Clients have been emailing me all week about an email they received from LinkedIn telling them:
“You have one of the top 1% most viewed LinkedIn profiles for 2012. LinkedIn now has 200 million members. Thanks for playing a unique part in our community!”
Did you receive the email? Are you in the top 1%, 5%, 10% or 20%?
What? No email from LinkedIn? That’s okay! I can show you how to easily get your LinkedIn profile views up.
If you didn’t receive an email from LinkedIn, don’t worry. There’s things you can do to improve the views to your LinkedIn profile. Here are 3 easy ways to get more people looking at your LinkedIn profile.
LinkedIn is a database OF professionals FOR professionals. And people are querying this LinkedIn database looking for someone like YOU. The only problem is they don’t know your name. If they don’t know your name, how can they find you? Easy… KEYWORDS. Recruiters, hiring managers, people seeking service providers, partners, etc… look for their targets by typing in keywords.
What are your keywords?
Dynamic, professional, problem solver are NOT keywords. These words can describe anyone. You want to find words that are very specific to who you are and what you do.
Here are some questions to help you determine your keywords:
Once you have these keywords, you want to make sure they are sprinkled throughout your profile. Use these words authentically in your headline, summary, and job descriptions. Make sure they are listed as your skills & expertise.
Good keyword usage:
As an account manager who specializes in the sales & marketing of architectural software such as AutoCAD, Revit, and other 3D modeling software solutions, I realize the importance of….
Evil keyword usage:
sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales, sales… [/box]
Remember, you can’t be found for keywords that are not in your LinkedIn profile. Make it easy for people to find you by using the terms they are using to search for you.
So let’s say someone searches a keyword phrase within LinkedIn and your profile pops up in the search results…. Is your search result listing sufficiently sexy to compel your potential reader to open your profile to read more?
According to LinkedIn research, profiles with a profile picture are seven times more likely to be viewed than profiles without a profile picture. Make sure your profile picture shows you in the best light! Dress professionally. Smile and look friendly and approachable.
How about your headline? Your LinkedIn headline is like a headline in a newspaper… it should compel a person to want to read more. The default headline is simply your last job title and company. Talk about BORING!
Your LinkedIn headline is your readers’ very first impression of you and it will determine whether they click to read more or click to the next profile.
Instead of boring your reader, it should sum up your professional “identity” in a very short phrase. You want this phrase to be catchy, bright, clever and KICK ASS!
Not sure how to create a POWERFUL LinkedIn Headline?
Download my step by step guide to transform your LinkedIn headline into an eye catching, reader MAGNET in 5 minutes flat!
LinkedIn just announced they have 200 MILLION MEMBERS using LinkedIn. That’s a lot of professionals! In order to get noticed, you can’t just sit back and hope people will reach out to you.
In order to get noticed, you need to get active on LinkedIn
The more you splash around, the more people who will take notice of you and the more views you will get to your LinkedIn profile.
Here’s some ways to crank up your activity level on LinkedIn:
Status Updates: Keep in touch with your network by posting Status Updates. Did you read an interesting article? Did you finish an interesting project? Are you attending a unique event? Did you hear a great piece of advice? Share it via LinkedIn!. Here, let me make it really easy for you… install the LinkedIn Sharing Bookmarklet. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Groups: Join a LinkedIn Group and become an active member. Comment on discussions. Create interesting and engaging discussions that compel people to comment. Showcase yourself as an expert. Help people. Inspire people. Make people take notice of you so they click on your profile to learn more about YOU.
View Other People’s Profiles: One of the beautiful parts of LinkedIn is you can see who has viewed your profile. And guess what? People LOVE seeing who has checked out their profile and so…. View other people’s profiles! After you visit a person’s profile, more often than not, that person will visit your profile to check you out too. Just make sure that you have your profile visible and not set at anonymous.
Recommend People: When you recommend a person on LinkedIn, that recommendation ripples through your network and the other person’s network. Recommend people out of the goodness of your heart and you will find that people want to know more about the nice person saying such lovely things about their connection/friend/colleague/employee/partner/etc.
Not good at writing recommendations? My LinkedIn Toolbox has an eBook chock full of templates (recommendations and much more) that you can steal! Copy and paste easiness.
Endorse People: Yes, I know endorsements seem hinky but they really are awesome when used authentically. Go out and endorse people for their real skillsets… not just the skills & expertise LinkedIn recommends. And endorse people you really know. Not only will they be touched by your generosity but your name is now listed next to their endorsed Skills & Expertise on their profile. Yes, there’s a good chance people will see it and click to read more about YOU!
Now that people are viewing your LinkedIn profile, does it showcase you in a manner that is impressive? It’s great to have people visit your profile but if there’s nothing there that sets you apart, why bother?
Your LinkedIn profile is your first impression and digital introduction. Don’t waste this opportunity by simply regurgitating your dull, boring resume. Instead, take this opportunity and present yourself in a way that inspires, impresses, and builds confidence in your abilities, products, and services. Use your LinkedIn profile as the tool to shape your online image.
As a LinkedIn profile writer, I can ensure you a POWERFUL first impression that yields opportunities.
Not sure where to get started?
Check out my Services (we write your LinkedIn profile for you) OR Products (we give you the tools to write your LinkedIn profile yourself).
I hope you found value in this post! Let me know in the comments what you do to get people to view your LinkedIn profile. If you have any LinkedIn questions, feel free to ask me in the comments section below. I love answering questions about LinkedIn.
Access my LinkedIn Headline Generator app to boost your brand and achieve higher placement in LinkedIn Search results. Your profile will get more views and you will collide with amazing opportunities! All it takes is a couple of clicks and in seconds you have an engaging, professional LinkedIn Headline that impresses. It's fast, easy, and completely free.
Instant Access
Input your search keywords and press Enter.
By the way, the LinkedIn Campaign was a very smart one indeed. However, many people were duped into believing that they were in the top 1-5% of profiles viewed – even LinkedIn Member profiles that were less than 100% complete. See my LinkedIn Profile where I link to anther Social Media expert who discusses it too. Read the comments!
Loved your article. You provided clear direction and guidance on creating impressive LinkedIn profiles. I look forward to rewriting mine using your suggestions. Wish me luck!
I set up a LinkedIn page and profile a few months ago and there’s no doubt LinkedIn is a powerful way of interacting with other marketers and also a very good traffic source. I thought i set up a pretty good profile but after reading this excellent post i realize i have some work to do:-) ..
Very true, good basic tips. LinkedIn is a very good tool to follow your industry and interests and have all your information stream through one channel. However I am still a little puzzled why some people strive to amass as many connections as possible, even if these connections seem to have nothing to do with what the individual is interested in, or the field they work in. Perhaps having 100’s of connections does something (except expose your profile to a never ending feed of everyone’s activity).
Ilya Ilienko
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ilya-ilienko/6/5bb/401/
Hi Donna,
thanks for this great article. It’s still as relevant today as when it was first published! I didn’t know about the LinkedIn sharing bookmarklet (it’s now in my browser).
Thank you for the interesting article! Here is another trick to increase your LinkedIn profile views: use the LiVisitor Chrome extension to automatically visit other people’s profiles. About 5% of people will visit you back! You can download the extension for free from https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/livisitor/pafjcmmfiibiahjeiipbnmaaggjicnme.
Donna, great article. You touched on all the points I do in my workshops. For those of you thinking that the profile picture is not important. Think again. Check out http://www.photofeeler.com or this link, to make sure your pic is conveying and portraying what you want it to say.
https://www.careerealism.com/elements-winning-linkedin-photo/
Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words! Also remember, It’s not the fact that you are on LinkedIn, it’s the fact that you are ON LinkedIn.
Dwayne L. Cormier aka The Transitiongod
Great advice! I’ll interested in getting more profile views, and I think status updates could be the key. Thanks
Great tips. I really need to start recommending people.
I really loved your advice Donna.I think I need a few more bullet points in my headline. I keep thinking though that “man I haven’t done much because I don’t get any views”. I will try to post more articles though. I have started with commenting on replies to comments. Let’s see what happens. BTW: reda your book on LI as well. YES!!!