LinkedIn profile optimization

What should be included in your LinkedIn profile so that you and your company can benefit from the platform? You should pay attention to these six things when optimizing your LinkedIn profile.

The LinkedIn profile is something like a digital CV – only that significantly more people can see it. An optimized profile page helps ensure that your profile is found in the career network.

Entrepreneurs can use this to draw attention to themselves and their company. But that’s not all: employees can also become ambassadors for their company as corporate influencers on LinkedIn.

Optimizing your LinkedIn profile: How to do it?

Your profile is your digital business card with which you present yourself on LinkedIn. But what does a professional LinkedIn profile look like? The six core elements of LinkedIn optimization are resume, profile picture, background image, summary, profile slogan, and interests. Below you will find suggestions on how you can revise all six elements and thus optimize your LinkedIn profile.

1. Complete your LinkedIn resume

A LinkedIn profile should include career and training positions. “If you design your LinkedIn profile like your CV, i.e. complete, free of spelling mistakes and structured, you are on the right track,” says Timm Rotter, managing director of the Munich-based communications agency In A Nutshell.

LinkedIn recommends supplementing this data with information about your own role, the skills you have acquired and used in the job, and the projects you have completed. Extra tip: List specific achievements for each position and describe how you have contributed to the overall success of the company.

2. Choose a professional LinkedIn profile picture

LinkedIn optimization also includes including a professional, high-resolution profile picture. It should show you as serious and personable – ideally in professional clothing. “Nobody gets very far on LinkedIn with SpongeBob as their profile picture,” says communications expert Rotter. But: You don’t need a new photo every week, nor do you need to rewrite your entire profile every week.

The advantage of a professional profile picture: It ensures that your LinkedIn profile appears trustworthy and appealing. According to LinkedIn, members with a profile picture receive up to twice as many profile visits and three times as many networking requests and messages.

3. Use LinkedIn background image for a personal touch

If you want to optimize your LinkedIn profile, you should not only pay attention to the profile picture when it comes to appearance. LinkedIn also offers the option of placing a cover photo in landscape format above the profile information. Or as Rotter calls it: “A chance to tell a story.” For a while, his LinkedIn background image was a self-shot photo of the Swiss Aletsch glacier because he is interested in nature and environmental protection is very important to him.

“I was asked about that,” says Rotter. In the end, you’re not just acting in your professional role, but you can also give an insight into facets that show the whole person. “But that doesn’t mean that you should upload a photo of yourself scantily clad at a swimming lake.”

4. Tell a story in the profile summary

The “Summary” section is the heart of a LinkedIn profile and therefore the most important point for LinkedIn optimization. Ideally, it should contain a short information text. However, it should not include repeated mentions of the professional positions that are already included in the profile.

Instead, Rotter recommends “a written elevator pitch.” This means that you should state what is important to you, what you want to achieve, what concerns you in your current role. “This creates a digital conversation starter.”

In the summary, you have the opportunity for storytelling, i.e. to describe your professional history, successes, and goals. Write from the first-person perspective and tell what drives you, what sets you apart, and what added value you offer.

Make sure to include key terms from your industry to be found in relevant searches. You can find good key terms through keyword research.

5. Make your LinkedIn profile slogan original

The slogan is the short description that is displayed in the LinkedIn profile directly under the name – and a good opportunity to optimize your LinkedIn profile with very little effort. LinkedIn recommends that you get creative with the profile slogan. For example, it could be the official job title, the professional mantra or a list of meaningful keywords.

Summarize your expertise or professional role in a few words. Instead of just mentioning a position like “Managing Director,” you can use the opportunity to clearly demonstrate your added value to potential clients. For example, describe yourself as an experienced Project Manager – specializing in digital transformation.”

6. Optimize your interests on LinkedIn.

The “Interests” section shows LinkedIn pages that you have liked. This section is useful because the pages you have liked can serve as conversation starters. However, Rotter says you should think carefully about which pages you like – and not randomly like everything that you generally like.

“I regularly see managers who still like their shooting club,” says Rotter. This means that you are mainly suggesting people to network with who have also liked these pages. Here it is important to avoid old baggage and to pay attention to currentness and relevance to the job.

Extra tip: Follow corporate influencers, other entrepreneurs, or topics that match your profile. By joining specialist groups, you can underline existing expertise and make new contacts.

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