How Do I Make My LinkedIn Profile Stand Out? A Step-by-Step Guide.

Do you think your LinkedIn profile ‘jumps” out to the people you want to be found by against the millions of existing profiles? Nowadays, rather than getting asked ‘How can I make my LinkedIn Profile look professional?’ or ‘How can I make my LinkedIn profile better?’ I am getting asked more and more ‘How do I make My LinkedIn Profile stand out?’

In our world over-saturated with social media and with over 575 million people on LinkedIn, making an impact and standing out against all the ‘white noise’ is hard. Yet we all have a voice that deserves to be heard and insights that should be shared. Here are my Top 3 steps to standing out on LinkedIn…

1) Getting the Basics Right – Ensuring that you have a memorable and unique LinkedIn profile URL that is personalised with your name rather than the string of ‘messy’ numbers that LinkedIn automatically gives you, a recognisable, sensible and friendly looking profile photo, up-to-date contact details and all the fields and sections filled in on your profile are all musts.

2) Engagement – I mentioned earlier that 575 million people were on LinkedIn at the start of 2018. That’s 575 million people who have a profile, but did you know there are only 250 million monthly active LinkedIn users? Are you guilty of having set up a profile, even if it is a complete, up-to-date and professional profile, but then never – or very rarely – visiting LinkedIn again?

If this sounds like you, you need to stop right now, or rather START. Start sharing posts that you find interesting by people that you admire and say WHY you found it a stimulating read rather than just hitting ‘share’. Start ‘liking’ posts and articles on LinkedIn that you found engaging. Start commenting in LinkedIn Groups, on people’s work and comments on LinkedIn to share your opinion. Being on LinkedIn isn’t enough you need to actively be ON LinkedIn.

If you begin to engage consistently with your connections’ content, it follows that they will start reciprocating and engaging with your posts and articles in return. They’ll also come to view and respect you as the expert that you are in your field.

3) Content – Using your LinkedIn profile as a launch pad and platform to publish fascinating, well-researched and thought-provoking content and articles sharing your knowledge and experience will get you noticed. Do it regularly and you could become a ‘Thought Leader’ within your profession – the trusted ‘go-to’ person for advice and tips. Before you dive into publishing content it’s always worth asking yourself:

• Is the topic you are planning to write about currently a priority for your potential market?
• Does your article showcase your unique opinion or perspective?
• Does your content bring something new to the table, in the sense that it involves innovative and new research?
• Is your content an interesting read with memorable and simple messages highlighted that readers can take away at a quick glance?
• Have you sent your article to different groups of people to check that it makes sense and has an impact? Two (or more!) pairs of eyes are always better than one!

If you would like more help with writing great content on LinkedIn and Thought Leadership you might be interested in my LinkedIn Courses and Masterclasses.

LinkedIn is all about communicating and connecting. It’s NOT about selling.

The keys to success are consistent content and engagement. If you follow the steps above, your actions and work will speak for themselves without you having to ‘directly’ sell yourself. When you regularly post expert articles that are ahead of trends in your industry people will notice and are more likely to give you a call to see if there’s an opportunity to collaborate or they will think of you and your company when they have a need for the services and skills you offer. If you make a habit of writing Recommendations for people on LinkedIn who have impressed you, they are likely to Recommend you and so on.

So, what are you waiting for? Get engaging and publishing today and see what rewards you could reap from communicating and sharing on LinkedIn!

For more advice on how to make your LinkedIn profile stand out contact me today.