Is your LinkedIn profile is getting few views, even less connection requests and your page is just sitting there gathering digital dust? Then it has no real value, either to you as an individual or your company. Here are 15 simple tips on how to get more out of this important platform and improve your potential for better networking:

15 Ways to Optimise Your LinkedIn Profile

1. Make sure you complete all sections of your profile: It might sound like common sense but there are plenty of profiles on LinkedIn where there are quite a few relevant and important sections that remain blank. Each section provides an opportunity for someone out there to find you and what you do – utilise them!
2. Use keywords throughout your profile: Use keywords in your headline that are relevant to your industry and make you easier to find as LinkedIn searches pay special attention to this. The same goes for your summary, list of skills and almost every part of your profile.
3. Include a recent photo: You are ten times more likely to get people viewing your profile if you have a professional photo on your profile. Make sure this is a picture of you and it presents you in a professional manner (in other words don’t go for a quickly taken selfie in some exotic bar with your mates, unless of course you are selling nights out).
4. Customise your profile URL: When you first sign up to LinkedIn you get a URL assigned to you. It’s easy to change this to your name rather than a list of numbers and it makes your profile easier to search for and easier to remember and a whole lot easier to add to your business card!
5. Ask for recommendations: When LinkedIn first started this it was important to get at least a few recommendations. Whilst it’s no longer necessary for running an account it is still something that adds juice to your profile. LinkedIn recommendations are very powerful as they cannot be faked – they must come from another LinkedIn account.
6. Fill in the skills section: There are a wide range of skills to choose from and you don’t have to select those preset ones, type in your own versions, for example: ‘Business Development’ is a pre-selection I have added my own ‘Business Development Specialist’. Be careful here that you focus on what you do, whilst you maybe a fantastic leader, if you sell widgets, let’s make the priority on your skills list for widgets rather than leadership.
7. Get endorsements for your skills: These are a little less glittery than personal recommendations but are nonetheless important. The more endorsements you get for a particular skill, the more likely you are to show up in a search for it.
8. Posting to your profile: It’s one area that many professionals forget but publishing long form posts to LinkedIn can not only increase your visibility but also establish your reputation in your given field.
9. Create a company page: use this facility to show case your company your products/services and your culture. Update your company page followers on your news, product or service launches, industry specific educational posts and all manner of information that will establish your business as experts in your field.
10. Add a branded background image: You can now add your own background image onto your LinkedIn page to give you a more stylish look.
11. Customise your links: When you normally put in a link on the site for your blog, it comes up with just the anchor text of ‘company website’. You can change this in your profile to read better for SEO to the name of your website..
12. Change the order of your profile: LinkedIn provides a set order for different parts of the profile but you can change this quite easily, swapping bits around to make certain sections more prominent.
13. Upload your projects and showcase your media: You can upload links to your latest projects or ones you have been part of in the past. You can also upload images, videos and other media to make your profile more interesting and dynamic.
14. Explore and join groups: As with most social media platforms there are groups to join and take part in. Find the ones for your industry, geographical location or interests and make the effort not only to sign up but also to join in.
15. Finally, don’t leave your LinkedIn profile to sit and gather dust. Regular updates make sure you are more visible and it shows that you are engaged with the platform. Used intelligently it can improve networking and help develop deeper brand awareness across your industry.

Do you have any LinkedIn optimisation tips to add? What do you find works particularly well for you and your business on LinkedIn? For further advice on LinkedIn call our social media marketing specialists on 01604 654545 or email sales@thelasthurdle.co.uk