Why You Need a LinkedIn Marketing Strategy + Tips to Enhance Your Profile

If you’re like a lot of people, you were probably told by a teacher or a mentor to get on LinkedIn and market yourself as a professional. Am I right? The only problem is that the instruction likely stopped there. Many professionals I’ve met, especially young professionals, were never told why the platform is so valuable, and more importantly, how to make their profile stand out. This article explores why LinkedIn is so valuable and why you need a LinkedIn marketing strategy. You’ll also get coaching tips to enhance your profile!

5 Reasons to be Active on LinkedIn

#1 Platform for Fortune 500 Companies – Research by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth showed that 98% of Fortune 500 companies currently use LinkedIn to share important news, feature branded stories, hire new talent, and grow their respective networks.

Best Platform for Connecting with Decision Makers – In 2019 LinkedIn reported that there were 90 million senior-level influencers using their platform for professional purposes. Of these, 63 million were decision-makers and 17 million were opinion leaders.

Recruit Top Talent – LinkedIn reports that more than 30,000 companies use their platform to post job openings and recruit top talent. In any given month, over 3 million jobs are posted on LinkedIn making it a hot spot for career advancement or to find an exciting new opportunity. LinkedIn also reports that 40 million people use their platform each week to search for new employment opportunities and that three people are hired every minute because they used LinkedIn as a hiring tool.

Numbers Don’t Lie – The platform boasts a membership of over 930 million spanning more than 200 countries and territories around the world. LinkedIn is also home to 30 million companies who know the value of sharing industry news, insights, and information on the largest professional social media network.

Employees Advocate for You – LinkedIn reports that companies on their platform see about one-third of their total engagement coming directly from their employees. They also find that employees are 14 times more likely to share the content posted by their employer than any other source.

Remember, it’s not enough to just have a registered profile on the platform. If you’re looking to attract business opportunities and growth, then you’re going to need to develop a LinkedIn marketing strategy. That’s the only way to experience all the platform has to offer. Here are a few coaching tips to enhance your profile and jumpstart your experience.

Tips to Jumpstart Your LinkedIn Marketing Strategy

Use a professional headshot for your profile photo. Stay away from car selfies, images that require you to crop out other people, or random shots from the family picnic. LinkedIn is a social media platform that connects professionals. Your profile photo is the first thing someone sees when they find you, so you’ll want to make a great first impression.

Connect with a local photographer and schedule a basic one-hour shoot. This will provide you with a few high-quality images that you can use on your social media channels, in marketing materials, and in media interviews.

[Rich’s Insider Tip] Many networking events even have photographers on location with a basic backdrop setup, or sometimes floating around the room, providing an opportunity for attendees to get professional headshots taken on the spot!

Fill out all key areas and highlight details that help you stand out. There are organized areas to write your summary (About Me section), featured work, job experience, education, licenses & certificates, projects you’ve worked on, published work, honors & awards, organizations & community involvement, and so much more. You may have to carve out a decent chunk of time to list everything, but it will be well worth it.

Keep your profile dynamic. Once you fill in all relevant areas noted above, remember to keep going back to update your profile whenever you reach new milestones, earn certificates or achievements, or advance in your career. Reject the idea that this profile is only an online resume. LinkedIn has the potential to be so much more than a static page. It should be a living extension of who you are as a professional.

Include audio, video, and other forms of media. One powerful way to turn your LinkedIn profile into a dynamic extension of your professional career is to include video and audio elements. This could include video tutorials, presentations, speaking reels, interviews, podcast episodes, or livestreams.

Exchange endorsements and recommendations. Reach out to colleagues, collaborators, clients, and those who can vouch for your skills and accomplishments. Exchange endorsements for each other’s skills, as this will help offer social proof of your talents and abilities. You might also want to collect recommendations (testimonials) from clients and colleagues that would be happy to go the extra mile and sing your praises.

Share valuable information with your network. Post industry news, top tips, insightful articles, employee achievements, and other information that is relevant and would be of interest to your network. Consistency in this area is one surefire way to position yourself as an industry leader.

Grow Your Network. Be proactive in connecting with leaders in your industry. Offer to stay in touch through LinkedIn the next time you attend a local networking event, seminar, or conference. You could add your profile URL to business cards and link your page to your website and other social media channels.

LinkedIn is much more than a digital version of your resume. It offers incredible opportunities for professional development and business growth. Use these coaching tips to jumpstart your experience and get the most out of what LinkedIn has to offer your professional growth.

Need Help Developing the Right LinkedIn Marketing Strategy, for You?

Developing the right strategy for marketing yourself on LinkedIn is important.

I’m certified in LinkedIn Marketing Strategy – through LinkedIn. I can help you optimize your profile, stand out in the crowd, and incorporate a solid marketing strategy that gets results.

Plus, everything I show you can be achieved through a free LinkedIn membership.

I offer one-off profile audits, 30-day coaching programs, and monthly LinkedIn for business services to fit your needs.