When we’re talking about social media, we often default our thinking to Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, we rarely think about LinkedIn, but we really should. LinkedIn demographics show that it is the professional version of these platforms and it can do wonders for you, your career and your trajectory, you just need to know how to grow it.
If you’re not sure, don’t worry, we’re here to help. Here are the most effective ways at growing your LinkedIn account.
Profile Picture
First impressions are everything and when it comes to LinkedIn, this really counts. There are a few things that you need to think about before you upload your picture. Firstly, the photo that you use needs to look professional.
It can’t be of the same ilk as your Facebook or Instagram feed. A headshot is the way to go, but you want to make sure that you are wearing smart attire. You want people looking at your profile to know that they are looking at you, so avoid team and group photos. Make sure the photo is high quality, well-lit and looks as though a professional has taken it.
Utilise The Headline
How many profiles have you seen that have the headline only populated by their job title. The number of sales managers and project coordinators you come across just reduces the chance of yours also being overlooked.
You don’t have to prescribe to this and you can really make yourself stand out by adding some more information. What is it that motivates you? Why do you do the job that you do? What do you love? What challenges do you like coming across?
There are so many ways that you can expand on this and make yourself stand out from the pack and increase the engagement on your profile.
Drop The Buzzwords
If you have been in senior leadership meetings or read the latest bulletin that’s been put out across your networks internally, you’ll be used to seeing words such as innovative, strategic, creative, synergistic and more.
The thing with these words, is that they are just that, words. We’re not saying that you can’t use it, but if you say it, you need to be prepared to back it up.
You can’t drop them in and just leave them there to be accepted by the reader, if you are saying that you are an innovative person, you need to prove yourself to be an innovative person. Likewise, if you are creative or synergistic. If you are going to make these claims about yourself, you need to be able to prove that you are.
Tell A Story
Human beings use narrative to make sense of the world around them. It helps us to find meaning and move forwards, so why not use the bio to do exactly the same thing?
Instead of writing a shopping list of skills and assets why not write a clear story of who you are, your professional goals and how you ended up in the position that you now find yourself in?
People gravitate to people that they can relate to, so the more honest and open you make your bio the better the chances you have when it comes to growing your account.
You may also find that this stimulates people to engage with you and ask questions. This is vital in terms of growing your network and getting your name out there!
Post!
Over the last few years LinkedIn has changed to become a more accessible social network, they encourage users to create posts, share stories and other content.
And a whole industry has emerged around automating LinkedIn as much as possible to gain maximum leverage.
This means that you can increase your visibility just by treating it as you would do Facebook and Instagram. The thing is though, you need to keep posts professional and related to your professional interests, so no sharing of cat pictures or memes sadly.
The more active you are when it comes to posting, the more the algorithm will favour you and show your content to other users, so it is worth posting and sharing articles.
Wrap Up
When it comes to growing your LinkedIn account a little bit of artistic licence can go a long way.
Don’t be afraid to use LinkedIn automation tools.
Make use of the text boxes and showcase yourself and your skills, but make sure that if you are doing to default using the go-to business buzzwords, you back up everything that you are saying!
No one wants to read a paragraph that sounds like a sales pitch!
