10 TIPS TO OPTIMIZEYour LinkedIn Profile& Increase Your Engagement

Tip #1: Use an updated photo.

Ü Make sure your photo is recent and recognizable.

Ü Use a shot that looks professional. This doesn’t mean your photo must be a professional

headshot; just make sure you use good lighting and a high-quality digital camera.

Ü Generally speaking, don’t include anyone else in your photo. This is your profile; possible

connections who come to your page want to know who you are.

Ü Avoid pixelated photos, bad editing and bad cropping.

Ü Premium accounts can have a background photo as well. This option is being rolled out to

Basic (free) accounts as well.

Ü Black and white photos can make your profile stand out in a sea of color photos.

Tip #2: Identify and use strategic keywords.

Ü Know and use keywords in your industry. What technologies, skills and experiences are

critical to your field? What strategies are trending? Etc?

Ü See what keywords other professionals in your industry highlight on their profiles.

Identifying what others highlight on their profiles is a good way to stay up-to-date with

trending information and to know key players in your field.

Ü Use these keywords in your Summary, Headline, Skills, Experience and

Publications sections.

Tip #3: Craft a unique Headline.

Ü LinkedIn populates information for your Headline section, but you can edit and

customize it.

Ü Consider what is appropriate; some creative headlines may work for your industry and

some may not. What skills can you highlight? What experience do you have that is eye-

catching? What successes have you had that stand out in the LinkedIn crowd? Etc?

10 Tips to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile & Increase Your Engagement

Tip #4: Complete your Summary section.

Ü Don’t leave your Summary blank. Think of this section as a way to tell your possible

connections and/or possible future employers more about professional self, your areas of

expertise, how you tackle projects and/or how you have succeeded within those projects.

Ü If you are looking for a new career, it’s important to use all 2,000 characters. Think of

this section as your cover letter; use all of the available space to paint an interesting and

accurate image of what you bring to the table.

Ü Share your accomplishments. This helps you establish your credibility and further adds to

an appealing online presence.

Ü Upload samples of your work to this section. These can be files or links to projects, videos,

white papers, photos, etc.

Tip #5: Complete your profile.

Ü Your profile includes other sections that are often overlooked. To optimize your profile,

provide information for the following sections:

• Projects

• Publications

• Volunteer Experiences/Opportunities/Organizations

• Certifications

• Languages

Ü All-Star is the highest level of LinkedIn profiles. Having a profile that meets that level will

help to further promote your online presence.

Tip #6: Make your profile stand out.

Ü Customize your profile URL. No one wants to see a profile name with xo7984729/8420ut

behind it.

Ü Make your profile visible. You want potential connections to be able to view your profile.

Ü Include your other social media links. You can include this in the Contact Info section under

the main header and/or in your Summary section.

Tip #7: Give your work and your ideas a digital platform.

Ü Upload samples of your work and/or videos. As mentioned before, show off samples of your

work, products you sell and/or services you provide via uploaded files or links. You can do

this under your Summary section and under each separate job experience you post.

Ü Create your own content using long-form blog posts. You’ve no doubt seen the news that

Pulse recommends for you each day on your LinkedIn home page. You can create such

content about your areas of expertise that Pulse will recommend to others. As of August

15, 2014, LinkedIn is no longer accepting applications for early access to publishing these

long-form blog posts. However, this feature will be rolled out to all members soon. Content

is king, so don the crown of a thought leader.

Tip #8: Interact with your followers and potential connections.

Ü Follow companies. You can follow up to 1000 companies. Reach out to your connections

this way and ask them to follow your company’s page as well.

Ü Post regularly. Attending a trade show? Let your connections know where to find you and

post photos of the event. See an interesting article or motivational photo? Post it. Aim to

post at least once a day before 11am Monday-Friday. Share content from your company’s

page as well.

Ü Join professional groups. Interact by posting discussion topics and comments.

Ü Recognize how different types of content engage. Links: approximately 200% more

engagement. Images: 98% higher comment rate. YouTube links: 75% higher share rate.

Ü Send thoughtful introduction messages. Send a message to new connections that engages

and sets you apart.

Ü Use Vsnap to create personalized video messages to connections, colleagues and/or

customers. This tool can be a building block for new interactions and relationships and can

easily be branded, which can help you build your online presence. It can be used through

LinkedIn as well as Twitter and email.

Tip #9: Interact with your company’s page.

Ü Follow your company’s LinkedIn page.

Ü Promote your company’s LinkedIn content by liking and/or sharing its links. Each time you

do, that content will show up on the home page of your followers.

Ü Leave comments on and engage in discussions with others on your company’s LinkedIn

posts. Each time you do, that content will show up on the home page of your followers.

Ü Set a goal to share at least one of your company’s posts on LinkedIn at least once a week.

Ü Add your company’s LinkedIn URL to your email signature as well as your personal

LinkedIn URL.

Ü Encourage your company’s social media team to post new content. If you read an

interesting article, have a creative idea for original content, have an announcement or

have a fun idea like a giveaway or a poll, reach out to that team and ask how you can be

involved. New content = new followers!

Tip #10: Tag your LinkedIn contacts.

Ü Add important Connections as LinkedIn Contacts.

Ü Tag those saved in your Contacts. These tags serve as keywords to help organize and sort

your contacts.

Ü You can create up to 200 new and unique tags or delete old ones.

Follow RME360 on LinkedIn to continue to get more tips as well as information on client acquisition solutions!