LinkedIn allows you to control the appearance of your Professional LinkedIn Profile specific to the order of what appears on your page. This feature can actually support your efforts to increase sales. You can do this by moving the cursor on the far left hand side of the edit section of your LinkedIn profile page.
The first LinkedIn Profile Section of which always appears contain the following and cannot be moved:
- Your Photo (a professional photograph is recommended)
- Your Name
- Your Headline (think of this as a newspaper headline and not a job title)
- Your most recent comment status
- Your current title at your current firm
- Your past titles
- Your education
- Recommendations
- Connections
- Websites
- Twitter Identification
- Public Profile
These sections can be edited through the edit profile button, but will always stay in this order.
After this section, you can place your mouse over the other sections title (these sections have a gray font color) and you can drag the sections into whatever order you desire. My recommendation is to organize your LinkedIn profile in the following order. By taking this action, you have increased the probability that more people will connect with you.
Executive Profile Summary
What I have discovered is that the next section should be your Executive Profile Summary. This is truly your opportunity to showcase your personality first. By weaving your personal story into this section, you can showcase your credentials in a conversational manner. Make sure at the end you showcase your Specialties.
The mistake many LinkedIn members make is to use this section as a resume. Your goal here is to stand out in the crowd away from everyone else or as I have written Be the Red jacket.
To stand out even better helps if you can share some actual results. Again people buy on value unique to them. Your goal is to showcase the value you bring without sounding like a snake oil salesmen to coin a phrase.
Applications
The applications section follows the summary. First should come any Slide Share presentations. Then place your blog next. Again, the goal is to connect with people. Third should be any events you are having.
Recommendations
To have what LinkedIn considers a complete profile requires a minimum of three (3) recommendations. Remember to write recommendations for others and if they happen unannounced without being asked, all the better.
Experience
Highlight your experience and remember to be forthright yet engaging. This is the time to showcase the depth of your experience. Also remember to include your specialties (think keywords) as listed within the summary profile and skills that follow in the next section.
Skills
Here you have the opportunity to list up to 50 skills (again think keywords). LinkedIn assists you by having many skill sets already set as defaults. You are also able to move the skills around. I have found listing them alphabetically is probably best that way people can find them and you are not emphasizing one skill set over another.
Education
Next you list your educational experience and attainment. This section is for schools.
Additional Information
This section includes:
- Your website or websites
- Twitter ID
- Interests
- Groups and Associations
- LinkedIn Groups (You can join up to 50 groups)
- Honors and awards
Personal Information
Within in this area, you may wish to share your:
- Phone number (include time zone and if work number)
- Address
- IM
- Birthday
- Marital status
Contact (your first name inserted by LinkedIn)
Here you have another opportunity to reach out and make that connection. This is also the place to let others know who you wish to connect with.
When your LinkedIn profile is complete, you will have increased your opportunities to be found by others who may need your solutions (products or services). Given that LinkedIn is a Rolodex on steroids, to not have a complete LinkedIn profile is foolhardy and more importantly will not support you in your efforts to increase sales.
From my personal experience, I can attest by reorganizing my LinkedIn profile and understanding this is a marketing message first and foremost, I now receive on average 5 LinkedIn invitations per week. From these invitations, I have earned new clients as well as continue to increase sales.
Your next step is to start using LinkedIn profile to increase sales even more to grow your business. And that will be a topic for another day.
Leanne Hoagland-Smith, the Strategic Tactician, is an author, corporate coach and executive consultant who supports crazy busy forward thinking leaders at all levels and in all industries who are tired of the current status quo, of repetitive problems and truly want sustainable results for their teams as well as their selves.
{ 1 trackback }