LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies. Donna Serdula

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СКАЧАТЬ Tone

      LinkedIn is a social network, and writing an impersonal profile filled with business jargon doesn’t mesh. Social networks are all about you interacting with your network. And because your network will check out your profile, it’s imperative that what they read is from your pen. You don’t want to push people away by creating distance between you and your reader.

      A powerful LinkedIn profile is written in first person narrative form (“I”). Draw readers in by writing about yourself in the first person. Writing in a conversational, natural tone is a great way to connect with your audience and start forging an easy rapport.

      As important as it is to write in first person, you also must be careful not to overuse “I.” There is nothing worse than a profile where every sentence starts with I. In my profile, I sometimes use the second person narrative form (“You”) because it brings your reader in even closer by speaking directly to them, and it eases the potential overuse of “I.”

      

The best way to ensure your profile is compellingly written is to read it aloud. Does it sound stilted? Does it sound like it’s something you would never say to an acquaintance live in person? If so, the writing is forced and not conversational in tone.

      Here is an example of stilted, hard-to-read resume speak:

       Creating a clear strategy for leveraging resources to produce the maximum number of insights possible. Integrating contextual analytics to business processes. Centralizing deep analysis expertise for use across the organizational axis but mandating each individual department and line of business takes responsibility for their own reporting needs.

      

You want to write your profile as if you are talking directly to your reader. Your words should sound professional yet natural. A profile written in corporate jargon or resume speak is a turn off. Demonstrate your human side and warmth by writing in a natural, conversational tone.

When you see profiles written in the third person, typically the reason is that they simply copied and pasted their biography or resume into the LinkedIn profile. That’s a cop-out! Your LinkedIn profile is not your resume nor your bio. Your LinkedIn profile is your career future! It’s who you are, how you help people, and why you deserve to be noticed. A powerful LinkedIn profile is strategically written for your goals and your target audience. It’s not a copy and paste of some other document.

      While the best profiles are written in first person, there are times when other styles work better. For example, if you are in sales and marketing and your profile is written with the goal of engaging potential clients, second person works great: “If you want to up your game and improve your productivity, our CRM solution will help you save time and … .” Notice how the focus is on the person reading the profile.

      If you are a person with a long list of accomplishments and awards, it may feel more comfortable writing about your successes in third person: “After winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Jane Doe sold her company for $33 billion and decided to dedicate the rest of her career to saving the rain forests.”

      Think about your target audience and your brand, then tailor your voice accordingly.

Using the Different Versions of LinkedIn

      Part of your LinkedIn strategy should extend to your use of LinkedIn as well as how your target audience typically accesses LinkedIn. At one time, LinkedIn was a site you accessed via a browser on your desktop computer or laptop. With the rise of mobile devices and apps that run on them, LinkedIn has extended the features and functionality of its desktop experience to a mobile app.

      Since debuting its mobile app, LinkedIn’s success has exploded, and it makes sense why. Even though LinkedIn is a professional platform, many companies block the use of LinkedIn over the company’s Internet connection, which means in order to access LinkedIn, one would have to do it at home after work. Who wants to do professional stuff after work? Once LinkedIn was accessible via the mobile app using personal mobile data, LinkedIn could be used anywhere and everywhere. Waiting for a meeting to start? Click the LinkedIn app on your smartphone and scroll through your LinkedIn feed to see what’s going on with your network. Grabbing lunch at the local deli? Check the LinkedIn profiles of the people who you’ll be pitching later today via the mobile app.

Fewer than half of all LinkedIn users access the site via a browser on a computer or laptop. If you find that you struggle to find time to access LinkedIn, it may be because you are only accessing it from a computer. Install the mobile app on your smartphone and you may be surprised at the frequency with which you begin to access it.

      

It’s important to note that your LinkedIn profile appears differently in the LinkedIn app and the LinkedIn desktop experience. As you move through this book and begin updating your LinkedIn profile, I recommend doing as much of the updating of your profile via a desktop browser as possible, using a full-size keyboard. But when you are finished with each section, make sure you check out how your work looks on the mobile app.

      Next up I look at how to get found on LinkedIn.

Chapter 2

      Getting Found on LinkedIn

      IN THIS CHAPTER

      

Optimizing your LinkedIn search results

      

Determining your keywords

      

Creating a clickable search result

      

Increasing your search ranking

      LinkedIn helps people connect with opportunity. Whether it’s a new job, a sale, a media interview, a business partnership, or something else entirely, many times the connection starts with a LinkedIn search.

      At the time of this writing, LinkedIn has over 575 million users in over 200 countries. Of those 575 million users, 260 million are active on a monthly basis, and 40 percent are engaging on a daily basis (https://kinsta.com/blog/linkedin-statistics). Making sure your profile sticks out and pops up is important. In this chapter, I show you how people use LinkedIn as a search engine. I show you the importance of your search result listing and how to make it attractive and clickable. I also show you how to discover your keywords and how to infuse them into your profile for higher search engine ranking. By the time you finish this chapter, you will have a list of your keywords and the knowledge of how to dominate LinkedIn search results.

Using LinkedIn as a Search Engine

Getting views to your profile doesn’t always start through an Internet search. LinkedIn is more than just a professional network and profile listing. LinkedIn is a different type of search engine. Most search engines return websites. Searches conducted via a LinkedIn search return LinkedIn СКАЧАТЬ