Marketing Director
We’re often asked by candidates looking for a new job for candidate advice around LinkedIn. How do I get myself noticed on LinkedIn so that employers and headhunters can find me?
The LinkedIn world is your oyster. How do you get the best out this valuable social networking platform?
The challenge is trying to get the most views on your profile from the people who matter. Enhancing your visibility means taking a two-pronged approach: get involved with the conversation and optimise your own profile.
How to boost your LinkedIn profile?
Join a group
Most industry professionals are part of a group on LinkedIn, particularly relating to their industry sector, even companies they work for.
This could be anything from content marketing and creative advertising to digital photography – the list goes on.
Simply go to the search bar at the top of the page and type keywords relating to your profession. You can even do a ‘blank search’ (simply press enter without typing anything in the search bar) and LinkedIn will show you groups relevant to you.
Being in a group will get you noticed by its members and increase your profile views.
Get with the style
Before you start or join any discussions in your chosen group, read through everything posted in that group by members in the last week. In particular, observe the conversational starters of any successful posts to gauge what will generate a response from group members.
Are the chats casual or formal? Are there open-ended questions? Are there frequent discussions about industry news? Are there requests for advice? Even observe the responses from members, such as whether their replies are long, short or snappy.
Getting to grips with the lingo will help to establish engaging chats with members who will then visit your profile to find out more about you.
Join a discussion
Now you’ve done your homework, it’s worth joining a group discussion to contribute your words of wisdom on a topic that will be of interest to members.
Remember to always say things relevant to a discussion, otherwise people will simply ignore you. Agreeing with someone’s opinion can be a good way to back it up with your own experience or industry insight.
Disagreeing is fine, as long as it’s kept professional and respectful at all times.
Even promoting yourself, your brand or your service can be useful, as long as you’re not saying “read my portfolio!” when a discussion is about something else. The more interesting your chats become, the more profile views will follow.
Start your own discussion
This is the best way to establish first-hand connections with members as it invites people to share their expertise or views on a topic of your choice.
Keep the subject matter broad enough to allow a wider scope for discussions. You can also share articles or websites that members would find interesting. Thinking of open-ended questions are better to allow a continuous thread of responses from members, who will then be encouraged to visit your profile.
Make sure you’re seen!
Change your profile viewing setting from ‘anonymous’ to ‘public’. If you’re set to anonymous, then other members on LinkedIn can’t visit your profile or see that you’ve viewed theirs.
Add keywords to your professional headline
Your headline is the key selling point; it’s the first thing people see below your name, so make it punchy. You want to invite people to click through.
If you’re a marketing specialist, then add relevant keywords that describe your job’s function, such as ‘Marketing Manager’, ‘B2C Blogger’, ‘Conference Speaker’, ‘Business Advisor’ to attract visits from other members.
Optimise your summary
This is another key section as it’s the introduction to your profile that summarises your experience and skills. Add as many keywords as possible relating to your job function and industry keeping sentences short and punchy to increase visibility, and the likelihood of other members wanting to visit your profile and read more.
If you’re looking for a new role, search our latest jobs or contact us at Intelligent People today. We’d love to hear from you and help you find your next position.
