It has been a while since having a LinkedIn profile was for the enlightened and select few. Today, we can all agree that it’s now pretty much mandatory for any professional to have a LinkedIn account. After all, the site allows you to find business and networking opportunities like no other.

LinkedIn is the leading social network focused on the business universe, with approximately 830 million users worldwide. If you or your business still don’t have a LinkedIn profile, you might want to consider it a priority. If not, you might miss valuable opportunities to connect with other professionals and potential customers.

But there’s no point in creating an account and waiting for the magic to happen. Instead, know how to extract the most out of all the features to increase your connections, enhance your skills and unlock unique opportunities.

With this in mind, we have listed a few hacks and tips to help you optimize your LinkedIn profile for greater value. Let’s dive straight in.

1. Keep your LinkedIn profile constantly updated

If you have never updated your  LinkedIn profile, especially after changing jobs or learning new skills, you may blame the platform for not serving its purpose of finding you a job. Believe me, this even happens to the most highly qualified professionals. This can be a costly mistake that can significantly hinder your performance on the platform and your career. The bottom line is that a profile without any information or outdated data doesn’t sit well with potential clients.

Your career and areas of specialization, if well-defined, enable recruiters and employers to easily find you on the platform. In other words, keeping this information up to date increases your visibility overall. You also boost your chances of finding great business opportunities as the platform matches you with opportunities depending on your profile entries.

When updating your profile, certain fields require special attention:

• Professional title: This leads people to click on your profile. Therefore, use this space to emphasize your skills and talents. For example, “Director of Inbound Marketing at ABCD Company.”
• Location and department: These two fields help other users find your profile in searches. Therefore, make sure that the information is correct.
• Experience: Use this space to list the main projects you participated in during your previous jobs and the results you achieved. Thus, you increase your profile’s relevance and authority.

Always remember to update your profile whenever something changes in your professional life, whether it’s the company, position, or the start of a new project. You can set aside a few minutes monthly to review your profile to see where it needs to be removed or added.

2. Use only professional photos

Did you know LinkedIn profiles with photos are 11 times more likely to be seen than those without photos, according to one of the published blogs on the site? If you’re still using the gray icon, it’s time to change and show your face (or brand) to the world! But here goes some friendly advice: Don’t use photos from 10 years ago chilling at the pool. Also, don’t download the free images online for your profile. Remember, LinkedIn is a professional network; therefore, your photo must elicit professionalism, which starts with your profile photo.

If possible, ask a professional photographer to take your picture during working hours, a presentation, or a lecture. Being seen in the context of being “hard at work” will help you gain authority and trust among your audience. That doesn’t mean a good professional headshot won’t do the magic.

3. Post relevant articles and content

One of the biggest secrets to your success on social media is offering quality content to your followers. It encourages engagement, generates authority, and increases business opportunities. And, of course, with LinkedIn, it wouldn’t be any different. After all, people (and brands) using the network are searching for information that is useful in their work. In this sense, offering content that meets this need is a major unique feature. A very efficient strategy to produce content is using the LinkedIn article platform.

Try to create texts on subjects related to your niche and with the interests of your business persona. The greater the value your audience sees in your content, the more authority you gain, helping your brand have more visibility in the market. It doesn’t matter if you’re a creator or an affiliate. Think about your unique skills, professional achievements, or any activity in which you excel. Then, write a text with tips to help and inspire your audience.

Note that quality content converts much better than direct and invasive advertising.

4. Repost external content on LinkedIn

Another exciting LinkedIn feature is the ability to share external content, such as blog posts, images, and videos published on other channels. You don’t have to fill your profile with everything you’ve written or created. Instead, you can choose the most relevant to your target audience. This excellent marketing strategy makes you stand out among your competitors and helps your career or business soar.

Don’t fill your contacts’ feed with posts they might feel are irrelevant. Instead, ensure they offer quality content, increasing your profile’s reach and strength. In addition, you can take this opportunity as a great link-building strategy by creating a backlink for your website or blog.

5. Don’t ignore networking

One of the most significant advantages of using LinkedIn is meeting new professionals and worthy brands, which provides access to more interesting content and new business opportunities.

However, one mistake many users make when networking on LinkedIn is following and interacting only with well-known people. Although it’s not recommended that you connect with complete strangers, building a more solid network of contacts is crucial.

You can search for profiles of influential names in your industry and start following them. Follow their content and frequently interact with their posts. An active user draws a lot more attention from other people.

6. Interact in groups and communities

If you still aren’t participating (and interacting) in LinkedIn groups and communities, it’s time to start doing so! These places offer an excellent space for user discussions and sharing ideas about various topics. All you need to do is search for a topic you’re interested in and participate in the groups that most attract your attention.

By doing so, you’ll have another option to increase your network of professional contacts. In addition, you’ll be up-to-date regarding the main market innovations and trends and share experiences.

7. Advertise on LinkedIn

In addition to valuing those who produce and share quality content, LinkedIn also works as a promotion and advertising tool. Although the investment is slightly higher than on other networks, such as Facebook, using LinkedIn Ads has a major advantage. The segmentation options are more comprehensive, allowing you to reach a more qualified audience.

When defining your campaign’s audience, you can choose by profession, area of expertise, skills, and even job location. Another advantage of investing in LinkedIn Ads is the platform’s various campaign formats.

If you are a creator or affiliate and see the tool’s potential, you can use three types of ads:

• Sponsored Content: Appears subtly on users’ feeds.
• Text Ads: Ads with text and images displayed on LinkedIn’s sidebar.
• Sponsored InMail: This allows you to send personalized messages to your campaign’s audience, which will only be sent when the person is online.

After creating a segmented campaign, LinkedIn Ads also allows you to measure the ad’s results efficiently and thoroughly using relevant metrics. Thus, you know exactly what is working and what is not, enabling you to make the necessary corrections.

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8. Create a customized URL

Creating a custom LinkedIn URL is a great way to optimize your profile and make it easier for people to find you online. A custom URL also looks more professional than a generic LinkedIn URL, which can help you attract more people who need your services.

There is a higher chance of sharing your profile with different employers, recruiters, and relevant connections as you seek new opportunities. A custom URL will make this easy for you and those who search for you. Using only your name when sharing your profile may be challenging or confusing, since people do share names.

9. Add (or update) contact information

Contact information is the only way to reach you if you’re unavailable on LinkedIn. So it’s essential to add your contact details and ensure it’s accurate and up to date. If you’re searching for new clients, you want them to be able to reach you easily.

So, include your email, social media profiles, website, and phone number. When this information is up-to-date, rest assured that potential customers won’t move on to their next option because they can’t get in touch with you.

10. Improve your headline

The first thing people will see when viewing your profile is your headline. It’s your first chance to impress your target audience. While it may seem like adding any other information, your headline is important in hooking in that connection. Think about it this way – your headline is like the title of a movie or book. It catches people’s attention and makes them want to read more if it’s intriguing. So, if your headline is weak, people are less likely to stick around.

Here are a few tips for improving your LinkedIn headline:

• Include your value proposition: It’s not enough to mention your job title as it doesn’t showcase the value proposition. So ensure you include some text that speaks directly to your potential customer. For example, a Digital Marketing Manager: Helps Optimize Your Business Online Presence, or a personal trainer: Helps Content Creators Hone Their Skills.
• Add some personality to intrigue your target audience: You don’t have to be overly formal, although this highly depends on your industry. Add something informal that touches on your personality.
• Use keywords: Use common words that describe your skills and experience, which will help appear in most searches.
• Make it relevant to your audience: Tailor your headline to speak directly to your target audience. You can use initials that are common in your field of expertise.
• Highlight your achievements: You can showcase your experience, achievements, and expectations.

11. Request a recommendation

Getting a testimonial from a reputable individual goes a long way in enhancing your trustworthiness on the platform. A few recommendations from brands, professionals, and institutions you’ve worked with can improve your competitiveness, considering other users may have similar skills and experiences as you.

The rule is, don’t just ask anyone for a recommendation. Recommendations should come from people in your field so that they appear more believable. Not every profile on LinkedIn is legit, and you don’t want yours to be misconstrued as such.

12. Add a background

Unlike adding a profile picture, which should be professional and conservative, you can be a little creative with your background photo. Your background is a crucial tool that helps you showcase your brand and lets people have a feel of what you can offer.

Choose a photo that catches the attention of anyone who visits your site, one that can make them want to learn more about you or your brand.

13. Pick your interests

The “interests” section is the last bit of completing your LinkedIn profile. While this section may seem like a small detail, it can be pretty important in getting you worthy connections. Picking your interests enables the platform to match you with people with similar interests or skills. This exposes you to the competition in your field and motivates you to do more to become better than others.

This section also allows you to list influencers, companies, and groups that make an impact on your professional career. In addition, you can get posts on your feed from your interests. For example, if you have listed company XYZ as an interest, and they have a content creation opportunity, you will get this on your feed. This can help you land jobs and other opportunities easily.

14. Include a summary

A LinkedIn summary is where you let your readers know who you are, what you can offer, and what you have achieved so far. Ensure that it highlights your most relevant skills, professional experience, achievements, and what you can bring to the table.

Including your background and personal values can help your potential recruiter, client, or connection understand the kind of person you are before they meet you in person or on zoom. Make sure that the summary is concise and written in a way that is easy to read and appealing to potential networks.

15. Announce your availability

Have you ever wondered why you haven’t been messaged by a recruiter or client on LinkedIn, even though you have a great profile? It’s probably because you’re not letting people know you’re open to new opportunities.

Luckily, there’s an easy fix for this. You can change your LinkedIn profile settings and set it to “public,” so it can be visible in public searches.

You can also let people know you’re available by adding your availability status to your headline. For example, you can highlight your availability for new full-time or part-time opportunities.

Update your LinkedIn profile today, and unlock great opportunities!

How do you feel about the LinkedIn hacks we’ve shared? Well, then, it’s time to practice everything you learned in this article. By doing so, you and your brand will have more market authority, and it will be easier to find great opportunities.

And to further expand your business, how about learning more about ads on this platform? Make sure you check out our full article on How LinkedIn Ads work to find out how ads play a role in attracting powerful and more qualified networks.