Your LinkedIn profile is an essential component of your marketing and branding portfolio. It is a powerful tool to connect with potential clients and strategic partners. It also creates the first impression prospective clients have of you and your company.
SCORE interviewed Gary Wagnon, a local social media expert and owner of 800Biz.com. The purpose was to learn some best practices regarding LinkedIn profiles for business, and he gave us his insights.
Most business owners hastily create their LinkedIn profile without giving it much thought. A well crafted LinkedIn profile reflects your professionalism and sets you apart from your competition. When viewed by potential clients, it can instill trust, which motivates them to call you.
Start by focusing on these three things:
1. Profile picture — Many business owners do not upload a profile picture, or worse yet, they upload an inappropriate picture or “selfie” as their LinkedIn profile photo. Your profile picture is the first thing visitors see, and it reflects the image of your business. Invest in a professional headshot; it is just as important as having a business card.
2. Recommendations — Written recommendations on your LinkedIn profile are very important. Imagine a potential client views your profile and sees dozens of recommendations while your competitor has none. Who do you think they will call? Try writing a recommendation for someone else. LinkedIn will notify them you did, and ask them if they want to write a recommendation for you. It’s a great way to get more written recommendations on your LinkedIn profile.
3. Connection requests — LinkedIn makes it easy to connect with people you want to do business with. When you send a connection request, a default message is sent to the other person, but it does not tell them why you want to connect. Create a personalized message explaining what’s in it for them if they accept your request.
Your LinkedIn profile is your online résumé. You wouldn’t show up to a job interview in dirty jeans and flip flops. Don’t let your LinkedIn profile show up that way, either.
