Overview
Supporting Your Mission on LinkedIn
Being that it is the largest business networking site in the world, there is a mindset shift when users log on to LinkedIn compared to logging on their cousin sites, Instagram, or Facebook. The mood changes, the messages are more professional. Conversations are geared toward partnerships and transactions, as opposed to memes and cat videos.
LinkedIn is a social media site built for professionals which means that the demographic on LinkedIn is going to be so very different from any other site. We did some research and found that 90 million LinkedIn users are senior-level influencers and 63 million are in decision-making positions. There are 17 million opinion leaders and 10 million C-Level executives on LinkedIn. (Imagine all the connections and opportunities for growth! I get excited just thinking about it!)
Essentially, what this means is that you have the opportunity to connect with any person on LinkedIn if you go about it correctly (we’ll go over that a little later).
Since LinkedIn is a business-minded site, the mindset is very different; everything is centered around advancing careers and business growth!
Utilizing the tools in LinkedIn to leverage your profile will ensure that you and your business are getting the most amount of views and interactions as possible which will eventually lead to sales and revenue! We are here to show you how to take it seriously and step your game up.
It doesn’t matter if you are an employee, employer, stay-at-home-parent, freelancer, or student. LinkedIn is your personal branding web presence and your always available professional resume.
Setting up your linkedin
Creating your LinkedIn profile for optimum results can be a daunting task. Luckily, you have tapped into the ultimate resource for building your profile, Pivotous Social! We have created a flipbook to teach you the ins and the outs of LinkedIn and how to optimize your profile for your business! Everything from your profile picture to your skills and endorsements will be covered in this course.
The first thing that we are going to do is get your profile started and create the “bones” that will eventually be your life-changing profile! This is the more boring part of the course, but I promise it gets better. Stick with me, okay? In the flipbook below, it goes step by step through how to create the bones, so go take a look at that and then come back once your profile is created!
Flipbook
Perfect! We now have bones! Next up we are going to fill in all of the holes that will make your profile more full in order to optimize your results. This part was the most fun for me to learn from Chrissy because she has so many tips and tricks that she has taught me! Now, I get to pass those on to you. I know, I know you’re about to jump out of your seat, you’re so excited so I’ll jump right in!
Headline
Oh the dreaded headline. If I had a dollar for every time that I have heard “I can’t think of a headline, can you do it for me?” I’d be rich! Don’t worry though I’m going to walk you through it. When creating your headline you will want to imagine that a recruiter is searching for you on LinkedIn. For example, Chrissy, our CEO(see I told you you’d be hearing about her!) is a leader and marketing expert and has made her headline “Helping People and Businesses Optimize Their LinkedIn Experience!”. Short, simple, and to the point! Also, something that will show up in a recruiter search! Another way to do it is to imagine the skills that are required to be good at your job and spin them to be more personable!
Profile Picture
The people who hate the headline normally love the profile picture and vice versa! The profile picture really isn’t as scary as it sounds. Here are a few tips to follow when creating your picture. First of all, make sure that you have a professional photographer. Professional photographers will help you pose and get a candid photo of you in order to not look forced! Selfies typically do that(I know, shocking)! Once you have your photographer there are a couple different directions that you can go. The first is the professional headshot. This is a classic! While it is professional, make sure you smile because you still want to look approachable. The next is the lifestyle photo! This is great for jobs that have a more business casual vibe rather than business professionals. While this is business casual, the professional photographer still stands! I don’t care how good the IPhone11 camera is, it’s not as good as a photographer! I don’t feel like I should have to say this, but I do, if you have a picture of you and your significant other as your profile picture remove it ASAP! Don’t get me wrong, I love cute couple pictures, but save it for Facebook, capiche?
The profile picture is a fun and creative part of your profile, but your profile is also 7 times more likely to be viewed compared to those that don’t! More views equals more impressions which means more sales(holla!)! Now that you’ve read the tips, get out there, take some pictures and tag me when you get it done! I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with!
Summary
I know I talked about the “dreaded headline” but the summary is really when people start their groaning. Trust me though, it’s not that bad(are you catching a theme here?)! There are multiple different types of summaries that will help you write your outline in order to write your summary.
The first is the mission based summary. This summary is perfect for profiles that are aimed at a diverse group of people. You will start out by giving a broad description of what you do and then slowly narrow it down to be more specific! For example, most people may not understand story selling, but they would understand using your experience to build a relationship.
The second style is the personality summary. This summary should be your go-to if you are networking or if you are just entering the workforce(less experienced). The reason for this is that it focuses on your soft skills instead of hard ones. For instance, I was a gymnast growing up so I am very hardworking and handle stress very well! Those are skills that I would highlight in a personality focused summary. As far as networking goes, if you are looking to just make connections and not necessarily looking to find a new job this is the way to go. The reason for this is that the personality summary shows your human side. The more human you are perceived to be the more interesting of a connection you are!
Next up is the short and sweet summary. This type of summary is great for the lawyers and the doctors of LinkedIn. It is short and to the point because when job hunters are looking for people in this profession, they are essentially just looking for how long they have been practicing and what their specialty is. This summary is also great because it allows you to place keywords in it in order to appear in more search results for job hunters! Essentially, this summary should cover your skills, other positions you’ve held and your current one!
Following the short and sweet is the blended summary. The blended summary is a mix between the personality and the mission based summary. This type of summary is going to be best for those in a position that engages with people. It provides both the facts and the fun personality which is nice cause you get both sides! Some people struggle with this one and finding the right balance between the personal and the professional! The best way to balance this is imagine you are at a networking event. Be fun but also keep in mind you’re at a business event!
Lastly, we have the accomplishments summary. The name pretty much tells you what it is! You will want to list out the high level accomplishments that you have achieved and a list of skills that you will want to advertise. This type of summary is great for job seekers because it is very clear and gets straight to the point!
You can’t go wrong with any of these summaries just make sure that it is well thought out and presents well! To maximize readability, consider using a bulleted list to break up the text. (You can create a bullet by pressing and holding the Alt or Option key and typing the numbers 0, 1, 4, and 9. Or just use hyphens instead.) Last but not least, the summary is a good place to account for gaps in their work history and prove how you’ve kept your skills fresh. If you do freelance work, have been taking professional classes, working on a family business, or volunteered skills at a nonprofit, this could potentially be listed as work experience.
Experience
We’re on to the easier part! Your experience is just the facts of where you’ve worked! We do have a few recommendations just to make sure that you’re covering all of your bases though!
In the experience section, we recommend listing at least three recent jobs, with detailed descriptions of your duties and accomplishments at each one. Hint; google required skills, requirements, an overview of your current and past positions to add depth to your descriptions. The key is to be searchable by LinkedIn’s recruiters and algorithm.
Check for the following:
- If you are switching careers, is it clear how your skills are transferable?
- Are any acronyms or jargon explained or spelled out?
- Are all their accomplishments quantified in a way that would draw readers in?
- Is it clear what each employer does? If not, it may be worth adding a 1 sentence description for each company/organization
If you check all of these boxes you are set up to have a stellar experience section in your LinkedIn!
Skills, Endorsements, Recommendations
Looking at skills, endorsements and recommendations is a fun one! When you are filling out this section List at least 5 transferable skills listed, with endorsements for each one. It can also sometimes help to reorder endorsements to reflect one’s professional aspirations. The skills you want to be known for most should come first. Ask for at least one recommendation for each position listed on your profile. While recommendations from direct reports or peers are nice, recommendations from managers are most impactful. The other GREAT thing about this section is that it is great for networking!
Since I have been working on my profile I have set up a TON of meetings with amazing people to learn from them! Whether that is LinkedIn or professionally otherwise, people are your best resource for learning, but the reality is that people like to receive something when they are giving as well! So, when you are trying to network, hop over to that person’s profile and endorse some of their skills, like their posts and maybe even comment on a couple! Show that you’re interested! Easy enough, right?
Education
This is another easy one! Thank God, am I right? In the education section, you will want to list out all the places where you have received any sort of education! This is important for employers to know, but you also never know who is a fellow alum! That can create some great connections and lead to some great conversations!
All the hacks
When it comes to hacks, you will be SHOCKED at how many there are. I have a few, but if you ask anyone they will probably have more! Like I said before, use your connections people!
One of the ones that I have learned from Chrissy(she really is a genius) is turning on the “open to opportunities” option. When you do this, make sure that you list out the position that you hold and any related in order to appear in more search results.This is important because when you appear in more search results, you are getting more views for yourself and for your company which will lead to more sales! Another aspect of this is making sure you select the button that says “open to the public” not just “open to recruiters”.
Another hack that you may think is obvious is engaging in posts and posting on your own. Liking, commenting and sharing other people’s posts will hack the algorithm in your favor! Meaning you will, again, get more views that lead to sales. This is also a great way to meet new people and establish more connections which means getting your content seen more and get more interactions which everyone loves!
Content
I have a few tips regarding content, but if you take a look at McKenna and Jill’s sections they go in deep! My tips are purely aesthetic. Alright, here we go! First things first, when deciding what to post make sure that it is something that people can care about and something that people can relate to in their life! Along with making sure it’s relatable, make sure that it is conversational. No one likes to be talked AT, people. Ask questions and make it engaging! Make sure that there is plenty of white space! Meaning make sure that there are 1-2 sentences per paragraph so that people don’t get overwhelmed. This helps a lot because my next tip is, drumroll please, emojis! Don’t underestimate the power of emojis, you guys. Adding them in at the beginning or end of your paragraph gives something for readers to look at and be interested in.
Congrats! You just finished your crash course in LinkedIn! Whoop whoop! Hopefully this course presented you with all the information that you need in order to have the best LinkedIn profile. Send me a connection request and a DM and let me know what you thought!
Social Media Do's and Don'ts
Linkedin has a more professional tone than most other social media sites so questionable posts are few and far between but if someone is going to hire you or use the services of your company that doesn’t mean their research is going to stop at LinkedIn.
- Remove public access to your shared content that may have compromising/questionable photographs
- Showing off wealth and big purchases
- Alcohol/drug consumption (excessive partying)
- Avoid political posts
- Highlight volunteer work- community engagement
- Show hobbies and skills that could be work-related or shows mastery/skill
- Avoid spelling and grammar errors – Grammarly! Is a great Chrome extension to catch your spelling and grammatical errors before you hit the post button(I think we could all use this, am I right?).
- No profanity
- Personal Photos – Keep them clean Relate them to your profession
- Livestream/Facebook related to your profession, industry and expertise
- These definitely must be related to a work passion or something relevant in your industry. Make sure they are engaging and to the point
- Keep them short, not long winded
- Make sure lighting and sound is acceptable
Supporting Your Mission
Great job guys! You did it! I know that section was long, but you can’t tell me you didn’t get some incredible tips out of it. If you didn’t, keep it to yourself! I have an image to keep up, capiche? In all seriousness, I hope you have taken away some great tips from this section and I can’t wait to hear all about it!