LinkedIn Profiling

Here are 20 profile features you should check and update for 2021. Some of them are very
quick wins, some of them may take a little bit of time – but all of them are very worthwhile.
They will help to give you the LinkedIn profile and personal brand that you deserve.

1. Choose the right profile picture for LinkedIn -Your profile picture is your calling card on
LinkedIn – it’s how people are introduced to you and (visual beings that we are) it governs
their impressions from the start. There are some great posts explaining how to pick the right
profile picture on LinkedIn – but here are some quick tips to start with: make sure the picture
is recent and looks like you, make up your face takes up around 60% of it (long-distance shots
don’t stand out), wear what you would like to wear to work, and smile with your eyes!

2. Add a background photo -Your background photo is the second visual element at the top
of your profile page. It grabs people’s attention, sets the context and shows a little more about
what matters to you. More than anything, the right background photo helps your page stand
out, engage attention and stay memorable.

3. Make your headline more than just a job title -There’s no rule that says the description
at the top of your profile page has to be just a job title. Use the headline field to say a bit more
about how you see your role, why you do what you do, and what makes you tick. If you’ve got
sales reps at your company who are on the ball with social selling, then take a quick look at
their profile page headlines for inspiration. They will almost certainly have more than their job
titles in there.

4. Turn your summary into your story -The first thing to say about your LinkedIn summary
is – make sure you have one! It’s amazing how many people still leave this field blank when
creating their LinkedIn profile. Your summary is your chance to tell your own story – so don’t
just use it to list your skills or the job titles you’ve had. Try to bring to life why those skills matter
– and the difference they can make to the people you work with. Don’t be afraid to invest some
time, try a few drafts, and run your summary past people you know. This is your most personal
piece of content marketing – and it’s worth the effort.
5. Declare war on buzzwords -Buzzwords are adjectives that are used so often in LinkedIn
headlines and summaries that they become almost completely meaningless. Our regular
rankings of the most over-used buzzwords include terms like ‘specialised’, ‘leadership’,
‘focused’, ‘strategic’, ‘experienced’, ‘passionate’, ‘expert’, ‘creative’, ‘innovative’ and ‘certified’.
Now I’m not saying you can’t describe yourself as these things – or that they don’t matter.
However, just using these words won’t convince people that you have these qualities. You
need to demonstrate them as well – both in the way you describe yourself, and in the way you
use LinkedIn profile features to show what you’re about.

6. Grow your network -One of the easiest and yet most relevant ways to grow your LinkedIn
network is to synch your profile with your email address book. This enables LinkedIn to
suggest people you could connect with. It’s amazing how effective this can be at surfacing
relevant people for you to reach out to – and no connection requests are sent without your
permission, so you can vet all of the potential connections. Beyond this, get into the habit of
following up meetings and conversations with LinkedIn connection requests – it’s a great way
of keeping your network vibrant and up to date.

7. List your relevant skills -It’s one of the quickest of quick wins on LinkedIn – scroll through
the list of skills and identify those that are relevant to you. Doing so helps to substantiate the
description in your Headline and Summary, and provides a platform for others to endorse you.
However, the key here is staying relevant. A long list of skills that aren’t really core to who you
are and what you do, can start to feel unwieldy. Take time for a spring clean of your skills list
every now and then.

8. Spotlight the services you offer -Services is a new LinkedIn feature that helps
consultants, freelancers and those working for smaller businesses to showcase the range of
services that they offer. Filling out the Services section of your profile can boost your visibility
in search results.

9. Spread the endorsement love -Endorsements from other members substantiate your
skills and increase your credibility. How do you get endorsed on LinkedIn? For starters, go
through your network and identify connections who you feel genuinely deserve an
endorsement from you – that’s often the trigger for people to return the favour. Don’t be afraid
to reach out with a polite message asking for endorsement for a few key skills as well.
Remember though – relevance matters. Reach out to people whose endorsement you’d really
value.

10. Manage your endorsements more proactively -Once endorsements start to come in,
you might find that they skew the emphasis of your LinkedIn profile in ways that don’t reflect
who you are. It could be that your core area of expertise is content marketing for example, but
the people who’ve worked with you on events are more enthusiastic endorsers. Be proactive
in managing your endorsements list using the edit features in the Skills section of your profile
– you can choose which to show, and which to hide.

11. Take a skills assessment -A skills assessment is an online test that enables you to
demonstrate the level of your skills, and display a Verified Skills badge on your profile. Data
shows that candidates with verified skills are around 30% more likely to be hired for the roles
they apply for – and displaying proof your abilities strengthens your personal brand more
generally as well. Displaying the results of your skills assessments is entirely voluntary, and
you can retake the tests as often as you like before showing that you’ve passed.

12. Request recommendations -Endorsements give people viewing your profile a quick,
visual sense of what you’re valued for. Recommendations take things a step further. They are
personal testimonials written to illustrate the experience of working with you. There’s a handy
drop-down menu in the Recommendations section of your profile that makes it easy to reach
out to specific contacts and request recommendations. Take the time to think about who you
would most value a recommendation from – and personalise your request. It’s worth the extra
effort.

13. Showcase your passion for learning -When you complete a course on LinkedIn
Learning, you’ll have the opportunity to add a course certificate to your LinkedIn profile. You
do this from within the Learning History section of your LinkedIn Learning account – where
you can also send updates about your learning to your network if choose.

14. Share media and marketing collateral -The marketing collateral that you produce for
your business can add an extra dimension to your own profile as well. Sharing case studies,
white papers and other brand content helps to show what the business you work for is all
about – and helps people understand what makes you tick. It demonstrates passion and
commitment as well.

15. Get credit for your thought-leadership with Publications -The Publications section is
one of the most under-used elements in LinkedIn profiles – and that means that you can really
stand out from the crowd when you use this feature to draw attention to existing thought-
leadership content. Have you helped to write an eBook or a White Paper? Or written a post
on your company’s blog? The Publications section links your profile to these assets.

16. Share relevant content from your LinkedIn feed -It’s one thing to have a network of
connections on LinkedIn – it’s far better to have an active role in that network, appearing in
your connections’ LinkedIn feeds in a way that adds value for them. Sharing relevant content
with your network is one of the most accessible ways of doing this. You can make a start by
keeping a close eye on your LinkedIn feed, and sharing content that you find genuinely
interesting – and that aligns with your point of view.

17. Add comments -Sharing is great – but it’s just the starting point. When you add comments
to your shares, you give yourself greater prominence within the feed and start to express why
you think a particular piece of content matters. Well-expressed comments also enable you to
share a broader range of content. It might be that you don’t agree with a point of view but still
find it interesting, for example. A comment that can express that viewpoint starts to establish
your opinion and thought-leadership. It’s also more likely to draw additional comments, which
then raise your profile across LinkedIn. Bear this mind when you’re writing your comment –
and make sure you’re saying something you’re happy for people to associate with you.

18. Follow relevant influencers for your industry -Following relevant influencers on
LinkedIn helps to put a range of interesting content in your feed, which you can then share
with others when you think it adds value. It also helps to give context to your LinkedIn profile,
demonstrating your passion for what you do.

19. Become an employee advocate -LinkedIn Elevate is our platform for helping businesses
to launch and manage employee advocacy programmes – and it generates some fascinating
insights on the impact that employee sharing has for those doing the sharing. In fact, 86% of
employee advocates say that sharing content for their business has had a positive effect on
their own career. If your business is using Elevate, then it’s a great way to take a more active
role in getting your brand content out there. If it’s not, then it’s still worth reaching out to
colleagues and asking who’s producing content that would be worth sharing on LinkedIn.

20. Publish long-form content – and use it to start conversations -The more you share
and comment on content, the more you establish your expertise and thought-leadership
credentials on LinkedIn. Publishing long-form posts is the natural next step to take. A great
starting point is to monitor the response that you get to your comments and shares. Are there
particular subjects and points of view that seem to resonate with your network? Are there
comments that you have shared which you feel you could expand on in a post? Evolving your
thought-leadership in this way keeps it real – and keeps you plugged into the issues your
connections are talking about. Be ready for your long-form posts to start new conversations
too. Keep an eye on the comments and be ready to respond.

Getting your LinkedIn profile working harder for you doesn’t have to take up hours of your
time. Try working through these ideas, building from one to the other – and you’ll find that you
can make progress quickly, even if you’re just able to set aside a few minutes over a lunch
break or in the evenings. Once you’re flexing the full advantages of your LinkedIn profile you’ll
be amazed what a difference it can make to both you and your business. Make 2021 the year
it happens!