Mistakes To Avoid On LinkedIn

Mistakes To Avoid On LinkedIn

Tips on Creating a Successful LinkedIn Profile. Many people will tell you what you ought to do, but who will tell you what you must not do?

LinkedIn is where you can both look for and find new connections. That's why it's important to have a profile that makes it easy for people to find you and motivates them to reach out to you.

 

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Many people, in my experience, make simple errors that hurt their effectiveness in this area. Assuming you're going to put in the effort to create a profile, you probably want to attract the right people's attention.

In light of this, I have compiled a simple checklist of various recommendations for improving one's LinkedIn profile and providing supporting evidence for one's claims. If you are thinking of it as an exercise in SEO, you are on the right track. You want to be noticed and accessed just like any other website owner.

Those interested in tips for creating a professional LinkedIn profile while in school can find them in a different post of mine.

Let's pretend I'm looking at your LinkedIn profile and go through the steps I'd take to improve it, starting with the most important and ending with some broader thoughts on how to approach your profile.

1. You Don’t Use A LinkedIn Cover Image

The standard LinkedIn cover photo is widely used, but this is a huge mistake. Why? Differentiate yourself from the other 90% of LinkedIn users by uploading a professional headshot. Many people learn best through visuals, and they often retain this information longer than they read. This means that if you use a unique image, you just might catch not only someone's eye but also keep it!

This is the visual real estate of choice for promoting the one thing about yourself or your company that you want to stand out the most.

2.  You Aren't Showing Your Face In The Picture

There are many reasons to have a photo in your LinkedIn profile, but in the end, it comes down to credibility, which is why I dedicated an entire blog post to the subject. Too many phony profiles have cropped up on LinkedIn; you need to prove your authenticity.

It seems silly not to include a photo after going to all the trouble of completing your online profile. It begs too many questions to be ignored. Avoid including images that have nothing to do with your work or relevant interests, such as company logos or pictures of your pet.

Ensure that your photo is publicly viewable in your account's privacy settings. You can make yourself effectively “invisible” to people who aren't already in your network by changing a setting that controls who can see your photo.

3. You Don't Have a Branded Enough Professional Headline

Look at the blank line in front of your name. What you just typed is your “Profile Headline” or “Professional” title. It will show up everywhere on LinkedIn and in search engine results. It is your “elevator speech,” if you will summarize it into a few words.

Why don't you just introduce yourself and your company? Don’t! Here, you can encourage people who come across you in search results to learn more about you. Your Profile Headline is the most visible part of your profile and should be used to convey a strong brand message.

4.  You've Picked The Incorrect Field To Promote

When filling out your LinkedIn profile and entering your current location, you will be asked to select the industry in which you currently work.

This field will become central to your brand, featured prominently in your profile, and determines your visibility in search results. This is because many people narrow their search results by selecting Industry.

When filling this out, keep the sector of the economy you wish to be associated with.

5. You Have Not Listed These Three Websites

LinkedIn profiles can include up to three external links. Using it to your advantage? Do you want to promote your presence on social media? What's up, y'all, with the company's website You have a side business that you're trying to build? Put in here everything that you want people to associate with you. Simply by including these links, you will be helping the SEO of your own sites.

6. You Didn’t Claim Your Unique Website Address

When you sign up for LinkedIn, you'll be given a public URL for your profile that you can put in your email signature or other online profiles. When you update your profile, you'll see an option to change this. One of the first things you should have done on LinkedIn was to claim your name here.

For example, I changed the final text to “nealschaffer” so that the URL for my LinkedIn profile, www.linkedin.com/in/nealschaffer, is easier to remember. Be sure to secure your desired domain name before someone else does so if you share a particularly common name.

7.  You Need To Expand Your Network

Many people have too few connections on their profiles and, as a result, are not discovered, though this is debatable. In a nutshell, when you search, your network will supply the results. Likewise, likewise. This means that the more connections you have, the more search results you will appear.

Don't forget that meeting and learning from people you don't already know is a big part of what makes social media so valuable. In that case, why delay any longer? Here are some suggestions for LinkedIn super connectors you may want to connect with if you're at a loss as to whom you should invite to connect. The same goes for LinkedIn; feel free to invite me.

 

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8. You Haven't Made Use Of The “Open To…”

One of LinkedIn's more recent features is the ability to include a promotional message near the top of your profile, which can indicate one of three things:

• Your company offers a variety of services (for sales and marketing professionals)
• I see that you're looking to hire
• If a suitable position becomes available, you'd be interested in hearing about it.

This section may not be useful for everyone, but if you fit into one of the three categories above, you should definitely check it out.

9. Your Branded Summary Is Missing Strategic Keywords

Assuming someone likes your Professional Headline and clicks on your profile, your Summary will be the next most important part of your profile. You can use this opportunity to ensure that all of the terms you want to be associated with your name appear here.

Like an executive summary, this is where you want to make an impression with your writing. This is your opportunity to shine and demonstrate your talents to the world. Take complete advantage of it!

10. You're Using The Third Person In Your “About” Summary

You should write your summary to make people want to know more about you if you want to have a welcoming profile. For this purpose, only the first-person perspective will do.

Or, to rephrase the question,

“Neal Schaffer is a highly successful business leader.”

“you write”

In sales and marketing, “I have worked with a dozen cutting-edge brands on their digital transformation projects.”

People are more likely to feel a personal connection with you if you write your profile summary in the first person as if they were listening to you deliver the lines in person.

11. There Is Nothing New In Your Highlighted Content

LinkedIn has always allowed users to include multimedia in their profiles, but a new “Featured” tab specifically highlights this media type.

One easy and effective way to get noticed on LinkedIn is to include media in your featured section. Selecting appropriate multimedia content is less crucial than possessing some form of multimodality. Why?

Posting multimedia to your LinkedIn page makes it more engaging, allowing visitors to learn more about you and your experiences. Audio, video or a slideshow can be added to your LinkedIn profile to keep readers interested and set you apart from the pack.

12. You Don't Provide Enough Information About Your Work And Education History

One discovery method is Google searches for your target employer or alma mater. If you only include your current employer on your profile and/or hide your education, you limit your chances of being discovered.

Look at this: Many years ago, I spent my junior year of college in Beijing. I didn't know any other 15 or so Americans who had been there that year. Only two of the fifteen have tracked me down via LinkedIn.

I was reunited with a friend from high school with whom I had lost touch. If I hadn't mentioned the name of the school I attended during my junior year abroad and my high school, they never would have found me.

More of your coworkers or former coworkers may be looking for you at companies, and they may want to connect with you for networking purposes. You may be missing out.

13. You Don't Talk About Your Previous Jobs

No matter how many jobs you've held or what they were called, if you don't include detailed descriptions of your duties, they'll mean nothing. You can easily add search engine optimization (SEO) keywords to your profile by incorporating them into your application's textual content (i.e., job postings). So why wouldn't you use this to your advantage? I will elaborate on why your profile is not your resume later on but an inbound marketing tool.

14. You Haven't Included Any Volunteer Work On Your Profile

Volunteer work is a great way to showcase your personality, passions, hobbies, and willingness to give back to the community. Posts about your volunteer work can help you stand out from the crowd on LinkedIn, and including them in your profile is a great way to show off your interests and skills outside of the workplace.

In a nutshell, highlighting your volunteer work will make you more human to potential employers and set you apart from the competition that doesn't do the same.

15. You Haven't Updated Your “Skills” Section With Any Pertinent Experience

In recent years, LinkedIn has included a section devoted to showcasing one's various abilities. Were you able to check in and peruse the amenities?

LinkedIn's AI will often automatically fill in your Skills section, but if you don't take the time to edit it, it may not accurately reflect your expertise.

Act assertively by picking 50 abilities for which you would like to be recognized.

Another thing keeping LinkedIn relevant is that skills are used in the paid versions to find people.

16. You Don't Have Good Endorsement Management

People tend to highlight your best qualities first when endorsing you.

If you aren't careful with your skill management, you could end up getting endorsed for areas in which you're either not proficient or that aren't particularly important right now.

So that you get endorsed for the right skills, prioritize those you feel are most important.

17. You Haven't Gotten At Least Three References To Back You Up

It's the same as not posting a picture of yourself. Why? When you first join LinkedIn and create your profile, LinkedIn suggests you ask for three recommendations to complete it. Recommendations validate your identity and give weight to the professed expertise you have gained in previous jobs.

Having at least three positive recommendations can only help your case. Working for a long time WITHOUT any suggestions can send a red flag to people who might want to do business with you, so be careful!

18. You Don't Highlight Any Of Your Achievements

Displaying modesty on LinkedIn is inappropriate. Don't be ashamed to claim a prestigious or interesting job title from your past. Get the word out if you've been honoured with accolades in a previous role. A person's interest in keeping in touch with you can be piqued further by highlighting your experiences and how you excelled in those roles.

LinkedIn's profile section devoted to your accomplishments includes fill-in-the-blank fields to help you quickly enter the following details:

19. Awards And Commendations

Applying a CV-Style Approach to Your Profile I've already mentioned how crucial it is to stop thinking LinkedIn is an inbound marketing tool. Still, I'll say it again because of how important it is to your success there.

Resumes are like mail bombs; they are sent to one specific person or office. They tend to have a limited scope and reveal little about you as an individual. Think of your LinkedIn profile less as a resume and more as a professional “dating” tool, where you can show off your unique qualities and interests while also expanding the circle of people you can potentially work with.

While the number of people who will read your resume is relatively small, the number of people who will see your LinkedIn profile is enormous. Don't forget to treat your profile like a legitimate business.

 

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20. Not Using LinkedIn And Missing Its Benefits Maintain Consistent Interaction With Your Network

Like most social media platforms, LinkedIn is designed to be used consistently. Checking in with people in your network regularly shows that you care about their careers and keeps you in the loop with people you've connected with and potential leaders in your industry.

This is true whether you log in every time you sort through your emails or just a few times a month to check your settings and edit the various sections on your site.

Maintain a regular schedule of checking your news feed and interacting with your network by liking and commenting on posts. Small amounts of interaction go a long way toward maintaining brand recognition and introducing your profile to new connections who may be interested in the same topics.

21. Irregularly Posting Updates

Want to get the word out about your project? Try to find some expert opinions. What about some introductions before your next business trip? Discuss the most recent developments in your field.

Start doing more of whatever it is you want to share on LinkedIn. Gaining a larger LinkedIn audience while also increasing your share of mind among your connections.

Have any other suggestions for improving one's LinkedIn profile? I'd like to know! You've done well if you avoided all of these blunders. You look healthy and fit 😉

22. Is Your Company Ready To Make The Most Of LinkedIn?

Learn the quickest and simplest ways to improve your LinkedIn profile's effectiveness in the business world right now.

Learn the “hidden secret” of using content to boost your personal brand and your audience's interest.

Maintaining professional connections is crucial to the success of both Social Selling and Referral Marketing, so make use of best practices in both areas.

How to Create A Successful LinkedIn Profile: Frequently Asked Questions

A good LinkedIn profile is essential if you're looking for a job.

No matter your field of work, there are 17 essentials for a successful LinkedIn profile. You should be familiar with the following essential checklists:

1. A high-quality photo with no distracting elements
2. Proper business name
3. A skilled and engaging headline
4. In the best possible spot
5. What is your field of expertise?
6. Executive Summary
7. Personal references, professional abilities, and applicable work history.

How Do I Make Myself More Noticeable On LinkedIn?

• Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and full.
• Use keywords that are relevant to your profile to improve your search engine rankings.
• You should modify the URL of your LinkedIn profile.
• The fourth rule of profile pictures is to use a professional headshot.
• Make a catchy professional slogan
• Obtain recommendations on LinkedIn.
• Make sure your profile summary is polished and highlights your best qualities and experience.

Where Do I Begin When Filling Out My LinkedIn Profile?

Make sure to highlight all of your professional accomplishments and experience. Since your LinkedIn profile is essentially your “online resume,” it's important to include as much detail as possible about your skills and experience.

You should not go into great detail, though. Recruiters and other LinkedIn users will review your profile as if it were a traditional resume. Reading lengthy descriptions can be arduous and tedious. Offer a summary of your qualifications.

Just How Does One Get Started With LinkedIn?

If you're just starting out, you should prioritize expanding your LinkedIn profile. This is the most important step, so take your time and do it right. Building a strong presence on LinkedIn can open up many doors for you.

It is recommended to begin by selecting a headshot, a headline, and a summary that are all appropriate for a professional setting. Assuming you've filled out your profile completely, the next step is to make the most of LinkedIn's tools and resources, including its extensive user base.

 

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What Should My LinkedIn Profile Summary Be?

Your LinkedIn summary should be tailored to your specific objectives. Do you want to work? Do you intend to create a name for yourself?

What you hope to accomplish with your profile is the first step in determining the best strategy for setting it up. Ensure that your summary always includes a brief (3-5 sentence) description of your experience, expertise, and professional reputation.

Conclusion

There is no good or bad technology. Ultimately, its usefulness depends on how it is put to work. The value of LinkedIn increases when its users actively seek out and cultivate genuine connections with one another. Utilizing it as a cost-free advertising medium is not recommended.

I trust you enjoyed this article on the Mistakes To Avoid On LinkedIn. Would you please stay tuned for more articles to come?

Take care!

JeannetteZ

 

 

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Your Opinion Is Important To Me

Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? I would love to hear from you. Please leave me your questions, experiences, remarks, and suggestions on the Mistakes You Should Avoid On LinkedIn in the comments below. You can also contact me by email at Jeannette@WorkFromAnywhereInTheWorld.com.

 

 

Disclosure

This post may contain affiliate links. I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate and other affiliate programs. Read my full affiliate disclosure.

 

 

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