Linkedin Best Practices – LinkedIn is a great place to build your business, brand, expand your network, attract new clients, market yourself and find job opportunities. But use it the wrong way and you could turn off professional contacts or even lose out on your dream job.
They say the first impression matters and this is very essential in the business building as LinkedIn unlike Facebook and other social media platform is a place where business profiles are built online and the success of this is one of the basic functionalities of LinkedIn.
Here, we’ll take a look at 9 LinkedIn mistakes that you make and how to correct it.
Uncultured Display Photo
With the data gotten from LinkedIn, it was observed that profiles with photos receive up to 21 times more views than profiles without photos, plus nine times more connection requests. The picture on your LinkedIn profile should be taken professionally to project the image you want people to see you as. You should professionally be dressed in your business attire, smiling and keep your head straight. Your face should fill up a reasonable amount of the picture frame. Linkedin Best Practices.
No Cover Photo
Your cover photo is an essential element in LinkedIn, one needs to avoid these lapses as it doesn’t represent you professionally. A cover photo captures the attention of your profile visitors so it’s prerequisite you use an image that’s both professional and informative, adding to their understanding of who you are and what it is you do.
Un-customized Profile URL
By default, LinkedIn will automatically create a URL for you. It is wrong to use this default URL without customizing a profile URL because it would be difficult for employers, prospects, and clients to find your profile. A LinkedIn vanity URL with your name makes it easier for people to find you and looks much more professional.
Non-Response Or Engagement
Taking too long to reply to messages, connection requests, or not replying and other forms of engagement within your LinkedIn network is an error one needs to avoid as this makes a person feel unimportant/neglected and hence such client/prospect might not want to create a business relationship with you. You can avoid this by taking out little to respond to them, letting them know you’ll get back to them shortly.
Incorrect Profile Headline
Your LinkedIn headline is the first thing that anyone will see when they find you in the search results or visit your profile other than your name and profile photo, You can use the headline to either list your current job title or describe the kind of job you do (e.g. Sales Manager at KPMG). A good headline would determine if a visitor would want to go through your profile or just click on to the next one.
Blank Summary
The summary section is the best place to tell your profile visitors about yourself as it’s a perfect place to create a great first impression and leaving it blank would deprive you of such an opportunity to express your expertise to them.
Unlike your CV, LinkedIn has provided us with enough space to tell your audience the problems you solve, the individuals/companies you help, your skills set and what you do.
Lack Of Recommendations or Skills
When prospective employers, clients or business partners are deciding whom to employ or go into business with, they are often carried away by the quality recommendations from current or past clients, colleagues and industry peers who’ve taken the time to write about how your expertise helped them. Not including proof of your expertise and skillset should be avoided. LinkedIn makes it easy to showcase your skills and evidence of your expertise in the form of recommendation. Linkedin Best Practices.
This can be very effective in boosting your reputation on the platform. It is best considered that one should have a minimum of 5 recommendations from credible people who can vouch for your skills.
Applying For Jobs That’s Not In Your Discipline
Employers usually set out strict criteria and related qualifications for a position they wish to recruit job seekers into. If you do not meet up with the stipulated requirements, do not apply as it is an easy feat to go through all applications and irrelevant applications only lead to disqualification and the employer might block you from receiving openings from them in the future which you might be qualified for. So it’s advisable to go for the job you are qualified for.
Spamming People
This should be avoided at all costs. Sending out your CV to everyone or having to send multiple connection requests without a personalized message is seen as spam and it doesn’t speak highly of the sender and shows how desperate and low self-esteem the individual is. Send out your CV’s and connection request to meaningful persons and companies or similar interests else you might be blocked.
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