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5 Tips for Professional Personal Branding on LinkedIn

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between your LinkedIn profile and your resume?

LinkedIn is where you present the professional version of yourself online. In this era of the internet, a prospective employer will often Google shortlisted candidates. Due to LinkedIn's search engine authority and strong user base, your LinkedIn profile is likely to be amongst the first Google results.

Your profile may be a prospective employer or client’s first impression of you, so it is in your best interest to make it a good one. Your LinkedIn profile may be that factor that gets you the foot in the door of your ideal employer or client.

Here are our 5 steps to getting your personal branding right on LinkedIn:

Choose a professional headshot
Take the time to get this done professionally and think about the image you want to portray. Make a good first impression. Never leave your photo blank. People are much more likely to view and connect with you with a great photo.
Use the right keywords in your Headline and Summary that will get you found
If you solve a problem for people include this in your headline. Do you specialise in a particular area? Use long tail (3 or more) keywords relating to this. Keywords should be tailored for your audience and use their language. Try and avoid overused buzz words
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Consider what your connections say about you
Are you connected to the right people? Some people are open networkers on LinkedIn and accept connections from reputable requests. Others restrict their connections to those they know and have worked with. This is up to you and is dependent on your strategic use of the platform.
Highlight your achievements
Does your career history read well and have you included the highlights like awards and major achievements?
Consider how you interact with connections
Do you endorse? Recommend? By all means converse with connections, engage in groups and demonstrate thought leadership. Your profile is much more likely to be viewed if you are engaging in groups. Above all, keep it professional.