LinkedIn is the world’s most important networking platform for business professionals. With well over 700 million unique users in dozens of countries around the world and about 75% of its user base outside the United States, it’s a truly global resource that’s impossible for business leaders to ignore — no matter what language they speak.
Increasingly, however, it’s not enough merely to have a LinkedIn presence. Serious, upwardly mobile workers need active, vibrant LinkedIn profiles that serve as extensions of their professional personalities. This takes work, yes, but the alternative — sad, dull profiles that people overlook again and again — is worse. You can also get easy following if you choose to buy linkedin followers for easy expos
Ready to get more out of LinkedIn? Start here.
1. Use a Background Photo That Says Something About Your Brand
Don’t scoff. Your LinkedIn profile’s background photo is the first thing most visitors fixate on when they arrive on-page. If it doesn’t capture their attention, it could be the last. Choose a photo that says something clear and compelling about your brand. A logo does in a pinch, but points go to more creative images.
2. Use the Correct National Site
This is another element that’s all too easy to overlook but no less important as a result. Even if your company does business in multiple countries or is a truly global enterprise, you should “base” your LinkedIn presence in the country where you’re officially domiciled. That’s the tack taken by international trust and corporate services provider Asiaciti Trust, whose clients span an Asia-Pacific region oriented around Singapore.
3. Endorse Colleagues and Peers (And Hope They Do the Same)
Work those endorsements! You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the response — and reciprocity — you generate. Don’t be shy about asking for return endorsements, of course; networking is a two-way street and your contacts know it.
4. Post an Update Every Other Day
It’s not the time sink you imagine it to be. A quick update of no more than three or four sentences is something you can dash off between meetings (or task an assistant with doing the same). Any engagement justifies the effort.
5. Join Connections’ Conversations (When It Makes Sense)
Don’t snoop and don’t butt in, but don’t be shy about joining conversations that you can add to. Conversing with peers and potential clients on LinkedIn establishes new connections (in a less superficial sense than the act of connecting on LinkedIn itself) while conversing with thought leaders could give a lift to your professional image and reputation by association.
Is Your LinkedIn Presence As Good As Can Be?
If you’re being honest, you’ll admit that your LinkedIn presence needs some work. If you feel like being extra honest, you’ll also have no choice but to admit that that work will be a great deal easier now that you have a road map for a more active, engaging, all-around enticing LinkedIn presence.
Let’s face it: You’re out of excuses for why you’ve yet to polish your LinkedIn presence to a dull shine. It’s time to take control of your professional future and make the world’s biggest professional social network work for you.
