Yelp, they want to read reviews before buying. So make this easy for your potential clients. Pinpoint a few happy customers you’ve worked with and request that they recommend you on LinkedIn. After you have a few of these on your page, you’re likely to see an increase in business inquires since your business is full of good reviews.

Highlight your experience

This section of your LinkedIn profile is for you to quickly summarize the experience you have at each position you’ve held. A sales manager at a restaurant and a sales manager at a phone store could mean completely different things. Succinctly summarize your duties and achievements while in that position. If you went to VP club or another form of high achievement, make sure to mention it! Again, doing all of this reassures potential clients that you are the best business to work with.

Taking time to strengthen you LinkedIn profile can do wonders for your small business. Remember, a lot of times, potential clients look at your LinkedIn profile before ever speaking a word to you. Using these 7 tips to solidify your profile will get you on your way to increasing business opportunities. For more ways to boost your online presence, check out 4 Digital Marketing Tools.