Creating a Professional LinkedIn Profile

Before we start, we wanted to highlight that this blog is aimed at business owners, CEOs, Sales Directors and any key decision makers using their LinkedIn profile to build relationships and generate leads and sales.

If you’re using LinkedIn to find a new job, this isn’t the article for you, however, you will still be able to take many of our tips into consideration to improve your profile.

Have you ever come across a LinkedIn profile that lacked even the most basic information?

As specialists in LinkedIn Lead Generation, we often come across profiles that are so lacking in information that it’s almost impossible to work out what the individual does, where they work or if they even exist!

For a key decision maker looking to expand their network of potential customers on LinkedIn, this really isn’t a great advertisement and it’s definitely not helping them promote themselves in a good light – just imagine the opportunities they are missing!

If you’re considering using LinkedIn as the powerful sales tool it has the potential to be, you first want to ensure that your profile is complete and markets both yourself and your business to its full potential.

Here at Bee Social Marketing, we kickstart every clients’ LinkedIn strategy by running a full LinkedIn profile audit, during which we ensure that their profile is not only looking its best but also that all relevant sections are complete and up to date.

We recommend ensuring that the following sections of your profile are optimised as below:

Profile Picture

A professional profile picture of yourself will build trust. No holiday snaps, duck face selfies or logos – save them for Facebook! 😉

Cover Photo

Did you know that you have just 3 seconds to grab your audience’s attention once they view your LinkedIn profile? And as one of the most powerful features, your cover photo is the best way to do so!

We recommend creating a branded cover photo that is optimised to LinkedIn’s dimensions and quickly portrays what you specialise in through a combination of text and images.

LinkedIn Bio

In its early days, LinkedIn used to be viewed as an online CV, but if you’re using it as a sales tool, it should be seen as more of a mini website – so remember, you are not trying to sell yourself, you are trying to sell your business!

Your LinkedIn Bio should explain what your business specialises in and the features and benefits of choosing you over your competitors.

You also want to make it as easy as possible for potential customers to contact you so we recommend adding a call to action and your preferred contact details.

If you have any company videos, images or awards, these can also be added to back up your text.

Education & Experience

Let’s face it, potential customers don’t care where you went to primary school of if you had a paper round when you were 13 – sorry!🤷

Your education and employment history should only be relevant to your current business and position. So, for example, if you are a business owner and have a long list of previous jobs from before that are no longer relevant, remove them and tidy up your profile.

As with your CV, make sure any gaps are accounted for to ensure you appear reliable and trustworthy.

Recommendations

Why spend time selling your business when your clients can do it for you?

With studies showing that 9 out of 10 people trust what a customer says about a business more than what that business says about itself, recommendations are vital for generating leads on LinkedIn!

Again, you want to ensure that you have at least 2-3 recommendations that are relevant to your current company and role.

In fact, we have a great example of what not to do here…

We were previously approached for advice on LinkedIn Lead Generation by a Sales Manager whose LinkedIn recommendations were years old and not relevant to their current position. They had no recommendations for their current position even though they had been working there for the last two years.

This individual had already approached us a year earlier trying to sell us a service. At the time, we researched their service online and looked for any reviews or recommendations to help us decide. With there being none, we politely declined.

The Sales Manager could have made converting prospects so much easier if he had taken the time to request testimonials from current clients regarding the service they provide.

To Conclude

As with many areas of sales and marketing, we understand that updating your LinkedIn profile can often get pushed back or even forgotten about when you’re busy running your business.

If this sounds familiar and you are looking to utilise your LinkedIn profile as the powerful sales tool it is, you may want to consider delegating the task.

As mentioned, the first step of every strategy we create is to ensure that the clients’ profile is up to date and that all relevant sections are complete.

Give us a buzz on Leeds: 0113 3206266 or Harrogate: 01423 297009 or click here to get in touch today and find out more.