There are already more than 650,000 users of the LinkedIn professional social network in the Czech Republic. Most of them are managers and professionals like you. You have probably already mastered the basics, including creating a profile, building a network of contacts and actively participating in discussion groups. Today, we will focus on some lesser-known tips on how to transform your LinkedIn profile into the strongest possible personal brand building tool.
This article is based on the article entitled 22 LinkedIn Secrets LinkedIn Will Not Tell You, originally published by personal brand building expert William Arruda on Forbes.com. We chose 10 tips that may seem illogical at first glance, but can help you reach maximum results using minimum effort.
1. Do not share all your profile updates
When you update multiple items in your profile at once, turn off the function notifying all your contacts of the changes. You should share only a major change (new job, new skill, etc.) publicly. There is no need to bother all the people in your network with everything you edit.
2. Ask people to endorse only your best skills
First of all, consider what skills are crucial to you and should be endorsed by others. Your profile should clearly show that others appreciate these specific skills (Endorsements). If someone endorses a skill that is not important to you, do not hesitate to refuse or delete the recommendation. You yourself should endorse only the skills of others you really know are excellent. Keep in mind that the endorsements you give to others say a lot about yourself.
3. Feel free to use old content
If you have a compelling content you created some time ago, do not worry about using it again. It will strengthen your brand and its consistency. The same content can be also used in various ways. Articles originally published on your blog can, for example, be softly modified and gradually republished on social networks in the form of activity updates or articles embedded directly into your profile.
4. Join groups even outside your field
Do not limit yourself to discussion groups only from field you work or do business in. Choose according to your interests and other parts of your identity too. This will give you access to more potentially important people. You should, however, always choose active groups with many members.
5. Accept invitations from strangers
In this case, William Arruda uncompromisingly breaks with the LinkedIn official rules that allow users to only connect with people they actually know. "That helps sell Premium, but it doesn’t help you get found," says Arruda.
6. Involve misspellings of your name
People may not know exactly how to write your name or that you have a new name. Therefore, you should include common misspellings of your name or the information that you have changed your name in your profile's summary. William Arruda's profile, for example, includes: "AKA/Common misspellings: Bill Arruda, Will Arruda, William Arud, Will Arud". The search engine will then find him even if people do not know the exact spelling of his name.
7. Change the order of individual parts of your profile
LinkedIn allows you to move individual parts, but most people do not do it. That is why almost all profiles start with a summary, followed by experience and education history. Try to think more and assemble the parts of your profile so that the most important information is on the top. This will definitely differentiate you from the others.
8. Your LinkedIn profile is not a resume
Create it as if you were holding a conversation with other people. Involve your personality by showing your values and interests. You can, for example, write what you enjoy doing outside work in the profile's summary.
9. Do not look to the right
You should only use a professional photo for your profile. This applies both to its resolution and sharpness as well as to the composition. Your head and eyes should be directed either straight ahead or slightly to the left toward the content you are sharing. Your head turned to the right sends the signal that you are turning away and therefore do not believe in the content of the page.
10. Collect connections
Commit to bringing together at least 500 connections. Not only will this expand your target audience, you will also achieve a psychological boundary with a strong influence on the people who see you.
Do you use any of the above-mentioned techniques? What do you think about the tips?
-Kk-